Nature Flows a Tad Too Near John Muir
By Corey Lyons
Contra Costa Newspapers
Sept. 28, 2003
John Muir, the long-bearded naturalist and 19th-century explorer, once said, "Come to the woods, for here is rest."
Alas, Muir's final resting place near the trees of a southern Martinez fruit orchard is in the crosshairs of an occasional nasty flood.
In the past, the fierce lashings of Mother Nature have sent sheets of water racing off an oak-studded hillside and toward this humble grave site along the banks of Alhambra Creek.
The sporadic overflow has swept through the storm-weary nearby Strentzel Lane neighborhood, a place residents jokingly call the River Strentzel.
A coalition of agencies and volunteer activists is trying to tame the floods that have ravaged the area for decades.
"We've all been plowing ahead," said Igor Skaredoff, of Friends of Alhambra Creek, a volunteer group.
A key part of the project is the underground installation by county workers of a 5-foot-diameter pipe 700 feet long. This culvert will capture runoff from Mount Wanda and funnel it into the creek.
The pipe will cross under Alhambra Valley Road, twist through the neighborhood and past Muir's granite tombstone, which is in a 1-acre plot owned by the National Park Service.
"This is not a flood control project; it is a flood reduction project," said Glenn Fuller, superintendent for the John Muir National Historic Site in Martinez.
In the end, neighbors hope they will be able to stop stacking sandbags and Muir and his relatives will rest in peace near a pear orchard planted by the famed conservationist himself in the 1890s.
The entire project will cost about $500,000, which includes a $170,000 state grant from the Water Resources Control Board.
"The erosion potential is being greatly reduced," said Mitch Avalon, deputy public works director for Contra Costa County. He said the pipe project will probably be finished in late October.
In November 2000, the National Park Service bought the Strentzel-Muir graveyard, which is closed to the public. Plans call for a shuttle service to start next year that will ferry visitors from the John Muir National Historic Site to the grave, about a mile south.
Muir, who died in 1914, is buried near his wife in a tiny plot, which is shaded by trees and ringed by a chain-link fence. His legend is not recognized on the modest headstone, which reads simply: "John Muir, born Dunbar, Scotland, April 21, 1838. Died Dec. 24, 1914."
The largest headstone is the one for Muir's father-in-law, Dr. John Strentzel, and his wife, Louisiana.
Fuller, of the park service, said the federal agency paid $72,000 toward the pipe project to ensure the culvert is installed underground.
"We want to preserve the cultural landscape of the pear trees that Muir planted, to retain the parkland effect," he said. "As for the grave site, this pipe puts the water in the creek, just below the graves, and it will help with the erosion of the bank."
Contra Costa Newspapers
Sept. 28, 2003
John Muir, the long-bearded naturalist and 19th-century explorer, once said, "Come to the woods, for here is rest."
Alas, Muir's final resting place near the trees of a southern Martinez fruit orchard is in the crosshairs of an occasional nasty flood.
In the past, the fierce lashings of Mother Nature have sent sheets of water racing off an oak-studded hillside and toward this humble grave site along the banks of Alhambra Creek.
The sporadic overflow has swept through the storm-weary nearby Strentzel Lane neighborhood, a place residents jokingly call the River Strentzel.
A coalition of agencies and volunteer activists is trying to tame the floods that have ravaged the area for decades.
"We've all been plowing ahead," said Igor Skaredoff, of Friends of Alhambra Creek, a volunteer group.
A key part of the project is the underground installation by county workers of a 5-foot-diameter pipe 700 feet long. This culvert will capture runoff from Mount Wanda and funnel it into the creek.
The pipe will cross under Alhambra Valley Road, twist through the neighborhood and past Muir's granite tombstone, which is in a 1-acre plot owned by the National Park Service.
"This is not a flood control project; it is a flood reduction project," said Glenn Fuller, superintendent for the John Muir National Historic Site in Martinez.
In the end, neighbors hope they will be able to stop stacking sandbags and Muir and his relatives will rest in peace near a pear orchard planted by the famed conservationist himself in the 1890s.
The entire project will cost about $500,000, which includes a $170,000 state grant from the Water Resources Control Board.
"The erosion potential is being greatly reduced," said Mitch Avalon, deputy public works director for Contra Costa County. He said the pipe project will probably be finished in late October.
In November 2000, the National Park Service bought the Strentzel-Muir graveyard, which is closed to the public. Plans call for a shuttle service to start next year that will ferry visitors from the John Muir National Historic Site to the grave, about a mile south.
Muir, who died in 1914, is buried near his wife in a tiny plot, which is shaded by trees and ringed by a chain-link fence. His legend is not recognized on the modest headstone, which reads simply: "John Muir, born Dunbar, Scotland, April 21, 1838. Died Dec. 24, 1914."
The largest headstone is the one for Muir's father-in-law, Dr. John Strentzel, and his wife, Louisiana.
Fuller, of the park service, said the federal agency paid $72,000 toward the pipe project to ensure the culvert is installed underground.
"We want to preserve the cultural landscape of the pear trees that Muir planted, to retain the parkland effect," he said. "As for the grave site, this pipe puts the water in the creek, just below the graves, and it will help with the erosion of the bank."
posted by Corey at 8:29 PM
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