We lose things, sometimes forever. While we go about our day to day business our opportunities to immerse ourselves in nature slip quietly away. We vitally need these nearby natural areas, not just for recreational opportunities but for something deeper. We need to provide a habitat not just for those species we threaten, but for ourselves – a place to go where those things that stress us diminish, where we can see the chaos and sometimes violence in our lives from a cleaner space. We are all interconnected, but it is hard to see that while finding our way through an often competitive and sometimes brutal world. The ills of our species tend to deepen the further we remove ourselves from dirt and trees, from animal life and the life giving sea.
The Point San Pablo Preservation Society was not formed in the office of an environmental group, or a government conference room. It was formed by people who live on the water, who witness daily the presence of seabirds and deer and possums. Our founders share an inexplicable desire to live close to natural things, to awaken each morning to the sounds of those seabirds, marauding raccoons and sometimes thousands of dancing fish silvering the surface of the water. There are deer here, wild turkeys and pelicans. On any given day a harbor seal may break the surface of the water or a huge splash might indicate the playful leap of a sturgeon. A fox might appear and quickly disappear, while a turkey vulture watches from above.
One can simply pick a quiet spot and watch, giving up any sense of time or false urgency. There are places on the Peninsula where you cannot go just now that offer stunning views of San Francisco and San Pablo Bays, the Marin County shoreline and places beyond. You might see how many species of birds you can spot – and there would be many. Take a day off and join Captain Frank for a fishing trip, or launch a kayak and tour the wetlands.
Right now you are discouraged or entirely prevented from coming here. If we get our way that will change. You will be able to walk or bike the Bay Trail, berth your boat in the Harbor for an afternoon or spend the night. Land that is currently closed – pristine land – will be yours to explore. Species on the decline will find supportive stewardship, and Bay waters will find staunch defenders from industrial waste and sewage spills. You’ll find a place to explore the rich history of this special place, as well as a guide to the diversity of life that resides here. Mess about in boats or casually fish from the shore -- practices that have held many a heart attack at bay.
We are absolutely committed to public access, and to proactively working to insure opportunities for those undeserved by our preserved, natural places.
Don’t let it slip away. Join us.
Robert Edney, President
William Shakespeare