Terre Logsdon – Record-Bee staff
SACRAMENTO ? An island located in Clear Lake has been nominated for a state historic designation.
The California State Historical Resources Commission voted unanimously to nominate Rattlesnake Island to be archaeologically significant enough to be included on the National Register of Historic Places.
That decision, reached May 5, will make it challenging for the owner of record, John Nady of Emeryville, to pursue development plans.
Nady, who purchased the island in 2004, was contacted for this story, but had no comment on the commission”s action.
However, Jim Brown, tribal administrative officer for the Elem Colony ? the Pomo tribe whose ancestral lands reportedly include Rattlesnake Island ? was very pleased with the decision.
“This means a moral victory for the tribe and all the people,” said Brown. “It will put up a roadblock for development.”
The island is located in Clear Lake near Clearlake Oaks and the Elem Indian Colony.
Dr. John Parker, Ph.D., is a registered professional archaeologist who, along with his wife, nominated Rattlesnake Island and its resources for listing on the National Register. Parker believes that evidence of Elem inhabitation of the island dates back as far as 11,000 years and that the Elem are one of only two California tribes that had an island-based culture. Nady has disputed Parker”s contentions.
Parker”s 20 years of research on the Elem community was the focus of his doctoral dissertation in 1994. However, he said there has been very little archaeological excavations conducted on the island. That was a primary reason he nominated the island to be protected under the provisions of being a National Historic Place.
“Clearly the resources of Rattlesnake Island are a pristine example of a very unique prehistoric and historic California culture,” Parker told the commission in Sacramento.
The commission received almost 400 letters of support to list the island on the register, Brown said.
Now that the state commission has recommended that it be included on the National Register, the next step is for the keeper of the register to review the forms and sign off on them, which Parker said should take 45 days.
But Nady, the property owner, must agree with the recommendation ? or it will not be placed on the list. In that case it will just be eligible to be on the list.
“As long as it has been determined ?eligible,”” Parker said, “it still receives all the protection as one that”s been listed.”
To develop the island, Parker said that Nady will be required to obtain a “discretionary” permit ? which can be turned down ? and to make sure that he does not damage the archaeological resources.
Additionally, there is an environmental impact report (EIR) in process for development on the island, according to Penelope Shibley, senior planner for the Lake County Community Development Department.
“Because of the significance of the site,” Shibley said, “additional archaeological information is needed.”
She added, “It”s unusual for a home to require an EIR.”
The county issued a request for proposals for completing the EIR. The deadline for submissions was May 12.
The EIR will require an emphasis on the island”s biological resources because of the substantial wetland areas on the sites, as well as some evidence of ethnobotanical uses of plants by the Elem, Shibley said. In addition, the site”s cultural resources will require a qualified archaeologist to review the project and develop a mitigation plan for the archaeological resources on the island.
“Mr. Nady is facing a challenge to develop the island,” Shibley said.
Both Parker and Brown said they hope that Nady will take advantage of tax write-off opportunities that will be available to him by donating a conservation easement or to donate the entire island to a nonprofit such as the Lake County Land Trust, or the Audubon Society.
“We want to get the island back for all the people, to share our culture with everyone in the county and the U.S.,” Brown said.
Contact Terre Logsdon at tlogsdon@record-bee.com.
