2024.08.01 | Boardwalk Construction Begins on West Ranch
As has been reported in the cambriaca, Friends of the Fiscalini Ranch Preserve is constructing a boardwalk to link the Bluff and Marine Terrace (fire road) trails. The project will begin on July 31 and last up to seven weeks, although it may be complete in as few as three weeks. The contractor, QuinCon, is the same company that rebuilt the boardwalk on Moonstone Beach. In addition to their crew, biological and archeological monitors will be on site from time to time. Traffic and noise will necessarily increase during construction and the existing path will be closed. FFRP apologize for that and ask for the community’s patience.
No construction materials will be stored on the fire road. The Cambria Fire Department and Cambria Community Services District helped with construction planning. QuinCon will store construction materials uphill of where the existing path meets the fire road. The port-a-potty and crew parking will be there as well.
The new boardwalk will be approximately 1,100 feet long, six feet wide, and designed to look like the existing Bluff Trail boardwalk. The walkway should be three feet or less above ground, but it will be above the existing grade in places so that it can gain elevation while remaining at a low slope.
Not only will the walkway connect the Ranch’s two most popular trails, but it will close an accessible loop, providing a route for visitors who appreciate a gentle incline on their walks. The elevated boardwalk will also protect the rare coastal prairie habitat found on the south end of the Ranch. Amazingly, the native grasses here survived 100 years of cattle and dairy ranching and continue to provide habitat for native animals.
Private donations to Friends of the Fiscalini Ranch Preserve support this project. No public funds are involved, and all the funding is in hand. FFRP is also offering dedicated plaques along the new boardwalk to establish an endowment for future public access and trail maintenance projects.
Once the boardwalk is complete and the old path restored with native coastal prairie grasses, the whole project will be handed over to the Cambria Community Services District. It is FFRP’s gift to the community and a start to our 25th anniversary celebration of the saving of the Ranch in 2000.
If you have any questions, please contact Kitty Connolly at: 805-927-2856 or kitty (at) ffrpcambria.org.
Article first published in https://cambriaca.org/