It ain’t over till it’s over…. 

Yogi

 

In February of 2002 the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service released five Proposed Marin Baylands National Wildlife Refuge Alternatives.  By April 5thpublic comments are due back to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service on which alternative you prefer.  They will use those comments to release their Draft Plan to the public in the Summer of 2002.  If you haven’t responded, you must do so in the next two weeks.

 

A sample of my letter follows.  Please copy, adding your own words and concerns, and express your choice of alternatives and send your letter. The five ‘Alternatives’ are summarized after my letter and a sample draft letter.

 

A sample of the letter I will send follows:

 

Dwayne Hunn

359 Jean St.

Mill Valley, Ca 94941

415-383-7880, 383-0806 (fax) attila@myexcel.com

3-21-02

 

Cathy Osugi, Wildlife Biologist

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (NWRS/RPL)

911 NE 11th Avenue

Portland, Oregon 97232-4181

Fax: (503) 231-6161

 

Re: Marin Baylands Proposed Alternatives

 

Dear Ms. Osugi:

 

Having been involved with developing affordable housing, transit solutions and land development in Marin for over 20 years, I write urging you to implement Alternative 5 (no action). 

 

Too often groups assuming an environmental banner have used innocent and well-intentioned government programs, such as yours, to harass logical, well-intentioned land development.  The hassles continue for so long that the chance to provide affordable housing and environmentally sound, oil-saving, transit solutions disappears in the prolonged political fray. 

 

Any lands you put into the well-intentioned Marin Baylands category will suffer a similar fate.  Therefore, I urge you to support the no-action Alternative 5 and use the money saved to improve your program in other areas during this budget tightening time.  We live in an era where keeping police and firemen affordably housed near to their work and reducing our reliance on foreign oil is especially important.  Alternative 5 allows that to happen more easily than any other proposal.

 

If unfortunately you do not choose Alternative 5, I hope you choose Alternative 1 and leave all the large parcels, such as St. Vincent’s / Silveira and Canalways, which have the potential to address some of Marin’s critical housing and transit needs, unencumbered.

 

Sincerely,

 

 

Dwayne Hunn

 

The five proposed draft alternatives are:

 

Alternative 1 is approximately 3,655 acres, is the smallest of the Marin Baylands alternatives and is the minimum land area for refuge management purposes. Alternative 1 is a contiguous block of habitat including Bel Marin Keys V, a portion of the former Hamilton Army Airfield, wastewater spray fields, and St. Vincent’s/Silveira properties east of the railroad tracks.

 

Alternative 2 is approximately 4,396 acres and includes all land in alternative 1 plus the wetlands of McGinnis Park, Santa Venetia Marsh Open Space Preserve, the tidal marsh north of China Camp State Park, the tidal marsh at the San Rafael Quarry, and tidelands south of Quarry.

 

Alternative 3 is approximately 5,924 acres and includes all land in alternative 2 plus the State Lands Commission antenna field north of Bel Marin Keys, seasonal marshes west of Deer Island Open Space Preserve, and seasonal marshes in the Olive Avenue/Atherton Avenue area, wetlands of Bahia and Rush Creek Open Space Preserve, and seasonal wetlands west of Rush Creek Open Space Preserve and north of Bahia.

 

Alternative 4 is approximately 8,424 acres and includes all land in alternative 3 plus the uplands of Bahia and Deer Island Open Space Preserve, spray fields and seasonal wetlands north of Highway 37, spray fields and uplands south of Highway 37, Pacheco Pond and diked bayland north of the Pond, tidal marsh and diked bayland along the San Rafael shoreline, tidal marsh and baylands near the Corte Madera Ecological Reserve, tidal marsh in and near Bothin Marsh Open Space Preserve, and a small marsh east of the Richardson Bay bridge.

 

Alternative 5 is the no-action alternative. The Marin Baylands National Wildlife Refuge would not be established. Future protection or development within wildlife habitats would be regulated through existing land-use regulatory controls administered by local agencies, Marin County the State California and Federal agencies.

 

It’s not over till it’s over…

In order to continue having an impact on the final plan proposed for the Baylands, you need to continue making you desires known via mail, fax, phone.  (The USFWS has had its internet connection disconnected due to a court mandate).

 

How Do you Provide Comments?

We encourage you to comment on the preliminary alternatives. Please send written comments by April 5,2002, via mail or fax to:

 

Cathy Osugi, Wildlife Biologist

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (NWRS/RPL)

911 NE 11th Avenue

Portland, Oregon 97232-4181

Fax: (503) 231-6161

 

If you would like your letter posted on the Canalways web site where you can refer others to see it and copy it, send it as an attachment to Dwayne Hunn (attila@myexcel.com) and I will post it on the Canalways website: (https://canalways.tripod.com/).

 

Simple suggested letter:

 

To Cathy Osugi:

 

Write your personal feelings on the alternatives and your property. 

 

Then list the alternatives and rank them in your order of preference.  (For example, some strongly feel that the federal government should leave the land use controls to existing local and state agencies.  Their letter, and you letter, should include a ranking of alternatives, such as:)

 

This is my recommendation as to which alternative you should use in rank preference.

 

Rank- first through fifth preference      Alternatives offered

1                                                                                                                             Alternative 5   no action

2                                                                                                                             Alternative 1 -- 3,655 acres

3                                                                                                                             Alternative 2 -- 4,396 acres

4                                                                                                                             Alternative 3 – 5,924 acres

5                                                                                                                             Alternative 4 – 8,424 acres

 

Or you might say something like: 

Alternative 5 is my first preference. Thereafter, only Alternative 1 is acceptable to me.

 

Please keep me informed on these issues of concern

 

Sincerely

 

Joe & Mary Smith

 

More information on the Marin Baylands project is available at the Canalways Web Page https://canalways.tripod.com/