Sibley campground would intrude on major wildlife corridor

Preserve is the wrong place for 300 campers, 60-car lot

Should a 300-person camping facility be built in a preserve in the heart of a major wildlife corridor?

The Sibley Volcanic Regional Preserve sits atop and straddles the Caldecott Tunnel. It is a key component of the Caldecott Wildlife Corridor, a key expanse of open space for the movement of large wildlife, both prey and predator species, including mountain lions. Under the designations of the East Bay Regional Park District, a "preserve" is a park unit whose main purpose is for the preservation of habitat and key natural features.

The Park District, however, has proposed a Land Use Plan Amendment (LUPA) that would site a 300-person camping facility with 60 parking spaces in a portion of Sibley where a quarry used to be. To get to this site, one must drive through the park for about 3/4 of a mile.

Such a facility is inconsistent with the purpose of a preserve; intensive recreational uses belong in other types of park units. Further, the proposed site is poor for camping. It is a treeless area with frequent fog. Even in the summer it is often cold and windy, but on hot sunny days there is no natural shade. We doubt that many campers will find this an enjoyable camping place.

The Caldecott Wildlife Corridor Study recommended that the Park District remove even its existing staging area at the entrance to Sibley off Old Tunnel Road. This staging area is also within the key area of the corridor. The study reports that removing this staging area would greatly enhance the corridor for wildlife. We have also recommended that the Park District develop a restoration plan for the old quarry site.

If the District needs a new large camping facility, it should find a more appropriate location. It if does want to continue consideration of the Sibley site, it must prepare a full Environmental Impact Report, studying the impacts on wildlife. To date the District has prepared just a brief Mitigated Negative Declaration. There the District makes the amazing admission that because it does not know the impacts of the camp site and auto traffic on the wildlife, any discussion of those impacts is speculation, and therefore the District can proceed with the campsite and parking proposal and find out the impacts later. This approach turns the environmental-review process on its head. The California Environmental Quality Act requires studying potential negative impacts before approving a project.

What You Can Do

The Sierra Club has made extensive comments on the LUPA and Mitigated Negative Declaration. We need you as well to write to your park director at:

East Bay Regional Park District
P.O. Box 5381
Oakland, CA 94605-0381 or:

John Sutter (Ward 2 - most of Oakland, Piedmont, Canyon, Moraga, Orinda, Orinda Village, Rheem Valley, Lafayette, Rossmoor) jsutter@ebparks.org

Carol Severin (Ward 3 - Castro Valley, Hayward, Union City, part of Fremont) cseverin@ebparks.org

Doug Siden (Ward 4 - Alameda, part of Oakland, San Leandro, San Lorenzo) dsiden@ebparks.org

Ayn Wieskamp (Ward 5 - Brightside, Dublin, part of Fremont, Livermore, Newark, Pleasanton, Scott's Corner, Sunol) aweiskam@ebparks.org

Beverly Lane (Ward 6 - Alamo, Blackhawk, Clayton, Concord, Danville, Diablo, Pleasant Hill, San Ramon, Tassajara, part of Walnut Creek) blane@ebparks.org

Ted Radke (Ward 7 - Antioch, Bay Point, Bethel Island, Brentwood, Byron, Clyde, Crockett, Discovery Bay, Hercules, Martinez, Muir, Nevada Dock, Oakley, Oleum, Pacheco, most of Pinole, Pittsburg, Port Costa, Rodeo, Selby, and Tormey) tradke@ebparks.org

Urge the Board to reject the proposal for a 300-person 60-car campsite in Sibley Volcanic Preserve. Urge the Board to redirect the funds to restoration of habitat at the quarry site and to removal of the existing staging area. If the Board does wish to further consider a campground in Sibley, insist that it prepare a full Environmental Impact Report.

Norman La Force, chair, East Bay Public Lands Subcommittee