-Caveat Lector- <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/"> </A> -Cui Bono?- http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/examiner/hotnews/stories/23/Poutdoors_sun.dtl Outdoors: Big Brother wants reservoir all to itself By Tom Stienstra OF THE EXAMINER STAFF Sunday, January 23, 2000 IMAGINE going for a hike where you had to check in with rangers equipped with walkie-talkies, posted every few miles on the trail, and had to provide identification. Or where video cameras operate 24 hours a day, set up in remote areas to monitor you. Impossible? Unconscionable? Orwell's Big Brother prophecy coming true for the new century? Well, such a notion not only seems impossible but is what has been proposed by the San Francisco Water Department for public access on service roads in the Crystal Springs Watershed on the Peninsula. This is part of a snow job being attempted by the water department in the new "Peninsula Watershed Management Plan." The continuing saga of Crystal Springs, the 23,000-acre preserve just east of I-280, became critical for the water department three years ago when the Board of Supervisors told the San Francisco PUC to arrange for public access for the first time in history. After all, the land included the key missing link for the Bay Ridge Trail, the 425-mile hiking trail routed around the ridge tops of the Bay Area. So out comes this document, the "Draft Environmental Impact Report," which proposes four alternatives to public access. The department's opposition to all access since the beginning of time makes their preferred option, allowing only groups lead by trained docents by reservation and permit, seem like a compromise. The 350-page document, which cost the water department more than $3 million, can be mined for the following gems: ‘.Trail monitoring: "The monitoring program could place appropriate enforcement personnel at either end of the trail and at 2- to 3-mile intervals along the trail. Use of the trail could be conditional upon agreement to check in with these monitors at reasonable intervals. Monitors would be connected (by phone or walkie-talkie) and identification would be required when users checked in." ‘.User surveillance: "Install 24-hour surveillance along the trail alignment at sensitive areas to control illegal off-trail use. Such surveillance may include the use of video and/or GPS technology." ‘.Closed in the summer: "In order to protect marbled murrelet critical habitat, restrict public use to docent-led access from May.15 to Aug..15." (Note: The irony here is that murrelets are not even present in the watershed during the day, when people might be, but are off at the Pacific shore, feeding). ‘.Option for permanent closure: If hikers go off trail, such as climbing to a ridge for a view, then "trail use could be further restricted, such as permanent limitation to docent-led access." ‘.Opposition to new trails: "Potential trails are under consideration by the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and San Mateo County and may not be compatible with Management Plan objectives." ‘.No boating, fishing or dogs: "Incompatible uses: Unauthorized boating (only Water Department boats would be permitted), fishing, dogs ..... fishing could cause damage to wildlife habitat." For years, nobody has been able to figure out why the idea of public access at Crystal Springs was being stonewalled, led by Joe Naras, land and resources manager of the San Francisco PUC Water Supply Treatment Division. After all, vast watershed lands elsewhere in the Bay Area and the Sierra Nevada provide tremendous recreational access. They feature lands and lakes for boating, fishing, hiking, biking and dog runs, including that managed by the Marin Water District, East Bay Municipal Utility District, Santa Clara Valley Water District, and in the Sierra, the U.S. Forest Service. So why no public access? The answer appeared on the front page of The Examiner last July.4 in a story that detailed how the water department maintained eight beautiful homes on the watershed, including several with their own boats, where employees pay only $200 to $400 per month rent. When I asked Naras why he had to live there, in this gorgeous ranch-style home overlooking Crystal Springs for $300 a month, he answered that it was important to have a "management presence" on the watershed. Of course! That explains everything! Why didn't anybody else think of that? After having seen the homes, the roads where access is suggested by the Bay Ridge Trail Council, all four lakes (Upper and Lower Crystal Springs, San Andreas, Pilarcitos), the hidden old-growth fir and redwoods, the wilderness east flank of Montara Mountain ..... I'm convinced the only reason the water department has obstructed every attempt for access is to keep the public from seeing what they consider their personal, hidden treasures. They want it all for themselves, and as for everybody else, stay out. To comment, there will be public hearings on Feb..1 in San Mateo, Feb..3 in San Francisco, with written comments accepted by Hillary Gitelman, Environmental Review Officer, S.F. Planning Department, 1660 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA 94103. Times and locations of the public hearings and copies of the plan can be obtained by mail by phoning (650) 872-5934, or reviewed at city libraries in San Francisco on the Peninsula. -- ©2000 San Francisco Examiner -- ----------------------- NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml ----------------------- <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance—not soap-boxing! 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