Friends – Friends of Atascadero Wetlands (FAW) was formed in 2004 and has been working to get protections for a stretch of wetlands along Atascadero Creek that runs from Green Valley Road to Mill Station Road. This May, the Planning Commission voted to move our General Plan Amendment to the Board of Supervisors and that time is fast approaching.
Please help with an email or by attending the public hearing at the Board of Supervisors to support our efforts. The hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, AUGUST 9 at 2:10 PM at 575 Administration Drive in Santa Rosa. This time, bodies do count, so if you can come it will be greatly appreciated by FAW, which has worked tenaciously to protect and preserve this important bit of natural Sonoma County. Text for an email (and a talking points document) are attached and if you have little time, please do this one thing. Your own words…even better. The Supervisors’ emails are listed here:
1st District Supervisor Susan Gorin susan.gorin@sonoma-county.org
2nd District Supervisor David Rabbit david.rabbitt@sonoma-county.org
3rd District Supervisor Shirlee Zane shirlee.zane@sonoma-county.org
4th District Supervisor James Gore james.gore@sonoma-county.org
5th District Supervisor Efren Carrillo efren.carrillo@sonoma-county.org
If you do not need a reply from the Supervisors, just put NO REPLY NECESSARY in the subject line or at the beginning of the message.
Wetlands are rare and endangered in the U.S. but especially in California where we have less than 1% of pre-settlement wetlands remaining. The acreage in question serves as wildlife habitat and corridor, protecting water quality and alleviating flooding. It is an important resting area for migratory birds on the Pacific Flyway and home to countless mammals, such as fox, racoon, black-tailed deer and bobcat and avian species such as Black Shouldered kite, Red Shouldered and Red-Tailed hawks, Great-Horned and Barn owls, Tri-Colored blackbirds (a candidate species under the California Endangered Species Act) and passerine species too numerous to list here.
We have been a low-key group and have funded all our activities ourselves and never asked for donations. We’ve just been quietly working away to convince those who can make a difference to do so.