Saving Area Wild Lands

Thank you for your excellent article (“Extinction of Planet’s Species,” May 22) concerning the extinction of the planet’s species due to the destruction of wild lands. We of Open Space 100 believe that the human species has taken far more than its share of our planet and we are dedicated to protecting 100% of the open space that remains. As the dominant species on the planet we believe we humans have a duty to preserve a fair share of our planet for the other 1.4 million species that live here. Also, as we express our concerns about the rain forests in Brazil, we should have a plan to stop the destruction of the wild lands of our own back yard.

In San Diego County the greatest threat to our open space is the single-family home and our 2% population growth. Urban sprawl is eating our open space like a virulent cancer. In 100 years the 2.5 million people that live in the county will have multiplied to about 20 million people. Open Space 100 believes that the more people we have, the more precious the open space becomes. We believe we can have all the growth we want and save 100% of our existing open space if we grow intelligently. We propose compact growth with essentially all new home, commercial and industrial development concentrated in already developed areas. Linear parks are proposed through urban areas along major rivers and creeks.

We propose a fund be established to purchase open space in the county at fair market value for the purpose of preserving it. The fund would be funded by development fees, which would be graduated to encourage new development in appropriate urban locations near transit facilities. New development thus pays to save our open space and the faster we grow the more open space we save. Under our plan it would take about 100 years to preserve all the open space in the county.

JOHN R. ROSS

Open Space 100, Del Mar