The coastal areas of Marin and Sonoma would not be what they are today if it wasn’t for the efforts of Marty Griffin. Plans to turn Highway 1 in Marin County into a four-lane freeway and over develop Bolinas and Tomales Bay never made it to fruition thanks to the efforts of Marty and many dedicated conservationists.
Marty worked with a coalition of like-minded people to buy up key properties and eventually change the Marin General Plan to focus on open space preservation rather than development. If those plans had advanced, development would have spread all the way to Mendocino and Fort Bragg. Those efforts in Marin County helped stop over development moving north.
Marty all the while had a career in medicine and served as Chief of Medicine at Marin General and Ross Hospitals. He later returned to school for a master’s in public health and served as the Public Health Director of the Sonoma State Hospital. He developed new protocols that helped reduce the spread of Hepatitis B and served on the state AIDS task Force.
Marty’s legacy includes the purchase of what is today Audubon Canyon Ranch in Bolinas, inspiring a multitude of people to pursue careers in conservation and natural science and the creation of Russian Riverkeeper. He also bought a mined out property on the River next to Hop Kiln Winery that is now the Marty Griffin Russian River Preserve held by Sonoma Land Trust and Gina’s Orchard at Bishops Ranch nearby.
Beginning in the 1970’s Marty worked tirelessly for two decades campaigning against gravel mining in the Russian River. In 1993, he helped found Friends of the Russian River, now known as Russian Riverkeeper. Through the efforts of that organization gravel mining on the river ended in 2010. One of the people Marty inspired is our executive director, Don McEnhill, someone who had never considered a career in conservation. That was Marty’s magic, engaging people to help save our environment. Our region wouldn’t have the rural character and natural beauty it does today were it not for Marty’s work. Thank you, Marty.
You can learn more by reading his book, Saving the Marin and Sonoma Coast or watching Rebels with a Cause.