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Ann Thomas: Baylands Corridor is essential
High on the list of benchmarks would be adoption of a Baylands Corridor. Marin environmentalists have long promoted this strategy to recognize the importance of protecting the environmental resources of our bayshore marshes and uplands, and to limit development on unstable soils. The Baylands Corridor will be considered at a county Planning Commission hearing on March 5. Marin's first Countywide Plan in 1973 initiated corridors as a basic organizing principle of land use. They are based on geographic and environmental characteristics, with natural boundaries formed by north-south ridges and each has a primary purpose: - The Coastal Corridor for federal parkland, recreation and agriculture. - The Inland Rural Corridor for agriculture. - The City-Centered Corridor along Highway 101 for urban development. The proposed Baylands Corridor would carve out of the City-Centered Corridor lands now known to be important repositories of natural resources. These are large undeveloped parcels extending east of Highway 101 to the Bay and include tidal marshes, diked lands that were once wetlands or part of the Bay, and largely undeveloped adjacent upland habitats. Many are below sea level and lie on Bay mud. County staff recommends corridor boundaries encompassing all of the St. Vincent's School for Boys and Silveira Ranch lands to Highway 101, including uplands that extend the ecological value of the marshes and are important community separators between San Rafael and Novato. Campaign for Marin, a task force of Marin environmental groups, also supports extending the boundary all the way to Highway 101 north of Novatoto the Sonoma County line. New maps from the Bay Conservation and Development Commission show that sea level rise is no longer debatable. And a study just released by the San Francisco Estuary Institute documents what should be intuitive: the interdependence of habitats and species. "Ecological Connections between Baylands and Uplands: Examples from Marin," published in January, emphasizes the "ecological connectivity" between marshes that fringe the bay and the oak woodlands, grasslands, creeks and seasonal wetlands that are next to, and upland from, the bayshore. Senior scientists from a variety of disciplines participated in the study, reviewing maps of historical and modern habitats and summarizing natural histories of representative wildlife to illustrate how they connect the bayshore and upland landscape into one ecological whole. The report states: "Avoid further losses of wildlife habitat. Given the fragmentation of the bayshore landscape that has already happened, and the likely demands for habitat relating to climate change and especially sea level rise, any further loss of habitat could significantly reduce future chances to secure vital, sustainable ecosystems along the Marin bayshore." Staff and consultants who prepared the plan's Environmental Impact Report recommend adoption of a comprehensive Baylands Corridor. It has been a long time coming, but science has weighed in to say that what's right for the environment is right for the planet and all its inhabitants. It's time to plan for the future and adopt the Baylands Corridor. Ann Thomas is a member of Campaign for Marin, a task force of environmental groups seeking to strengthen protections in the Countywide Plan |
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