Leland Yee holding a town meeting on Farallon Islands access

Assembly member and speaker pro tem Leland Yee (D-12th District) is holding a town hall meeting to discuss public access to the Farallon Islands National Marine Refuge.  The Chronicle reported in February:

House Resources Committee Chairman Richard Pombo, R-Tracy, and the top Democrat on the committee have introduced a bill that would direct the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to offer special permits to visit the Farallon National Wildlife Refuge in response to requests from amateur radio operators who enjoy broadcasting from remote islands.

But scientists who study seabirds and other species on the islands 28 miles off the coast of San Francisco—which some call "California’s Galapagos"—said even limited public visits could have serious effects on populations of birds and marine mammals that have rebounded since access to the islands by humans was strictly limited in 1969.

Yee will host a meeting that includes a representative of the American Radio Relay League, and a host of environmental organizations (Sierra Club, Farallones Marine Sanctuary Association, Audobon Society, Sierra Club, Enviromental Defenese).  The press release quotes Yee:  "This federal legislation is yet another example of efforts to peel back important environmental protections. I will not stand idly by while our environmental policies are neglected or reversed."

The meeting will be held Thursday, April 14, 2005 at 7:00 P.M. at Richmond Recreation Center, 251 18th Avenue (between California and Clement St.), in San Francisco.

Click "read more" to see the press release.

For Immediate Release:
Contact:
April 12, 2005
Adam J. Keigwin,
(916) 319-2012
(916) 256-5758

PRESS ADVISORY

Speaker pro Tem Yee Hosts Town Hall Meeting on Farallon Islands National Wildlife Refuge Protection vs. Public Access Debate Sparked by Recent Federal Legislation

Who: 
Speaker pro Tem Leland Y. Yee, Ph.D.
Jake McGoldrick, San Francisco Supervisor
Linda Hunter, Farallones Marine Sanctuary Association
Joelle Buffa, Ken McDermond & Alexandra Pitts, U.S. Fish & Wildlife
Bob Valio, American Radio Relay League
Doreen Moser, Marine Mammal Center
Alan Hopkins, Golden Gate Audubon Society
Becky Evans, Sierra Club
Richard Charter, Environmental Defense

When: Thursday, April 14, 2005 at 7:00 P.M.

Where:
Richmond Recreation Center
251 18th Avenue (between California and Clement St.)
San Francisco, CA

What: Speaker pro Tem Leland Yee will host a town hall meeting to discuss the recent federal legislation that seeks to require the US Secretary of the Interior to provide public access to the Farallon Islands National Wildlife Refuge (FNWR), Navassa National Wildlife Refuge, and Desecheo National Wildlife Refuge.  Environmental and policy experts will be present to discuss this issue and to answer questions from the public.

Due to the extremely sensitive environmental conditions, the Farallon Islands National Wildlife Refuge has been closed to public access since its inception.

"This federal legislation is yet another example of efforts to peel back important environmental protections," said Speaker pro Tem Yee. "I will not stand idly by while our environmental policies are neglected or reversed."