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�� In this region of the country, environmentally-aware attitudes are shared by many citizens and it is reflected in their government. It is possible to find common ground between people involved in this issue. As residents and stewards of Redwood City most persons already feel the obligations to environment and qualiry of life. The Redwood Ciry Plan was developed without advantage of the final NWRS Plan or access to the pre-draft FWS EIS. Federal law prohibited the City from being able to review and therefore comment on the completed EIS and plan. The baseline assumptions used to develop this Plan were based on conversations with responsive and responsible NWRS and FWS staff. Final written comments on the draft EIS will be submitted by the City to the FWS and NWRS within the regulatory timeframe for public comment on the EIS. The information included in this Plan is subject to careful review of the final draft EIS published in the Federal Register. ' These comments were based on limited physical and rhetorical evidence of a • possible preferred NWRS alternative. Further, the City would have been within its right to request a delay of the draft EIS until this Redwood City Plan was fully considered by the NWRS. However, the City Council was requested by representatives from the environmental community to avoid any action that might delay publicarion of the draft EIS and NWRS plan. As an act of good faith and in a desire to see rehabilitation and improvement of Bair Island progress, the City agreed not to request delay, but, rather, in a further showing of its commitment to a communiry environment requested expedition in FWS and Department of Interior consideration of the EIS. CONSERVATION. COOPER.ATION, COMMUNICATION AND COLLABORATION For the NWRS, Bair Island is a major priority for restoration and an integral part of the extensive wedand complex within the Refuge. Ba.ir Island restoration is, for NWRS, a solution to the preservation and perhaps recovery of endangered species For the City of Redwood City, restoration of Bair Island is just the beginning of an even bigger picture. The City Council sees Bair Island's future as a"metaphorical center of recovery" for species, children, and sensitive sub-populations. Bair Island is a historic part of the City of Redwood City. It represents our national, environmental and cultural heritage. The relationship between the Island and the City is unique. The Mayor and City Council of Redwood City take a broad view of what restoration of the Island can mean to species and citizens alike. Opportunities to improve the quality of life of all species abound. Through this document they offer the NWRS and FWS a uruque and mutually beneficial partnership in shaping the future of Bair Island 6