Many organizations have been formed over the years to support particular parks or specific forms of recreation in the East Bay. The Regional Parks Association, on the other hand, is interested in the East Bay Regional Park District as a whole and in each and every one of the District's individual parks and reserves and recreation areas. We believe it is extremely important to protect natural ecosystems that enable native plants, animals, birds, and all the other forms of life that make up the natural environment of the East Bay. That natural environment is the heritage and birthright of every resident of the East Bay and is ours both to enjoy and to help care for on behalf of future generations.

RPA recognizes that the human population of the East Bay is rapidly increasing, just as it has ever since the park district was formed in the early 1930s. That fact presents a tremendous challenge to the district and to present-day citizens of the region. Working together we must make adequate provision for the future so that people will continue to enjoy the kind of access to nature that East Bay residents have enjoyed or even taken for granted in the past.

The RPA board of directors is made up of individuals who still believe in the long-range vision of the founders of the Regional Parks Association. Current board members are ready, willing, and able to pursue that vision despite ever-changing patterns of recreational activity and other relatively short-term social, political, and economic pressures. Here is a partial list of issues RPA has worked on in the last few years:

• LAND USE DEVELOPMENT PLANS: RPA has analyzed and provided detailed commentary on land use development plans for Sycamore Valley Regional Park, Coyote Hills Regional Park, and Sibley Volcanic Regional Park.

• BOARD MEMBER APPOINTMENT: Last year, RPA worked cooperatively with a number of other environmental organizations to ensure that the board vacancy caused by the untimely death of Jean Siri was filled by someone with strong environmental credentials.

• MONITORING THE PARK DISTRICT DECISION-MAKING PROCESS: RPA carefully maintains its status as an independent, public-interest observer of the park district. RPA representatives attend park district board meetings and many board committee meetings, and then report back to the RPA board on a regular basis. In turn, the board reports to the members of RPA by means of its twice-yearly newsletter and annual membership meetings that feature interesting key-note speakers.

• BOND FUND CAMPAIGNS: RPA has supported various bond measures designed to support the EBRPD, including Measure AA in 1988, Oakland's measure K in 2007. RPA is planning to support the continuation of Measure AA funding, a proposal that is expected to be on the ballot in 2008.

• LIVESTOCK GRAZING: RPA has been critical of the Park District's livestock grazing program for several years. We are pleased to announce, however, that RPA is now working cooperatively with the District's new Wildlands Program Manager on a variety of reforms and improvements of the District's livestock grazing policies and practices.