Open Space Jewel Returns to Bayview-Hunters Point

“With the first tide coming into the recently restored 
marsh area, I felt the change that will improve life in 
the surrounding community.”
Axel Rieke, Northgate Environmental Engineer on the
Yosemite Slough Wetlands Restoration Project

Candlestick Point wetland reclaimed as key habitat
Peter Fimrite, SF Chronicle, November 23, 2011

Elizabeth Goldstein, the executive director of the California State Parks Foundation, stood in the mud at Yosemite Slough on Tuesday and welcomed the reclamation of the 7-acre site as a wetland.

After years of planning and months of cleanup and construction, two new tidal bays and a sandy shell-covered island designed exclusively for birds are the featured attractions in this $9 million phase of restoration of Yosemite Slough at Candlestick Point State Recreation Area. The 10-year-old project by the parks foundation and California State Parks will bring bayside recreation to Bayview-Hunters Point.

The new 7-acre marsh area is part of the Yosemite Slough Restoration plan, which will return 34 acres of shoreline to its natural state, creating the largest contiguous wetland area in San Francisco.  Native grasses will also be planted to stabilize the muddy shoreline, and 40,000 shrubs and plants will be added for erosion control. As many as 40 children involved in the local Literacy for Environmental Justice program are raising the shrubbery and are expected to help with the planting.

An additional $10 million will be spent restoring 13 more acres, including 5 acres of wetland on the opposite side of Yosemite Slough, and up to $4 million more will be spent adding an interpretive center, parking, a trail around the site, picnic tables, restrooms and lawns by 2015, when the project is expected to be completed. The parks foundation plans to raise money for the rest of the project given that the park system is broke and Candlestick Point is on the state's closure list.

"This was a very important project for the community - not only for the recreation but because it is an environmental justice project" that involved the removal of contaminated soil and hazardous construction debris, Goldstein said.

Read the complete story on SFGate.

Candlestick Point Volunteer Work Day, November 30th

Partnering with California State Parks, the California State Parks Foundation will hold an upcoming work day at Candlestick Point State Recreation Area in San Francisco. The work day will focus on improvements in the Windharp picnic area. The day is planned for Wednesday, November 30, 9:00 am to 2:00 pm.

If you are interested in making a difference at Candlestick Point SRA, please register for this work day at calparks.org/parkchampions and click on the Candlestick Point link.

California State Parks and Wildlife Conservation Trust Fund Act

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has recently proposed to tie California state parks funding to proceeds from offshore oil drilling. This is a tradeoff that many, including the California State Parks Foundation, find unacceptable.

When a previous gubernatorial budget proposal aimed to eliminate half of state parks’ General Fund in 2009, then take the remaining half in 2010, California faced the likely closure of more than 80% of the entire parks system. Full closures were avoided only because parks users mobilized last summer under California State Parks Foundation's Save Our State Parks campaign.

In a major effort to secure a long-term sustainable funding mechanism, the foundation supports the California State Parks and Wildlife Conservation Trust Fund Act of 2010, which is in circulation to qualify for the November 2010 ballot. This funding, when approved by the voters, will provide a stable, reliable, and adequate funding source for the state park system, for wildlife conservation, and for increased and equitable access to those resources for all.

California State Parks Foundation 40th Anniversary

Join the California State Parks Foundation for their 40th Birthday Bash. The party is scheduled for Sunday, October 25, 12:30 to 4 pm in the brand new Pavilion By the Bay on Treasure Island.

There will be birthday cake and live music with children's activities and games, fortune telling, tarot, face painting, magic, lots of food, and good times. Adults can enjoy a libation as well. There will also be a silent auction, and a live auction at 3 pm to bid on a brand new Subaru Outback.

Adults: $20 (before Oct 11) at the door: $25
Kids ages 8–12: $12.50 • Kids under 8 are free
RSVP by October 11th

For more information email or call Bonnie Davis (415.262.4409).

Some State Parks Will Close

Update: New post on SFist (inlcuding state budget fact sheet) : http://sfist.com/2009/07/29/the_future_of_state_parks_partnersh.php

About 50 state parks could be shuttered, budget report says
Shane Goldmacher, Los Angeles Times Greenspace Blog, July 23, 2009

About 50 state parks could close as a result of budget cuts that the state Legislature will consider later today, according to an Assembly report prepared for lawmakers.

Legislators are preparing to vote on an $8 million reduction in state park funds. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger had earlier proposed a cut of $70 million, which would have shuttered some 220 parks, but lawmakers rejected that plan.

"It’s a certainty some parks will close with these reductions," said Roy Stearns, a spokesperson for the Department of Parks and Recreation. "What we don’t know is what parks and where."

Stearns, whose department will prioritize which parks remain open, said those with the lowest attendance would be the most likely to close. Stearns said the department would also consider geography "so we don’t unnecessarily hurt any area." He said that it was too early to "know if that’s a reasonable number…. It could be 30." The final tally could depend of potential support from local communities, the federal government, businesses and the public.

The Schwarzenegger administration stressed that it is "working on ways like public-private partnerships to keep as many open as possible," said Lisa Page, a spokesperson for the governor.

Original post here: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/greenspace/2009/07/about-50-state-parks-could-be-shuttered-budget-report-says.html

And, more in the San Francisco Chronicle, July 25, 2009: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2009/07/25/MNPJ18UJ3C.DTL

Earth Day - April 22, 2009

How will you celebrate Earth Day?

• Take action in your own home
• Take action at work or school
• Get some inspiration
  
• Consider volunteering...

• "Clean it, Green it, Mean it" in Oakland
• Help clean up a park with the California State Parks Foundation
• Help reduce soil loss and protect water supplies with the Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service
• Consider joining the Green Generation Campaign, which has the following core principles:

A carbon-free future based on renewable energy that will end our common dependency on fossil fuels, including coal.

An individual’s commitment to responsible, sustainable consumption.

Creation of a new green economy that lifts people out of poverty by creating millions of quality green jobs and transforms the global education system into a green one.