Parks protect open space, wildlife, and habitat, reserving land for conservation and recreational use, and offering solace from the stresses of “modern” life for all members of our society regardless of socio-economic status.
On the western shore of Richmond, CA, just north of the toll plaza of the toll plaza for the Richmond/San Rafael Bridge, lies a gem of waterfront open space called Pt. Molate (see map). SPRAWLDEF is fighting along with the Richmond community to save this land as a park with its hills filled with wildlife including hawks and cougars, space for future sports fields, and other recreational opportunities. SPRAWLDEF has funded lawsuits to stop the back room deals that Mayor Tom Butt has tried to engineer to allow for massive luxury housing development at the site. The site should be a regional park and is in the East Bay Regional Park District’s master plan for a park.
SPRAWLDEF has worked to create a park at Point Molate in coalition with the Sierra Club, Citizens for East Shore Parks (CESP), the Native Plant Society, and Point Molate Alliance, among others. For details, see Legal Defense Fund.
VICTORY! After years of litigation and advocacy by SPRAWLDEF and coalition partners, we are thrilled to report that the state of California supplied $36 million of funding that was leveraged by the East Bay Regional Park District to purchase this one of a kind site, to be developed as a future waterfront park.
A second campaign in which SPRAWLDEF has played a critical role is the long-term effort to reduce the fire risk in the Oakland/Berkeley hills by abatement of eucalyptus and other highly flammable non-native species on the regional park interface with residential areas. SPRAWLDEF has worked with the Sierra Club and the California Native Plant Society to create the 3R’s for reducing fire risk in the wildland urban interface.
The 3R’s are phased Removal of blue gum eucalyptus and other non-native fire fire dangerous trees and plans; Restore the native Oak-Bay woodland and grasslands which pose a reduced risk of fire, and thereby Re-Establish the prior native diversity in wildlife and habitat and endangered species. This will substantially lower the fire risk and cost far less to maintain. See the 3Rs Info Sheet.
SPRAWLDEF took on FEMA when it proposed granting FEMA Funds for vegetation management that simply thinned the blue gum eucalyptus plantations, since this would not reduce the fire risk and which would be far more costly for the affected public agencies like the East Bay Regional Park District and the Cities of Berkeley, Oakland, El Cerrito, and Richmond.