Greetings Friend,

I hope this email finds you and your family safe and well during these strange times. As our communities in Marin County conclude five weeks of sheltering-in-place and social distancing, I find myself missing the wildness of West Marin and all of the things the EAC team would normally be doing right now, like, MPA Watch trainings along our favorite beaches, preparing for Point Reyes Birding and Nature Festival, exploring the wonders of Duxbury Reef with excited 5th graders, and celebrating environmental advocacy successes like the Reusable Foodware ordinance. Like you, I am missing the sound of the ocean and meandering along the trails of the Point Reyes peninsula.

In 1967, Harold Gilliam wrote in the, Natural World of San Francisco, "doubtless a major cause of spiritual discontent is the fact that the urban man spends most of his days in his own hive, sealed off from the sources of physical and spiritual nourishment in the natural world." In our current extraordinary situation, many of us feel this anxiety in our inability to travel to visit the places we love so dearly. 

The connection to the land and the water is part of us, as David Suzuki wrote in, The Sacred Balance, “our identity includes our natural world, how we move through it, how we interact with it and how it sustains us.” This unnatural separation from the outside world awakens, for many, the need to be away from the hive and find our grounding in nature. This could be why so many of us miss connecting with the wild places in West Marin; it is a place of respite, recreation, and memories.

For those of us yearning to be outside, to see and smell the ocean, and witness the spring migration along the Point Reyes Peninsula, we can take comfort knowing these wild places exist. In Marin County, they were saved from development, for you, for me, and for future generations. No matter how much we miss them, we can rejoice knowing that they are relishing in delight as human interactions have been reduced, allowing wildness to thrive.

When we eventually make our way back to the wild places, once this storm has passed, let us remember to tread lightly. Take time to appreciate what we have set aside, find gratitude for what we have, and for the work undertaken to ensure these places exist.

Here at EAC, we are adjusting our plans, focusing on the future, and trying new things, like creating free online webinars to help keep you engaged with Wild West Marin and to celebrate the spirit of the Point Reyes Birding & Nature Festival from the safety of your home. 

Thank you to all of our supporters. We will all come through this and find ourselves on the other side changed, but steadfastly continuing to deliver our mission. You can count on us to protect the land, water, and biodiversity in West Marin for current and future generations.

In good health,

Executive Director

Program Updates

Take Action: Plastic, Litter and COVID-19

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, you may have noticed many stores are not allowing customers to bring in reusable materials (like shopping bags) to protect public health of frontline workers. With so many of our frontline workers continuing to interact with the general public, their health and safety is a top priority. There is a healthy debate occurring in environmental circles about the potential of these emergency health policies to reverse hard fought plastic bag bans (read the Plastics Industry Association letter to the Department of Health and Human Services) and reusable foodware policies in the middle of this pandemic. Unfortunately, many of the actions put in place to protect workers may not be temporary and could have lasting negative impacts for single-use plastic reductions. Plastic is not the only pathway forward. Alternative materials exist and other potential solutions should not be forgotten.

Thus, we need to be vigilant on this issue (check out the National Tracker of rollbacks by Product Stewardship Institute). We want to prevent temporary public health rollbacks from becoming permanent, avoiding an increased dependence on single-use plastics rather than forging new pathways for a circular economy and use of materials that are 100% compostable. We also need to be good stewards, by making sure that trash is disposed of properly as we continue to see reports of discarded gloves and litter making headlines throughout the country.

One way to engage locally is to review and comment on the Marin County Reusable Foodware Ordinance. This is an important stepping stone in reducing single-use plastics and supporting 100% compostable products. Single-use plastics are harmful to human and environmental health, and once we emerge from the other side of this pandemic, reusable foodware ordinances like this help to create a pathway to reduce the amount of trash in our landfills and greenhouse gas emissions. 

Learn More

Land: National Park Service Getting Around to E-Bikes Regs & Public Input

In December 2019, EAC and other environmental groups filed a lawsuit with the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) after the National Park Service (NPS) issued a policy memo that allowed the usage of electronic bikes (e-bikes) where traditional bicycles are allowed without any environmental analysis. This policy failed to consider any impacts of e-bikes on individual park resources including habitat, trail conditions, conflicts with existing public uses, wildlife, and plants. Now, more than six months after the policy memo, NPS is now drafting regulations and now seeking public input. Read the update from PEER here. 

We ask our membership to hold tight and wait to comment until we are able to provide some guidelines in the next few weeks. More to come soon! 

Learn More

Land: Point Reyes National Seashore General Management Plan Updates

Prior to the shelter-in-place orders, we anticipated an early spring release of the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the Seashore's General Management Plan Amendment. In speaking with representatives from the Seashore, we understand the FEIS will be released later in the spring. The Department of the Interior released guidance on April 10th outlining how to continue National Environmental Policy Act reviews during this crisis. While other National Parks may continue planning with severely limited public involvement, we are hopeful the Seashore will continue to honor the public interest in this process and release the FEIS for public review after our shelter-in-place orders have expired for maximum public transparency.

In the meantime, the public comments are available online. Recently, Resources Renewal Institute conducted a review of the comments that found "91.4% of the submitted comments favored elk over cows and other livestock when it came to a National Park Service plan to expand ranching and farming and manage wild elk herds."

Learn More

Take Action: What the Frack?

On April 3rd, amid the COVID-19 public health emergency, Governor Newsom’s administration approved 24 permits for new fracking wells in Kern County. Lifting its 9-month moratorium on the dangerous drilling practice, the Department of Conservation may approve 282 more fracking permits as soon as this week. In a stark contrast, the same week New York State’s Gov. Cuomo banned fracking to protect public health, Gov. Newsom’s regulators expanded fracking, worsening our public health crisis.

Tragically, air pollution makes COVID-19 deadlier. A new Harvard study found that small increases in pollution cause more COVID-19 deaths and hospitalizations, further burdening our healthcare system, and putting people next to oil and gas production in even graver danger. Industry is taking advantage of the pandemic to roll back and gut regulations that protect public health. It’s time to end this public health disaster.

Please urge your local elected leadership to contact the Governor's office to oppose this expansion of fracking.
You can also send a letter or call the Governor's office here.

Water: Remembering the Impacts of the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill 

As we approach the 10 year anniversary of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill on April 20th, we remember the lasting impacts and lessons from such a devastating spill. It’s a good reminder of why EAC works alongside our partners in the Protect the Pacific coalition to oppose offshore oil. We continue our work to oppose offshore oil off of our local shores and beyond, because oil doesn’t stay in one place once it spills. And it always spills.

Read More

Take Action: Honor Earth Day with Green Energy Solutions!

Help celebrate Earth Day on April 22nd while sheltering-in-place, by figuring out how to reduce your reliance on fossil fuels and greenhouse gas emissions at home. DRAWDOWN: Marin, a community-driven campaign to do our part to dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions and prepare for climate change impacts, has created a resource page for community members to find resources to increase energy efficiency and access renewable energy solutions. EAC participated in the DRAWDOWN: Marin fall 2019 Carbon Sequestration working group highlighting the importance of habitat restoration and blue carbon solutions. We are currently participating in the Climate Resilient Communities working group focused on fresh water resiliency. 

Learn More

National Volunteer Week is next week! We want to say thank you to all of our dedicated volunteers who help make our work possible. So many of our projects would not be a success without you! Volunteers help in many ways including: participating in our committee work, assisting with events, helping in our office, taking on special projects, cleaning up trash and litter from beaches and roadsides, and collecting community science data to help protect California's network of MPAs. Thank you for all you do! We look forward to connecting with you when we are back in the office.