Campaign to Aid Bair Island Ends in Triumph
Thousands of Citizens, Tireless Efforts of Rep. Anna Eshoo Bring Critical San Francisco Bay Wetland Deal to Completion
March 18, 1999
MENLO PARK, CA – The Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST) today announced special news of state and national importance-the largest remaining restorable wetland in San Francisco Bay will be permanently preserved in its natural state. POST, a local public benefit land trust, reached its fund-raising goal of $5 million in private funds, concluding the financing of Bair Island.
The effort to protect Bair Island began nearly two years ago, when POST purchased the property for $15 million. Since then, POST has worked to secure a combination of public and private funds to meet the cost of the wildlife rich island located just off Highway 101 near Redwood City.
"This is truly a great day for everyone who cares about land preservation in the Bay Area," said POST's President, Audrey Rust. "The permanent protection of Bair Island is a model of public-private cooperation. We're grateful to the 5,577 individual donors who contributed to the project, and Congresswoman Anna Eshoo and Senator Barbara Boxer for their leadership at the federal level to save Bair Island for generations to come."
"The saving of Bair Island will go down as one of the great environmental achievements of the later part of the 20th Century in the Bay Area," said Congresswoman Ann Eshoo. "POST and its thousands of contributors are the real heroes of this noble effort."
Home to an amazing 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 especially critical for several endangered and threatened species, including the California clapper rail, the California least tern, and the salt marsh harvest mouse.
Since taking ownership of Bair Island in 1997, POST has secured funding from a variety of sources: California's Wildlife Conservation Board and the State Coastal Conservancy; the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund; and individual donors and foundations. Bair Island will eventually be transferred to the management of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to become part of the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge.
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.