Shollenberger's docents consider ourselves stewards for the park and surrounding wetlands. We are rightfully concerned about the unmitigatable effects of the Dutra project on park visitors (400 a day on average), park wildlife and the heron/egret colony on Dutra's property.

In 2008, docents volunteered almost 5,000 hours, providing educational services to 800 local schoolchildren, conducting tours for hundreds of adults, removing invasive weeds and replacing them with native plants. Docents also conducted research on the park's birds, including nesting Tree Swallows and the herons and egrets in the colony.

Our concerns with the Dutra project are not new. Five years ago, Gerald Moore and I met with Brian Peer and Al Cornwell of Dutra. We were assured of their good intentions and that they would do all they could to "preserve the colony site".

Shollenberger serves two purposes - a dredge spoils site and city park. Many wetlands serve both engineering and recreational functions. Dredging of the Petaluma River maintains river navigability but also pipes water into Shollenbedrger with the spoils, containing small fish and invertebrates for the birds. The partnership works.

Don Bennett spearheaded the approval of the Dutra project by the Sonoma County Planning Commission and is on record as stating that the park "stinks" and that there are no scenic vistas there. He will only refer to the location as the "dredge spoils site" as if bemoaning the fact that it also satisfies an important recreational need for local citizens as the city's most popular park. Perhaps Bennett should volunteer as a docent and learn why we love the park so much and are concerned about its future.

This week's bird is a Red-tailed Hawk, which has just caught a mouse. See the photo series below.