Tighe O'Sullivan

Marin Athletic Coalition

161 Humboldt St. San Rafael, CA 94901

415-461-7861

5/29/01

Marshall Jones

Acting Director, Fish and Wildlife Service

Department of the Interior

18th & C St. NW

Washington D.C., 20240

Dear Mr. Jones,

As an advisor to the Marin Athletic Coalition I am writing to strongly urge you to suspend the current wildlife refuge study being conducted by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service in Marin County, California. At this time more than 84% of the land in our community is protected. I am writing to inform you that we have a need in our community, which is far greater than further open space and parkland. At this time where land has become so scarce I need to inform you that we need greater athletic facilities in Marin County.

Our community is based within a series of small mountains, and rolling hills. Almost all flat land is already developed or protected. At this time our community is involved in a crisis where our athletic fields, and facilities are extremely overused. Sports like Lacrosse, Field Hockey, Rugby, and Cricket do not have a single field which to call their own. Soccer, the most popular sport in the community, has three and sometimes four teams practicing on the same field. Efforts to build new fields are a constant, but available land in our hilly community makes it very difficult. We will soon run out of options, and if this wildlife refuge happens, we would loose all options for our thriving athletic community.

I am writing to you representing one of the largest groups of unrepresented people in America, and definitely the largest in our community of Marin County. I represent the families with kids, who have constant worries about their children, our leaders of tomorrow. The Marin Athletic Coalition has been working for more than ten years to build an athletic facility in Marin County to fulfill the overall athletic needs of now and tomorrow. We unfortunately are constantly at odds with the environmental community in our area even when we bring forth proposals that would highly enhance land environmentally and socially. As a donating environmentalist I am extremely taken aback by the tactics and strategies, which only a handful of extremely organized people use to achieve they environmental agenda. These representatives of the environment are not representing the needs of our community. I have not met one who even has a kid who is young enough to be affected by our crisis; therefore they have no sensitivity to just how dire our situation really is.

• I would like to know why our government feels it is necessary to come into our community uninvited by the masses, and decide what we should do with the land?
• I would also like to know why the government couldn’t allow our community to continue its land use planning, which in some cases has been going on for 20 years?
• Please tell me how the Department of the Interior will address our problems in recreation if you are to continue with this wildlife refuge study?

• What logical reason can you give the parents, of the thousands of kids, for killing our chances of securing the necessary land to take care of our current athletic needs, and those of the future?

You must understand, the land which is best for us is there, and has been for over 100 years. We simply want to turn hay into grass, while also building an elaborate fresh and salt water marsh system using a nearby-reclaimed water supply. Our plan is based upon the Arcata Marsh and Wildlife Sanctuary in Northern California. On top of that we would like it to be bordered by baylands marsh.

This would help our community not only to conserve water by watering with effluent water, but would also save us money on water for the fields. We understand the need for greater marshlands in our bay, but the extremist attitude taken by this small group who pushed this study through is outrageous and wrong. We want to enhance the land for the betterment of the community.

I request the determination for a wildlife refuge be turned back to the local governing bodies of the City of Novato, San Rafael, Corte Madera, and Marin County to determine the need and scope. None of these elected officials requested nor were consulted about the idea of a wildlife refuge. The fact that none of our elected officials or any of the property owners were brought into the process before a study was commenced has resulted in a highly volatile situation. I believe it is highly inappropriate for the USFWS to usurp the local planning process.

I respectfully request the termination of any USFWS study of a wildlife refuge in Marin County on all the lands you have designated until invited to do so by the local governing bodies impacted. Our organization particularly requests you remove the Wildlife Mapping designation on St. Vincent Silveira and Canalways lands. Both of these sites have tremendous potential to address the too-long unmet recreational needs of children.

Sincerely,

Tighe O’Sullivan

Tighe O'Sullivan

Marin Athletic Coalition

President Club Marin Soccer

P.S. I DID NOT EVEN MENTION THE EVEN GREATER NEED OF THE ADULT POPULATION, WHICH CLEARLY COMES BEHIND OUR COMMUNITIES CHILDREN.

CC

Gale Norton, Department of Interior

Julie Bornstein, Cal. Housing Dept.

Bill Pavao, Cal. Dept. Housing

Mel Martinez, U.S. Department of HUD

Marge Kolar, Project Mgr. USFWS

Mike Spear, Regional Director USF&WS

Dan Ashe, USF&WS , Regional Refuge Director

Cathy Osugi, USFWS

Novato Council

San Rafael Chamber

Congresswoman Woolsey

Senators Feinstein & Boxer

Marin & Sonoma Supervisors

Bay Planning Coalition

San Rafael Council Members

Assemblyman Joe Nation