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The fate of an old stand of oak trees that is in the path of a proposed State Water Project pipeline remained in question Friday as university official scrambled to try to prevent its destruction.
The oak trees, found in Stenner Creek Canyon on the extreme northwestern portion of the Cal Poly campus, may have to be uprooted and destroyed to make way for the pipeline, which will supply water to several cities in San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara Counties.
The 100-mile pipeline, and offshoot of the California Aqueduct, runs from near Kettleman City in Kern County to Vandenberg Air Force base in Santa Barbara County
The estimated 40 trees, divided into two separate stands of about 20 each, are the centerpieces of a relatively unspoiled natural habitat that is home to several species of wetlands-based plants and animals.
Several Cal Poly faculty members and students have expressed outrage at the plan.
Steven Marx, a Cal Poly associate professor of English and an avid hiker, has led the latest charge to prevent the state water agency from cutting down the oak trees.
Marx, who leads twice-weekly public hikes to expose people to the canyon's native oaks, plant and animals, met briefly with Don Kurosaka, the pipeline project manager for the state Department of Water Resources, on Thursday to see whether another route for the pipeline could be formulated.
"It is my hope that (state water officials) will reconsider the path they've chosen for this pipeline." Marx, said. "This is an area that's a critical watershed, a living biology lab for our students and an important recreational resource for the entire community." It would be shame to see it destroyed."
Frank Lebens, Cal Poly's vice president of administration and finance, said Friday that the university is extremely concerned about the welfare of the oaks and hopes to convince water officials to reroute the pipeline's path away from the trees, which have been there for hundreds of years.
"our position is that we do not endorse nor want to see the removal of a single oak tree from that canyon," Lebens said. "This isn't a Cal Poly project; we have nothing to do with it. The bottom line is that we do not want any of those trees harmed."
Still, Lebens admitted that Cal Poly may not have a firm legal standing in the matter.
Lebens added that a recent memorandum from the state water officials communicated that they were turning down the university's request to have the pipeline rerouted.
In a brief telephone interview, Kurosaka said Friday that the pipeline's current path is both environmentally and economically superior" to other alternatives so far proposed.
"It would take quite a bit of money to make a change in the pipeline's (path) at this late date," Kurosaka said. "We have considered making minor adjustments to the pipeline's path before work there begins.
He added that, among other remedies, project plans call for the state agency to plant five oak tree saplings for every mature tree that is removed. Kurosaka said the agency would then monitor the health of the young trees for a period of seven years.
Kurosaka noted that when the agency advertised for pubic comments on the proposed pipeline route in 1994, no comments were received. It was not until a secondary, more recent environmental impact study was completed that the plan drew fire from the university community.
Lebens, however, countered that all the university initially received an the project was a small 8 « by 11 inch topographic map that did not clearly show the pipeline's proposed path.
"From the documents we received at the time, there was no way we could have ascertained what impact this pipeline would have on the university's land," Lebens said.
Lebens said he will continue to withhold his signature from a right-of-way agreement between the university and the Department of Water Resources until some agreement on the fate of the oaks can be reached. He noted that the water agency has already granted some concessions on repairing damage done to the area by construction.
One stipulation Lebens wants is the posting of a Cal Poly representative at the site to help the contractor recognize and, hopefully, minimize any potential damage to the canyon area.
State water officials said work at the site could begin as early as next month, depending on weather conditions. The oak trees there have been spray-painted with bright pink dots, symbols that indicate they have been surveyed and approved for removal.
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