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CONCLUSION The City of Redwood City and we as a community, have a unique opportunity. We have been given the opportunity to accept a National Wildlife Refuge where once there was only an open place. Shell mounds on Outer Bair Island indicate man's pre- historic use of the Islands. Bair Island has been home to all of us here on the Bay for a very long time. As we accept the Refuge we hope the NWRS and the FWS can accept that this Refuge is in our City — and integral part of what we consider our homes. We have all, through the years and through this process, changed the way we look at the Bair Island complex (I use the word complex because the majority of people don't know there are separate islands so it depends on who we want to target). We took the goal of protecting these treasured national assets, the endangered species of the Islands, and we redefined the true nature of protection of the species. Fence off the landward boundary; and do not maintain open pathways for invasive species which do not contribute to recovery. Make citizen access to the Refuge easy, and use that access to further control access by threats. Increase human use and decrease human intrusion. Contour the land to create habitat and instructive views of nature's operation. We have seen this Refuge; all that it is and all that it can be. Once we adopt the strictures of wise use and conservation we can use the Refuge to teach our children and ourselves. We can bring a higher quality of life to those who need those margins of improvement the most. We can bring this lesson of acceptance and responsibility to other communities. We have seen that the power of the City's approach is in how it welcomes the Refuge and how it says goodbye to that use which has come before it. The Bair Islands and Bird Island are part of the same future stable system. It is a fortunate oasis in an urban paradise on the San Francisco Bay. But, it is an oasis that must be adaptively managed. Use of the Refuge beyond the passive, instructive use envisioned by the City, must be monitored and it must be measured to ensure it meets the Refuge's purpose. Adaptive management means active management. The City offers the Refuge its good offices to facilitate wise use and incorporate the community into the care of the Refuge. The City of Redwood City offers as well to facilitate the Refuge's quest for a place in our homes. 26