By Torre Peña
The West Valley-Mission Community College District Board of Trustees will determine the fate of West Valley College's wetlands project on Oct. 3. If approved, the project would add 1.2 acres to the state's wetlands.
The proposal mitigates the removal of about a half-acre of wetlands habitat near Quarry Creek eight years ago, when the area was filled in to stabilize a landslide area.
Satisfying the U.S. Department of Fish and Game requirement that three times the original area lost be replaced, West Valley College was chosen, because the site is large enough. The project would augment existing wetlands located at the south end of campus near the tennis courts.
"There are benefits for both the city and the college so it looks like a win-win situation," said Greig Rose, chairman of West Valley's Biology Department.
"We use the campus as an outdoor lab; so, insofar as we can increase the amount of diverse habitat on campus--so there are more birds, plants and animals--that's better for our students. The campus is used by biology students, landscape architecture students, art students, and parks management students," Rose added.
The major stumbling block the project faces is the presence of a feral cat population and the people who feed them. More than two dozen feral cats, originating from cats dumped on campus in the past, live near the proposed wetlands site.
Some residents living near campus oppose their proposed removal, because they fear the wild cats will be euthanized.
"Here we have a small group dictating policy, saying you can't have [the] native plants and animals you need for your education, because we want to do our special-interest cat feeding project. I don't think it's fair for a small number of special-interest people to tell a large number of students how this campus ought to be used," Rose said, "but I sympathize with their concern for the cats. They're generally diseased, generally short-lived and generally poorly fed."
Tom Green, dean of budget and planning, said: "We have a cat problem whether or not we proceed with the project."
West Valley has a written policy against feeding the cats. There have been two incidents when cats attacked people who thought the cats were tame, Green said.
The cats are also problematic because they reduce the diversity of native wildlife in the area by hunting birds and small animals.
Jeffrey Schwartz, a resident living near campus, is concerned over the lack of public information about the project. "The college has been in secret meetings with the city of Saratoga and is trying to go through without an environmental review," he said.
Schwartz said information about the project has not been forthcoming, and he worries that wetlands may attract mosquitoes.
Rose said the excavation would create a graded slope area, which would be inundated with water only during certain times of the year. Creating the lowland area and planting it with native species will actually improve drainage for surrounding areas like the baseball field that have had poor runoff in the past, he said.
"We are not talking about adding existing water or pools or standing water to the college. Wetland doesn't mean wet. Wetland means that when you have a big storm, water may rise that high temporarily, then drain back down," Rose said.
Arne Lunde, president of the board of trustees, is leaning toward supporting the project: "As of now, I am in favor of the project--to return the trees and grasses to their native California state."
This article appeared in the Los Gatos Weekly-Times, September 25, 1996.
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