HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 10051993 - WC.1 WG.
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TO: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
!' Costa
,
FROM: WATER COMMITTEE County
Supervisor Sunne Wright McPeak, Chair
Supervisor Tom Torlakson
DATE: October 5, 1993
SUBJECT: Report on Delta Environmental Science Center
SPECIFIC REQUEST(S) OR RECOMMENDATIONS) & BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION
RECOMMENDATIONS
1. Direct County Counsel to participate in the drafting and
review of a Joint Powers Agreement between Ironhouse Sanitary
District, East Bay Regional Park District, Community College
Districts and the County for operation of the proposed Delta
Environmental Science Center.
2 . Direct the Community Development Department to work with the
East Bay Regional Park District on inclusion of funding for
the Delta Environmental Science Center in the 1994 Parks and
Wildlife Initiative (general obligation bond act) .
CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: /YES SIGNATURE
RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE
APPROVE OTHER
SIGNATURE -W4
(
Supervisor Sunne W. McPeak, Chair Supervisor Tom Torlakson
ACTION OF BOARD ON !nnT K 10gl APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED y OTHER
VOTE OF SUPERVISORS
I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A
UNANIMOUS (ABSENT TRUE AND CORRECT COPY OF AN
AYES: NOES: ACTION TAKEN AND ENTERED ON THE
ABSENT: ABSTAIN: MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF
SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE SHOWN.
Contact: Roberta Goulart (510) 646-2071 ATTESTED OCT r 5 1993
cc: Community Development Department PHIL BATCHELOR, CLERK OF
County Counsel THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
County Administrator's Office AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR
BY , DEPUTY
RG:nv
RWC/Science.bod
Board Order
Delta Environmental Science Center
October 5, 1993
- Page 2 -
REASON FOR RECOMMENDATION/BACKGROUND
Representatives from the Ironhouse Sanitary District, the Community
College District (as lead agency for school involvement) , the
County and the East Bay Regional Park District have been meeting
for some time in order to facilitate a proposal for a Delta
Environmental Science Center. The Center would provide an array of
science education programs such as hydrology, wildlife habitat,
wetlands management, other studies, teacher training and career
opportunities. Envisioned is a one-story building with a rooftop
observation platform, exhibit hall, laboratory rooms, an auditorium
and offices. The site is located in the Big Break area, on a sandy
upland site adjacent to wetlands, on land to be donated by the
Ironhouse Sanitary District.
Identification of funding sources for capital costs as well as
ongoing operations remains to be determined. It is possible that
funding may be available as part of the 1994 Parks and Wildlife
Initiative, currently being compiled. The Water Committee
recommends evaluation of this potential source of funding, and to
work with the Park District on this matter.
The Water Committee recommendation includes participation in the
drafting of a Joint Powers Agreement only; it does not indicate
financial support, participation or other commitments. This
authorization simply enables a draft JPA to be prepared.
RG:nv
RWC/Science.bod
THE DELTA ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE CENTER
A FACILITY DESIGNED TO PREPARE
STUDENTS FOR THE FUTURE
A PROPOSAL DEVELOPED BY
Ironhouse Sanitary District,
Contra Costa County,
East Bay Regional Park District
Los Medanos Community College,
Contra Costa Community College District
and many enthusiastic teachers and members of
the Audubon Society
August 5, 1993
THE DELTA ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE CENTER
INTRODUCTION
California's two greatest rivers, the Sacramento and the San
Joaquin, join in the Delta to form the largest estuarine
environment along the Pacific Coast. The Delta is home to a broad
variety of wildlife including beaver, river otter, fish, and
hundreds of thousands of m1_r-atory birds. The Delta is also an
ecological treasure that serves the recreational and educational
needs of the people of central California.
Staffs from the Ironhouse Sanitary District, the Los Medanos
Community College, Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors (Tom
Torlakson) , the East Bay Regional Park District and key educators
from local elementary and high schools, as well as people from the
Audubon Society have been discussing a world-class, one-of-a-kind
environmental education facility in the Delta for the last year.
Once planned, developed, and programmed, this facility will set the
standards for future cooperative education efforts of students k-14
in environmental sciences in wetland areas.
As one result of their many meetings and discussions, they have
drafted the following MISSION STATEMENT as a guide to their
.planning and thinking.
MISSION STATEMENT
The Delta Evironmental Science Center will provide a
diverse array of innovative , experiential science
education programs of the highest quality with emphasis
on DELTA HYDROLOGY, WILDLIFE HABITAT, WETLANDS
MANAGEMENT, AND SPECIAL STUDIES. Wherever possible,
appropriate environmental sciences career training will
be encouraged and developed. The Center shall become a
critical bridge between and among classroom studies at
all levels, effective outdoor learning experiences, and
special research projects. Student and public involvement
will be the core of a dynamic learning environment where
creative approaches to teaching and learning will be
developed in concert with training for environmental
science careers. The Center shall serve as a local,
regional, state, and national training center for
teachers in aquatic and other environmental sciences.
THE FACFLI'T1
THE SITE
The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is one of the prime river-
estuarine systems in the world comparable to the Mississippi, Nile,
and Amazon Deltas. It is not only a unique world-class natural
resource, but it is critical to the recreational and educational
needs of the people of California.
The current facility, as e-_%,isioned, sits at the edge of the
wetland and marsh comprising the Bigbreak area on land under the
jurisdiction of the Ironhouse Sanitary District. The site is a sand
field that was formerly used for agricultural purposes. The staffs
involved have agreed that the building at this site should be a
low-profile, single story facility with, perhaps, a rooftop
observation platform for public viewing into the Bigbreak Lagoon.
Two boardwalks and piers are planned to extend out of the marshland
into the open water of Bigbreak lagoon to allow public and student
access.
MAJOR ISSUES
The development and use of this site hinges on a number of ,issues.
Primary among these is the issue of funding, without which the
project will not be completed nor continually operated following
capital development. Secondary issues include: organization,
transportation, and parking. An alternate site might be at the
southwest end of Jersey Island, also under current jurisdiction of
ISD.
THE BUILDING
_ The DESC facility currently is envisioned as having the following
features for public or school use:
-Four laboratory classrooms fully equipped with aquaria,
microscopes, and various other testing and analysis
equipment.
-An auditorium for public programs
-An exhibit hall exhibits on the history and natural
history of the Delta, as well as aquaria for self-
guided public use.
-A foyer for information, handouts, and sales.
-An office for staff
-Public restrooms
-Space for materials, equipment, and supplies storage.
The entire complex as envisioned would be approximately 15-17,000
square feet.
OUTDOOR FACILITIES
Boardwalks:
The current plan envisions two boardwalks to allow student and
public access to the marsh and lagoon with minimal disturbance of
wildlife. A viewing platform will be placed at the end of one
boardwalk. A pontoon-type vessel that would allow a class of
students to investigate, survey, and study the aquatic environs of
Bigbreak Lagoon would be dziked to a platform attached to -the
second boardwalk.
Field Project Sites:
Areas will be designated for special research-demonstration
projects where college students can demonstrate their projects, the
mechanics and the results, to other grade level students. In this
way, students can effectively teach students. Other sensitive
formal studies will be conducted on sites within the property where
no public or student access is allowed to preserve the integrity of
the research.
PROGRAM OPPORTUNITIES
The keys to the programming at the DESC facility include:
-innovative linkages between different grade levels where
teaching is shared by naturalists, science teachers,
college students and high school students.
-hands-on, experiential, exploratory learning that places all
students and public in one of the richest natural
environments in California.
-the resource-based programs will focus on the broader issues
of the delta serving as the funnel for 47% of the
watershed of California, as well as locally unique
elements as the delta smelt, striped bass, salmon,
waterfowl, saltwater penetration in low-flow years, the
importance of flushing action in high-flow years and many
other critical education lessons.
-opportunities for high school and college students to get
information about career choices in aquatic
environmental sciences supported by practical experience
as part of the teaching curriculum in selected areas,
particularly wetland management.
a
t
SELF-GUIDED SERVICES
The central facility will have a variety of self-guided services
available including exhibits, brochures, experiential teacher's
field packs, and aquaria. A working model of the entire Sacramento-
San Joaquin drainage systems flowing through the Delta will be a
key highlight of the exhibitry. Select aquatic sciences tool kits
can be developed and available on loan or by check-out to teachers.
Small interpretive panels can be placed at key locations along the
boardwalks to provide information to the general public and
teachers touring the site on their own.
A self-guided trail brochure or booklet can be developed to
facilitate appropriate site exploration.
GUIDED SERVICES
Students: In consultation with teachers, a broad variety of
programs will be developed tailored to the classroom
experiences and lessons of the students. Emphasis is placed on
experiential learning involving a variety of subjects
including the California watershed, hydrology, wildlife
ecology, and wetland, waterfowl, amphibian, fish, bird, and
plant biology. Ongoing special studies projects will be
developed for appropriate grade levels involving teachers and
research students.
General Public: A broad range of public programs will be developed
that focus on discovery and involvement, using a variety of
techniques and opportunities. Early morning bird programs,
evening "mammal tracking" safaris, on-the-water exploration of
Delta ecology, and learning the basics of marsh dynamics will
be among the many programs offered. Attention will also be
devoted to developing ongoing constituencies- for support and
operations. A volunteer program is essential and should be
pursued when time and staffing allow.
Teacher Training: The site is a natural for outdoor teacher
training conducted by college and naturalist staffs. College
and university credits will attract a broad base of interested
teachers.
Aquatic Camps: A series of special summer "aquatic camps" or
seminars can be sponsored with the intent of having students
explore wetlands biology in depth, covering a variety of
subjects over several days. This would be a self-sustaining
fee program.
Collegiate Use: Science instructors from Los Medanos College will
design and conduct a variety of appropriate classes at this
facility. Classes including wetlands ecology, fisheries
ecology, delta field studies, wildlife ecology, environmental
r,
studies, and a number of basic biology classes will use the
DESC facility. Other colleges and universities will
undoubtedly want to visit and make use of this facility.
FUNDING:
Funding is a crucial part of the success of this program. Funds are
required for capital development, as well as annual operation of
the facility, including staff costs.
A major fund raising campaig:: ,must be devised to solicit federal
and state funds, as well as building partnerships with corporations
that will be willing to provide continuous support.
ORGANIZATION
The proposed facility will be operated under the aegis of a non-
profit organization created by a Joint Powers Agreement that may
involve the Contra Costa County Community College District, Contra
Costa County, the East Bay Regional Park District, Ironhouse
Sanitary District, with community representatives from the Audubon
Society, local high schools, and elementary schools serving as
advisors.
russo/desc
10A--Contra Costa Times Tuesday, August 10, 1993
m
DffORLU-S
.A. Delta. seienee center
hall,auditorium and boardwalks into
East Bay facility needed,
the Big Break wetlands.It would be
but so is private funding directed principally at students from
here's no doubt about the need kindergarten through junior college.
for an interpretive science cen- The only drawback is the usual one
ter along the Bay-Delta Es- —money.Under the best of circum-
tuary.Ron Russo,the chief naturalist stances,none of the public agencies
for the East Bay Regional Park Dis- involved likely could generate the
trict,correctly describes our Delta several million dollars needed to build
system as one of world significance, the center nor$1 million-plus in an-
ranking in importance with the nual operating and maintenance
mouths of the Nile River in Egypt costs.And it's impossible in the midst
and the Amazon in Brazil.There of the current recession and in the
should be a permanent center where wake of the state property tax grab
residents,visitors,students and that has left local government reeling.
scholars alike can gather to learn That means funding must come
more about the Delta's unique eco- from private sources.And what better
system and the reasons it must be
preserved. private sources than regional organi-
That's why a coalition of local zations like Greenbelt Alliance and
school districts, Los Medanos Col- national environmental groups like
lege,the Audubon Society,Ironhorse the Sierra Club,Environmental
Sanitary District and the park district Defense Fund or Natural Resources
should be supported in its plan to Defense Council.
build such a center.It would be locat- Such groups,in the name of pro-
ed on a 3-acre wetlands site,next to a tecting it,have been fighting to stop
sanitary district facility,at Big Break growth in the Delta and surrounding
northeast of Oakley. environs for years. Here's a gold-
The group's plans call for a 13,504- en opportunity for them to put their
square-foot center with an exhibit money where their mouths are.
to
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6A--Contra Costa Times Thursday, September 16, 1993
CONTRA COSTA
bird lovers donate $1,000
to Delta science center fund
By JAMES BRUGGERS start in the effort to raise money.
Stall writer Meadows said. Eventually, dona-
tions will be sought from founda-
Using money raised from a guide tions, businesses and individuals, he
for bird lovers,the Mt. Diablo Audu- said.
bon Society has made the first do- Science center advocates say
nation to a proposed Delta science they want to build a world-class fa-
center in eastern Contra Costa. cility that would explore the special
Group members say they want characteristics of a delta ecosystem.
their $1,000 contribution to trigger "I'm so convinced that this is go-
interest and other donations for the ing to be for wetlands what the
project, which will cost millions. Monterey Bay Aquarium is for the
"I hope this gives people the idea ocean," said Al McNabney, conser-
4 that here's something worth con- vation chairman of Mt. Diablo Au-
.tributing to," said Jean Richmond, dubon Society. "The only thing that
who wrote `Girding Northern Cali- disturbs me is that it doesn't go fast
fornia" and donated the book's pro- enough."
ceeds to Mt. Diablo Audubon. "At Meadows said he's been develop-
least this is the opening salvo in an ing the idea for three years.
effort to get the needed money."
Advocates of the center will
meet at 10 a.m. today at Los Me-
danos College to discuss forming an
organization that would build and
operate the facility. Participants in-
clude East Bay Regional Park Dis-
trict, Ironhouse Sanitary District,
Los Medanos College and county
Supervisor Tom Torlekson.
The science center would be con-
structed on Ironhouse Sanitation
District property near Oakley, said
Dwight Meadows, a district board
member. It would provide science
programs on water quality and the
Delta region for students, profes-
sional research opportunities and a
public interpretive center, he said.
A partnership of several agen-
cies, called a joint powers agree-
ment, will be needed for the project
to get beyond the conceptual stage,
said Ron Russo, park district chief
naturalist.
The Audubon donation is only a
small fraction of the anticipated
costs, but it represents an important