Compassion for a coast

Without the Sonoma coast, we would just be another Napa County, landlocked with minimal water front on San Francisco Bay. But, with our coast comes the physical beauty of where sea, land and sky meet. It is a place where we cannot deny life. Its beauty forces us to pay attention to where we are located and what we see. Certainly, it is a landscape that warrants some compassion and compassion for ourselves as stewards of such a gift.

We cannot forget the past. Our coast was targeted for a crazy idea to build a nuclear power plant on the San Andreas fault on Bodega Head in the 1960s. The coast was also plagued by massive housing development proposals at The Sea Ranch, Jenner, Willow Creek and Bodega Bay. It took years to beat back these deleterious proposals. And it took years of negotiations at the state level to scale back both the Sea Ranch and Bodega Harbour. Those efforts denied an additional 4,400 coastal houses few could afford (still true today) in coastal areas with limited services and poor highway access to inland areas. We are all grateful to those who spent years negotiating, who foresaw the damage lying in wait for the coast. They have earned our gratitude and compassion.

But still some proposals, spurious in content and process, make it through. Seventy trophy homes are being built in the already congested community, destroying coastal prairie, a vernal pool, and blocking access to the elementary school and the only safe California Coastal Trail route through town. This raises concerns over how effective the updated Local Coastal Plan will be at controlling intensification of uses and protection of the natural areas. Only as good as we demand.

We who benefit from the beauty of the coast, including those who would destroy it with development and/or unmitigated expansion of uses, must bestow grateful compassion to those who provide future coastal access, acquire land for preservation, conservation of plant and animal habitat, and increased public access through planning and trail connections. Regional and State Parks maintain spectacular park landscapes and trails and plan for a future with increased county and coastal visitors. They, along with numerous land trusts and the Ag Preservation and Open Space District, really function as the long-range planning entities for the County.

What of the future? And what of future coastal visitors and residents - those who come after us? What we leave for them on the coast and throughout the county will speak volumes about the compassion we have for them. All of their lives will be affected by our actions and decisions. The ethereal beauty of coastal light, shadows and darkness, among other natural subtleties, will be noticeably impacted. On a clear dark coastal night, stars glisten and the Milky Way spirals with opalescent light. Future construction, be it public or private, will permanently alter the shade, form and hue of shadows and darkness depriving future visitors and residents the continuously shifting expanse of beauty we have today.

The coast is constantly being sculpted by wind and water and gravity. For most of the year, the oceanic systems dictate our weather. Dynamic forces, either alone or in combination, regularly bend or erode or flood or burn coastal land and vegetation. These are not compassionate natural forces.

The coast gives us a unique experience of landscape and ocean. Without that experience, our lives are not as rich. Compassion for the coast, if just for its evolving beauty, should be given by all of us. It is a stunning mix of natural processes. It is a gift. Enjoy it. Embrace it. And protect it!

We cannot depend on others to care for the coast or other precious places in Sonoma County. Sow some compassion and become involved. At present, the Draft Local Coastal Plan is being reviewed by the County Planning Commission. Monthly meetings are scheduled through the spring of 2022. The link will connect you to the LCP update page: https://sonomacounty.ca.gov/PRMD/Long-Range-Plans/Local-Coastal-Program/Proposed/

MOAG hopes your Holidays are filled with joy and compassion.