[CPEO-MEF] Airstrip wetlands restoration deal reached

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California
MARIN INDEPENDENT JOURNAL
Airstrip wetlands restoration deal reached
By Mark Prado
October 1, 2003

After years of wrangling, it came down to the 11th hour before federal 
and state officials got together yesterday to sign papers to turn over 
the former Hamilton Airfield to the Coastal Conservancy, clearing the 
way for a massive wetlands restoration project.

Today, key federal funds needed for the project were set to expire if 
the transfer was not complete. So yesterday's transfer of the 630-acre 
site was cause for celebration among the myriad people and agencies that 
worked to bring the deal to fruition.

"This will become one of the largest and most environmentally vital 
wetlands in the state," said Assemblyman Joe Nation, D-San Rafael, 
speaking to a group of 75 people at Hangar No. 5 at Hamilton where the 
transfer was announced. "It is a remarkable accomplishment to turn a 
former Army Airfield into a living habitat for native species."

Ball fields, a polo field and even a skate park were bandied about as 
potential uses for the site over the years. But a cadre of environmental 
groups and state agencies were determined to return the area to what it 
once was: a sprawling wetlands filled with a diverse menu of species and 
migrating waterfowl.

Gov. Gray Davis, who approved the transfer, said in a statement: "These 
former Bay mudflats, diked and drained a century ago for hayfields, will 
create one of the largest contiguous wetlands in the state, stretching 
from Marin County to Vallejo. The area will provide vital habitat for 
endangered and threatened species - waterfowl and shorebirds migrating 
along the Pacific flyway, and migratory fish species such as salmon and 
steelhead."

This article can be viewed at:
http://www.marinij.com/Stories/0,1413,234~24407~1668653,00.html

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