Marin eyes new projects to be completed by 2030
Marin County could see a flood of new land conservation funding as part of a global initiative calling on countries to preserve 30% of their lands and waters by 2030.
Gov. Gavin Newsom and Joe Biden's administration have committed to the “30 by 30” initiative, which seeks to preserve lands and protect wildlife, combat climate change impacts, preserve tribal lands and increase access to nature.
A coalition of Bay Area agencies and organizations known as Together Bay Area has released a list of more than 110 projects, from new trail networks to purchasing privately owned open space, that it says could be completed by the end of the decade.
Statewide, about 24% of its lands and 16% of its waters are already under protection, according to the final draft of the state's 30 by 30 plan. To meet its 30% goal, the state would need to conserve another 6 million acres of land and a half-million acres of water.
Given that 85% of Marin County already consists of protected open space, parks, watersheds, tidelands and agricultural preserves, the aim of most of the county's projects on the list is to preserve and upgrade what already exists.
“Marin County is a place where people from all over the region and the state go to visit amazing old-growth redwoods or beautiful beaches or some of these really amazing places,” said county parks director Max Korten, who serves on Together Bay Area's governing board.
“Creating the experience so that that visitation doesn't have a negative impact on the environment takes funding,” he said. “So that's why it's really important that the state, the region and the federal government support projects here, because these places aren't just for the residents here. They inspire people from all over.”
That said, a few of the projects on the county's list do aim to acquire more land to preserve as open space. The largest acquisition project seeks to protect 100 acres of privately owned, undeveloped grassland and woodland on Easton Point in Tiburon.
The point was the center of a legal dispute surrounding hiking trail access for years. The listed sale price for the property recently was dropped to $63 million, down from its original price of $110 million, according to the property's realty agent.
The Marin Open Space Trust also is looking to preserve 60 acres of privately owned land on Bald Hill near San Anselmo and Ross, which has become a popular hiking destination. Another project is seeking to purchase 13 acres of land on the slopes of Mount Tamalpais alongside the Myrtle Avenue fire road and trail near Mill Valley that includes a section of Cascade Creek.
Securing funding is key to persuading the landowners to sell, said Marin County Open Space Trust President Bill Long.
“These kinds of properties typically don't get donated outright, although sometimes owners will sell them at a bargain price,” Long said. “But you still need to raise significant funding.”
Several projects include upgrading and restoring trails such as Azalea Hill on Mount Tamalpais; upgrading trails in Roy's Redwoods in the San Geronimo Valley; creating a 1,300-foot trail extension on Dias Ridge near Highway 101 and creating a more than half-mile bicycle trail connector from Mount Tamalpais State Park to 80 miles of the Bay Area Ridge Trail.
Other priorities include adapting Bolinas Lagoon to sea level rise, improving habitat for overwintering and breeding monarch butterflies, restoring habitat for coho salmon on Lagunitas Creek and wildfire prevention in the Mount Tamalpais watershed.
Korten said many of the projects have undergone years of planning and community engagement already. While Marin County does not typically compete well for federal or state grant funding compared to economically disadvantaged communities, Korten said the county and its residents have shown their willingness to put their own funding forward.
“For the state or federal government, there is an opportunity to leverage the funding we've already put in to protect these places not just for the residents of this county but for the state as these important places people come to visit and are kind of iconic in terms of the region and state,” Korten said.
The county is seeking to renew its quarter-percent sales tax this June that provides funding for parks, open space and agricultural preserves
California already set aside about $2.1 billion in funding over two years in its current budget to make progress on the 30 by 30 initiative but did not specify which projects it would fund. The state's final Pathways to 30 by 30 plan, released April 22, is meant to guide these decisions. Organizations such as the Natural Resources Defense Council nonprofit have called on Newsom and the Legislature to identify specific projects.
The state report says federal funding will be “critical” to advancing state projects. The Biden administration announced a plan to set aside $440 million over the next five years to provide grants to projects throughout the state.
The California Natural Resources Agency also states that the nearly $10 billion investment for national parks and wilderness areas from the Great American Outdoors Act in 2020 and the $1 trillion infrastructure bill passed last year are expected to provide significant funding opportunities.