Burrowing Owls at Risk in Camp Parks, Dublin
Your help is urgently needed in Dublin, California.
The Ohlone Audubon Society continues to track the proposed transfer of the military land to the City of Dublin. Because there is potential destruction of the Burrowing Owl breeding habitat, on one of few remaining Federal lands in Alameda County, vigilance and proactive initiatives are urgently needed. Our two-point strategy consists of persuading the military to:
a) Suspend any change from the present dormant land in order
to permit the 2008 breeding season of the owls to occur without
disturbance.
b) Set aside 50 acres for a permanent breeding preserve for
the Burrowing Owl and other species that are endangered,
protected or of special status.
To achieve these goals, we urge citizens to write letters to:
Lt. Colonel John Cushman, Camp Parks Commander
790 5th Street, Dublin, CA 94568,and
Marcia Grefsrud, Environmental Scientist
State of California, Department of Fish & Game
P.O. BOX 47, Yountville, CA 94599
Updated by Richard Cimino, May 1, 2008:
Camp Parks Development
In 2006, the U.S. Army Reserves at Camp Parks proposed
transferring two parcels totaling 180 acres to the City of Dublin
with the selection of a developer in exchange for the upgrading
and building of military reserve facilities. The project is named
Dublin Crossing (www.DublinCrossing.com).
The acreage scheduled for transfer is the last of federal public
lands in eastern Alameda County. We all have a say in how this
land should be managed as it contains bird species of special
concern (Burrowing Owl, Loggerhead Shrike), endangered
species (San Joaquin Kit Fox, California Red-legged Frog,
California Tiger Salamander), and rare plants.
The City of Dublin has already released five specific development
plans for the site, all of substantial size. None address onsite
mitigation to maintain viable habitat for special concern
species. Dublin has earned the reputation of being an aggressive
developer for introducing urban blight to the Livermore Valley,
sacrificing rolling green hills in favor of a Los Angeles landscape.
Left alone with its track record, Dublin may not produce a land
use plan fitting conservation goals and objectives.
The conservation community is proposing an approach that
ensures sustainability for endangered and sensitive species. This
would encompass ecological integrity onsite with funding in
perpetuity for maintaining a preserve as an integral part of the
development. The goal is for a set aside of at least 50 acres for
onsite mitigation from the U.S. Army and the developer before
the conclusion of any land transfer to the City of Dublin. To
achieve this goal, conservationists need to begin submitting
questions via e- mail to Dublin.Crossing @Staubach.com, the
marketing firm hired by the U.S. Army to vet the public process.
The conservation community needs to set the pace and the
direction of ecological conservation early in this process. We
have to stay informed, monitor and respond to every move of
Dublin and the developer until there are onsite species and habitat
mitigations incorporated into the Dublin Crossing plan.Involved
groups include: The Alameda Creek Alliance, California Native
Plant Society, Center for Biological Diversity, Ohlone Audubon
Chapter, and the Sierra Club. Individuals are welcome.
A grassroots movement could improve the short term thinking
leading to the fragmentation of the Livermore Valley ecosystem, the ugliness of big box development plans, mounting traffic
congestion, and urban noise pollution. The conservation community
can help to reintegrate Dublin’s position in the Tri-Valley
vision of conserving what remains of the natural landscape.
How you can help: Watch for the next alert in the Kite Call
and other publications and websites. —RC
Return to Ohlone Audubon Society Home Page
Notes and links about the Burrowing Owl:
The burrowing owl's numbers have been markedly reduced in California for at least the past 60 years. The western burrowing owl (subspecies) is a state and federal species of concern.
Learn more about this handsome little owl by using the links below.
BART Burrowing Owls Threatened
California Burrowing Owl Consortium
BURROWING OWL SURVEY PROTOCOL
AND MITIGATION GUIDELINESEcology and management of the Burrowing Owl in California