Juristac Planning Commission Public Comment
Juristac Planning Commission Public Comment
By Amy Meier
Say the Juristac in South Santa Clara County
is scarred by 3 open pit quarries dug hundreds of feet deep,
say 8600 gallons of water in a historic time of drought
are used each day to run a sand and gravel pit operation
for 30 years, land scarred like this can never be restored.
Say the local deer, elk, coyote, and other
native animals will be unable to travel their last open
corridor between Santa Cruz and Mt. Diablo
once the fences are erected and the digging begins.
Say the Ohlone Amuh Mutsun Tribal Band
living in intimate respectful stewardship
of the land and all life on it for 1000 generations,
knowledgeable about controlled burns, erosion prevention,
balance of predators and prey, values land and life above profit
and opposes the approval of this sand and gravel mine.
We who are not native are newcomers to this land,
ninth or first generation, we don’t have history here,
the Juristac is not our most sacred ceremonial land, or
our ancestral burial ground, not like the Amuh Mutsun
but we want the same protection for the land.
We know new roads and new housing are important too,
projects that maintain open animal corridors not open pits.
Planning Commissioners you are the current stewards,
Say you will protect this piece of land and its inhabitants
Say you will vote no to this project that benefits a few
and harms the rest of us, our children, your children,
and their children down through the generations.
Say planning for 7 generations is a wisdom we can learn.
Amy Meier grew up in New York City and now lives in San Jose, CA. In 2015 Amy founded Veterans of Life Write, based at San Jose State University Dr. Martin Luther King Library, currently meeting once a month on Zoom. She has been published in Caesura, Porter Gulch Review, and online in Portside and has been featured reader at various venues in the local Bay area.