INTRODUCTION

Background and problem:

Under recent legislation the County of Marin, California, has received trust to the tidelands of Bolinas Lagoon, 15 miles northwest of San Francisco. This grant from the California State Lands Commission obligates the County to prepare a management plan for the Lagoon; one that takes into consideration the present state of the Lagoon ecosystem as well as its potential for change.

The Conservation Foundation, under a grant from the Ford Foundation, is assisting the citizens and staff of Marin County in their efforts to draw together disparate biophysical, legal, and economic information to:

(a) Determine the highest and most compatible
use(s) for the Lagoon, its watershed and littoral
adjuncts.

(b) Set down ecologically sound guidelines that
will serve in preparing a management plan for the
Lagoon.

This report is one of five technical studies submitted to The Conservation Foundation for the Bolinas Lagoon project covering the following topics:

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Geologic Setting and Geologic Hazards

Clyde W. Wahrhaftig, University of California,
Berkeley.

Soils and Hydrology of the Watershed
Robert H. Burgy, University of California,
Davis.

Hydrology and Water Quality of the Lagoon
David R. Storm, University of California, Davis.

Planning Aspects of the Watershed, Lagoon, and Avifaunal Biology Rowan A. Rowntree, University of California, Berkeley.

Legal, Fiscal, and Implementation Survey
Paul H. Sedway, Sedway/Cooke, San Francisco.

Interpretation and recommendations drawn from these technical reports are contained in the summary report on the project issued by The Conservation Foundation, Washington, D. C., February, 1971.

Purpose and Objectives:

The key questions in this report deal with information, prediction, and change. The introductory portion of the report seeks to outline a workable approach to appraising ecological information relevant to planning for Bolinas Lagoon. The body of the report is divided into three parts dealing respectively with (a) the watershed flora and fauna, (b) the Lagoon flora and fauna, and (c) the avifauna using the Lagoon and watershed.

For each of these three sections the author will (1) briefly review the pertinent existing studies, (2) predict future trends or suggest potential changes, (3) comment on the accuracy -- or level of confidence -- of these predictions in light of the quality and quantity of existing data, (4) take a position on each of the immediate planning issues (e.g., logging, dredging, subdivision), and (5) make recommendations for further study.

The last section makes recommendations toward a research program that can be tied to the environmental monitoring required for the management of this complex and large-scale ecosystem.

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Management Philosophy and Objectives:

1. Acknowledging that the County has legal jurisdiction over only the Lagoon and certain acquired lands on its periphery, a management plan must consider activities on the watershed and in the littoral system as affecting the Lagoon directly. Additionally, the plan should anticipate that activities quite removed from the Bolinas Lagoon watershed will affect the diversity and abundance of migratory birds and fishes using the Lagoon.

2. It is the judgment of the project team and its advisory board that the highest and best use of the watershed/Lagoon ecosystem can be derived from a program of continuing research and public education. The traditional concept of mass recreation is rejected for social, economic, and ecological reasons, however.

3. The concept of "preservation" of the watershed is modified to incorporate a philosophy of management that is tied directly to the ongoing research program. Management of an ecosystem of this scale and complexity requires continual monitoring and feedback of information to a decision-making body.

4. Due to unpredictable external and internal causes biological populations may fluctuate and even die out. Decisions about the future should be made so as to preserve as many options as possible. Management for diversity, rather than for certain species or communities is recommended.

The Watershed

General: The watershed flora and fauna are described and general changes in the upland and marsh plan communities can be predicted with reasonable accuracy. Further study should include (a) more precise mapping of the plant communities, (b) correlation of the upland communities with precise mapping of soil types, and (c) time-monitoring of plant species change in test plots or along standard transects. Management of the watershed should aim to preserve a spatial balance of grassland and forest through