Susan Little
PMB 947 – 1001 Bridgeway
Sausalito, CA 94965
415-332-7543
projectimagine@earthlink.net
April 19, 2001
Congresswoman Lynn
Woolsey
1050 Northgate Drive
San Rafael, CA 94903
Dear Congresswoman
Woolsey:
I am hoping you will
share my outrage at the recent intrusion of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
into Marin County. What I particularly
resent is that they unilaterally decided to place specific properties in their
Bayland Refuge Study, without consulting the property owners or local elected
officials.
I’m also hoping that you will ask USFWS to stop their study and allow
the process to revert to our local jurisdictions so that Marin County can
decide through own planning process whether or not we need a wildlife refuge
and who we want to manage it for us.
Marin County has an
excellent environmental record, and, as you know, has over 85% of its land in
open space – in perpetuity. It’s just
insulting to have USFWS come in and make decisions for an area that has no trouble
taking of its environment by itself.
But even if they
insist upon throwing their weight around, it seems they would at least take
into account the needs of the community before they make their decisions about
which properties to “study.”
Specifically in the cases of the Canalways property and the St.
Vincent’s/Silviera land, critically necessary housing must be placed on
these lands, and no federal agency ought to be able to tell our local officials
“no.”
I know you to be a
thoughtful person of an independent mind and spirit. Is there anything you can do to stop federal agencies,
particularly USFWS, from their arrogance against local governments and
individuals? This situation just has to
stop.
I look forward to
your reply.
Best regards,
Susan Little
CC:
Gale Norton, Department of
Interior
Mel Martinez, U.S. Department
of HUD
Julie Bornstein, California
Dept. of Housing
Bill Pavao, California
Department of Housing
Mike Spear, Regional Director
USF&WS
Dan Ashe, USF&WS , Refuge
Director
San Rafael Chamber
San Rafael Dredge Committee
Senator Boxer
Senator Feinstein
Marin & Sonoma
Supervisors
Bay Planning Coalition
Mayor Al Boro & Council
Members
San Rafael Planning
Department
Assemblyman Joe Nation
North Bay Agricultural
Coalition
Kerner Partners
Novato Council
Marge Kolar, USFWS