Brooks Island/Marina Bay restrictions.
Posted: Mon Jun 04, 2012 9:44 am
All,
The East Bay Parks District, who owns Brooks Island, is considering closing down the entire reach and installing buoys 50 yards out into the channel. That would be the end of our sweet butter spot, see picture below.
What is happening right now (this is from my friend Matt who is the caretaker of the island) is that the Caspian Terns (birds) that are the main reason for the bird sanctuary on the island, have decided to nest further up the reach, beyond the fence line.
If you are interested in trying to save this kite spot, please take action by contacting EBP (Link to EBPD comment page: http://www.ebparks.org/contact) and any one else who may have some influence (I wrote the Mayor of Richmond) as well as tuning in other kiters and getting them to write letters. My letter is below, you may use any part of it. Also my response from the mayor included a contact at EBPD, Mr. Bob Doyl bdoyle@ebparks.org please write him as well.
Thank you
bman
I am writing in response to a conversation I had with the park host at Brooks Island regarding the potential further restrictions of that park and surrounding waterway due to nesting Caspian Terns. As I understand it, EBPD is considering closing access to the remaining section of island. I have a number of protests to this. 1) I live in Marina Bay and this island is one of the reasons I do so. Access to that area for kite boarding, kayaking, fishing, nature walking and sailing is extremely important to me as well as many other people. 2) I cannot find any information that the Caspian Tern deserves special consideration. They are not on the US endangered species list, they are listed as LC by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (Least Concern (LC) is an IUCN category assigned to extant taxon or lower taxa which have been evaluated but do not qualify for any other category. As such they do not qualify as threatened, Near Threatened, or (prior to 2001) Conservation Dependent), and the National Audubon Society lists them “as small population size, otherwise no conservation concern.” 3) If a restriction must be put in place, please make it reasonable and only put it around the nesting Terns and only seasonaly. Their nesting area is very small and very seasonal, not requiring a total restriction of the entire island and waterway.
I remind you of the mission of the East Bay Parks District as quoted from your website:
“We will acquire, develop, manage, and maintain a high quality, diverse system of interconnected parklands which balances public usage and education programs with protection and preservation of our natural and cultural resources.”
The decision to restrict access to the Park does not represent balanced use. Please understand that I am very much in favor of protecting animals and habitat, but humans also deserve consideration.
In closing I request that at the very least, someone from EBPD contact me to discuss this issue. I would hope that in addition, a public meeting or an appeal would be made in a public forum in order to gauge the impact on the local community of any decisions regarding Brooks Island restrictions. EBPD is funded by our tax dollars, it is our land, we deserve a say in how our land is used.
William Beech
15 Sandpoint Dr.
Richmond, CA 94804
CC: Gayle_McLaughlin@officeofthemayor.net
The East Bay Parks District, who owns Brooks Island, is considering closing down the entire reach and installing buoys 50 yards out into the channel. That would be the end of our sweet butter spot, see picture below.
What is happening right now (this is from my friend Matt who is the caretaker of the island) is that the Caspian Terns (birds) that are the main reason for the bird sanctuary on the island, have decided to nest further up the reach, beyond the fence line.
If you are interested in trying to save this kite spot, please take action by contacting EBP (Link to EBPD comment page: http://www.ebparks.org/contact) and any one else who may have some influence (I wrote the Mayor of Richmond) as well as tuning in other kiters and getting them to write letters. My letter is below, you may use any part of it. Also my response from the mayor included a contact at EBPD, Mr. Bob Doyl bdoyle@ebparks.org please write him as well.
Thank you
bman
I am writing in response to a conversation I had with the park host at Brooks Island regarding the potential further restrictions of that park and surrounding waterway due to nesting Caspian Terns. As I understand it, EBPD is considering closing access to the remaining section of island. I have a number of protests to this. 1) I live in Marina Bay and this island is one of the reasons I do so. Access to that area for kite boarding, kayaking, fishing, nature walking and sailing is extremely important to me as well as many other people. 2) I cannot find any information that the Caspian Tern deserves special consideration. They are not on the US endangered species list, they are listed as LC by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (Least Concern (LC) is an IUCN category assigned to extant taxon or lower taxa which have been evaluated but do not qualify for any other category. As such they do not qualify as threatened, Near Threatened, or (prior to 2001) Conservation Dependent), and the National Audubon Society lists them “as small population size, otherwise no conservation concern.” 3) If a restriction must be put in place, please make it reasonable and only put it around the nesting Terns and only seasonaly. Their nesting area is very small and very seasonal, not requiring a total restriction of the entire island and waterway.
I remind you of the mission of the East Bay Parks District as quoted from your website:
“We will acquire, develop, manage, and maintain a high quality, diverse system of interconnected parklands which balances public usage and education programs with protection and preservation of our natural and cultural resources.”
The decision to restrict access to the Park does not represent balanced use. Please understand that I am very much in favor of protecting animals and habitat, but humans also deserve consideration.
In closing I request that at the very least, someone from EBPD contact me to discuss this issue. I would hope that in addition, a public meeting or an appeal would be made in a public forum in order to gauge the impact on the local community of any decisions regarding Brooks Island restrictions. EBPD is funded by our tax dollars, it is our land, we deserve a say in how our land is used.
William Beech
15 Sandpoint Dr.
Richmond, CA 94804
CC: Gayle_McLaughlin@officeofthemayor.net
