URGENT -- Park Poised to Reject Pond Restoration Project
Thursday, April 7, 2011 at 2:09PM TO EMAIL SUPERVISOR TISSIER, SEE BELOW
Dear Friends and Supporters,
Thank you for the emails you have sent to Supervisor Tissier. We have been in communication with her office, and it seems that the project is now getting a serious look. However, the Water Board, the plaintiff in the Clean Water Act suit, from which the $100,000 project money comes, has decided that if San Mateo County cannot give preliminary approval by April 29th, they will find another project for the money.
Last winter San Bruno Mountain Watch was chosen restore one of the shallow ponds in the Bog Area of San Bruno Mountain, as part of a Clean Water Act settlement. (The City of San Bruno violated the CWA, and they need to fund a project as part of their settlement.) This project would improve the water quality flowing into SF Bay, and provide habitat for more species, including wetland plants, insects, amphibians, reptiles and birds. In our long-term vision, this pond would be one of several on the mountain that would support the threatened red-legged frog and the endangered San Francisco Garter Snake.
The San Mateo County Department of Parks originally said agreed in concept in November, 2010, then said “no” in February, and finally, in March, gave SBMW a list of 11 approvals that would be needed, in addition to the permits that would be required once the park gives approval (i.e., San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board, US Army Corps of Engineers, California Department of Fish & Game, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service). At this date, the time for securing this project funding is very short. If you would like more background on this issue, links to the relevant documents are below.
Your letters are still needed. Please write to Supervisor Tissier, thanking her for her interest in this project, and urging her to speed up the process so that this project money will end up enhancing San Bruno Mountain. An email form is included below, along with sample text.
Educators and students -- your letters may be especially helpful, as this project would include educational opportunities.
The pond enhancement project would improve the mountain’s biodiversity, provide educational opportunities for schools, and increase community involvement through the volunteer effort needed to do the project. This project is fully in line with the San Bruno Mountain County Park Master Plan, which calls for the stewardship of natural resources and biodiversity.
Here are links to the supporting documentation from San Mateo County and San Bruno Mountain Watch:
Supplemental Environmental Project Description
List of County Requirements given to SBMW on March 2, 2011
Letter from Gary Lockman, Superintendent Department of Parks to SBMW
HCP In Relationship to Bog Enhancement Project
Letter from SBMW to Gary Lockman, Superintendent Department of Parks
SMBW has been trying to negotiate with the parks department about this for a couple months, and is now appealing to County Supervisor Adrienne Tissier (District 5) for help. Please help us by writing a brief email to Supervisor Tissier in support of this project. The key points to stress are outlined below.
Thanks,
Ken McIntire, San Bruno Mountain Watch
Click here to send an email to County Supervisor Tissier -- -- urging her to advocate on behalf of the Pond Enhancement Project. Please copy us on it too -- sanbruno@mountainwatch.org. Here are some key points:
•Thanks for the interest Supervisor Tissier has shown
•This Bog Pond Enhancement Project has many environmental, educational and social benefits.
•The Department is undergoing budget cuts and has no money of its own to put towards fulfilling its primary purpose SBMt. County Park.
•The Bog Pond Enhancement project would not cost the parks department extra money.
•The primary role of the parks department on San Bruno Mountain is to protect and enhance the natural resources there.
•Why walk away from this project? Natural resources (wetlands, endangered species habitat, biodiversity) should be enhanced whenever possible.
