Mountain Lion Spotted in Ben Lomond
March 20, 2010
Ben Lomond Wildlife Series #05 |
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| Mountain Lion |
While driving home at around 10 PM on March 20, 2010, Lomond Terrace resident Jerry Glass was surprised to see a mountian lion cross the street in front of his vehicle.
The location of the sighting was just after turing off of HWY 9 and driving up Park about 300 feet. If you encounter a mountain lion here are some things you should know.
If you can manage to ignore the annoying fake bear sounds, here is a video of a mountain lion vs. a bear.
See other wildlife spotted near our homes in our Lomond Terrace WIldlife section.
Photo © Getty Images |
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Jerry Glass, Joe Busa and of course Michael Saunders (Road Association President)fix the crumbling Pillar on ValleyView and Crossbow Way. Years ago, Joe owned much of this area. He installed these Pillars at a time when Crossbow was just an entrance to his backyard. Now its a street that loops around and connects with Flintlock and then Park. Now in his eighties, Joe still lives on the opposite corner, mows his own lawn, and is always quick to lend a helping hand.
2008 Wildfires Continue to Impact Valley Residents
By Michael Saunders
When the smoke cleared from last year's wildfires, and the sound of sirens, helicopters, and air tankers subsided we all breathed a sigh of relief and thought, "Whew, glad that's over!"
Not so fast. The amount of land that burned in Santa Cruz County last year is a tiny fraction of the total acreage that is susceptible to ignition and statistically overdue for a wild land fire.
Local and state fire fighters are aware of the danger. Insurance companies are aware of the danger. Now, they are going to start making residents in these high fire hazard areas aware of the danger, and the cost of protecting our homes.
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As those of us who carry a mortgage are keenly aware, a homeowner's policy with a fire replacement clause is required by most lenders.
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The first residents of Lomond Terrace to be directly affected by this change in policy were Lenny Cozzolino and Molly "Moran" Cozzolino of 870 Valley View Rd. Their home is near the top of the hill, two thirds of the way up Valley View Rd. It is now easily recognizable as one of the very few homes in our neighborhood in compliance with state mandated fire clearances. If you are one of the many people in our neighborhood that hike that part of the road you will have noticed their classic mountain cabin style home reappear out of the trees and brush after many years of being nearly invisible.
The Cozzolinos were motivated to hire a local tree service to clear their land of hazardous trees and brush by their homeowners insurance carrier. In this case, Allstate refused to insure their home unless they met State Fire Clearance Code. As those of us who carry a mortgage are keenly aware, a homeowner's policy with a fire replacement clause is required by most lenders.
Insurance companies have lost hundreds of millions if not billions of dollars in California wild land fires in the past few years. They are no longer willing to absorb the cost of insuring homes they feel are not fire safe.
The Cozzolinos hired Riccobana's Tree Service to do the bulk of the clearing and tree removal.
All of the brush was either removed or cut to below knee height in a large area around the home. The majority of small trees in the yard were also removed, with only a few well-spaced specimen trees left for appearance's sake. (Continued-->)
French, Scotch or Spanish Broom? 