Your article in the Bunker section of your magazine was extremely one-sided regarding the fight to save Sharp Park GC in Pacifica, California. All your article said on behalf of the opponents of Sharp Park was that they contend the course harms two species, the California Red Legged Frog, and the San Francisco garter snake.
Among points your article skipped was that the San Francisco garter snake might just be the most beautiful snake in the United States, and that it is on the verge of extinction.
The San Francisco garter snake's desperately diminished population is only found in rare coastal and bay side wetlands in San Mateo county. Numerous pesticides known or suspected of harming these snakes are used there.
There are golf courses all over America, and most are in areas where they are not harmful to sensitive ecosystems. In fact, quite often they enhance the environment for local wildlife. This is not the case at Sharp Park.
Sharp Park GC has been around since 1932. The San Francisco garter snake has been around for millions of years, and now faces extinction at the hands of humans. I am a golfer. Are we golfers so arrogant as to choose to condemn a species to extinction in order to save one muny?
Thanks, Marcus. Well-said. In December a veto by San Francisco Mayor Edwin Lee blocked transfer of the site to the National Park Service, which would probably have spelled its doom. Stay tuned.
Marcus Miller
Crown Point, IN
Bob Carney
Photo: Bill Fields
