Glen Cove Nature Area

Citing the need to correct the inexplicable dissemination of misinformation about the Glen Cove Waterfront Improvement Plan, the Greater Vallejo Recreation District (GVRD) today launched a website and Facebook page to provide the public and media with the actual facts about the project. Facts about Glen Cove can be found by visiting http://www.glencovenaturearea.org on Thursday and today on Facebook at http://www.Facebook.com/GlenCoveNatureArea.

The Glen Cove Waterfront Improvement Plan will protect and preserve an important indigenous settlement and burial site, restore the area to a more natural state and create a safe waterfront open space for all Vallejo area residents to enjoy. The Glen Cove area contains historic, cultural and natural treasures along 15 acres of the Carquinez Shoreline. The park improvement plan was developed and approved over 6 ½ years with extensive input by tribal interests, the community and local and state agencies.

“The Glen Cove Waterfront Improvement Plan received the support of Native American descendants of the area and the California Native American Heritage Commission because it protects and preserves sensitive cultural and natural lands and creates a safe place for residents to enjoy the beauty of the area,” said GVRD board member Gary Salvadori.

Salvadori added that claims the site will desecrate burial grounds or other sacred sites are completely untrue. Review of the park’s master plan and environmental impact report reveals that no digging or development will take place in the documented cultural resources area of Glen Cove. In addition, the plan includes a protection area with a 50-foot buffer around the archaeological site and a protective layer will be placed over the cultural resource area to protect it from disturbance during construction and subsequent use of the site.

In addition, claims that the Native American community was not involved with, or even excluded from, the review and approval process for the improvement project are also false. The Native American descendents of the area and the California Native American Heritage Commission have been involved in the process from the start, as have the Native American activists who oppose the improvement plan. In fact, GVRD extensively involved the Vallejo Intertribal Council (VIC)and the related Sacred Site Protection and Rights of Indigenous Tribes (SSPRIT) in the planning process and consulted a UC Berkeley anthropology professor, Kent G. Lightfoot, recommended by VIC to review the site plan and offer recommendations. All of the professor’s recommendations and concerns were addressed in the final plan.

“We are looking forward to finally clarifying the misinformation being put forth about this project and ensuring the public and media have all the facts about the project as we commence with the preservation of the site and improvements to the land,” said Salvadori.