The new proprietors of a contentious private island near San Francisco have labeled it a “death trap” requiring significant rehabilitation. Earlier this year, the John Muir Land Trust acquired Point Buckler Island for $3.8 million.
Situated in the northeastern region of the San Francisco Bay, Point Buckler Island came under the hammer following a hefty $4.6 million environmental fine levied on its former owner. The island’s previous caretaker, John Sweeney, faced accusations of ecological damage due to the construction of an exclusive, high-end kite surfing club, which had become a playground for the nation’s wealthiest.
In a record-setting penalty, the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board imposed the $4.6 million fine, the largest in its history. Sweeney’s transgressions included erecting helicopter pads, installing toilets, creating a lounge area, and even cutting the grass, all of which were deemed detrimental to the island’s fragile ecosystem.
John Sweeney was accused of damaging the island’s delicate eco-system by building a ritzy $750,000-a-year kite surfing club frequented by the nation’s top earners.
The $4.6million fine was the largest ever handed out by the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board
Sweeney was reprimanded for building helicopter pads, toilets, a lounge, and even for mowing the grass.
In January, the land was seized and later auctioned off by the Solano County Sheriff’s Office and purchased by the John Muir Land Trust.
‘This island should be a refuge, a place where small fish find food, shelter, and safe passage. Instead, it’s a death trap,’ The trust’s Executive Director, Linus Eukel, told SF Gate.
Point Buckler Island sits in the northeastern part of the San Francisco Bay. It was purchased by the John Muir Land Trust for $3.8million after it was seized from its previous owner, John Sweeney
Two visitors on Point Buckler Island, pictured in August 2019. The owner at the time, John Sweeney, used his island as a ritzy $750,000-a-year kite surfing club
It is now fundraising money to help cover the cost of the cleanup, which will go toward helping get water back through the marsh so fish can survive.
‘The levee eventually killed the marsh, cutting off the tidal flows that make brackish marshes work. Now, when the tide comes in, young migrating salmon swim over the levee and become trapped in stagnant, unoxygenated pools. They can’t breathe. And they can’t escape,’ the trust said in a statement.
Sweeney, however, said he only repaired an existing levee on the former duck hunting destination.
Eukel said the trust, a nonprofit conservation organization, will have to ‘remove the helipads, the dock, the artificial turf, the trailers’ and then, ‘breach the unauthorized levy in a number of places to re-establish channels’.
The trust is hoping to be able to open the island back up to the public one day once it has been revitalized.
But for now, they will be using helicopters and barges to help remove debris on the island.
‘The levee is just one part of the mess. The former owner also abandoned derelict buildings, a dock, helicopter pads, and piles of heavy debris across the remote island,’ it said.
‘The good news? We own Point Buckler now.’
‘This island should be a refuge, a place where small fish find food, shelter, and safe passage. Instead, it’s a death trap,’ the trust’s Executive Director Linus Eukel said
John Sweeney (pictured) was fined millions for building helicopter pads, toilets, a lounge, and even for mowing the grass on the ecologically fragile island
Sweeney had turned the island into a posh kitesurfing club for billionaires in Silicon Valley
He built a lounge and other things on the island, which a government agency said destroyed it
Sweeney was dramatically arrested outside of court as his land was seized in January, just minutes after his property sold.
Sweeney, a self-described ‘American entrepreneur,’ attended the court proceedings in protest of the county-mandated sale, marking the end of a grueling 10-year battle between him and numerous government agencies in the Golden Gate City.
California lawmakers seized the land that Sweeney purchased for $150,000 in 2011 over claims that the wealthy owner allegedly committed ‘one of the worst environmental activities in the entire San Francisco Bay’.
Point Buckler, a turtle-shaped marshland on the southern edge of Grizzly Bay, is home to several endangered species.
After buying the land, Sweeney turned it into a posh kitesurfing club for billionaires in Silicon Valley – allegedly making many illegal moves during its transformation, according to the agencies.
The auction was abruptly interrupted by Sweeney, who approached the crowd of people.
‘Are you a bidder?’ Pierce asked him. Sweeney then replied: ‘I’m the owner.’
Tensions quickly grew as Sweeney added: ‘Government at its finest. Can’t figure out how to sell a property.’
Daily Mail has contacted Sweeney for comment.
