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Karen
Urquhart
By Sheri Rice
Rambling beside the bay and oak trees, clambering over rocks and across the
jutting roots to reach the cascading water, one cannot help but be grateful to
Karin Urquhart, whose first venture into political life was sparked by this
beautiful land. This pristine open space in Fairfax, an extraordinarily
special place to Karin, provided a wild garden of hills and valleys, streams and
waterfalls, bugs and birds, every pleasing aspect of nature to inspire a young
girl's curiosity and exploration.
Karin grew up with the love of the natural world, a
legacy passed down to her from her family. One of her earliest memories
was of the outdoors: at the age of two, walking in Oakland with her mother on a
quiet Sunday morning, both of them pointing out the wildflowers and birds that
fringed their peaceful trail. As she grew, Karin spent much of her leisure
time, camping with her family in the Sierra Nevada, "...so a love of nature
was second nature to me."
In 1948, when she was thirteen, Karin's family moved to
Marin from Oakland where Karin was born. Though she continued her growing
up in Fairfax, today's nearby Drake High School hadn't been built yet so she had
to attend school in Mill Valley, located on the other side of Mount Tamalpais
and a 14-mile drive from her home. Since she took the bus to school every
day; way too far to walk, even for an outdoor-loving teen -- she had few peers
in her neighborhood and huge blocks of time to herself. So, with her dogs
as companions, the young Karin Alstrom spent much of that time roaming the
hills of Marin, particularly one very special place in Fairfax, now called
Cascade Canyon. It was a place to learn about the land, the inhabitants of
the land and to intensify her love for the outdoors.
There was only one drawback to her outdoor expeditions:
the owner of the land. On the bright side, however, due to his vigilant
surveillance of his property, Karin became extremely adept at hiding behind
trees.
After high school graduation, Karin attended San
Francisco State, then married her husband Don in 1956. During the
marriage, she and her husband moved to Southern California.
"It was a real 'wrench' to leave this place we
loved and the place where Don was born." Temporarily
"displaced," they spent fourteen years in Orange and Mira Loma where
instead of observing wildlife, Karin's children tended a more domestic flock of
horses, cows, goats, chickens, rabbits and one sheep.
"Our children had a good time growing up there,
but we simply knew we had to come home. Home in Marin was, in a way, home
for our children also since we spent a month every summer, a week at Easter and
two weeks at Christmas at the family home in Fairfax." When they
finally returned to Marin and to Fairfax in 1971, they were dismayed to find
that Karin's beloved Cascade Canyon had been put up for sale. That was the
good news. But the bad news was the zoning; a zoning which allowed for
subdivision of the acreage and a proposed high density development of 120
condominiums to be built beneath the sturdy oaks and pungent bays where Karin
had spent much of her youth. Her reaction? "Over my dead
body!"
A naive entrant into fighting the government, Karin, as
the busy mother of seven active children, had never entered, never even thought
of entering, the arena of politics. Her only civic involvement up to then
had been working with young girls in the 4-H Club in Southern California in the
1960s and as a member of art societies. She was a stay-at-home Mom when
that was the norm at the time, but her dismay at the proposed Canyon project
motivated her to fervent action outside the home, launching a career that swept
her into the field of environmentalism with a gentle vengeance.
Inspired by this beautiful piece of land and the
possibility of its loss by development, Karin became an early organizer of
People for Fairfax Cascades. Without really knowing what to do or where to
start, first she began to follow the development proposal and schooled herself
on how the process worked and how to be effective. She learned the ropes
and contacted the decision-makers and advocates: the Mayor of Fairfax, the City
Planning Commissioner (Gloria Duncan), the Supervisor of the District (Pete
Arrigoni) and the Executive Director of the Marin Conservation League.
Their suggestion to her: Build a case for your cause.
So she did. First, she created a slide show demonstrating her concerns
about the preservation of the land and presented it to whomever she could that
counted. She guided the officials over the land, hiking with them over the
open space and urging them to leave it as such. Essentially, she did more
than enough to make her case.
Coincidentally, the Marin County Open Space initiative
was on the ballot at that time, concurrently and conveniently dovetailing the
work she was doing with the creation of this great new land-saving entity, an
entity which was voted into existence by a 69% vote of the people, an entity
which today manages over 14,000 acres of recreational land in Marin. Karin
also became involved in that movement and has served as a commissioner for the
district from 1973 to 1995, retiring when the Board of Supervisors appointed her
to the Marin Community Foundation Board of Trustees.
But the initial thrust of her work was in saving the
canyon, and through her diligence, the extraordinary piece of land where Karin
had spent much of her youth turned out to be the first major acquisition of the
Marin County Open Space District. Today known as the Cascade Canyon
Elliott Nature Preserve Open Space, it remains an undeveloped and pristine place
for hiking and picnicking, a place where the people of Marin and visitors can
still ramble through the bay and oak trees, climb over boulders up toward the
falls, that cascading fount of water that gives the preserve its name.
How difficult was it to save the space?
"Every door I knocked on was open to me," Karin says about the project
as well as her dramatic dive into politics and her emergence from that
experience in the 1970s as an outstanding environmentalist. "If you
believe in something, if you care about something, if you have a positive
attitude, if you understand other people's beliefs and situations and allow them
theirs, the doors are open to you." Valuing the land for itself as
she always had, Karin also felt that saving this piece of property was a piece
of the big picture. Saving the land for Marin, as well as for her own
children, also meant saving the land for the planet.
Today her children carry on the love of the natural
world, perhaps partially because they remember their mother's efforts back in
the ˜70s when a woman as an activist was a woman who got attention.
"I didn't find any barriers," Karin says
regarding her entry into the world of government as a pioneer of sorts.
Perhaps there were none or perhaps it was her gentle ways and conciliatory
methods that caused any possible barriers to collapse as she stepped softly
across them. "Basically, I'm a collaborator," she says.
"That's how I survived raising seven children."
Rather than "butt heads" with the opposition,
she worked diligently behind the scenes, building bridges and bringing people
together rather than gathering strength by lining up the opposing forces.
Because of her commitment and her skills as an eloquent spokesperson and
sympathetic listener, she has been able to increase awareness of the need for
preserving our environment. Also, she thinks that being a woman can be an
asset.
"Women are sensitive and intuitive," she
says, "and possess a deep understanding of people which comes from being a
mother." And so she continued in her environmental role, beyond
helping to save Cascade Canyon.
In 1976 she was asked to become a member on the board
of the Marin Conservation League (MCL). Serving as President from
1977-1979, she became Executive Director in 1980 and serving as such until 1995.
During that time, she successfully managed the steady growth of the MCL in
membership, community respect and credibility. Today some people think of
the name Karin Urquhart is synonymous with the name of the MCL
Founded in 1934 by a group of forward-thinking women,
the MCL's main impetus at that time was the growth of Marin County. They
knew the County was going to grow, because the Golden Gate Bridge was being
built and things were changing in the country, but their concerns were with how
the county was going to grow. So they hired a professional planner who
developed a county-wide plan for Marin, similar to the one we have today.
Though not driven by one specific issue, the MCL has,
over the last seventy years, helped to protect many plots of land deserving of
such protection, such as Angel Island Park, Samuel P. Taylor State Park, Mount
Tamalpais, Tomales Bay -- many of the special lands that really are
extraordinary even in the richly-endowed Bay Area .
The MCL is not in the land acquisition field, but
places its energies and concerns in the field of toxins and hazardous materials;
it also works with preservation of wetlands and watersheds. Karin in
particular, as Executive Director, worked skillfully to help develop such
programs as solid waste management, recycling and consumer education programs on
the hazards and proper disposal of toxic waste. "Water in
general," says Karin, not only in Marin County but throughout the entire
state.
During her time as Executive Director, Karin served
along with a 30-member Board of Directors. She explains how the MCL
operates: calls come in regarding the use of herbicides or pesticides, concern
about protecting a ridge or some nearby land thought to be in jeopardy, even
calls about traffic, wildlife, just about everything. Out of the
many issues committees, an issue of concern is identified “ issues both large
and small" from someone cutting down a 100-year-old oak tree to the threat
of offshore oil drilling in the marine sanctuary. After the issue is
pinpointed, recommendations are made to the Board, then both sides of the issue
are dealt with, particularly if the issue is a controversial one.
Regarding the economy and protection of the land, Karin sees them not as
separate issues, not as one issue versus another but as two parts of the same
issue, both benefiting each other in the long run.
Solving the environmental problems, she explains, will
aid, rather than take away from, a healthy economy, not only in Marin but
throughout the world. And one way of doing this, locally, is bringing
together both environmental and business committees through the MCL. The
diverse groups of the business, political and social segments of the Marin
community working together, advocating for the same position, add up to great
strength and power leading to solving these pressing problems.
"Everything of value that occurs is a team
effort," Karin says. Understanding what is important to others leads
to solutions. In her role as Executive Director, Karin represented the MCL
in public and technically headed the staff, but, again working as a
collaborator, she says they worked as a team, providing education for youth and
adults and promoting environmental issues to the public.
As part of a small group which shared a vision of
finding a productive place for Marin's youth through stewardship of the
environment and the rewards of learning meaningful job skills, Karin was the
founding chair of the Marin Conservation Corps in 1982. The Corps is an
entity with an important mission: putting young people to work conserving and
maintaining Marin's public lands. With a budget that has risen from an
initial $25,000 to $1.5 million, the Corps is now Marin's largest youth
employment and training program and Karin was its active chair during the
agency's first five years of phenomenal growth.
She was appointed in 1995 by the Board of Supervisors
to represent the County of Marin on the Board of the Marin Community Foundation,
and as an appointee she also has served on the Marin County Waste Management
Advisory Committee, Marin County Parks & Recreation Commission, the
Citizens' Energy Impact Program and Marin Resource Recovery Committee.
In 1987, Karin was instrumental in the creation of
Marin Environmental Alliance, a consortium of over forty environmental
organizations. This group collaborated on recommendations to the Marin
Community Foundation to support environmental grant-giving, and completed a
survey of Marin's environmental resources.
In her role as an environmentalist, Karin has served on
the boards of many local groups, including the Marconi Conference Center, Marin
County Chamber of Commerce, Marin Park & Open Space Foundation, Marin
Conservation Corps, Marin Society of Artists, Marin Agricultural Land Trust,
Environmental Federation of California, People for Open Space, Environmental
Forum of Marin and People for Parks and Open Space.
Her awards are numerous also. They include:
* 1989: Marin Council of Agencies Executive
Director of the Year Award for Excellence in Developing Community Partnerships
* 1989: Environmental Federation of California
Volunteer Award
* 1989: Certificate of Recognition for Recycling
Leadership, Californians Against Waste
* 1987: Marin branch of AAUW's "Women of
Achievement Award" (first recipient)
* 1983: Women Making History, II
* 2000: Listed in: Marquis Who's Who in America
and
Who's Who in American Women
Though she "retired" from MCL in 1996 and
became the Executive Director of Digital Village, a school-to-work program
headquartered on the Indian Valley campus, Karin is ever active in the
environmental world, and does note a marked difference in the battles of today
versus the battles of the early '70s.
"It's a different scenario today," she says.
"The problems are different and smaller in scale."
So much land has been saved and so many residents of Marin County realize the
importance of that "undeveloped" land.
For instance, West Marin, a land zoned for agriculture.
This land has historically been primarily third and
fourth generation productive dairy farms, sheep and beef cattle ranches.
Today the ranches are diversifying much more, including food production and even
a few wineries. West Marin still provides 25% of the milk for the entire
region. West Marin is also home to the Point Reyes National Seashore and
the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. A few of Marin's ranches operate
within this National Park, leasing the land back from the government.
These leases were "grand-fathered in" during the formative stages of
the legislation creating these entities in order to maintain the "critical
mass" necessary for agriculture to stay in business.
As we view this beautiful spot today, it's hard to
believe that in the late 1970s a cumulative impact was planned for Marin County,
an impact similar to the one we see today south of San Francisco. Back
then, on the planning table: a freeway to West Marin along Sir Francis Drake
Blvd., a freeway from the Golden Gate Bridge along the headlands to West Marin,
the astounding figure of roughly one million houses, a seaplane harbor on
Tomales Bay, seven major shopping centers, five high schools, three middle
schools, plus several elementary schools.
Before that horror show could take place, though, a
Marin County planner put all eleven towns' and cities' plans together and said,
"Wait....." As a vehicle for letting the public know what was going
on, a document called "Can the Last Place Last" was created, then many
environmental organizations leapt to the cause. The MCL, the Environmental
Action Committee of West Marin, Marin Audubon and the people of Marin, all of
these entities and private citizens, backed the cause to protect West Marin from
the enormous density which had been projected for this very special area.
Still, Karin reminds us that protected land is only as
good as the zoning of the land.
"If the zoning fails," Karin says, "it will be a whole different
scenario." But she has faith in the people of Marin County: she is
sure they will never let that happen.
Karin's success in environmental work has succeeded in
other areas of the state as well. The Smith River, near the
California/Oregon border, as an example. This river, with headwaters in
Oregon, is the last undammed river in California, and is regarded as the
"crown jewel" of rivers under the Wild and Scenic Rivers designation.
In this pristine and beautiful stretch of water, steelhead and cutthroat trout
still run free in water fringed by forests and fields, still unaffected by
man-made barriers. However, in the early 1980s, the Cal-Nickle Mining
project was planned for the North Fork of the Smith River. A
Canadian-based effort, this project would have both dammed and devastated the
Smith River. Since the people that lived near the river had no experience
or political clout to work against the project, the MCL was enlisted.
After three years of intense effort from a wide spectrum, including the State
Attorney General, , the project was thwarted and today the Smith is federally
protected. It remains undammed.
Through this experience, Karin worked closely with
Peter Behr, who was known as the Father of the Wild and Scenic Rivers, since it
was his successful legislation which created the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act.
Karin says, "He was a prince of a man, full of integrity and with a
wonderful sense of humor. He was a statesman and an eloquent voice for the
environment in the state senate."
During that time and after, Peter Behr's positive
outlook inspired Karin and he became her mentor. When she was asked to
become President of the MCL, she went to him, though she didn't know him well
yet and asked if he thought she could do it. "Of course," he
answered ,and the rest is history.
Other inspirations and influences on Karin's
environmental career include Gloria Duncan and Pam Lloyd. She met Gloria
Duncan through the Cascade Canyon project, then, along with her, became involved
with the League of Women Voters and water issues, which Pam Lloyd was involved
in. All three worked in opposing the Warm Springs Dam being built on the
Russian River in Healdsburg. Unfortunately, they lost the battle (The dam
was built.) but the three woman won the great prize of a close friendship as a
result.
Also a strong influence on Karin's life, her mother
inspired her to become a woman who stands up for what she believes in. As
a metaphysician and lecturer, Karin's mother was the founder of "Creative
Thinking," an organization loosely based on metaphysics. She
established a church in San Francisco and published several books relating to
her philosophy.
And now? Are there any special projects left for Karin's
"retirement?"
Instilling hope in young people, that is Karin's
special project. She has faith in today's youth and wants them to realize
each of them has a role in this life, plus a tremendous opportunity to further
that role with the help of today's technology.
"They must have hope," Karin says.
As an inspirational role model for today's younger
women and as a way of demonstrating her belief in young people, Karin has
regularly participated in a "job shadowing" program offered to
students at Redwood High School. This program allows students to spend a
day following her through her work. Also, she often serves as an
informational resource for young women interested in environmental work.
Martha Davis, Director of the successful Mono Lake Committee, is one of her
success stories. After an involvement with Karin during her school days
when she served on the Marin Parks & Open Space Commission, she was
fortunate to have Karin's career advice and inspiration as a mentor. In a
world worthy of being saved, the environment is to Karin more than what
surrounds us. To her, the environment encompasses our family, our friends,
our city, our county, our state, our nation and our world. She truly
believes that we are all totally interconnected and that when we touch one
strand of the web it impacts every other strand.
As a dedicated advocate for a vibrant and healthy
environment for over thirty years, Karin Urquhart's impact has been and will
continue to be strengthening whatever strand she touches.
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