History of MCBC's involvement in the Giacomini Wetlands Restoration Project

2007
A public information workshop was held on Thursday, January 25, 2007 from 6:30 to 8:30 PM at the Golden Gate National Recreation Area Headquarters Red Barn where details of the DEIR were discussed.

2004
On June 22, 2004, the NPS held a public workshop to release their preliminary design alternatives for the wetland restoration. A concept plan to provide public access via a perimeter path was presented as a part of the restoration alternatives. At this meeting West Marin residents expressed strong support for the concept of such a pathway linking the communities of Inverness Park and Point Reyes Station. To date, local advocate Dona Larkin of the Community Pathways Committee has collected 100 names of local residents who support the pathway.

At this meeting the NPS also announced that, in response to community and MCBC requests, it will formally study options for public access through the Giacomini project area.

Unfortunately, The Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR), which can be accessed by clicking here, stops the path short of Inverness Park. This is not acceptable to MCBC or many members of the Pt. Reyes and Inverness Park communities.

On June 15, 2004 MCBC staff attended the first meeting of the Community Pathways Committee, a locally-based group in West Marin organized by advocate Dona Larkin. At the meeting local residents discussed the need for a safe connection between their communities of Inverness Park and Point Reyes Station. The result of the meeting was an agreement to support a perimeter pathway along the edge of the project that would minimize environmental impact while providing a safe alternative to walking and bicycling along Sir Frances Drake. The group discussed the idea of a path along the abandoned railroad right of way (ARROW) but decided that it would be difficult to get public support for a path that didn't connect the two towns. The group formulated a public statement to be released at the upcoming June 22 NPS public workshop.

Prior to this meeting, the MCBC met with the NPS on April 13th, 2004 to review the preliminary wetland restoration alternatives developed by NPS for the Giacomini property. In this meeting, MCBC and NPS discussed a possible path parallel to Sir Francis Drake along the border of the Giacomini property to Inverness Park. To ensure safe passage for non-motorized transportation this path would at points run alongside the roadway and at other points pass through NPS land. In this April meeting, the NPS agreed that future maps of the design alternatives for the Giacomini property will feature a line that shows this proposed route.

MCBC and NPS also discussed the possibility of routing a path along the abandoned RR ROW. NPS cautioned MCBC regarding this proposal due to several factors: riparian habitat that has grown up along the abandoned RR ROW, endangered species that live in the creek and in the wetlands just outside the existing dikes, environmental damage caused by trying to bridge the wetland areas to connect the RR ROW to Inverness, and the fact that retaining any of the dikes would inhibit the NPS' ultimate plan to remove all dikes and restore the property to tidal marsh wetland. NPS warned that any attempt to return the RR ROW to its previous transportation use could be interpreted as interfering with the restoration of the wetland species habitat and would not be well received by the adjacent communities.

Historically, MCBC has made several requests to have access for walking and bicycling formally studied as a part of the Giacomini Ranch project, including a letter dated November 8, 2002, addressed to NPS. During the April 13th meeting, Lorraine Parsons, NPS Wetlands Ecologist, acknowledged that the NPS has been aware of MCBC's concerns for some time.

At the time of the meeting, none of the alternatives MCBC was shown reflected that any formal study of non-motorized access or the impacts of path systems on wetlands habitat had been conducted.

MCBC believes that it is imperative to study the possible impact of pedestrian and bicycle access on endangered species or environmentally sensitive areas that may be within the project.

In a letter dated May 12, 2004 MCBC requested that the National Park Service conduct such a formal study. In the meantime, MCBC is researching open space areas where bicycle transportation and wetlands ecosystems coexist. Initial findings show that there are several such projects -- some are completed and others are planned -- within California.

Last updated May 2008