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High Speed |
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High Speed |
There are plans to build a high speed rail line to provide fast train service between San Francisco and
Los Angeles. The line will run through the Central Valley with a connection into San José through the Diablo
Range. Some of the proposed routes are through the Orestimba State Wilderness in Henry W. Coe State Park.
The position of Advocates for Coe Park is that such use is contrary to its designated public purpose,
contrary to the California Rescources Code, and will set a devastating precedence for designated wilderness in the future.
We ask that this project avoid any impact to Henry W. Coe State Park and the Orestimba State Wilderness that lies within the park.
California High-Speed Rail links...
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Note that one of the alignment options in the park shown above, tunnels under the wilderness. This is still likely to be in violatation of PUBLIC RESOURCES CODE §5093.30-5093.40, the California Wilderness Act.
We have a slide-show presentation that includes detailed maps, simulations of the alignment, and many images that were captured along the proposed alignment route showing how the region looks today.
High-Speed Rail and the Orestimba Wilderness...
The protection provided by the State Wilderness Act ought to be the highest provided by the Public Resource Code to any State Lands.
State Parks are under increasing pressure to accept non-mission projects, but until now, there had never been a serious threat to any land in the State Wilderness System. Today, the Orestimba Wilderness is under threat from the California High-Speed Rail Authority, which proposes to use it as a potential corridor between San José and the San Joaquin Valley. The project; when completed will run high-speed trains between the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles.
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The close proximity of the 23,000 acre Orestimba Wilderness, a part of larger Henry Coe State Park, should be guarded jealously by those of us who make our home in Silicon Valley. It is a unique and valuable resource that cannot be duplicated if damaged.
The Orestimba Wilderness has changed little since the California Mission-era when Ohlone lived there, and we made a promise 20 years ago to keep it as wilderness forever. It is today, part of the largest intact ecosystem of its kind remaining in California.
The harsh reality of the world is that there is no "forever." We are tested now, in our own back yard, to see if our promise and our dedication to wilderness preservation has already worn out.
If we fail to protect this park and its wilderness, interests that would like to see their development projects find a home in similar places will see blood in the water.
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