Natural Resources of Santa Cruz County

Santa Cruz is a biodiversity hotspot. Our landscape provides a mosaic of habitat types that supports hundreds of resident and migratory species.

We acknowledge that the land of Santa Cruz County is the unceded territory of the Awaswas and Mutsun speaking peoples. There are no known survivors from the Awaswas speaking tribes whose territory extends from Aptos and north to the Pigeon Point Lighthouse. Today the Amah Mutsun Land Trust is working to restore traditional stewardship to these lands and ensure the ancestors of both the Awaswas and Mutsun speaking peoples are honored and never forgotten.  amahmutsun.org 

With more than 50% of Santa Cruz County in private ownership, landowners play an important role in natural resource protection. Many property management actions impact natural resources, including driveways, home drainage, landscaping and pest control. Learn how your actions can harm or benefit natural resources.

As a local government, the County of Santa Cruz protect natural resources through its land use policies, ordinances and enforcement. The County also works closely with local, regional, state and federal agencies to protect and manage critical resources and sensitive species.

About 38% of the county is protected through local land trusts, regional conservation groups, and county, state and federal parks.

Climate change will challenge us with increased droughts, severe storms, sea level rise and wildfire. The  Office of Response, Recovery and Resiliency  (OR3) completed the  2022 Climate Action and Adaptation Plan  (CAAP) that identifies actions to address climate change challenges and disaster response.

Steelhead and coho salmon are anadromous fish, meaning that they migrate from the ocean into our watersheds as adults to reproduce. Juvenile steelhead and coho salmon rely largely on aquatic insects for food, and complex habitats that provide shelter from predators and high stream flows. During the dry season, the amount of stream flow affects food availability and water quality, which can affect the growth rate and survival of young fish. High growth rates help young steelhead and coho salmon survive in the ocean. Coastal lagoons provide food-rich habitats and help young fish adapt to saltwater.

Steelhead occur in most of our perennial streams, but juvenile abundance has declined due to habitat loss and drought, especially in developed watersheds.

Especially in California, riparian forests support the greatest diversity and abundance of wildlife species. With access to water and the complex vegetation structure, insects, birds, reptiles, mammals and amphibians use the riparian forest for nesting, food, shelter and as corridors for movement. Protecting and restoring riparian habitat is one of the most effective ways you can help wildlife and protect water quality. Riparian corridors also help to protect stream habitat and water quality from human use in the watershed.

Within the County of Santa Cruz, the riparian corridor is a protected habitat as defined by the Riparian Corridor and Wetlands Protection Ordinance. For year-round streams, the protected riparian corridor is 50 feet from the bankfull flowline or the extent of riparian woodland. Within the protected riparian corridor, any development is prohibited including tree cutting, vegetation removal or grading.

In Santa Cruz County, our water supply comes from local rainfall that collects in streams, rivers and groundwater basins. Water is a shared resource whether you get your water from a water agency, a small community system or an individual well.

Most county residents, except for the City of Santa Cruz, rely on groundwater for their water supply. When groundwater use exceeds the amount replenished from local rainfall, groundwater levels drop. Lower groundwater levels reduce water security and can reduce flow in streams and rivers. Three basins-Santa Margarita, Mid-County and Pajaro-are covered by the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (2014) and are currently developing and implementing plans to protect basins from future degradation.

About 20% of our water supply comes from water diverted from local streams. While small water diversions exist throughout the county, the City of Santa Cruz relies on stream diversions for 95% of water supply and uses Loch Lomond as a storage reservoir.

For more than 20 years, the County has worked with local water agencies to develop the plans and agreements needed for a more sustainable and connected water supply infrastructure. Climate change is expected to result in fewer, more intense rainfall events and both streamflow and groundwater recharge are expected to decline.

The PureWater Soquel Project injects treated wastewater into groundwater wells to protect against saltwater intrusion.

The Pajaro Valley Water Management District's College Lake Integrated Resources Management Project provides water to local agricultural growers while also improving migration passage and rearing for steelhead. The lake also provides winter feeding and resting habitat for migrating water fowl and shorebirds.

Find out by visiting Health Services Water Quality  website  which shares test results for bacteria at beach and creek sampling locations.

The Sandhills are a unique community of plants and animals found only on outcrops of Zayante sands. This habitat supports several threatened and endangered species, including the Mount Hermon June Beetle and the Santa Cruz Wallflower.

Aquatic habitats include creeks, lagoons, sloughs, wetlands, ponds and lakes. These special habitats support sensitive species such as frogs, turtles and salamanders. Wetlands and aquatic habitats also provide rich food resources for raptors, small mammals and both resident and migrating birds. The Watsonville Slough system is the largest wetlands complex on the central coast of California.

Santa Cruz long-toed salamanders are found only in Santa Cruz and northern Monterey counties. This species migrates from oak woodlands, where they spend the dry summer underground, to seasonal ponds where they breed. Young salamanders are called larva, have gills and depend on aquatic habitat to mature. Threats include understory cleaning and loss of oak woodlands.

The California red-legged frog is the largest native frog in the western United States and is found mostly in the Watsonville slough system and north coast wetlands. These frogs need wet areas with abundant vegetation to avoid excessive summer heat.

Wildlife corridors provide animals-especially large mammals-a way to move safely across the landscape to find food, mates and new territories. Connected natural areas, such as riparian corridors or protected lands, serve as wildlife corridors. Projects to connect habitats across highways and roads improve wildlife movement across and out of Santa Cruz County.