Here we are, ready or not, into a New Year! 2012 will bring the 78th anniversary of the Marin Conservation League, the 75th anniversary of the Golden Gate Bridge, the 100th anniversaries of the Tamalpais Conservation Club and Marin Municipal Water District, and the 50th anniversary of Point Reyes National Seashore! Sounds like a year of parties and milestones.

It will also be a year of Environmental Impact Reports (EIRs) and Environmental Impact Statements (EISs, the federal version). In just the last few months we have received documents addressing the Hanna Ranch in Novato, the Grady Ranch Lucasfilm facility in Lucas Valley, Gnoss Field Runway Extension, Americas Cup, extension of the Drakes Bay Oyster Company’s Permit in Pt. Reyes National Seashore, and San Rafael Airport Recreational Facility, among others. Does this mean that the economy has improved and things are going to pick up steam after a couple years of relative quiet? Time will tell. In the meantime, volunteers are being sought to do all the reading and reporting on these projects. Drafting letters and testifying at hearings are also needed. This is a great pastime for people who are retired, or who like to learn things about the Marin environment. I have yet to read an EIR that didn’t teach me something new.

Occasionally an EIR or EIS will trigger debate about an issue that develops a life of its own. This was the case with Drakes Bay Oyster Company’s permit extension. Friends and sometimes relatives have disagreed on the merits of terminating the oyster farm permit or allowing it to continue for another ten years. A number of scientific studies have been done on Drakes Estero over the last few years, with often conflicting information. The MCL “family” was similarly conflicted.

MCL has for years supported wilderness in the Estero and the termination of the permit as scheduled in 2012, but when it came to making a recommendation to the Secretary of Interior, who now has the authority to make that decision, a majority of the Board of Directors supported extending the permit for ten years at the current footprint. It was noted that the stewardship of the Drakes Estero must be upheld. The reasons of the majority varied, but a dominant theme seemed to be that the estuary differs from a true wilderness with a road running through it and with active dairy ranches dominating the watershed. Individual members wrote personal letters reflecting their personal perspectives. I will say that I was warmly welcomed at a meeting in West Marin where Ralph Grossi was speaking on Food in our Future. Perhaps, as Michael Straus said in the Point Reyes Light, “My parents were ranchers and environmentalists. They saw beyond the “us versus them” mentality that ran and still runs rampant in our community and country. They knew, beyond a doubt, that the future of Marin would depend on our ability to work together, to innovate, and, above all, to find common ground.”

-Susan Stompe