Peninsula Open Space Trust Awarded Large Grant for Bair Island $4 Million from State Brings Critical Deal to Threshold of Completion
December 4, 1998
MENLO PARK, CA – In a massive show of support for land conservation, the State of California yesterday approved a $4 million grant to the Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST) for the purchase of Bair Island. The award was made possible through a new initiative of the California Transportation Commission (CTC), the Conservation Lands Program.
Home to an array of wildlife, including 126 species of birds, 13 species of mammals, and 63 species of fish, Bair Island is widely considered the most important restorable wetland in the San Francisco Bay. With only 15 percent of the Bay's wetlands remaining, Bair Island's preservation is considered especially critical for several endangered and threatened species, including the California clapper rail, the California least tern, and the salt marsh harvest mouse.
Using low interest loans, the property was purchased for $15 million in May, 1997 by POST, a local public benefit land trust. Since acquiring the property, POST has borne an additional $1.44 million in interest payments and management expenditures.
"Needless to say, we are delighted by the allocation of this grant," said Audrey Rust, POST executive director. "We are grateful to Governor Wilson, Doug Wheeler, Secretary of Natural Resources, and Bob Wolf, CTC Chairman, for all of their work on behalf of this project."
The financing of Bair Island comes from a variety of sources. Since taking ownership of the property, located along Highway 101 near Redwood City, POST has sought to secure $10 million in public funding and $5 million in private funding toward the cost of its purchase.
In addition to the CTC grant, POST has received $3.5 million from the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund and remains hopeful for an additional Congressional appropriation of $1.5 million. POST also received $1.1 million from the State of California earlier this year. To date, POST has received contributions totaling $4.4 million from private donors, and seeks to raise an additional $600,000 to meet its $5 million goal.
"With the addition of increased state funding to the pool of federal and private donations raised to date, we can truly say that Bair Island enjoys the broadest possible support," added POST's Audrey Rust. "We are thrilled to know the future of this property is nearly secure, and to see the importance of land conservation recognized in this way."
Bair Island is one of several properties purchased as part of POST's land acquisition campaign, Completing the Vision: The Campaign to Save Essential Open Space, a $28.5 million initiative to protect 12,000 acres in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties. Since its founding in 1977, POST has won permanent protection for over 35,000 acres on the San Francisco Peninsula. The campaign for Completing the Vision is now entering its final 12 months.