News
Truth about Nature in the City
I was on a brief tour last week of native grasslands at McLaren Park. Recreation and Park’s Natural Areas Program led members of the environmental community around McLaren in order to alert us to conditions of the natural resources under their jurisdiction. What we found on the tour is in fact the truth about our City’s natural areas.
For the past two years, Nature in the City has produced a wonderful community celebration – McLaren Park Earth Day, which goal is to celebrate nature in the city where we live and connect more people to the nature of McLaren Park, in particular. While some wonderful community ecological stewardship is happening at McLaren, its positive environmental effects now pale in comparison to the truth of the negative impacts occurring from rampant unregulated commercial dog walking and the construction of illegal mountain bike trails, to say nothing of trash and the skimpy RPD budget for managing the natural resources of McLaren and other parks.
I frame these observations as finding the truth because for years, the conservation community has been confronted with lies about nature in the city. At a recent conservation community meeting about the ecological future of Lake Merced, a “recreation advocate” raised the specter again of native plant restoration as some evil activity that creates the closure of vast areas of parklands to the general public. These and other myths have been perpetuated by anti-natural areas advocates for nearly a decade in pursuit of a single species agenda, the “I’m entitled to destroy my local natural environment if I want to” human. In point of fact, ecological restoration often makes places more accessible by controlling noxious weeds and installing nature trails for people to experience wildlife. And all restoration projects require a commitment of long-term community stewardship, which can be a very rewarding weekend activity. Restoration is recreation!
The state of the City’s parklands is that of a full frontal assault on our natural environment. The truth about nature in the city is that our remaining natural areas and wildlife habitats are under extreme duress from the continuing impacts of human beings, their pets, their tools and their modes of transportation. Our City’s own native plants and animals are disappearing at an alarming rate. The California quail, the City’s official bird, is basically gone, and the native grasses and diverse perennial herbs of our own California grasslands are disappearing fast from human impacts and those of invasive plants. The question always remains: do we care enough about San Francisco’s own natural heritage to stop the destruction?
- Peter BrastowSF Chronicle
September 6, 2008 - Arborists wielding saws began thinning a portion of the grove as several dozen protesters shouted, wept and hollered from the median on nearby Piedmont Avenue. The day before, a state appeals court refused a request by the tree-sitters and a neighborhood group to stop the project.
"It's surreal to see the grove finally be cut down after so much energy and effort and spirit was put into protecting it," said Daria Garina, a UC Berkeley junior and supporter of the tree-sitters. "It's tragic and awful."
Workers in two cherry-pickers stripped most of the branches off the redwood where the tree-sitters reside as protesters swatted them with sticks. An arborist was injured when a tree-sitter threw a glass bottle at his head. The arborist was treated by paramedics and returned to work.
Read the full story (and further stories), view images & video footage at SF Gate
You can also visit the Save the Memorial Oak Grove website to learn more & follow the ongoing lawsuit between the community and the UC campus.
Critical Habitat Protection Proposed for Southern Green Sturgeon
Center for Biological Diversity
The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) proposed designating areas of river, estuarine, bay and coastal marine habitats in California, Oregon and Washington as critical habitat for the southern population of the green sturgeon (Acipenser medirostris), an imperiled migratory fish that has survived since the Pleistocene. The proposal is a result of a 2007 settlement agreement arising out of a lawsuit filed by the Center for Biological Diversity to secure critical habitat.
One of our largest and rarest freshwater fish species may now get the habitat protection it needs for conservation and recovery, said Jeff Miller, conservation advocate with the Center for Biological Diversity. Recent surveys have shown some of the lowest recorded numbers of spawning green sturgeon in the Sacramento River. With so few sturgeon left and the San Francisco Bay-Delta food web they depend upon unraveling, we are pleased to see critical habitat proposed for this ancient fish.
To read the full press release click here.
View the proposed critical habitat designation. (PDF)
Go to the Center for Biological Diversity's website for information about the green sturgeon.
Literacy for Environmental Justice 10-Year Anniversary Celebration
Friday, November 14
7 pm
Mission Rock Cafe
This event will sell out. To reserve tickets early contact LEJ.
For more info go to the LEJ website.
Survey the Urban Forest for Wildlife
Josiah Clark (NTC Steering Committee Member & Consulting Ecologist for Habitat Potential) is working on a plan which will address many aspects of the urban forest - namely the street trees.
He is asking for all SF naturalists to report on what they have observed in their neighborhood street trees. Of course street trees are not prime habitat, but they are something. Bushtits, Anna's hummingbirds and Robins, among others, all breed in street trees. Many more species use street trees on winter or during migration. Any notes on specific street locations where you have noticed good bird or insect activity will be incorporated into a map, currently being created. These areas will serve as models for how it can be in the future. If you know the kind of tree, that's great, if not, that's fine too. Include as much or little as you have time for. Tree descriptions, bird/insect species accounts, food/cover resources or stories about what you have observed are all great. Josiah will summarize that in the report. **Input is especially needed from the southern and eastern portion of SF.
Send your comments/observations to Josiah Clark.
"How Bunny Saved California" is an original video game which teaches the importance of removing invasive plants that plague California. Bunny, the game's heroine, makes a valiant effort to pull, dig and wrench out some nasty weeds before they spread and crowd out the native plants.
Go to the Yerba Buena Nursery's website to start the fun!
Volunteer Opportunities
Wednesday September 17
Alcatraz Gardens
Presidio Park Stewards
@ Presidio Hills
California Native Plant Society
@ Twin Peaks North
Presidio Nursery
Thursday September 18
Crissy Field Landscape
Lands End Stewardship
Friday September 19
Alcatraz Gardens
Presidio Plant Patrol
@ Dragonfly Creek
Saturday September 20
Coastal Cleanup Day 2008
Friends of Glen Canyon
Presidio Trail Work
Presidio Park Stewards
@ Mountain Lake
Area A Landscape and Maintenance
Fort Funston Nursery
Friends of Shields / Orizaba Rocky Outcrop
Lands End Stewards
Presidio Nursery
For more information, contact info, and directions to natural areas go to the Community Calendar on the Nature in the City website.
Join Nature in the City!
Become a member today and get a new map! Nature in the City is a project of Earth Island Institute, a 501(c)3 California non profit public benefit corporation. |
