[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 60 (Tuesday, May 16, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E837-E838]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      BAY AREA RIDGE TRAIL TRIBUTE

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. GEORGE MILLER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, May 16, 2006

  Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to invite 
my colleagues to join me in recognizing the completion of the 300th 
mile of the San Francisco Bay Area Ridge Trail on June 3, 2006.
  The Bay Area Ridge Trail was the vision of William Penn Mott Jr., who 
served as the head of the East Bay Regional Park District, California 
State Parks and as the Director of the National Park Service.
  Through a lifetime of service, Mr. Mott saw the importance of 
preserving ridge top lands for scenic, watershed, and habitat values. A 
key strategy for gaining public support for a significant program of 
land conservation, in his view, was to create responsible, appropriate 
and managed ways for the public to access and enjoy these lands through 
trails.
  A ``Bay Area ridge trail,'' in the grand tradition of the Appalachian 
and Pacific Crest trails, could connect people to places around them 
and build support for land preservation and protection.
  To bring this vision into reality, a group of public land managing 
agencies, nonprofit organizations, and local trails and community 
advocates began meeting in 1987 to plan the route of a ridgeline trail 
to connect protected land areas and promote additional land 
preservation. These initial meetings were led by the National Park 
Service and the People for Open Space (now, the Greenbelt Alliance).
  In 1988, this planning process led to the birthing of a new nonprofit 
organization known as the Bay Area Ridge Trail Council to coordinate 
the efforts of these public and private partners and promote the 
concept of the trail to the public.
  I am proud to have played a role in the success of the trail by 
helping to win congressional support for it.
  The first trail was dedicated on May 13, 1989, in San Mateo County in 
the Wunderlich and Huddart County Parks and Purissima Creek Redwoods 
Open Space Preserve. Since 1989, a series of trails have been dedicated 
as part of the growing Ridge Trail system.
  On June 3, 2006, the 300th mile will be dedicated in my district at 
the Crockett Hills Regional Park, in Contra Costa County. The total 
trail is expected to be over 500 miles in length; therefore this 
dedication brings the trail to more than halfway toward its completion.
  The Council today is an independent nonprofit organization with a 
staff of six, a board of directors of 32, seven active County 
Committees organizing efforts locally, volunteers numbering in the 
hundreds, and over 3,500 members working together to complete the 
trail. As an organization, the Council has many strengths: a diverse 
and active Board of Directors; a skilled and committed staff; strong 
public name recognition; a compelling vision and clear mission; 
numerous strong partnerships with public agencies; strong political 
support from federal, state, county, and local governments; and 
committed local volunteer support.
  No other organization in the Bay Area fills the important niche of 
providing public access to a regional network of ridgeline trails and 
open spaces and connecting local trails and communities to one another.
  Beyond the Council, many public partners and nonprofit organizations 
work to make the Ridge Trail a reality. Our public agency partners also 
bring many strengths. The Bay Area enjoys a multitude of public 
agencies, local governments, and special districts committed to the 
preservation and protection of land and to providing public 
recreational access. These organizations have extremely capable and 
committed boards, directors, and staffs. Many of these organizations 
also enjoy dedicated public funding from parcel tax assessments, sales 
tax or general fund support that allows them to pursue a capital 
program of land acquisition and trail development.
  As many of these partners helped to give birth to the Bay Area Ridge 
Trail Council, they have remained committed to helping complete the 
vision. The region also enjoys some of the most respected, skilled and 
well-funded land trusts in the nation that partner with the Council 
where our land acquisition needs overlap.
  Collectively, these public and private agencies have already acquired 
much of the land needed for the next 100 miles of the Ridge Trail.
  Some of the partners involved in the Bay Area Ridge Trail include The 
Golden Gate National Recreation Area, the John Muir National Historic 
Site, the Presidio Trust, the California Coastal Conservancy, 
California State Parks, the California Department of Fish and Game, the 
East Bay Regional Park District, the Mid Peninsula Regional Open Space 
District, Santa Clara County Parks Department, Santa Clara County Open 
Space Authority, San Mateo County Parks, the City of San Francisco, 
Marin County Open Space District, Sonoma County Agricultural 
Preservation and Open Space District, Sonoma County Regional Parks, 
Napa County, Solano County, the Sonoma Land Trust, Solano Land Trust,

[[Page E838]]

the Land Trust of Napa County, East Bay Municipal Utility District, San 
Francisco Water Department, Marin Municipal Water District.
  The Bay Area Ridge Trail creates many public benefits from helping to 
preserve uplands habitat and watershed lands, protecting scenic vistas 
valued by communities and providing the public with access to these 
vista points. By preserving a corridor of green land, the trail also 
helps define the edges of urban development, while creating managed 
ways for the urban public to enjoy these open areas.
  Through their involvement in building, maintaining and enjoying the 
Ridge Trail, trail users, community members, and private landowners can 
be given an opportunity to give back to their community and steward the 
land. The trail also helps with environmental restoration as it can be 
sited in a way to reduce environmental damage while providing access to 
the outdoors. The trail provides a recreational outlet in an 
increasingly dense metropolitan region; and increasing the health and 
well being of all who use the trail, a critical component in addressing 
the public health concern of obesity. And, in some cases, it can 
provide an alternative to using a private auto to travel from one's 
home to school or place of business.
  I commend the Bay Area Ridge Trail Council and its partners on 
completing the 300th mile of the Bay Area Ridge Trail on June 3, 2006, 
in conjunction with National Trails Day and wish the Council and all 
its partners continued success with this important effort.

                          ____________________