Todos Santos Environmental Issues Eco-Archives

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Keeping you in touch with community and environmental issues.

Written and edited by Patricia A. Baum owner

email teampaty1@hotmail.com  

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Summer 2004 ............. (Read summer 2002 archive)

Welcome to the summer eco-news. It has been a busy time for us with lots of new projects to work on and thankfully a few successes to report. Let me start by saying that there has been a “better late than never” environmental awakening in Todos Santos and Pescadero. We are finally beginning to realize that if we don’t start fighting to preserve the virgin beauty of this area, there will soon be nothing left to fight for. Other pressing issues that have come to light recently are water depletion in Todos Santos by large scale agribiz tomato farming practices (on rented ejido lands north of Todos Santos,) heavy pesticide use in our backyards in Pescadero and Todos Santos, the selling and impending development of Playa Los Cerritos area, deforestation in the foothills of the Sierra de La Laguna and the lucrative black market in sea turtle meat, to name a few. Remember that each of these issues are enormous, so to successfully fight them each one of us needs to contribute something. In the end all of our small efforts will combine for a more effective and serious grassroots environmental movement.

What can you do? More information can be found below on each of these actions.

E-mail us to find out about additional volunteer opportunities..

1. Join our Grupo Tortugueros de Todos Santos/Pescadero and work with us in preserving turtle habitat, guarding turtle nests and educating people about the urgent need to save the turtles that come to feed and nest in Baja California.

2. Volunteer in the Pescadero middle school, (telesecundaria/lessons via satellite) teaching an experimental environmental curriculum.

3. Help us find a sister school for the Pescadero middle school.

4. Help coordinate a sister city project for the town of Pescadero. If anyone from Pescadero, California reads this, your pueblo amiguito, Pescadero, B.C.S. is looking to hook up with someone in your beautiful (and very similar) town to start a sister city project.

5. Help get the Pescadero library off the ground, help us find surplus books in English and Spanish in libraries in the states. Volunteer your time to clean and renovate the library building.

6. Join the Friends of Los Cerritos Natural Area and work with us to get part of the area declared a reserve or national park. Inventory and catalog plant and animal species and prepare an environmental impact study to present to SEMARNAT (Secretaria del Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales, or Federal Environmental and Natural Resources Policy Making Agency)

7. Adopt a 400 year old cardon cactus in Los Cerritos and keep it from being felled when the bulldozers come.

8. Befriend a family from the state of Oaxaca, Veracruz or Chiapas in one of the migrant camps and sponsor a child to attend school.

9. Help start a data base of eco-tourist organizations that will eventually become the membership base of the Baja 1001, a organization of locally owned and operated eco-tourist providers.

10. Help plan and initiate the proposed 11km long Todos Santos/Pescadero/Los Cerritos bike/hike path. It would parallel the hiway and it would be a great alternative to using petroleum products to get to your favorite beach.

11. Donate your time to research which pesticides are sold and used here in Baja California. Find out whether we are being bathed in pesticides that have been banned in the US of A.

12. Work with down winders to compile data on health symptoms related to agricultural pesticide use near neighborhoods in Pescadero and Todos Santos.

13. Celebrate Earth Day all year long!! Reduce, reuse, recycle, conserve water, drive less, car pool to La Paz, Cabo or the beach, walk/peddle more, turn off the generator and harness the sun’s power via solar panels, dry your clothes using the sun’s energy, eat locally grown organic produce and talk to your friends and neighbors about doing the same.

14. Give something back to your community. Gifts to your neighbors, workers and friends are great, but your ideas, time and energy will go a lot further in bridging the gap between the cultures. Learn how to receive, all gifts and offerings are special and precious.

15. To preserve turtle habitat and set a good example to all:

STOP DRIVING AND PARKING ON ALL ON THE BEACHES OF BAJA CALIFORNIA

Walk a little to save a turtle

15. Don’t have time to volunteer? Donate some money to the library, to the newly forming Grupo Tortugueros de Todos Santos or to any of the important projects mentioned below..

TURTLE DIARY - SPRING 2002 - SPRING 2003

What really does it takes to save the 7 species of sea turtles that feed and nest here in Baja California? The following is the diary of activity from the printing of our first bumper stickers, to the first meeting with ASUPMATOMA, (Asociacion Sudcaliforniana de Proteccion al Medio Ambiente y a la Tortuga Marina A.C. or Southern Baja California Association for the Protection of the Environment and the Marine Turtle) to all of our actions and efforts with stopping beach driving, to our attending the 5th annual Turtle Conference in Loreto in January 2003. What we have accomplished, what we want to do and how we are going about doing it. Join us if you have the same passion for these noble animals that we do who face immediate extinction if we don‘t act quickly on their behalf.

March 2002 - Former California/Colorado surfer, Tom now living in Pescadero, meets Adan Hernández from WILDCOAST on the dunes near San Pedrito, and the spark is ignited to start a more rigorous campaign to stop beach driving and to do something to help save the turtle population that nest in this area.

June 2002 - With the proceeds from the sale of the “Mis llantas no matan tortugas, I don’t drive on the beach” bumper stickers, (first printed in March 2002) we printed a two sided flyer in Spanish about turtles, written for the people of Todos Santos and Pescadero, (see English version below) 13 reasons not to drive on the beach, recycling, how to avoid using plastics and in general how to better care for the environment in an environmentally unfriendly country. It is distributed in Pescadero and Todos Santos over the summer of 2002. Other funds and donations have made our bi-lingual “Don’t Drive on the Beach” signs possible. Without any endorsements on behalf of the Carey, Olive Ridley (Golfina) and Leatherback (Laud) turtles, I would like to say a big THANK YOU to all who gave money, donated materials and volunteered. Yes we do have people who care about the environment right here in Todos Santos and Pescadero. E-mail us to order your own, “Mis llantas no matan tortugas“ bumper sticker.

To the people of Todos Santos and Pescadero from your unfatigable mother nature:

This summer we are gathering a group of concerned citizens together with Mexican marine biologists, to form our own turtle guardian group, tentatively called Baja Sea Turtle Protection Committee. The group members live on or near the beach from Las Playitas to El Migriño, and will work with marine biologists to locate and guard turtle nests. Now more than ever, it is imperative that we join together to protect our native plants and animals and most of all, our precious ocean. These distinct elements are what makes southern Baja unique and beautiful.

The caray sea turtle has almost reached extinction. She was not killed for her meat or eggs, but for her beautiful shell which was made into combs, jewelry boxes and bracelets. The leatherback and the golfina turtles are also endangered species and both migrate to southern Baja to lay their eggs. If we don’t act quickly these two species will soon be extinct. Baja California Sur is one of the last sea turtle nesting areas free of industrial pollution. The sea turtle’s worst enemy is man. There is no scientific or medical evidence that says turtle eggs and meat have medicinal or aphrodisiacal properties. The eggs contain a large amount of protein, as do chicken eggs, but there are no other extraordinary benefits. By eating turtle eggs and meat, driving and throwing garbage on the beach, you are contributing to the destruction of this noble and beautiful marine species.

Together we can guard Mexico’s endangered and protected species and keep our ocean eco-system intact for future generations. Our precious turtles have the right to live and reproduce without having their nests raided by poachers or crushed by truck tires. They are essential to the health of the marine eco-system and coastal environment. The decline in the turtle population has caused the jelly fish to multiply at an unchecked rate, upsetting the entire balance of the ocean. You can help us by discontinuing the tradition of eating turtle eggs and turtle meat. It is robbing our future generations of a valuable species, one which is essential to the survival of the ocean. Baja California Sur is relatively unspoiled by industry and man made pollutants, and we are fortunate to live in one of the most beautiful and untouched areas of the earth. Why do you think so many foreign visitors flock here from every part of the world? Because the ocean here has not been polluted, there is still an abundance of sea life, the desert plants have not been bulldozed and the Mexican people of Baja California Sur are at one with the earth. Your grandchildren will thank you and they will remember that in 2002, this generation made an effort to care for the environment. Our partners in turtle guardianship ASUPMATOMA will be work this fall with students from the primaria and secundaria to educate our young people about the urgent need to care for the environment.

July 2002 - A group of people interested in preserving turtle habitat and guarding turtle nests meet with representatives from ASUPMATOMA, turtle biologist Elizabeth Gonzalez, and Rene Pinal founder of the organization and the turtle sanctuary, San Cristobal, located at KM 111 on hiway 19. The meeting focused on their efforts over the last fourteen years during which they have helped thousands of baby turtles return safely to the sea. They have been granted official permission by the federal government to operate a turtle nursery, hatchery and release area. They patrol a 20 mile stretch of beach on 4 wheelers and look for recent nesting sites. When tracks are spotted, or better yet when a turtle is spotted digging a nest they watch and assist if necessary as in the case of the turtle missing a flipper, who returns every year to lay her eggs at San Cristobal. The eggs are then carefully dug up and transported to one of their safe nurseries where they are closely monitored during the 45-60 day gestation period. Data is also collected on the mother turtle, (after she lays her eggs of course) she is tagged and returned to the sea to begin her year long migration that can take her as far as Japan and back. We watched an excellent video made by Brad Baer documenting his experiences volunteering at the San Cristobal sanctuary, first during nesting season, then during a night of releasing hatchlings, which was actually done at dawn. It was an emotional experience for all, not a dry eye in the house. Rene and Elizabeth invited us down to the Sanctuary to visit and volunteer, an invitation which is open to anyone who wants to work directly to help protect Baja California’s sea turtle population.

Visit their web site www.mexonline.com/tortuga.htm

Contact them at asupmatoma@cabotel.com.mx or by telephone,

(from the US add the prefix 011 52) (624) 143-4596, (624) 143-2223 fax (624) 143-2213

November 2002 - I’m sorry to report that our own Sea Turtle Group has only begun to be effective in this area. Beach driving is still the major killer of turtles in our area, both of mature females and her precious hatchlings. This past October 2002, two golfina nests in the south San Pedrito/Pescadero area were compacted by beach drivers and at least half of the baby turtles were unable to dig themselves out and became maggot infested. Those who survived became lost when they fell down into tire tracks trenches and starved to death or were picked off by vultures in their endless wrong way journey down a long lonely set of tire tracks.

Laura Sarti, Director of leatherback sea turtle research for the Mexican government, Dr. Scott Eckert, HSWRI, San Diego, CA. and a group of volunteers worked hard this year during leatherback season (November 2002-March 2003) at the almost hidden turtle reserve in Agua Blanca, north of Todos Santos. This year they were able to put a transmitter on one of the female leatherbacks who came in to nest. Josephina’s migratory path is being charted and can be seen at the ASUPMATOMA website. She is now headed south west of the tip of Baja California, after a trip over to the east cape then a brief return visit to her nesting ground. We are very fortunate to live in the proximity of a significant leatherback nesting area, 8% of the world’s leatherback population nest in dunes near Agua Blanca. The sad truth is that just twenty years ago more than 5,000 turtles returned annually to nest in this region.

The last unofficial census estimates that that only 20-35 leatherbacks returned to dig their nests and lay eggs near Agua Blanca during the 2000 season. Much of their habitat was impacted by hurricane Juliette (October 2001) which deposited mountains of wood debris on the beach and dune, making it difficult if not impossible for the females to dig their nests. Although the catastrophic weather patterns are considered natural phenomena, compounded with beach driving, eggs poaching and illegal turtle capture you can see why we need to act immediately to prevent extinction of the noble species.

The leatherback is the largest species of sea turtle, can reach 70 inches in length and weigh up to 1300 lbs. Its preferred food is jelly fish, making it’s presence essential to the ocean eco-system. We hope to be better organized for the coming golfina season (June-Dec 2003) and a recent visit from marine biologist, Francisco Javier Camacho Romero, who is the representaive from SEMARNAT for the Marine turtle Program in Baja California Sur (Programa Tortuga Marina en BCS,) gives us hope, as he promises additional government support to the citizen’s groups working in this area.

January 2003 - We inaugurated our bi-lingual “Don’t Drive on the Beach” signs, at Los Cerritos Beach, which will legally obligate the marines to enforce the law. It is not just an environmental obligation, it is a federal Mexican law. Our “Un Dia Sin Carros” was a huge success, proving that it is possible to keep cars off the beaches. Planned as more of a symbolic gesture than permanent solution, we sponsored “A Day at the Beach Without Cars,“ January 1, 2003. With the help of the Marines, various volunteers including ejidatarios from Pescadero and artist Glenn Case, who painted a beautiful banner, we blocked the most popular entrance to the beach and kept the beach free of cars until about 4:00pm.

Over 300 people, including numerous children enjoyed the beach without the worry of being run down. It was a beautiful event and we had 3 almost car free days during Semana Santa, Easter week April 17-20th 2003. Thanks to all those who helped and those who kept their cars off the beach. Why can’t it be a year around thing??

More signs are in the works for La Pastora and San Pedrito. Fellow activists Steve and Cruz Merrill have been successfully stopping beach drivers from crushing turtle nests in La Pastora for several years. This year they cordoned off and guarded 2 nests during the critical gestation period. Many congratulations to them and salty kisses from the turtles for their continued hard work. Together we want to form a safety net 50 miles long from Agua Blanca to the ASUPMATOMA sea turtle reserve in San Cristobal and beyond, to protect the remaining turtles who come to nest in on the beaches and dunes of this area. We should feel honored to have them, since they came first and since we have destroyed most of their habitat we have an obligation to protect them from all hazards created by man.

Dogs and other non-domestic animals like the fox, skunk and babisuri, a racoon like animal dig up nests, so don’t let your dogs run free near nesting sites, especially at night. There have been several reports in this area of people’s dogs invading nests and eating or destroying turtle eggs.

Turtle Conference Gathers National and International Turtle Groups

The 5th annual sea turtle conference was held in Loreto, Baja California Sur, January 24-26 2003. The conference was sponsored by WILDCOAST, (http://www.wildcoast.net) who do turtle conservation work by empowering local people as environmentalists and Propeninsula, (www.propeninsula.org) who focus on preserving habitat and monitoring unsustainable development in Baja California, such as the proposed Escalera Nautica Project. They also sponsor numerous projects at the local level such as the Cabo Pulmo Conservation Network,

(Amigos para la Conservacion de Cabo Pulmo) who are working to raise money and develop a management plan for the Cabo Pulmo National Marine Park, established by Federal decree in 1995, but has been given no staff or government funding since then. For more information about efforts in Cabo Pulmo contact Dawn Pier founder and project leader of the CPCN at dawnpier@propeninsula.org

The main purpose of the conference was to gather all of those who work with turtles and in the preservation of turtle habitats in Mexico, the press, international granting foundations, and international groups (participants from Japan, Finland, Guatemala and Nicaragua were in attendance) for a weekend of workshops, video presentations and networking.

The strongest and most visible were the members of the Sea Turtle Conservation Network of the Californias. (Grupo Tortugueros de las Californias) These 20 groups are located all over Baja California, southern California and the states of Sonora and Sinaloa and are mostly comprised of marine biologists, fishermen turned environmentalists and graduate research fellows. This year was the first time that representatives came from the national offices of SEMARNAT and PROFEPA (Procuraduria Federal de Proteccion al Ambiente) the Mexican environmental protection organizations who make and enforce environmental regulations, respectively.

The most impressive part of the conference, beside the opportunity to meet and talk with the several hundred incredibly diverse attendees, was the strength and progress of the local groups. They live and work in communities that for generations have been catching turtles for personal consumption and to sell in the once legal commercial market. For them instigate change is courageous and dangerous work. The group from Punta Abreojos, (contact Jesus Murillo Aguilar at scpabreojos@prodigy.mx) south of Guerrero Negro and west of San Ignacio, won the annual award for the most success and progress in the area of turtle conservation. They are a very dedicated group of fisherman and townspeople who have made incredible inroads in the area of turtle protection in their small fishing community. They use their own pangas, gasoline and local knowledge to take volunteers out to search for live turtle specimens.

Biologists then record data on age, size and what tumors or diseases the turtles have and this year they equipped a turtle with a satellite tracking devise. This work is the key to understanding turtle migration patterns and the group have assisted biologists in amassing invaluable data on the Golfina, Leatherback and Green sea turtles. They have been documenting some of these efforts on digital video, as well as some of the illegal turtle captures that unfortunately continue and will produce a short documentary to present at the next turtle conference in January, 2004.

The black market in turtle meat is akin to the drug trade with the same sort of protection and corruption that follows. It is estimated that between 10,000 and 35,000 sea turtles are killed every year in Baja California. It is reported by WILDCOAST that the main consumers of turtle meat are politicians, police, military officials, the wealthy, persons of influence and traffickers in narcotics. The turtle meat is transported up the Baja in ice chests, sometimes utilizing the trans peninsula bus system, to supply markets in Ensenada, Tijuana and the US. Much of the turtle meat crosses the border to supply Mexican-American turtle consumers living in California, Arizona and New Mexico who pay up to $20 a pound for the meat. How can this continue?

I just heard a friend of our mention that she was forced to insult her Todos Santos hosts, friends of 8 years, by refusing to eat turtle soup that was offered for the Sunday meal. Her Mexican host’s retort was that turtle meat is readily available in Todos Santos and that everyone eats it. Their relationship will never be the same, but someone must begin the long process of re-education for traditions must be changed in order for our precious few remaining turtles to survive.

A Todos Santos Turtle Group (Grupo Tortugueros de Todos Santos) is in the process of forming, but they need to raise $10,000 pesos, ($1000US) to file all the necessary papers to form a legal civil organization which will grant them non-profit status. This will also give them official sanction to do citizen based patrols and to solicit a government marine biologist to work with them in this area. It is critical to have locals working to protect turtles in this area. It will be the key to continuing northward the valuable work that is being done by ASUPMATOMA at the San Cristobal turtle reserve just south of us at KM 111.

The turtle group is comprised of several teachers from the high school, CECEYT, one is a marine biologist who has worked with ASUPMATOMA, the other is a chemist who previously worked as a forester in the Sierra de Laguna National Park. (Reserva de la Biosfera Sierra de La Laguna) The other members are concerned citizens from the local community and several subsistence fishermen who love and respect the ocean. They are being assisted by Licenciado Guillermo Guzman Cota from La Paz, who has volunteered to prepare and file the paperwork.

The group has many goals which include working with young people and Punta Lobos fishermen in a re-education effort, hoping to turn them into environmentalists who will then work to protect endangered sea turtles and turtle habitat. They hope to put a stop to illegal turtle captures and the flood of plastic garbage that enters the ocean from fishing boats and beach goers.

Javier Villaviciencio, coordinator of the Grupo Tortugero de la Californias for the La Paz

region, (tortugeros@yahoo.com) mentioned to me at the conference, that the majority of the turtle meat that is sold on the extensive and highly lucrative black market in La Paz, comes from this area. Most of the turtle eggs that are poached directly from nests on area beaches are sold or consumed by locals. The penalty for possessing turtle eggs or any part of a dead or living turtle, including meat or shell, is a federal offence carrying a mandatory prison term. The problem is not with the law itself, it is the lack of enforcement, complicity and corruption on the part of law enforcement and in the judicial process.

February 2003 - Jewelry in the form of earrings and pins made of endangered Carey sea turtle shells are spotted at the Todos Santos Festival de Arte. Several sea turtle shells, including a 3 Carey and 2 Golfina continue to decorate a popular Todos Santos restaurant. Slaughtered turtle remains are not for selling as art, adorning our bodies or decorating the walls of local businesses. When will it stop?

Local group, GETUP (Grupo Ecológico y Tortugueros de Pescadero) works to save endangered sea turtles, and include my email address or link to the turtle diary part of the eco-news which mentions work planned for the coming turtle season.

The road kill café has been closed since the end of last season, there is a pharmacy in it’s place. Felipe’s in the hiway near sueño tropical, a new juice bar and a weekend only

sea food stand on the road into Pescadero under the big mango tree near the stadium are the currrent best clean eats in Pescadero.

The 35th annual Baja 1000 finished in La Paz in November, 2002. In recent years international environmentalists have brought attention to the race, calling it one of the most ecologically damaging sporting events in the world. There were some rumbling that the ejidos of Comundu might block the course this year, citing lack of compensation for damages to communally owned lands. This year no one ventured out in front of the 234 vehicles who passed at speeds of 80 miles per hour leaving behind a path of damage and destruction to the fragile baja desert eco-system. Maybe next year we can organize and get together with the hundreds of ejido of Baja California to stop this event. Why does an event like this continue to devastate 1000 kilometers of Baja wilderness? It’s all about money and influence, ESPN and others sport channels cover it and it sells advertising and beer.

New Organization brings together eco-tourist providers

The Baja 1001 brings eco-tourist organizations of Baja California together to fight the proposed escalera nautical project and other ecologically damaging development project. We are a group of eco-tourist organizations operating in Baja, that have joined together to form a politically active and environmentally conscious association to fight unsustainable development in Baja California, on a national and international level. Our goal is to keep ourselves informed and updated about all private and government projects that affect our coastlines and deserts, raise awareness about the need to preserve Baja California and to encourage eco-tourism in small undeveloped areas threatened by the proposed escaera nautical project. To join us e-mail teampaty1@hotmail.com See our manifesto below:

We are The Baja 1001, are a group of concerned foreign and Mexican business owners residing and working in Baja California, but we encourage students, professors, biologists, naturalists and anyone who has a love for the natural beauty of Baja California to join us. It is our goal to promote and encourage sustainable tourist activities for Baja California and to be the watch dogs of any proposed development along Baja’s pristine coastlines. Our energies will focus on our ongoing opposition to the proposed Escalera Nautica Project on the local, state, national and international levels. We will also work with our fellow Baja Californians to create additional small businesses like the ones we own and operate, that promote and practice low and no impact forms of tourism. We hope to empower local people in remote and isolated areas with the necessary means to put them in control of the future of their particular area, recognizing that each of their unique regions possesses invaluable bio-diversity and also has much to offer the foreign visitor. In this way we hope to demonstrate to the Mexican and American governments that a massive project such as the proposed Escalera Nautica Project in not needed in Baja California, that a thriving and economically viable eco-tourist industry already exists, with plenty of room for planned, sustainable growth.

All of us in The Baja 1001, are involved in eco-tourism; surfing, kayaking, diving, mt. biking, hiking, adventure travel or any of the other numerous related eco-tourist services. We strongly believe that the fragile desert and ocean eco-systems of Baja California are in immediate danger of being decimated or irreparably damaged in the name of progress. All of us in The Baja 1001, are currently working to preserve the incredibly diverse desert and ocean eco-systems of Baja California, by packing out trash, not driving on the beaches or in the arroyos, not burning endangered native hardwoods, and by practicing low and no impact recreational activities with our clients.The Baja 1001, have become the guardians of the unspoiled areas of Baja California and together with our small groups of international eco-tourists, we practice a variety of non-motorized sea and wilderness travel with the intent of interacting with native Baja Californainas, while viewing marine and land animals, native plants and geological formations.

Those of us who live here, work here and have children attending local public schools, have a vested interest in preserving the natural beauty of Baja California. The Baja 1001, feel that it is our responsibility to leave the children of Mexico a complete and intact Baja California so that they may forever enjoy and learn from her numerous endemic desert and mountain plants and animals, her two magnificent coasts and all the marine animals that inhabit them.

The Baja 1001, does not see the need for any major development along the isolated Pacific coast or the Sea of Cortez. On the contrary, we feel that there is an urgent need to implement additional federal laws to protect these fragile areas and create more national reserves and parks, with designated corridors connecting them together.

The Baja 1001, strongly believe that the Escalera Nautica Project, a highly invasive type of development, would spell ecological disaster for the isolated pristine areas of the Pacific coast and the Sea of Cortez. The Baja 1001, understand that these regions need additional services and economic inversion, however, we feel that the people who live in these areas would benefit more from the development of alternative energy sources and from an eco-tourism industry that includes them as small business owners. The Baja 1001, feel the local, state and federal government should be funding programs to encourage locally based eco-tourism, not huge resorts offering nothing more than minimum wage jobs to the local residents. The people of these areas should be part of the decision making process that would organize regionally based eco-tourism, supported, encouraged and promoted by the federal government and the state board of tourism. As members of the Baja 1001, we are ready and willing to share our ideas and to mentor our fellow Baja Californians in the remote areas of Baja California sur and norte, to assist them to in the creation, development and promotion of regional eco-tourism destination sites and related services.

Of the millions of visitors that come here yearly, more than 50% stray from the main tourist centers in search of the unspoiled beauty of Baja California. These sophisticated international travelers are not interested in finding another Los Cabos look alike hotel/golf course style resort, complete with factory made arts and crafts, jewelry and blankets. We need to support local crafts people and artisans and most importantly we need to instill in the young people that their particular region is unique and special, and that they hold an important piece of the puzzle of Baja California that would be forever lost in a franchise of marinas, hotels and golf courses. Let us keep Baja California as it has been for thousands of years, without damaging the desert, mountain and ocean environments, destroying animal habitat and depleting finite water and other precious natural resources. The mission of The Baja 1001, is to further empower the people of Baja California to care for and preserve her, so that visitors and future generations of Mexicans may enjoy and learn from her unique and diverse ocean and desert eco-systems. To join and/or support the organization contact us at teampaty1@hotmail.com

Adopt a middle school - Our own Telesecundaria of Pescdero is desperately in need of a sister/brother school in the SW or Western US. The kids are all eager to learn about the world outside their classroom but have no computers or internet service, no art or music program, no library or elective classes. They have started a pen pal project with the Environmental Middle School in Portland, Oregon and hope to invite their pen pals to visit them in Pescadero for a cultural exchange. Hopefully this could lead to some fundraising/donations of equipment or books so these young people can be brought into the 21st century. We need an immediate cash donation to get the school connected to the internet, a computer has already been donated.

EDUCATION = KNOWLEDGE = AN INFORMED COMMUNITY = POSITIVE ACTION & CHANGE

I have come to the conclusion that we need to educate the young people of this region to become the guardians of the future. They will inherit from their parents and grandparents the ejidos of Todos Santos and Pescadero, and will become the new ejidatarios, which is the body that governs the use and sale of all remaining communal lands.

The telesecundaria of Pescadero is five room middle school which receives it’s lessons via satellite. The yearly budget for the entire school for the 75 students who attend is less than

$3500US. The students are ages 12-16 and are more eager to learn about the world outside the classroom than they are to sit in front of a TV learning about math, geography, history, social studies, sciences, Spanish and English and filling in the blanks in a workbook.

Therefore, I have proposed an alternative curriculum, which will teach them about regional plants, the ocean, water; the finite resource, recycling and consumerism, nutrition, raising animals to eat, the reserves and national parks of Baja California, and the importance of understanding the past, present and future of their pueblo.

The principal, Juan Carlos is open to the curriculum, he understands that the dropout rate (there are only 2 young women in the 9th grade vs. 15 young men) has something to do with the lack of learning that relates to one‘s immediate surroundings and empowers the students to be in control of their future. We are hoping to use expertise of parents, botanists from the Campo Experimental a federal agricultural station that grows and studies native plants, students and teachers from the ABS, (Autonomous University of Baja California Sur) volunteers from the foreign community and foreign marine biologists who are working on various sea turtle preservation projects in the area. Spanish speaking volunteers are needed, especially those with skills in botany, marine biology and geology and any of the other natural sciences, but anyone would be welcome as volunteer tutors.

We have come to understand that when you give a name, age and location to something it gives it a distinct place in the world. That is the idea behind the Adopt a Cardon Program. Using a map of Los Cerritos donated by Ingenieria Real (ingreal@bcs1.telmex.net.mx) of La Paz, we will locate the largest and oldest cardon cacti (estimated to be 400-600 years old) in the arroyos of Los Cerritos and determine their exact location with a GPS. Then we will measure trunk diameter and count arms and fingers to determine their age. We will photograph and record pertinent information to make a botanical plate that will become a permanent record of each cacti. Then, we will name each one after school children and family members as the cacti tend to be in groups much like the extended families of Pescadero.

This is where you come in, we need to find a sponsor to adopt each one. The sponsors will be given all the necessary information about their adoptive cacti and will be in charge of taking care of them, making sure they are not cut down. Remember, they are a protected plant and cannot be felled by federal law, but because of lack of enforcement of environmental law here in Mexico, we are often left crying after the bulldozers are gone and our precious “protected” plant species are lying on the ground. Let’s not let it happen here in Los Cerritos, these majestic plants deserve to be protected after living unmolested for 200-800 years. They are the largest most important plants in this eco-system and host many small birds and animals. We have a resident spotted owl, but endangered species don’t seem to carry much weight in the country. The desert area surrounding the Playa Los Cerritos has as much beauty and value as the beach and all of which is under threat of being destroyed in the name of progress.

Some words on deforestatation and the Neem tree

Why are we cutting the non-renewable stands of hardwood forests of southern baja for fence posts? This practice has been going on since the Revolution of 1911 when Mexicans were given back their lands during the post revolution agrararian reforms. A fence made of wooden posts that was once a symbol of victory in a hard won battle for land rights, has now become a symbol of waste and destruction of a valuable natural resource, the hardwood trees of Baja California. Palo fierro (iron wood, also used to make charcoal), palo zorillo, (called skunk wood because of its pungent odor) palo amarillo, (yellow wood) palo ecopeta, (rifle stock wood) and palo ocote, known for their strength and durability are most commonly cut and sold for posts. These hearty trees grow in the region between the desert and the high sierra and because of the tree’s incredible ability to survive with very little water, can take 10-15 years to reach the 12-14 inch in diameter post size. Larger trees of 18-22 inches, with the “Y” at the top are also being cut for use in palapas and ramadas, putting an additional burden on Baja’s non-renewable stands of hardwood. In addition to the medicinal powers these trees possess, their main value is in their root system which helps to retain precious water in the soil, which in turn holds the foothills together.

In 1994, the Sierra de La Laguna region was designated as a National Park, and is protected by a federal decree, which prohibits the cutting trees or removal of any plants or animals from the park. To our knowledge only one man in Todos Santos possesses a permit to cut trees on adjoining public lands. There are no restrictions for cutting these particular hardwoods on private property, the problem is they have already been cut, and ranchers who earn a living in this manner have become poachers, feeding the large demand for posts and creating a black market economy in hardwoods.

The representative or investigator from PROFEPA (Procuraduria Federal de Proteccion al Ambiente or the Federal Environmental Protection Agency) in this area, Fernando Gajún Lozano inspector, (044-612-126-8791) patrols the entire Sierra de Laguna on both sides of the mountain range. He has been working in this area since 1991 and has developed a good relationship with the ranchers. He says the ranchers are beginning to understand that their clear cutting practices have led to the denudation of many acres of land causing erosion during rains and the loss of habitat for many regional species. Twenty years ago the demand for fence posts was not so great and the cutting of a few posts on public and private lands was acceptable. With the demand for posts greatly exceeding the supply, we need begin using other materials for fencing, and let the few remaining trees stand. A project started at the Campo Experimental, has introduced a species of hardwood from India to this region, called the neem.

The neem, when watered regularly can reach a girth of 12 inches In 5 years. It can be planted on property boundaries as a living, oxygen giving alternative to posts. The tree has a beautiful orange bark, is a natural insecticide and the medium sized leaves provide good shade and excellent wind protection. Other man made alternatives exist and we should being using them immediately. Cement forms are desirable for use as corner posts, when done correctly will not move and change property lines. When used in conjunction with metal runners can make for a sturdy eco-friendly alternative to cutting our valuable hardwoods. If you look at the landscape of Todos Santos and Pescadero and count the number of wooden posts that are holding up fences you will realize the incredible number of trees that have been cut down. The cost difference between wood and metal for a 20 x 30 mtr2 lot would only be about $50. Would you rather save $50 or 35 trees?

We continue to work with the families who live in the migrant camp called Trampuche, located just north of Pescadero. With donations from all of you who put things into the food box at Los Arcos and clothes and shoes leftover from the Spay and Neuter rummage sale at Maya Roca Realty were able to give the families 25 Christmas stockings, 10 bags of food staples, blankets and 3 huge boxes of clothes which made for a happier Christmas 2002. All the gifts were much appreciated by the families who work half the year here in Pescadero and the other half in Ensenada, following the tomato and vegetable crops. The children were especially surprised to receive their stockings stuffed with candy, toys, toothbrushes and gingerbread cookies made and decorated by volunteers.

Help us collect small toys and clothes for children age 2-12 for next year and hope we can put on an even better party for the children. We still need volunteers to go to the camp with donated art materials and lead simple art projects. The kids always ask about the art classes which have been suspended due to lack of volunteers. Give an hour of your time, once a week to help the kids. Many don’t go to school and our weekly visits were a high point in their lives.

Down Winders Unite How is heavy pesticide use in the fields of Pescadero and Todos Santos affecting you and your children’s long term health? Those of us who live anywhere near the chili huertas are in danger of being subjected to high levels of pesticides. Various chemicals and pesticides such as Malathion are sprayed on the chili fields in large quantities by farmers with no education in agri-chemical practices or knowledge of the short and long term effects of using such chemicals. Many of these same formulas have been banned in the USA, but are sold here by companies like Dow Chemical and Monsanto, where lack of government regulations and enforcement make for a free market economy in chemicals. What is known about the long term effects of breathing these particular chemicals? They are carcinogenic, meaning cancer causing, so consequently we must understand that we are not living in an environment conducive to raising children or enjoying one’s retirement. I must also mention that we are not the only ones that are being subjected to high levels of pesticides. The long term health consequences of the workers who spray the fields, hand pumping pesticides from a tanks worn on their backs, need to be addressed in the same breath. Most of these minimum wage fumigadores or sprayers, who wear no masks or protective clothing are underage indigenous workers from the states of Oaxaca, Veracruz and Chiapas. They have no formal training in the application of chemicals nor do they understand the health risks of repeated unprotected exposure to pesticides, they are merely following orders to spray here or to spray there.

Maybe it is time we started thinking about what is happening in our community and what we can do about it. I have had reports of people feeling dizzy, experiencing skin irritations and irritated throats on days of heavy spraying. It is a sweet impermeable smell that invades the senses and causes an immediate reaction and feeling of discomfort. Ever after the spraying stops the chemicals are present in the soils and are made airborne by the constant flow of traffic down the dirt roads that pass the chili huertas. We haven’t even begun to address inevitable runoff of pesticides and fertilizers into the ocean during the rainy season, the potential damage to marine animals and plants or the leaching of agri-chemicals into the aquifer, which in time will contaminate our potable water supply, if it hasn‘t already.

Prevailing winds are from the north during the December to April chili season, which pretty well covers anyone living on the ocean side of Pescadero and the areas of Todos Santos near the huertas. Think about where you’re dream house will sit in relation to the chili fields. If you have a choice where you build, do you really want to live in an area of heavy pesticide use? We need to get together and share our symptoms and at least become informed about what we are being subjected to.

There are few government regulations that protect the individual here in Mexico, as we know from driving the hiways and seeing the quality of consumer goods available in the stores, a citizen’s effort may be the only way to protect ourselves. We must think about the future of our children, the workers who spray the pesticides and the families with children who work every day in the fields around Pescadero and Todos Santos, who invariably bring chemicals home on their skin and clothing.

These practices have been in use for about ten years, when ejiditarios from Todos Santos and Pescadero entered into the then lucrative chili market. Prices fell to as low as 2 pesos per kilo this year, leaving thousands of kilos of chilis to rot or dry in the field only to come back to us in the form of dried red poblano chilis. One order of glow in the dark chili relleno or one serving of spicy enchiladas made with poblano chili sauce a year will give you more than the maximum recommended dose of pesticides.

HELP! Is there chemist out there who can help us identify pesticides by their formulas? We need to do an analysis of what is being used in this area and the possible health risks involved. I propose forming a group to monitor and records health symptoms and begin keeping diaries of how we feel from day to day. Chili season may be over but the damage has been done and we must organize ourselves to fight this long term health risk in our backyard.  Email: