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Bair Island 2/6/16 by Ronald Horii
While looking at the website for the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge, I saw a notice that the trails on Bair Island were open:
http://www.fws.gov/refuge/don_edwards_san_francisco_bay/
Bair Island is a unique oasis of undeveloped land at the edge of a busy urban area. Countless people pass by it every day driving on 101 between Redwood City and San Carlos. It consists of 3 islands covering 3,000 acres. It was part of a cattle ranch owned by Fred Bair in the 1920's. Later, the islands were turned into salt evaporation ponds, owned by Cargill. Efforts to develop the land were defeated. The islands are now protected and are being restored. Inner Bair Island, which is closest to the mainland, has been accessible to the public for years. There was an entrance at the end of Whipple Avenue, and a 3.3-mile trail ran around the perimeter of the island on a levee. However, as the island was a salt pond, it was diked up to prevent direct tidal flow into it. Starting in the late 1990's, plans were made to restore the island to tidal wetland. Construction efforts resulted in the perimeter trail being closed. Pieces of it were opened over time. Finally, the whole trail was open recently. I rode my bike around it for the first time today. While more work needs to be done, and the process of restoring plants and wildlife will take years, you can access the trail and island now.
This is about Bair Island:
http://www.fws.gov/refuge/don_edwards_san_francisco_bay/BairIsland.html
This is about the levee breach in December of 2015, which was one of the final stages in the restoration of Inner Bair Island:
http://www.fws.gov/fieldnotes/regmap.cfm?framesFlag=0&arskey=36799&callingKey=executive_summary&callingValue=don+edwards+san+francisco+bay+national
There was a ceremony celebrating opening up the island to the Bay again: http://www.sfbws.com/blog/2015/12/11/decades-long-bair-island-restoration-project-comes-fruition
Here's the story of Bair Island:
http://www.fws.gov/refuge/don_edwards_san_francisco_bay_/StoryofBair.html
Here's the Draft EIR for the Bair Island restoration and management plan:
http://www.southbayrestoration.org/pdf_files/Bair%20Island%20Draft%20EIR-EIS/Bair%20Island%20Draft%20EIS-EIR%20Vol%201.pdf — at Bair Island Open Space Preserve. (near Bair Island Open Space Preserve)
While looking at the website for the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge, I saw a notice that the trails on Bair Island were open:
http://www.fws.gov/refuge/don_edwards_san_francisco_bay/
Bair Island is a unique oasis of undeveloped land at the edge of a busy urban area. Countless people pass by it every day driving on 101 between Redwood City and San Carlos. It consists of 3 islands covering 3,000 acres. It was part of a cattle ranch owned by Fred Bair in the 1920's. Later, the islands were turned into salt evaporation ponds, owned by Cargill. Efforts to develop the land were defeated. The islands are now protected and are being restored. Inner Bair Island, which is closest to the mainland, has been accessible to the public for years. There was an entrance at the end of Whipple Avenue, and a 3.3-mile trail ran around the perimeter of the island on a levee. However, as the island was a salt pond, it was diked up to prevent direct tidal flow into it. Starting in the late 1990's, plans were made to restore the island to tidal wetland. Construction efforts resulted in the perimeter trail being closed. Pieces of it were opened over time. Finally, the whole trail was open recently. I rode my bike around it for the first time today. While more work needs to be done, and the process of restoring plants and wildlife will take years, you can access the trail and island now.
This is about Bair Island:
http://www.fws.gov/refuge/don_edwards_san_francisco_bay/BairIsland.html
This is about the levee breach in December of 2015, which was one of the final stages in the restoration of Inner Bair Island:
http://www.fws.gov/fieldnotes/regmap.cfm?framesFlag=0&arskey=36799&callingKey=executive_summary&callingValue=don+edwards+san+francisco+bay+national
There was a ceremony celebrating opening up the island to the Bay again: http://www.sfbws.com/blog/2015/12/11/decades-long-bair-island-restoration-project-comes-fruition
Here's the story of Bair Island:
http://www.fws.gov/refuge/don_edwards_san_francisco_bay_/StoryofBair.html
Here's the Draft EIR for the Bair Island restoration and management plan:
http://www.southbayrestoration.org/pdf_files/Bair%20Island%20Draft%20EIR-EIS/Bair%20Island%20Draft%20EIS-EIR%20Vol%201.pdf — at Bair Island Open Space Preserve. (near Bair Island Open Space Preserve)
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