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Last November the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers told us that between 1968 and 1998 the sub-tidal (deep water) habitat in Bolinas Lagoon decreased by 33% in area; the inter-tidal habitat (mudflats) stayed about the same in area (although it probably became more shallow); and the emergent marsh (dry land) area increased by 62%!
The only way to reverse this not-so-gradual degradation of our Lagoon is by supporting Marin County and the Corps of Engineers in their Bolinas Lagoon Ecological Restoration Project. They need and deserve our support.
Within a few weeks, the Corps of Engineers will release to Marin County
their analysis of six possible courses of remedial action. The County
has established a panel of habitat experts who will analyze the data and
jointly decide which remedial steps make the most sense, environmentally
and economically. This combination of steps will then be e
valuated
by the Corp's mathematical model, and the preferred plan of action finalized
– probably by late July.
A public meeting will give all interested parties a chance to review and understand the preferred course of action, and comment upon it, both verbally and in writing. The final decision will go into a draft EIR/EIS that will be sent to Corps headquarters in Washington, DC, in November. After HQ review, the Corps will approve the plan, and request funding from Congress for Phase III funding (engineering design and contract bid documents) in mid-2001. Phase III could require as long as 24 months, and if all goes according to plan, physical restoration work will begin in 2004, and be phased over several years to protect the habitat resource we are saving.
As we near these critical events, it might be helpful to recall why the Bolinas Lagoon is so important as an ecological resource. In their Preliminary Analysis for the Lagoon study (1997) the Corps of Engineers said:
"The lagoon is one of Marin County's most significant natural resources. The lagoon tidelands are publicly-owned. ... Along with Drake's Estero and Tomales Bay, Bolinas Lagoon provides an important coastal environment for fish, birds and mammals that is unparalleled along the northern California coast between San Francisco and Humboldt Bays. Open water, mudflat and marsh provide productive and diverse habitats for marine fishes, waterbirds, and marine mammals. Bolinas Lagoon is part of a much larger protected natural habitat complex that is part of or adjoins the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary (GGNMS, Pt. Reyes National Seashore, Golden Gate National Recreation Area, Central California Coast Biosphere Preserve, Mt. Tamalpais State Park, and the Audubon Canyon Ranch Bird Sanctuary."
In 1998, Bolinas Lagoon was designated a Ramsar Site (a Wetland of International Importance) by the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Convention of Wetlands of International Importance. The Bolinas Lagoon Management Plan prepared by Marin County (1996) lists 3 species of amphibians, 23 of birds and 3 of mammals that frequent Bolinas Lagoon and are identified as "rare, threatened or endangered."
More reasons to restore the lagoon
The President of the United States requested $300,000 for the Bolinas Lagoon Restoration Project in his Fiscal Year 2001 Budget, presented to Congress this past February. You can help the President get the budget he requested by writing to Congress. Write to the following members, stressing the environmental importance and significance of Bolinas Lagoon, and your support of the Restoration Project. Thank them for their past support, and ask that the $300,000 be provided for Fiscal Year 2001.
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Through the good works of Assemblymember Kerry Mazzoni and Senator John Burton, the State has contributed $2 million to this project! Marin County has the funds in hand to meet their requirement for the project through 2001. We are going to need another $5 million of support from the State to finish the job. Write to:
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Thank them for their past support, and ask for another $5 million from the State this year!!! Our position for future federal support will be vastly strengthened when the County, the "local partner" in the project, is fully funded.
Be sure to attend the public meeting about the project in August to learn about the proposed corrective action and voice your support for the project.
Your Committee has been busy on other fronts. Later this summer we will have a web site at bolinaslagoon.org. The site will provide current news about the project, with updates as significant milestones are achieved. This will help in our ongoing campaign to keep interested parties informed about the project and its needs; parties in Washington, DC, Marin County, San Francisco, the East Bay and individuals throughout the Bay Area and beyond.
The Bolinas Lagoon Foundation, a California nonprofit public-benefit corporation, has assumed responsibility for our activities. All contributions will be fully deductible from both federal and state income taxes. Gifts may be sent to the Bolinas Lagoon Foundation, P O Box 444, Stinson Beach, CA 94970.
Thank you for your past support of the Bolinas Lagoon Ecological Restoration Project. Stay involved, write your letters of support, and help us preserve Bolinas Lagoon as a healthy tidal estuary!