2007 Annual Report
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Marin Conservation League Guardian of Marin’s Environment The mission of the Marin Conservation League is to preserve, protect and enhance the natural assets of Marin County. 2007 ANNUAL REPORT IMAGES OF MARIN’S OPEN SPACES PHOTOGRAPHED BY BOB GRACE AND PAINTED BY BAYWOOD ARTISTS Dear Friends: On behalf of the Board of Directors, I am pleased to submit to you, our mem- bers, Marin Conservation League’s 2007 Annual Report. As MCL’s President, I want to thank you for your continued support as we look forward to celebrating our 75th year in 2009. Few environmental organizations can equal MCL’s re- markable achievements in land preservation or its history of environmental activ- ism in Marin County! You continue to be a vital part of this heritage. The history of Marin Conservation League teaches us that we must always look ahead to the future even as we celebrate the past. 2007 was a year in which the scope of MCL’s environmental activ- ism expanded. Many of our activities during the year concerned land and natural resource-related issues. These have been the focus of MCL for decades – plans and development proposals that continue to need attention, such as the still-pending Master Plan for Lawson’s Landing, where un- regulated recreation continues to threaten the sensitive Tomales Bay Dunes; an ill-advised plan for a massive sports complex near the wetlands at San Rafael Airport; the environmental effects of opera- tions at the San Rafael Rock Quarry; and risks to Petaluma Marsh from proposed expansion of the Redwood Landfill. You will also find emerging issues on MCL’s “docket,” such as global warming, sustainability, and community choice aggregation (“Marin Clean Energy”). These and similar issues enlarge MCL’s scope of interest beyond the County, to address regional and even global concerns. The MCL Board of Directors now includes experts in green building, energy conservation, greenhouse gas emis- sions, and carbon sequestration. In time, these issues will take us into uncharted territory that could include sea-level rise and vegetation shifts in a changing environment. One of MCL’s outstanding accomplishments of 2007, in collaboration with other environmental or- ganizations, was our part in Marin County’s Countywide Plan Update after a lengthy public process. Here too, the Plan, approved in November 2007, reflects a transition as it captures both traditional land use and natural resource issues as well as forward-looking concerns of sustainability, the Plan’s overarching theme. Many recommendations of the environmental community, such as designation of a Baylands Corridor, found their way into the approved Plan. MCL can also report that efforts to protect special lands in Marin, through our Lands in Between campaign, continue to garner success- ful collaborations with local community activists. Our popular quarterly “Business Breakfast” series again featured speakers on topics of mutual interest to the environmental and business communities of Marin, such as zero waste and new trends in organic agriculture. Please take a moment to review these and other activities listed in the 2007 Action Calendar. With- out you, our members, they would not have been possible. As MCL continues into 2008, responding to both traditional and new environmental challenges, we need your support more than ever. Your contribution, in any amount, in the enclosed envelope will provide that support. Thanks to all of you who cared about MCL and its work in 2007! Sincerely, Nona Dennis President STATEMENT OF ACTIVITIES January 1 to December 31, 2007 (Prepared from MCL Records) SUPPORT AND REVENUE Unrestricted Temp. Restricted Board Restricted Total (Project Funds) (Legacy / Land) Support Membership $90,760 $90,760 Contributions $57,666 $13,250 $70,916 Special Events & Miscellaneous _____$15,568 $15,568_____ Total Support $163,994 $13,250 $0 $177,244 Revenue The Statement of Activities sum- Project Management Fees $1,845 $1,845 marizes MCL’s financial results for Interest & Dividend Income $9,183 $37,241_____ $46,424 the calendar year. The figures are Sales of Inventory less costs _____$2 $2 from MCL’s books and records and Total Revenue $11,030 $0 $37,241 $48,271 are unaudited. Transfers In 2007 MCL had an overall gain, as LOL Transfers to Operations $68,634 -$68,634 $0 did MCL’s Unrestricted (Operations) Operations Transfers to LOL -$32,866 $32,866 $0 and Board Restricted (Legacy of the Net Assets Released from Restrictions_____ $29,490 _____ -$29,490 _____$0 $0 Land endowment) Funds. Only the Total Transfers $65,258 -$29,490 -$35,768 Temporary Restricted Fund ran a deficit. This was expected as this Total Support, Revenue & Transfers $240,282 -$16,240 $1,473 $225,515 fund holds money which is ear- EXPENSES marked for specific projects or pur- Program Services $124,186 $124,186 poses. In 2007, more was spent on these projects than was received. Management & General $16,398 $16,398 Fundraising $37,799 _____$37,799 _____ The Unrestricted Fund pays for Total Expenses $178,383 $0 $0 $178,383 MCL’s day-to-day programs and Results from operations $61,899 -$16,240 $1,473 $47,132 advocacy. The gain in 2007 is pri- marily the result of prudent man- InvestmentGain,Realized&Unrealized $7,239 $0 $43,177 $50,416 agement of MCL’s resources. This Change in Net Assets $69,138 -$16,240 $44,650 $97,548 year was only the second year since 2000 in which MCL had a gain in its Total Equity, beginning of 2007 $269,538 $69,353 $1,478,852 $1,817,743 operations. This year’s operating Establish Lands in Between Fund -$5,500 $5,500 gain was used to restore a portion Adjusted Equity, Start of 2007 $264,038 $74,853 $1,478,852 $1,817,743 of MCL’s operating reserves which were used to pay for deficits in prior Total Equity, end of 2007 $333,176 $58,613 $1,523,502 $1,915,291 years. We thank you for your past and continuing support of MCL’s work. MCL Credo Works to preserve and protect the natural resource values and assets of Marin, focusing our action on issues of countywide significance or issues which may prove to be precedent-setting. We place par- ticular emplasis on those issues having important land use impli- cations or impacts on Marin’s en- vironment and quality of life. We look for effective solutions through our own advocacy efforts as well as through working in close collab- oration with other organizations to address major environmental challenges and concerns in Marin. Marin Conservation League 2007 Action Calendar JANUARY JUNE • Advocated for the preservation • Supported State Climate Change of a 135 acre community separa- and Water Resource Protection Act of tor between the San Geronimo and 2007 (AB 224), which requires water Nicasio Valleys as part of the Ferrari agencies to incorporate impacts of Subdivision Tentative Map and Pre- cise Development Plan. climate change into water planning and quantify energy savings and • Supported efforts to protect the greenhouse gas emissions associ- Tomales Dunes and coastal wetlands PAINTING BY ZEE ZEE MOTT from excessive recreational develop- ated with alternative supplies. ment at Lawsons’ Landing – a continu- MARCH • Worked with Transportation Author- ing effort led by EAC of West Marin • Hosted Business Breakfast featur- ity of Marin (TAM) and CalTrans to involving both County and California ensure that the Highway 101 Marin- Coastal Commission. ing State Assembly representative Jared Huffman. Sonoma Narrows Widening Project • Recommended that the County will not degrade seasonal wetlands • Supported Ross Valley Watershed develop comprehensive policies and or San Antonio Creek habitats. procedures to govern siting, de- Flood Control Measure. sign and operation of wind energy • Urged the State Parks Supervisor • Supported passage of AB541 bar- conservation systems (WECS) in to prepare an EIR before consider- ring genetically engineered crops Marin, to ensure that environmental ing changing several trails in Marin and allow recovery of damages in impacts of this renewable energy County State Parks from primarily resource are addressed. local courts from genetically engi- hiker/equestrian use to a multi-use neered (GE) crop contamination. concept allowing bicycling. • Submitted comments to Golden Gate National Recreation Area JULY (GGNRA) on alternative plans to re- • Reviewed the precise develop- store wetlands and Redwood Creek ment plan for Binford Road Storage at Big Lagoon in Muir Beach. Project and submitted comments to County staff identifying shortfalls APRIL in project compliance with environ- • Participated in the lengthy plan- mental provisions. ning process for Loch Lomond, San • Led a group-walk along Stark- Rafael, to reduce the number of weather Shoreline Park trail in proposed residential units, ensure conjunction with hosting the Annual wetland and shoreline protections, Picnic on the Porch for MCL mem- and alleviate future traffic conges- bers. tion. • Initiated an in-depth study of • Awarded Amy Meyer, author of “New green energy options for Marin Guardians for the Golden Gate” and county communities under the Com- co-chair of People for a Golden Gate munity Choice Aggregation law (aka PAINTING BY PAUL KRATTER National Recreation Area, the Peter “Marin Clean Energy”). Behr Lifetime Achievement Award at PAINTING BY CHRIS ADESSA FEBRUARY the MCL Annual Dinner. • Continued to fund removal of • Participated in the AAA car bat- invasive species as part of a long tery recycling program in conjunc- term project on Gold Hill, San Ra- tion with Earth Day. fael. • Made recommendations for exist- MAY ing and planned access points for • Completed interpretive signage the Marin County segment of the for the Starkweather Shoreline Bay Area Water Trail. Park, San Rafael. • Pledged educational funding assis- • Opposed construction of a Home tance for KRCB Television documen- Depot “Big Box” store on the Hanna tary, “Moments in Time”, on saving Ranch property in Novato.