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by P. E. Mitchell
CAL POLY -- President Warren Baker upped the ante this week in an effort to stop a water pipeline from being built through a stand of old oak trees on campus.
Baker met Monday with the chief deputy director of the state Department of Water Resources in what has become a university-wide defense of three dozen oaks in Stenner Creek Canyon. a remote area on the northwestern portion of the campus, according to Bill Boldt, Cal Poly's vice president of institutional advancement.
Although one university committee's plea to water officials to re-route the pipeline was rejected last month, Boldt said Baker hopes his direct involvement in the discussions will get water officials to reconsider sparing the oaks, some of which may be 200 to 300 years old.
Baker, who was in Sacramento on unrelated university business Tuesday, will attempt to meet today with David N. Kennedy, the water resources department's chief executive.
"We know that President Baker is in town and we will try to meet with him (today)," said Kennedy during a brief telephone interview late Tuesday.
Kennedy, however, said that Baker may not want to hear what he has to say. "We're willing to consider a possible re-alignment, but at this time I don't think it's likely." Kennedy said. "We're already facing severe project delays and mounting costs."
Although Baker could not be reached for comment Tuesday, he emphasized in a recent letter to Kennedy that the pipeline should be rerouted away from Stenner Creek Canyon. In the letter, Baker stated that the pipeline's proposed route would threaten both the oaks and the canyon's sensitive natural habitat.
Baker added that the university also objects to the pipeline's route because the area is used as a natural laboratory for the biological sciences and natural resources management departmentsÑ the latter of which offers the only hardwood management course in the western United States. "It should be obvious, then. that protecting this land and the oak trees that are part of the university's learn-by-doing academic emphasis is extremely important," Baker stated.
Steven Marx, a Cal Poly associate professor of English and an organizer in the effort to save the oaks, said he is pleased by Baker's personal involvement in the controversy. "President Baker's prompt and strong engagement on this matter has been extremely gratifying." said Marx. "I think by getting personally involved he is sending a signal (to state water officials) that Cal Poly is unified on this matter from the top down."
On Saturday, Marx and other Cal Poly professors led a hike through Stenner Creek Canyon to expose members of the public to the pristine natural environment and the stately oaks. The event was attended by about 100 people.
The section of the pipeline proposed to run through the canyon is part of a 100-mile offshoot of the California Aqueduct. Barring inclement weather, construction on the pipeline in Stenner Creek Canyon is scheduled to begin this month. Completion is expected sometime in November.
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