John Burton on the designation of the Sanctuary

 

John Burton in 1980.

John Burton was elected to the California Assembly in 1964 and later elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, where he worked alongside his brother Phil Burton (who helped establish the Golden Gate National Recreation Area). He sponsored legislation to create wilderness areas within the Point Reyes National Seashore Area, and was instrumental in the creation of the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary in 1981. He left politics in 1982, and practiced law for over 5 years but was called back to the political world in 1998. After serving in the Assembly, he was elected to the state Senate in 1996, and then unanimously elected president pro tem of the California State Senate in 1998 before being pushed out because of term limits.

John Burton was essential to the designation of the Sanctuary, along with various concerned community groups that lobbied for the Sanctuary's designation and wrote letters to the Director of the Sanctuary Program Office expressing their support. In response to such diverse groups as the California Coastal Commission, The American Cetacean Society, Defenders of Wildlife, Friends of the Coast, People for a Golden Gate National Recreation Area, Greenpeace, Inverness Association, the Madrone Audubon Socitey, the Stinson Beach Village Assocation and the Point Reyes Bird Observatory, John Burton lent his support to the Marine Sanctuaries Coalition and pushed the Sanctuary through.

What office did you hold in 1981 when the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary was designated?
I was a member of Congress.

By many accounts, the Sanctuary's designation couldn't have happened without you. Perhaps you could tell us about that. How did that come about, as you recall?

Barbara Boxer, who of course is now in the Senate, brought the issue to my attention. Community activists were concerned about the possibility of oil spills and other threats to our coastline; we listened  and went to work on it. We were working with Stuart Eizenstat, who was the Domestic Affairs and Policy Advisor to President Carter. It was Carter’s last act, in January of 1981 – just before Ronald Reagan took over the White House. I remember getting a call from Stuart Eizenstat. He was basically packing up his boxes [to leave the White House], but kept on the President to sign the legislation designating the Sanctuary and ensuring the protection of the California coast. He called me up and said, "I don't know if you owe me or I owe you, but we're even now." And the President signed the proclamation and that was that.

Why was the designation of the Sanctuary important to you?
It provided protection around the Farallon islands and that was important to our constituents.

Did you face opposition in your efforts? Were there people opposed to the designation?
It was just a matter of trying to have something happen through the bureaucracy. I clearly remember that last-minute phone call from Stu Eizenstat because he was damn near just walking out the door of the White House. It was clear that something should be done. I remember we just kept pushing on the issue with Stu Eizenstat and he was able to prevail in convincing President Carter.

Do you feel that the threat of offshore oil drilling contributed to the designation? Along that same line, do you think the threat of offshore oil drilling contributed to the birth of the environmental movement?
Well, back in the 60's, when there was a big oil spill off of Santa Barbara because of offshore oil drilling, it damn near radicalized that community which at that time was fairly conservative. Earlier, in 1978 I passed legislation for the Outer Continental Shelf Act, which prohibited drilling within 20-30 miles of any wilderness. It was the first time that drilling for oil was prohibited off our coast, and that was near the Point Reyes wilderness.

How do you think we have progressed in the last 25 years, in terms protecting our coastline and oceans?
It's seems to me that with the Republicans, it's a never-ending fight.

There were two commissions, the PEW commission and the U.S. Commissions on Ocean Policy. They made a series of recommendations to our current Administration about how we should approach Marine Conservation. How do you think that the current Administration is doing on following those recommendations?
Well, I assume not too well.

What do you think is the biggest challenge to the Marine Sanctuary today?
Probably, the Bush administration and the Republican Congress. No really, except for a handful of Republicans, they seem to think environmental issues should take a backseat to economic gain.

Sometimes, in my role leading a small non-profit to work on environmental issues and marine conservation, it just seems like the issues facing our oceans are insurmountable. We have a patch of plastic the size of Texas that's floating in the North Pacific, collapse of entire fisheries, and rising ocean temperatures. Sometimes it can just be overwhelming. So I'm wondering what you see, what we can hope for in the future.
I just think you just keep fighting as much as you can and doing as much as you can and just hope for the best.