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By Chris Ingraham
Anyone who appreciates the outdoors can recognize the value of preserved open space: those precious areas in our ecosystem designated to be kept free from development. Nevertheless, decision makers in the Bay Area don’t often understand in sufficient detail what exactly needs to be done to maintain and improve this facet of the region. Now they have a resource to assist them, as the Bay Area Open Space Council, Greenbelt Alliance, and the Association of Bay Area Governments, with the support of land managers, county officials, and scientists, have recently produced a report that highlights the importance of the region’s open space.
The report, called Golden Lands, Golden Opportunity, is the first of its kind to collaboratively cross official jurisdictions and geographical boundaries. In a 24-page document, the report offers a statement of principles and a corresponding argument for the importance of Bay Area lands, along with key actions needed to take advantage of our “golden opportunity” to protect them. The report’s stated principles represent progressive, 21st century ideas: “Every resident should have access to fresh, affordable food from local farms and ranches,” for instance. These and other ecologically mindful principles are at the heart of this report, which was three years in the making.
Golden Lands, Golden Opportunities emphasizes five critical areas where policy makers should focus their attention: 1) Watersheds: Clean Water for People and Wildlife; 2) Working Farms and Ranches: Healthy Local Food; 3) Community Greenbelts: The Secret to Vibrant Cities and Towns; 4) Wildlife Habitat: Unique Ecosystems to Save; and 5) Parks and Trails: Healthy People and Economy. Together, these areas of emphasis constitute an ideal “green infrastructure” for the Bay Area.
Citing regional statistics, demographic data, and economic figures, the report lays out the numbers to suggest that the region will radically benefit in dynamic ways if Bay Area decision makers prioritize the report’s five pillars of green infrastructure. But the report offers still more specific recommendations in its second half, when it examines “snapshots” of all nine Bay Area counties, and suggests particular needs unique to each area, toward which each county could most beneficially direct its resources. In San Mateo County, for instance, the report calls to “prevent subdivision and large-lot residential development to help protect up to 40,000 acres of farmland and natural areas.” In Solano County, the report calls for the creation of an open space district, because Solano County is the only county out of nine in the Bay Area without one.
Ultimately, though, the report is perhaps most significant for its collaborative nature, and its clear message that action is needed now. With strategic emphasis on strong policies, aggressive land acquisition and conservation, and choices that benefit all residents equally, the report is both judicious and ambitious.
Visit www.golden-lands.org to download the report.