Greeneroo

April 27, 2011
Wetlands are among the most biologically productive of all habitats, and they are among the best lands at removing CO2 from the air. Developers, however, love them because they’re flat. Wetlands protection has therefore been a key environmental issue throughout California.
That’s why the Sierra Club’s California/Nevada Conservation Committee is revitalizing its Wetlands Committee. To cover the range of wetlands issues around the state, the committee will have three chairs, each an experienced wetlands leader.
• Marcia Hanscom led the Club campaign that got the state to preserve 600 acres at the Ballona Wetlands in Los Angeles. She serves as co-director of the Ballona Institute and director of the Wetlands Defense Fund. She also served as southern California coordinator for the Campaign to Save California Wetlands in the early ’90s.
• Arthur Feinstein chairs the Bay Chapter and was formerly executive director of the Golden Gate Audubon Society. A long-time member of the Citizens Committee to Complete the Refuge (the Don Edwards National Wildlife Refuge), Arthur was also on the steering committee for the Campaign to Save California Wetlands.
• Cynthia Denny is wetlands chair for the Club’s Loma Prieta Chapter, and for the last four years has led the Stop Cargill Campaign in Redwood City.
The mission of the Wetlands Committee is to bring together the Club’s California chapters with national Sierra Club committees and government bodies to advocate for the protection and restoration of the state’s wetlands. In addition to major San Francisco Bay and Delta wetlands, our major concerns include the Lake Earl Wildlife Refuge in Del Norte County, Chula Vista bayfront restoration, the Ballona Wetlands restoration, and South San Diego Bay at the Port of San Diego. These valuable wetlands areas are also included in the California Coast segment of the Club’s new Resilient Habitats Campaign (see article on page 16).
The committee’s mandate also includes inland wetlands, such as vernal pools in the Central Valley, desert wetlands, and mountain wetlands. Right now we don’t have committee members working on these concerns, and we would welcome them.
To join our efforts to protect wetlands, locally and statewide, contact the committee tri-chairs at:
cindyadenny@yahoo. com
arthurfeinstein@earthlink.net
wetlandact@earthlink.net
Cynthia A. Denny

Reprinted with permission.