Nina Gladish

137 Poplar

Kentfield, CA 94904

415-457-7791

May 17, 2001

Cathy Osugi

U. S. Fish & Wildlife Service

911 NE 11th Ave

Portland, OR 97232

Dear Ms. Osugi:

For twenty-five years I’ve lived in Marin County where we’ve raised our four children. We’ve loved living in Marin and for years ignored the increasing traffic and skyrocketing housing prices. Now, however, as our kids start going through college we are increasingly concerned about their ability to live near us. Most of our county is green and scenic, and our family has enjoyed that, but we do not want the greenery we have enjoyed to be expanded any further if it in anyway interferes with having our children live nearby.

You are proposing to put over 17,500 acres of Marin land into a Baylands Refuge. Many politically involved friends believe merely putting that designation on the land will harm the land’s ability to deliver some affordable housing and to provide land that could create solutions to our traffic congestion. For that reason, I register my opposition to your designating any Marin lands as a Baylands Refuge.

If a land owner supports you designating his land as a Refuge, then I support his decision and your decision to put his/her land into your proposed Refuge Boundary. However, if he/she opposes your designating their land as such, then you should respect their cherished property rights.

Is this respect for the property owner’s desire always adhered to by the US Fish and Wildlife Service in their decision making process?

Marin already has 280,000 acres in green space. If our four children were each to buy an average sales priced home in Marin today, they would have to scrape up about $2.8 million dollars. What do think that cost will be 5-10 years from now? How many kids will have that kind of piggy bank to drain?

The North Bay has enough green space. We need more housing and a train. If your Refuge in any way negatively effects our critical needs, you should take your program to those counties where they need to do more to protect endangered species and wildlife. In Marin, we are already protecting the wildlife and endangered species.

Please let me know whether you will abide by the property owners expressed wishes such as those of Canalways, St. Vincent Silveira, the Marin Airport and farm owners in your decision making process.

Sincerely,

Nina Gladish

CC:

Marge Kolar, Project Mgr. USFWS

Mike Spear, Regional Director USF&WS

Dan Ashe, USF&WS , Regional Refuge Director

Charles Houghten, USFWS, National Refuge Director

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