Representatives of the Coastal Habitat Education and Enviromental Restoration (CHEER) group placed signs at Silva's Crossing near Christmas Hill Park to draw attention to a city practice they belived was illegal. The practice of placing tree trimmings in

A small protest by environmentalists at Silva’s Crossing in Christmas Hill Park earlier this month helped spur city officials into action after the group shined a spotlight on piles of tree trimmings left on trails near Uvas Creek by Gilroy city officials.
That spotlight led to the arrival of state authorities, who after meeting with city employees, worked out a deal to have the piles moved away from the creekbed.
It all started with a phone call to California Department of Fish and Wildlife from local environmentalist Herman Garcia.
President of the Coastal Habitat Education and Environmental Restoration group, CHEER, Garcia said he called the local game warden, concerned that city officials left tree trimmings too close to the creek. They could have entered the waterway and caused a variety of environmental problems, he said.
According to Game Warden Tyson Quintal, the tree trimmings and wood chips were in some cases placed within 150-feet of the high water mark of the creek in violation of statewide environmental code.
“If we have any rains, that creek is going to get a lot bigger and go up to where to those trails (along the creek) are,” Quintal said. “Wood chips float and they put a lot of them down there. We didn’t want that to be getting in the waterway and clogging it up.”
Trimmings were placed in piles along miles of hiking trails and bike paths in early April, waiting to be scattered by volunteers this weekend, Parks Supervisor Bill Headley explained.
It’s been the city’s long-standing practice to use wood chips as a surface medium on trails, as they help keep the weeds down and provide a comfortable surface for outdoor enthusiasts. But newer, statewide regulations adopted by Fish and Wildlife—aimed at keeping creek systems clean—have caused the city to reconsider the trail policy within the vicinity of Uvas Creek.
On April 22, Smelser said the piles have all been moved outside of the boundaries established by Fish and Wildlife.
“We now have an understanding with them on how to deal with chips in the future,” Smelser said. “We’ve worked very closely with Fish and Wildlife, and it’s always our intention to do that; we want to be in sync with what they’d like us to do.”
‘No harm, no foul’
Though the piles were technically placed in violation of state environmental code, Quintal said it was a “no harm, no foul” type of situation since the debris didn’t manage to make its way into the waterway.
Still, Garcia said he’s unhappy with city officials.
“This is unacceptable behavior,” he said.
Though Garcia is not a regulator, CHEER and his band of volunteers work with state agencies like the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Santa Clara Valley Water District to preserve local habitat and protect the endangered steelhead trout population.
A longtime Gilroy resident, Garcia said he’s been working with city officials for years helping the city comply with always changing environmental regulations.
He organized the protest, comprised of one other volunteer and a handful of signs bearing slogans like “City stop destruction” and “Gilroy abuses preserve” along Miller Avenue at Silva’s Crossing to show city officials he’s done playing nice.
“I saved their hides a number of times,” Garcia said. “But I’m done playing games with these guys.”
Had the city not cleaned up the debris piles, he said the wood chips and tree trimmings could have entered the waterway following a rain.
“When that stuff works its way into the water, it dissolves the oxygen. It becomes biomass that rots and eventually creates an algae bloom,” Garcia said, adding that can ultimately reach spawning beds and smother the federally protected species.
According to Quintal, the city agreed to relocate the piles away from the creek before any potential damage to the environment occurred.
“Was the city in violation? Yes,” he said. “But if that can be remediated without causing an environmental problem it’s better to have them agree to take it out.”

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