The coastal commission was in part modeled after the Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC), established in 1965 by the McAteer-Petris Act to create a comprehensive management system for San Francisco Bay. This was the first such regulatory body in the nation created by citizen activism—a remarkable feat in such a large and urbanized area. At the time, the Bay had shrunk by a third because of diking and filling for agriculture and urban development and all but four miles of the nine-county shoreline was inaccessible to the public. Under BCDC’s watch, not only have diking and filling stopped, but California’s largest estuary has actually been allowed to expand. Even as the metropolitan area’s population keeps growing—it stands today at nearly seven million—significant portions of the shoreline are being given back to nature. To date, some 30,000 acres of historic wetlands have been acquired for restoration or are in process of being acquired—unthinkable 40 years ago. In March escrow closed on the 15,000-acre South Bay Cargill salt ponds, the largest acquisition yet. Public access has been expanded to about 200 miles, and the 400-mile Bay Trail has been brought more than half-way to completion. It will eventually circle the Bay. BCDC Executive Director Will Travis warns, however, that because the Bay is shallow and therefore easy to fill, it will continue to be threatened.

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