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MarineAD
  
location:
Yokosuka, Japan
Gender: Male
Waiting for War
 |  | Re: Skaggs Island -Military Base??
<Reply # 140 on 9/16/2008 9:24 AM >
|  | | | Most military police dont actually care as long as your not being an idiot and your not destroying stuff most of the guys will be cool with you not to mention most mp'S are bored very bored .
Never tell people how to do things.
Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity.
- General George Patton Jr |
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Otis
  
location:
Oakland
Gender: Male
| | Re: Skaggs Island -Military Base??
<Reply # 141 on 9/16/2008 5:28 PM >
| | | | I went out here a few weeks ago and was surprised by the condition of the place. It is pretty trashed. No sign of LEOs, but we did see a few other people driving around. The highlight was probably when an old-timey biplane tipped his wings at us on his approach to the nearby airport...
Some pics for good measure:
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Fatback
location:
Novatoish
Gender: Male
| | Re: Skaggs Island -Military Base??
<Reply # 142 on 9/19/2008 8:00 AM >
| | | | FYI. A new gate has been installed on the south end. One can still drive around if they are so inclined. Just for info, the old one was torn down by fire fighters a couple months ago due to a fire at the main complex. Just out of curiosity, has anyone found the "crime scene" yet?
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/-/ooligan
  
location:
Las Vegas area
Gender: Male
When in danger, when in doubt, RUN IN CIRCLES, SCREAM AND SHOUT!
| | Re: Skaggs Island -Military Base??
<Reply # 143 on 9/19/2008 8:47 AM >
| | | | Sources & methods have revealed that the "military police/federal law enforcement" occasional presence at the old NSGA Skaggs Island are federal law enforcement personnel nominally assigned to Military Ocean Terminal Concord (the former Naval Weapons Station Concord).
I'm not sure why that'd be the case, other than that MOT Concord probably has the closest federalized security/police force around. They don't have anyone assigned full-time to Skaggs, but someone drives out from MOT Concord for a cursory check regularly.
I can provide a few more details to some of you OGs the next time we all meet up.
/-/oolie
There are no stupid questions, just stupid people. |
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xxsonicblue
location:
Los Angeles, CA
Gender: Female
I'm Commander Shepard, and this is my favorite forum on the Citadel.
| |  |  |  | Re: Skaggs Island -Military Base??
<Reply # 144 on 9/22/2008 10:36 AM >
|  | | | Woah woah woah, Fatback what are you talking about?
Crime scene?
Details, please.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sonicxblue |
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darkstuff
location:
NorCal
| | | Latest on Skaggs status
<Reply # 145 on 10/3/2008 5:43 PM >
| | | | Latest update from the Sonoma paper. A federal bill may resolve some of the jurisdiction issues, and could lead to demolition pretty quickly. The wetlands restoration will take longer, but they've got the money to get rid of the remaining buildings and will probably start soon if this bill passes.
- - - - - -
Skaggs Island wetlands closer, but not a deal
By Bill Lynch INDEX-TRIBUNE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF & PUBLISHER
October 3, 2008
Lifelong Sonoma Valley rancher Jim Haire and the United States Navy have shared Skaggs Island and a common boundary for decades in the tidelands at the southern entrance to the Valley.
If a bill authored by Rep. Lynn Woolsey, D-Petaluma, and passed by Congress, is signed into law by President Bush, they both may be forced to do business with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which seeks to make the island the crown jewel of its efforts to return North Bay wetlands to their natural state.
Although the Navy decommissioned its communications base on Skaggs Island in 1993 and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has been willing to take it over and restore its 3,200 acres to wetlands, the actual transfer has been held up for many years over which agency would be responsible for any contamination found during the restoration process. Woolsey's bill would force the Navy and the wildlife agency to move the process forward and reach an agreement.
Marc Holmes, Bay Restoration program director of the Bay Institute, said that the measure could mean that transfer of the land (and the beginning of the restoration process) could begin in 2009.
He pointed out that Skaggs Island is not only the largest diked wetland in the North Bay, it is also in the center of a plan for complete restoration within the San Pablo Bay National Wildlife Refuge.
The natural flow of water in that area not only runs south to the bay, but east and west between the two watersheds of Sonoma Valley and Napa Valley.
By breeching the dikes and allowing the island to sink back to its natural state, the area once again becomes a flood plain, into which excess water in the rainy season can move, Holmes added. It will also increase the habitat for wildlife and endangered species native to the area.
Haire owns approximately one quarter of the 4,400-acre island, created more than a century ago by land companies that dredged and diked the delta to make it available for farming. He grows seed and oat hay on his 1,174 acres of Skaggs Island and holds a signed agreement that includes a commitment by the United States government to keep his land dry and accessible for farming.
He also claims that two different law firms have read the document and told them that even if the two federal agencies now haggling over the Navy's portion reach agreement, they can't flood their part of the land without his approval.
Haire said he is willing to sell his land to the feds for what he calls its "highest and best value," which he defines as its "mitigation value" of approximately $15,000 an acre, which works out to almost $18 million for his part of the island. He said he fears that once the deal between the Navy and the Fish and Wildlife Service is done, the government will attempt to take his land via condemnation for only its dry-land farming value, which would be many millions less.
While he has watched the Feds haggle over the island land with great interest, the passage of Woolsey's bill caught him by surprise. "They tagged it onto a defense spending bill, and we didn't expect that," he said.
Since its closure in 1993, the Navy has done most, if not all, of the major environmental cleanup of its former base, including the removal of lead pipes used underground as part of some of the antenna arrays, a garbage dump and lead paint on older structures.
What remains there in a 62-acre, virtual Cold War-era ghost town is approximately 100 buildings, including houses, offices, a bowling alley, church and store. Holmes said that most of the toxic contamination issues have been addressed, but the Fish and Wildlife Service has been unwilling to take over the land unconditionally. The one condition they want, which the Navy will not grant, is that any toxics found would remain the responsibility of the Navy.
Woolsey's bill forces that issue, and also authorizes the federal government to accept $8 million in already existing state environmental funds to demolish the old buildings on the base.
While the building demolition could take place once the two agencies reach agreement, any actual breeching of the dikes and other wetlands restoration may have to wait until Haire gets what he wants or has had his day in court.
Copyright © 2008 - sonomanews.com
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Ray Palmer
| | Skaggs Island -when to visit?
<Reply # 146 on 11/10/2008 4:29 PM >
| | | | Been reading the many postings on the coming and going of the military security on Skaggs Island, but not much on the times/days of the week they show up. Is there any pattern here? I'd like to see the place before it disappears next year. Anyone planning to go for photography? Anyone know the best time or day of week to make a trek sans security people being there?
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YouOnlyLiveOnce
location:
san francisco, ca
Gender: Female
| | | Re: Skaggs Island -Military Base??
<Reply # 147 on 11/15/2008 5:28 PM >
| | | | Posted by Fatback
FYI. A new gate has been installed on the south end. One can still drive around if they are so inclined. Just for info, the old one was torn down by fire fighters a couple months ago due to a fire at the main complex. Just out of curiosity, has anyone found the "crime scene" yet?
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i saw the new gate this week. i don't think you can drive around it like you used to. they've also installed an 8ft fence with barbed wire on the top that goes down along the side of the road for about 100ft on each side.
www.amyheiden.com
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Mario Piombo
| | Re: Skaggs Island -Military Base??
<Reply # 148 on 3/1/2009 5:46 AM >
| | | | Ok so I earlier asked what would happen if you got caught...I had to find out the hard way....
http://vids.myspac...l&videoid=53247936
This is a video of my friends and I getting caught, I suggest you watch it.
The sherif came by in his helicopter and gave us a talking to.
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Morbid_Frost
location:
The Hesh Pit
Gender: Male
| |  | Re: Skaggs Island -Military Base??
<Reply # 149 on 3/1/2009 6:41 AM >
| | | | Posted by Mario Piombo
Ok so I earlier asked what would happen if you got caught...I had to find out the hard way....
http://vids.myspac...l&videoid=53247936
This is a video of my friends and I getting caught, I suggest you watch it.
The sherif came by in his helicopter and gave us a talking to.
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what id they ask/say to you
"The world needs darkness, because the excess of light neither illuminates us nor shelters us but it blinds us and burns us". - Varg Vikernes
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YouOnlyLiveOnce
location:
san francisco, ca
Gender: Female
| | | Re: Skaggs Island -Military Base??
<Reply # 150 on 3/1/2009 5:27 PM >
| | | | What were you doing when the helicopter noticed you were there? Where was your car parked? Something out of the ordinary must have flagged them...
www.amyheiden.com
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storia
Gender: Male
| | Re: Skaggs Island -Military Base??
<Reply # 151 on 3/1/2009 7:31 PM >
| | | | Posted by Mario Piombo
The sherif came by in his helicopter and gave us a talking to.
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Which agency?
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slipster
location:
Pittsburg, CA
Gender: Male
Uber Elite
| | | | Re: Skaggs Island -Military Base??
<Reply # 152 on 3/1/2009 11:13 PM >
| | | | dude that video is HELLA funny you guys cracked me up
Ashes to ashes dust to dust life is short so party we MUST |
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NorthBayNobody
location:
right behind you
we never listen
| |  | Re: Skaggs Island -Military Base??
<Reply # 153 on 3/2/2009 2:27 AM >
| | | | pretty rad video, looks like the ol' Henry 1 Sonoma county sheriffs department helicopter that i see constantly flying over my house
NorCal H.E.S.H. Crew
Heathens Exploring Satan's Hideouts
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insainly sound
location:
Bay Area, CA
Gender: Female
How'd we get here, and how are we getting out of here?!
| | | Re: Skaggs Island -Military Base??
<Reply # 154 on 3/2/2009 8:19 AM >
| | | | Hrrrmmm I hate to be the one to play this card, but I think the lesson here is it's not wise to park right next to the building your exploring, unless there are a number of other cars around... I'm rather glad I never had the helicopters after me though!
Check out my photo blog! |
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YouOnlyLiveOnce
location:
san francisco, ca
Gender: Female
| | | Re: Skaggs Island -Military Base??
<Reply # 155 on 3/2/2009 6:50 PM >
| | | | Posted by insainly sound
Hrrrmmm I hate to be the one to play this card, but I think the lesson here is it's not wise to park right next to the building your exploring, unless there are a number of other cars around... I'm rather glad I never had the helicopters after me though!
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That's kind of where I was going with my questions........
It appeared as though the car was right by the building in the video, usually not the best idea...
[last edit 3/2/2009 6:56 PM by YouOnlyLiveOnce - edited 2 times]
www.amyheiden.com
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Telephoto Ink
location:
Dallas, TX
Gender: Male
| | Re: Skaggs Island -Military Base??
<Reply # 156 on 3/2/2009 8:05 PM >
| | | | I guess things have changed since I do recall us driving right onto Skaggs Island one night and not having any problems even though both of our cars were parked there...
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YouOnlyLiveOnce
location:
san francisco, ca
Gender: Female
| | | Re: Skaggs Island -Military Base??
<Reply # 157 on 3/2/2009 9:52 PM >
| | | | Posted by Telephoto Ink
I guess things have changed since I do recall us driving right onto Skaggs Island one night and not having any problems even though both of our cars were parked there...
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That was about a year ago and looong before they made the super new shiny barbed wire fence on the south end. I'm sure they've caught on to the fact that people are out there frequently.
[last edit 3/2/2009 9:52 PM by YouOnlyLiveOnce - edited 1 times]
www.amyheiden.com
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Telephoto Ink
location:
Dallas, TX
Gender: Male
| | Re: Skaggs Island -Military Base??
<Reply # 158 on 3/2/2009 11:00 PM >
| | | | Posted by YouOnlyLiveOnce
That was about a year ago and looong before they made the super new shiny barbed wire fence on the south end. I'm sure they've caught on to the fact that people are out there frequently.
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That's true, I haven't been out there since so it does sound like they've caught on.
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Morbid_Frost
location:
The Hesh Pit
Gender: Male
| | | Re: Skaggs Island -Military Base??
<Reply # 159 on 3/3/2009 4:43 AM >
| | | | they also stepped up security cause some assholes stole thousands of dollars worth of copper from skaggs
"The world needs darkness, because the excess of light neither illuminates us nor shelters us but it blinds us and burns us". - Varg Vikernes
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