Since 1889, the men and women of Fort Bragg have labored to put food on their tables, roofs over their heads--and to make a few men in far away cities wealthy. Is this the dream you have for your children? Perhaps we've given enough? Isn't it time to use our collaborative skills and creativity to make our own decisions about our own town?
Once the clean up has restored the 1/3 of Fort Bragg to levels required by CA Environmental Law; once Fort Bragg businesses, educational, and environmental organizations can make meaningful, fundable plans; once the property is returned as whole as can be to the community, there is no limit to what our collaborative, creative community can do.
Will there be development? Of course.
An "artists bench" overlooks the surf- Fort Bragg Coastal Trail
Smart, environmentally sustainable development that is responsive to a rapidly changing planet. The Noyo Center for Marine Science and Education has plans for a top rated visitor's museum and research center. They will need more than the 11 acres they own. Take a look at the Symposium on the Blue Economy scheduled in Fort Bragg from May 19 through the 22nd. Think that the ocean hasn't anything to do with the local economy. The research the Noyo Center is doing on kelp is central to the issue our local fishery industry is facing.
Local businesses, including North Coast Brewing and Harvest Market have, over the years expressed interest in expanding. No one can move forward until the clean-up is complete.
What about jobs? You bet.
From entrepreneurial ventures to professional jobs in critical fields such as oceanography, renewable energy, and eco-building workforce housing, the move from two centuries of depending on the extraction economy to the critical work of redesigning the human relationship with the planet for a sustainable future relies on creating jobs. Well-paying and meaningful jobs. Certainly there is a role for tourist services. We have a beautiful town to share. It will not solve a scarcity of jobs. Neither will a short-term building boom. Out-of-town contractors do fill up the motels for a time, but it is a short-lived and targeted economic boom. We want jobs that will keep our young people wanting to be here.
The view of the millponds, looking towards the railroad buildings
Restoring wetlands, daylighting creeks, and creating a wildlife corridor is resilience.
Rather than going back in time, finding ways for humans and nature to live in harmony is the future.There is no other future. The climate crisis may not come to a tipping point in your lifetime, but it will come unless society can agree to value social, economic, and environmental justice and redefine "best use," not as a euphemism or narrowly defined description of profit. The Noyo Headlands is a rare opportunity to start over—begin again to build a verdant and healthy community for all. Lack of access to the property has made it challenging to design these projects. This will not use all of the property. There is evidence across the world that communities who enhanced their communities in these ways benefitted economically. Golden Gate Park SF, Central Park, NYC are just two highly visible and long-time examples of what someone with an common vision left as his legacy
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