Environmental Impact Statement - Sonoma Land Trust

California Department of Fish and Game
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Section 3.6. Land Use and Public Utilities
Bay Trail Plan and Sonoma Bay Trail Corridor Plan
The Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) developed the Bay Trail
Plan (Association of Bay Area Governments 1989) as a framework for the
implementation of the Bay Trail, a continuous multi-use shoreline trail. In
Sonoma County, the alignments that were chosen by ABAG at the time the Plan
was prepared in 1989 primarily followed State Highways 121, 116, and 37,
which raised concerns about safety for future trail users. In 2000, Sonoma
County Regional Parks was awarded a planning grant from ABAG to analyze the
feasibility of new trail alignments given the changes in land ownership, use,
population and other factors that have occurred since completion of the 1989 Bay
Trail Plan. The resulting Regional Park study, called the Sonoma Bay Trail
Corridor Plan, consists of seven separate sections of multi-use trail from Port
Sonoma in the west to the Napa County line in the east (Sonoma County
Regional Parks 2003). Among the alignments considered in the study is “Section
II—Reclamation Road to Tolay Creek,” which crosses the Sears Point property
via the SMART alignment right-of-way, and connects to the Bay Trail segments
currently terminating at Sonoma Baylands to the west and Tubbs Island to the
east.
National Wildlife Refuge System Policies
National Wildlife Refuge System (NWRS) use policies are derived primarily
from the 1997 National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act (NWRSIA),
which establishes wildlife conservation as the singular NWRS mission, provides
guidance to the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) for management of the
National Wildlife Refuge System, provides a mechanism for refuge planning, and
gives refuge managers uniform direction and procedures for making decisions
regarding wildlife conservation and uses of the NWRS. To achieve the overall
NWRS objectives, the NWRSIA states that refuge areas should focus on
conservation of fish, wildlife, and plants and their habitats, and facilitate
compatible wildlife-dependent recreational activities and other public uses (U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service 2008).
CDFG Land Use Program
CDFG’s Lands Program is responsible for assisting Regional staff in the
management of over 1,000,000 acres of fish and wildlife habitat. The primary
goal of the Land Use Program is to ensure that the state's lands are managed and
maintained to provide optimal benefits for fish, wildlife, and plants (California
Department of Fish and Game 2008). Key objectives of the Lands Program
include the following.
■
Managing and maintaining lands to provide optimal benefits for fish, wildlife
and plants by acquisition, restoration, and protection; and
• Fostering public use, knowledge, and enjoyment of lands.
Sears Point Wetland and Watershed Restoration
Project Final Environmental Impact
Report/Environmental Impact Statement
3.6-6
April 2012