Thursday, May 1, 2008

Lake Merced and the Pacific Rod and Gun Club

There has been a lot of discussion recently regarding the future of the Pacific Rod and Gun Club at Lake Merced. This has come up because the San Francisco PUC is crafting a Lake Merced Watershed Plan and is asking the hard questions about what are the appropriate and environmentally sound uses at the lake, now and into the future. The Plan is the result of the long-term advocacy of the Lake Merced Task Force that has been pushing for a master plan of the lake for a long time. I started the Task Force with two other organizations in 1999 to restore the lake and create a long-term stewardship program for its continued care. The Task Force is still going strong, almost a decade later.

I co-wrote an opinion piece that ran in the Chronicle on April 23, 2008 about Lake Merced and the Gun Club controversy. Here it is:

Let’s Not “Fire Away” Without All the Facts
by Dee Dee Workman, Dan Murphy, and Mondy Lariz

As long time advocates involved with restoring Lake Merced after many years of neglect, we are compelled to respond to recent Chronicle pieces: “Fire Away” (April 4 editorial) and “Gun Club in Crosshairs” (March 20). As is usually the case with complicated matters such as the current controversy over the Pacific Rod & Gun Club, things aren’t as simple as the Chronicle suggests.

The current process of how to restore Lake Merced is one that the Lake Merced Task Force, made up of over 40 organizations and agencies, has urged San Francisco to undertake for nearly a decade. Many who care about this priceless ecological and recreational resource have come together with the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC), which owns the lake, to develop a Lake Merced Watershed Plan. The plan will address issues such as environmental health, recreational potential, land use and watershed protection at the lake.

It should be made clear that the SFPUC is not arbitrarily trying to evict the Gun Club from its shores. Through its comprehensive watershed planning process, the SFPUC is simply trying to gauge public attitudes and priorities about different uses at the lake, including those at the Gun Club site.

This is not a question of banning or outlawing guns. Rather it is a process which asks; what is the most appropriate way to utilize this prime 14 acre lakefront site?

Currently the property is used less than 20 hours a week as a shooting range for approximately 300 gun club members. While the club has been generous in allowing occasional use of the property by others, the objective of the current SFPUC exercise is to determine what uses of the property will meet the classic utilitarian test of providing “the greatest good for the greatest number”.

Among the many uses being explored are a storage and launching facility for local high school and adult rowing programs; a facility for recreational boat rentals; a nature and environmental center; a children’s play area; a restoration site for dune and wetland habitat; and a youth fishing program. Both public comment and rigorous criteria established for balancing multiple lake uses have generally favored these activities. The suggestion that there must be room for a compromise where the gun club would share the site with other uses raises serious questions. As long as shooting continues to be the focus of the Club’s program, only the rowing facility is even remotely likely to be compatible with it. The space is large enough to accommodate many uses, yet safety around live shooting is a concern no one seems to be talking about. Imagine if a child enjoying the nature center wanders off and is accidentally shot. Also issues of noise, residual effects from lead and broken clay targets and impacts to birds and wildlife have yet to be fully addressed. The watershed plan must answer the question of whether gun use is a sustainable practice at Lake Merced and if it can be compatible with competing uses without creating environmental and human hazards.

We have worked collaboratively with members of the Gun Club and their affinity groups and respect their point of view. We also believe that the open public planning process led by the SFPUC is the best way to balance the competing possibilities for the future of Lake Merced. To learn more and comment on the Lake Merced Watershed Plan, go to the SFPUC website at: http://www.sfwater.org/msc_main.cfm/MC_ID/20/MSC_ID/179/.


Dee Dee Workman is Executive Director of San Francisco Beautiful; Dan Murphy is a member of the Golden Gate Audubon Society Conservation Committee; Mondy Lariz is Program Director for California Trout
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