NATURAL AREAS IN SAN FRANCISCO
Introduction and Background
Significant Natural Resource Areas Management Plan (SNRAMP)
Organizations who support the SNRAMP
Documents related to the SNRAMP
More Priorities
Intro
Check out the Nature in the City MAP, paying close attention to the dark green sites on the map. These represent San Francisco’s remaining natural areas, special open spaces that harbor vestiges of our region’s original landscape, right in the heart of the city.
Scientists use the term “natural area” to refer to any area of land where significant parts of the ancient landscape predominate. For example, if the site is an outcrop of red rock chert, or a San Francisco example of a California native grassland. We still have beautiful coast live oak woodlands, maritime chaparral, coastal dunes, wetlands, of course lakes, and even freshwater marshes.
Preservation, restoration, and stewardship of these places is among Nature in the City’s highest priorities because they harbor what remains of our city’s natural heritage and because the challenges are significant. Go to the crisis page to learn more about the many threats – including invasive plants - to the city’s natural areas. Among the threats is of course geographic fragmentation, but also institutional fragmentation. The city’s natural areas exist in more than a dozen different government jurisdictions, including the National Park Service and the Presidio Trust, California State Parks and Caltrans, the San Francisco Water Department, the Coast Guard, the Navy, the Department of Public Works, the San Francisco Fire Department, and several other City Departments.
The Recreation and Park Department (RPD) is the only agency in the City family that actually manages its natural lands for biodiversity and habitat. However, RPD’s Natural Areas Program barely manages to take care of 27% of the City's parklands - 31 Natural Areas - with 2% of the staff and 1% of the budget, compared to the remainder of Recreation and Parks.
RPD’s 31 natural areas provide habitat for myriad species of native wildlife and plants. These enduring jewels of San Francisco's wild past are nature reserves that support our unique Franciscan geology, harbor rare and endangered plants and animals, including the mission blue butterfly, and are part of the Pacific flyway, the transcontinental migration path for 100s of bird species. Unfortunately, the ecological integrity of our natural areas is severely threatened by many human uses and conditions, including off-leash dog walking, illegal mountain bike trail building, excessive trash and waste, weeds, and neglect.
Significant Natural Resource Areas Management Plan
In 2009, RPD and City Planning produced a FINAL DRAFT Significant Natural Resource Areas Management Plan (SNRAMP) for the protection, restoration and stewardship of the department's 31 natural areas and took scoping comments from the community. In the beginning of March 2010, we learned that the Planning Department, in response to our advocacy, will include some semblance of a maximum ecological restoration alternative in the Draft Environmental Impact Report, due out later in 2010.
Past HistoryOn August 21st, 2006 (continuation of July 26th, 2006 hearing), the Final Draft SNRAMP was the subject of a special meeting of the Recreation and Park Commission. The Commission unanimously approved the Plan as the proposed project to be considered under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). On Thursday, October 4th, 2007, the Recreation and Park Commission unanimously awarded the contract to do the Environmental Review. |
Stay tuned for ACTION ALERTS to support natural areas and the Significant Natural Resource Areas Management Plan! You can always contact the Recreation and Park Department and Commission and tell them that they should do everything in their power to provide resources for the natural areas:
San Francisco Recreation and Park Commission
and/or
General Manager Phil Ginsburg
501 Stanyan Street
San Francisco CA 94117
Telephone: 415-831-2750
FAX: 415-221-8034
email: recpark.commission@sfgov.org
Supporting Organizations
The following organizations and individuals - with many more in the process of authorization - have pledged their support for the Natural Areas Program and the Significant Natural Resource Areas Management Plan:
Art-Eco
Balboa High School
Bay Area Wilderness Training
Bay Nature
California Native Plant Society
California Invasive Plant Council
Community Gardens for Butterflies
Counterpulse
Earth Island Institute
Garden for the Environment
Golden Gate Audubon Society
Habitat Potential
Kids in Parks
Literacy for Environmental Justice
Nan McGuire
Planet Drum
Rainbow Grocery
San Francisco Beautiful
Wilderness Arts and Literacy Collaborative
Documents
Siginificant Natural Resource Areas Management Plan: FINAL DRAFT
Office of the Legislative Analyst Report on the SNRAMP & the NAP
Natural Areas Program Myth and FACT Sheet
Natural Areas Program Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
SNRAMP Executive Summary
Franciscan Biodiversity FACT sheet and FAQ
Earth Island Journal article about Natural Areas Plan & Program
Save Natural Areas Flyer
More Priorities for the Guardians of our City's Natural Areas Program
We advocate for RPD to purchase remaining privately held natural areas, such as the following properties: the 10 remaining lots adjacent to Palou-Phelps Natural Area, the Aqua Vista lot on Twin Peaks, and the radio tower inholding on Bayview Hill.
We are also working with other agencies such as the Fire Department, the Water Department, and Public Works to ensure that the natural areas under their jurisdiction are protected and managed for biodiversity.
Finally, we work tirelessly to make sure that RPD’s Natural Areas Program has enough staffing, that they implement the Trails Program of the Neighborhood Parks Bond ecologically sustainably, and that the Department develop a system-wide biodiversity policy.
Volunteer information is on the Recreation and Park Website,
or check out the Nature in the City Calendar.
Our photo gallery has images of the City's spectacular natural areas.
Links has information about applicable policies and laws in San Francisco.