Open Salt Pond Levees as Bicycle Trails!
With the planned purchase by state and federal agencies announced May 28, 2002, large areas of the south bay, currently used for commercial salt production, will be returned to natural salt marsh. The many miles of levees in the area have bikeable roads and trails that should be maintained, and in many cases opened to the public, as soon as the sale is completed. Many are now blocked by chain-link fences maintained by the current owner, Cargill Salt. The use of federal and state funds to purchase the salt ponds should have as its goal to improve the quality of life of the people as well as the wildlife of silicon valley.
Click
here to see a map showing roads in the Palo Alto/Mountain View area that can
be opened (many others, not yet mapped by the South Baylands Trails Project can
also be opened). Bright yellow lines represent roads that can be opened for
bicycles. Orange and blue lines represent dirt and paved roads/paths
currently open to the public. The opening and maintenance of some of the levees as bicycle paths,
allowing people to share these quiet bayland areas with wildlife, is also the
responsibility of county and local officials.
With the opening of Moffett Field to public use, the accessibility and value of these paths will be increased tremendously. The map shows that a levee extends straight out from just east of the end of the runway and would be a popular path for bird watchers, bicyclists, and other citizens who wish to enjoy the restoration of that now desolate landscape. Many other paths make extensions of the Bay Trail in the area are excellent candidates for peaceful recreations as the land returns to a more natural state.
Here is Cargill's announcement
The transfer will take place some time in the fall 2002.
Additional Links of Interest
Save the Bay has published an extensive analysis of the restoration options.
The US Fish and Wildlife Service may pay part of the cost of taking over the salt ponds.