Category Archives: Environment

UCSF Quarterly CAG Meeting – March 2015 – Sutro Forest

Posted on March 5, 2015 by webmaster

We attended the quarterly Community Advisory Group (CAG) meeting, held this quarter at Mission Bay in UCSF’s new hospital and campus. SUTRO FOREST The section relevant to Sutro Forest were: 1) Today, March 5th, they are planning to cut down … Continue reading →

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Winter Walk in Mt Sutro Cloud Forest

Posted on February 23, 2015 by webmaster

It was the perfect afternoon for a walk in the company of a friend’s friend who wanted to see Sutro forest. It rained the previous day, but now the weather offered no more than an occasional sprinkle. The tops of … Continue reading →

Posted in Environment, eucalyptus, Mt Sutro Cloud Forest | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Mission Blue Butterfly- The Latest on Twin Peaks

Posted on February 5, 2015 by webmaster

In November 2014, San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department published an upbeat progress report on their project to reintroduce the Mission Blue butterfly to Twin Peaks.  This butterfly is an endangered subspecies of the not-threatened Boisduval’s Blue. The project staff … Continue reading →

Posted in Environment | Tagged , | 6 Comments

SF Forest Alliance Sent 1700 Signatures to Mayor Lee!

Posted on January 31, 2015 by webmaster

Supporters may recall that in January 2014, we published a request for signatures for a new petition from San Francisco Forest Alliance, asking Mayor Lee to rein in the Natural Areas Program (NAP) of the SF Recreation and Parks Department. … Continue reading →

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What Happened to Sutro Forest in 2014 – and Happy New Year!

Posted on December 31, 2014 by webmaster

Happy New Year to all our readers! We thought we’d end the year by reviewing the pluses and minuses for 2014. POSITIVES + UCSF has suspended its plans to cut down 90% of the trees in Sutro Forest. A new … Continue reading →

Posted in Environment, Mt Sutro Cloud Forest, nativism, UCSF | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

East Bay Trees to be Destroyed – How to Help

Posted on December 15, 2014 by webmaster

Our regular readers may recall that an extremely destructive project is planned for Berkeley and the East Bay Hills of the San Francisco Bay Area. It’s going to fell nearly half a million trees. The land managers sought FEMA funding … Continue reading →

Posted in deforestation, Environment | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Sutro Forest Thanksgiving

Posted on November 28, 2014 by webmaster

Fall in San Francisco brings uncertain weather – (welcome) rainy days mixed in with days of beautiful crisp clarity (also welcome). The day before Thanksgiving was a picture-book  afternoon, and Sutro Forest beckoned. We went up perhaps an hour before … Continue reading →

Posted in Environment, Hiking | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Managing Urban Coyotes: by Janet Kessler

Posted on November 21, 2014 by webmaster

A few months ago, coyotes were sighted in and around Sutro Forest. In fact, all urban parks – and some neighborhoods – in San Francisco have families of coyotes visiting or living in them. For those who love wildlife, this … Continue reading →

Posted in Environment, Mt Sutro Cloud Forest | Tagged , | 1 Comment

UCSF Meeting: Sutro Forest Notes (3 Sept 2014)

Posted on September 5, 2014 by webmaster

UCSF’s quarterly Community Advisory Group (CAG) quarterly meeting was held on September 3rd, 2014. The CAG consists of selected people from the community, many of whom have been on it for years or decades. Though our point of view is … Continue reading →

Posted in deforestation, Environment, Mt Sutro Cloud Forest, UCSF | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

AAA Says, Don’t Miss Mount Sutro

Posted on August 28, 2014 by webmaster

We’ve been members of AAA for decades, now, and value their adventure-inspiring magazine, Via, almost as much as their roadside service. Recently, we were particularly delighted to see a great article on one of San Francisco’s best-kept secrets – Sutro … Continue reading →

Posted in Environment, eucalyptus, Mt Sutro Cloud Forest | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Mount Sutro: Fungi in the Forest

Posted on August 5, 2014 by webmaster

In an earlier post, we’d said that fungi and mushrooms were so unusual in Sutro Forest that we took photographs when we saw them – like on this walk in December 2012. But recently, on another visit to the forest, … Continue reading →

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Sutro Forest: NATURAL, Not Diseased or Dying

Posted on July 27, 2014 by webmaster

CRYING WOLF WITH BEETLES In the Sutro Stewards blog last month, Craig Dawson (who is its Executive Director) wrote a post claiming that the forest was in dire straits, infected with funguses and beetles: specifically, Anthracnose, armillaria, phytopthora, wood decay … Continue reading →

Posted in Environment, Mount Sutro Stewards, Mt Sutro Cloud Forest, UCSF | Tagged , , , | 10 Comments

Cal-IPC Eucalyptus Reassessment: Same Result (for Different Reasons)

Posted on July 26, 2014 by webmaster

[Edited to Add: Cal-IPC did change the rating in its final version.] The California Invasive Plant Council (Cal-IPC) designates eucalyptus as “moderately invasive.” Land managers all over California have used this designation as an excuse to cut down thousands of … Continue reading →

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San Francisco Butterflies – Count Results for 2014

Posted on July 25, 2014 by webmaster

Each year, in the 4 weeks before or after the 4th of July, the North American Butterfly Association, NABA, sponsors a butterfly count across the nation. Here in San Francisco, Liam O’Brien manages it, maneuvering around the fog of summer. … Continue reading →

Posted in Environment | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Walking in Sutro Forest – June, July 2014

Posted on July 18, 2014 by webmaster

It’s a while since we posted about Sutro Forest conditions, so we’d like to record pictures and observations from the last few weeks. Much of the forest is still very beautiful, especially in the fog. But around 1200 trees have … Continue reading →

Posted in Environment, eucalyptus, Hiking, Mt Sutro Cloud Forest | Tagged , , , , , | 8 Comments

The ROSE Disappointment

Posted on July 16, 2014 by webmaster

Some weeks ago, we had alerted our readers to the ROSE (Recreation and Open Space Element  amendment to the General Plan. It’s a bad idea, mainly because of the egregious Policy 4.2 that potentially expands “Natural Area” management principles to … Continue reading →

Posted in Environment, Natural areas Program | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Understanding Eucalyptus in the Bay Area – Dr Joe R. McBride

Posted on July 12, 2014 by webmaster

This article has been republished from the  website of the San Francisco Forest Alliance, with permission. (Edited to add: A somewhat different selection of illustrations has been used.) Dr. Joe McBride of UC Berkeley spoke at the Commonwealth Club in … Continue reading →

Posted in Environment, eucalyptus | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

Sutro Forest: Good News; Bad News; Action Alert

Posted on June 13, 2014 by webmaster

Last month, we wrote about about two things: Tree-cutting in Sutro Forest in the bird nesting season; San Francisco’s new “Office of Biodiversity” that was looking for a $250,000 grant to fund developing a so-called ‘Biodiversity Plan’ that would extend … Continue reading →

Posted in Environment, Mount Sutro Stewards, nativism, UCSF | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Felling Orange-dot Trees in the Nesting Season

Posted on April 19, 2014 by webmaster

In March 2014, soon after UCSF said it was delaying work on the Draft Environmental Impact Report for now – it sent around this message. “Beginning on Monday, March 17th, Bartlett Tree Experts will be performing tree work throughout the … Continue reading →

Posted in Environment, Mt Sutro Cloud Forest, UCSF | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Sutro Forest: Cut Trees, Add Landslide Risk

Posted on April 4, 2014 by webmaster

When UCSF  (or SF Recreation and Parks Department) discusses “Safety” in the forests on Mt Sutro and Mt Davidson,  they generally focus on fire hazard (relatively low in these damp cloud forests), or on the risk of being hit by … Continue reading →

Posted in deforestation, Environment, Neighborhood impact | Tagged , | 4 Comments

How to Define ‘Biodiversity’

Posted on April 2, 2014 by webmaster

Someone asked UC Davis Professor Arthur Shapiro for a definition of Biodiversity. After all, it’s apparently a key concept in some of the policy-making in San Francisco open spaces. “A buzzword,” he responded. “Biodiversity means whatever you want it to … Continue reading →

Posted in Environment | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

UCSF Sutro Forest Update

Posted on March 6, 2014 by webmaster

UCSF has decided to wait on Mount Sutro Forest. For now, all plans are suspended except for routine maintenance. We attended UCSF’s Community Advisory Group (CAG) meeting this evening. (UCSF has a sort of citizen’s panel that is supposed to … Continue reading →

Posted in Environment, eucalyptus, UCSF | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

Time and Ecological Communities – Talk by Dr Art Shapiro – 24 March 2014

Posted on March 5, 2014 by webmaster

Last year, we posted here about an interesting new series of lectures in January, March and April of 2014. It’s the Science of Conservation and Biodiversity in the 21st Century series, from three professors each giving one talk in San … Continue reading →

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February Idyll in Mount Sutro Forest: Bikes, Flowers, Slug

Posted on February 16, 2014 by webmaster

The welcome little storm that passed through a few days ago watered the forest, but it wasn’t actually raining on February 13th. So when someone emailed us to say they wanted to see the forest – for the first time … Continue reading →

Posted in Environment, Hiking, Mt Sutro Cloud Forest | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

UCSF Meeting Report – 11 Feb 2014

Posted on February 12, 2014 by webmaster

UCSF had called this meeting to discuss, not Mount Sutro Forest, but their Long Range Development Plan. However, Craig Dawson, Executive Director of the Sutro Stewards sent out a call for people to attend and talk about Mt Sutro, apparently … Continue reading →

Posted in Environment, eucalyptus, Herbicides, Mount Sutro Stewards, Mt Sutro Cloud Forest, UCSF | Tagged , , , , | 8 Comments

Sutro Forest in January 2014

Posted on January 21, 2014 by webmaster

The unusual winter weather, with bright sunny days and hardly any rain, has drawn a lot of people to Sutro Forest. We’ve been up there a couple of times recently, and found an unusually large number of joggers, bicycle-riders, and … Continue reading →

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Please Sign SF Forest Alliance’s NEW Petition to Save Natural Areas

Posted on January 13, 2014 by webmaster

This post is republished from SFForest.org (with permission). The Natural Areas Program controls about a quarter of Sutro Forest, and has recently used pesticide there. Meanwhile, UCSF has said they will not use pesticide in the area they control. San … Continue reading →

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John Muir, Eucalyptus, and Happy New Year!

Posted on January 1, 2014 by webmaster

On January 2, 1911, John Muir – founder of the Sierra Club and the man who saved Yosemite – sent out this greeting card. It has a painting of a eucalyptus tree, and a poem about the tree: “From eucalyptus … Continue reading →

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‘Natural’ Areas Program Using Pesticide in Sutro Forest

Posted on January 1, 2014 by webmaster

No sooner had UCSF announced it would not use pesticides than the Natural Areas Program (NAP) suddenly decided that it needed to use imazapyr in SF RPD’s part of Sutro Forest. The Forest is mostly owned by UCSF, but 19 … Continue reading →

Posted in Environment, Herbicides, Mt Sutro Cloud Forest, Natural areas Program | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

The Plants that Monarch Butterflies Need

Posted on December 24, 2013 by webmaster

The famed and eponymous natural bridges at Natural Bridges State Beach at Santa Cruz no longer exist; a 1994 winter storm destroyed the last one. But no matter: what we recently went there to see was the over-wintering Monarch butterflies … Continue reading →

Posted in Environment, eucalyptus | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment