1994 RESOLUTIONS
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| 12 | |
POINT REYES NATIONAL SEASHORE EXPANSION
PROTECTION BILL RESOLUTION |
| A plan to extend the size
of the Point Reyes National Seashore has been introduced in Congress by
California Senator Barbara Boxer, and by Representative Lynn Woolsey of
Petaluma, California. On July 14th, the measure got a boost
at a hearing before the House Subcommittee on Public Lands, in which
supporters praised the proposal as a "major step forward." |
||
| The proposal is an
innovative plan for protecting 36,000 acres of largely hillside grazing
land, and shoreline land located on the east side of Tomales Bay in
Marin County, California. |
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| |
Tomales Bay is a scenic
salt-water arm of the Pacific Ocean, about a mile wide and sixteen
miles long. The bay's waters are among the cleanest in the
U.S. It lies in a narrow valley, with hills on the east and the
west. The western hills form Point Reyes National Seashore, and
shoreline State Park beaches. Directly opposite, across the Bay,
are the pastoral eastern hills. These are sparsely occupied by
dairy and cattle ranches, along with some clamming operations, and
some homes along the bay's shoreline. |
|
| |
Commencing north from the
town of Point Reyes Station about 28 miles, to Bodega Bay, the
expansion proposal would create a narrow protected band from the Bay
Shore to the tops of the hills, and somewhat east. The proposal
would head-off developments on the drawing board for the east side of
Tomales Bay. Such development proposals have ranged from massive
golf courses, to proposals to expand seven-fold a West Marin landfill,
to conventional proposals for housing, and also Indian-operated Bingo
casino facilities. |
|
| The proposal would permit
a non-profit entity, the Marin County Agricultural Land Trust, to work
with the federal government to purchase the developments rights to the
land, rather than have the federal government purchase the land
outright. The land would still remain on the tax rolls.
Land inside the Point Reyes Seashore Expansion would remain much as it
is today; there would still be the same ranchers and property in
private hands, but no new development. |
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| "Purchasing land outright"
officials say "would cost a quarter billion dollars", under the
proposed measure, only $30 to $50 million is required to support the
expansion. |
||
| The Federation of
Western
Outdoor Clubs urges all FWOC Members and Member Clubs to contact their
respective federal legislators in support of the Point Reyes National
Seashore Expansion and Protection Bill. |
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