Resolution opposing High Speed Rail routes through Henry Coe State Park

WHEREAS two of the four proposed high speed rail routes pass through the Orestimba Wilderness in Henry Coe State Park

WHEREAS these routes violate the California Wilderness Act which states

Wilderness areas shall be devoted to the public purposes of recreational, scenic, scientific, educational, conservation, and historical use

and

There shall be no commercial enterprise and no permanent road within any wilderness area, and, except as necessary in emergencies involving the health and safety of persons within the wilderness area, there shall be no temporary road, no use of motor vehicles, motorized equpment, or motorboats, no landing or hovering of aircraft, no flying of aircraft lower than 2000 feet above the ground, no other form of mechanical transport, and no structure or installation within any wilderness area.

WHEREAS these routes violate the California Public Resources Code, Section 1519.53, which declares

The purpose of state parks shall be to preserve outstanding natural, scenic, and cultural values, indigenous aquatic and terrestrial fauna and flora, and the most significant examples of ecological regions of California

and

Each state park shall be managed as a composite whole in order to restore, protect, and maintain its native environmental complexes

WHEREAS the Sierra Club would like to endorse the High Speed Rail bond measure of 2004; therefore

LET IT BE RESOLVED that the Sierra Club opposes any high speed rail route that would pass through Henry Coe State Park and asks the High Speed Rail Authority to remove these routes from consideration.