Skaggs Island: Ex-Navy base to wildlife service
Peter Fimrite
San Francisco Chronicle
03/18/2011
The former U.S. Navy base at Skaggs Island was officially transferred to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Thursday, but the dream of restoring one of Sonoma County's most important wildlife havens into a teeming wetland is still on hold.
The 3,300-acre plot of land that was once a Navy communications base will officially become part of the San Pablo Bay National Wildlife Refuge on March 31, completing a deal that environmentalists say will increase the protected areas available for birds and wildlife in the area by a quarter.
"Skaggs Island is a missing piece of the puzzle for restoration in the North Bay, and we're excited to see it become part the refuge," said Don Brubaker, the manager of the 13,000-acre national wildlife refuge.
Skaggs Island, along Highway 37 between Novato and Vallejo, was once a thriving tidal marsh next to San Pablo Bay. It is part of the Pacific Flyway for migratory birds and was used extensively by American Indians until the 1800s, when federal legislation allowed the state to fill in wetlands.
Much of the area was subsequently converted to privately owned hay farms and salt ponds. It is one of the largest diked wetlands in the North Bay and still supports the largest wintering population of the diving ducks known as canvasbacks on the West Coast.
A naval communications base was established on Skaggs Island in 1942 and remained open until 1993. Environmentalists have been trying for decades to restore the surrounding land to its original condition. The San Pablo Bay National Wildlife Refuge was created in 1974 to protect migratory birds, wetland habitat and endangered species such as the salt marsh harvest mouse and California clapper rail.
Rep. Lynn Woolsey, D-Petaluma, introduced legislation in 2008 that enabled the Navy property to be transferred to the Fish and Wildlife Service. Last year, the Navy demolished more than 100 structures in preparation for the transfer.
The idea is to eventually restore the entire area to wetlands, but an 1,100-acre hay farm owned by Jim Haire is in the middle of the proposed restoration on the island. The Fish and Wildlife Service wants to buy Haire's land too, but the two sides can't seem to agree on price.
