Category Archives: UCSF

People Overwhelmingly Favor Preserving Mount Sutro Forest

In recent weeks, we’ve had several developments regarding Sutro Forest. COMMENTS OVERWHELMINGLY FAVOR PRESERVING THE FOREST UCSF has compiled and published the public comments on the Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR).  Though the comments are meant to address the DEIR, … Continue reading

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

Sutro Stewards: The Good, The Bad, and the… ???

In recent months, many people have asked us about the Sutro Stewards, and we’d like to explain our position. We’re not affiliated with them. The Sutro Stewards are a volunteer group that works primarily on Mount Sutro. Craig Dawson is … Continue reading

Posted in Environment, eucalyptus, Herbicides, Mount Sutro Stewards, nativism, UCSF | Tagged , , , | 8 Comments

A Tree Story in Mount Sutro Forest

There’d been a couple of really windy days in San Francisco recently, and trees went down all across the city. In Sutro Forest, too, one fell across a trail. We received notice of it from UCSF’s Damon Lew: “Due to … Continue reading

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

San Francisco Bay Guardian: SH!T H@#PENED – The Battle of Mt Sutro

Who can resist a title like that?  “SH!T H@#PENED – The Battle of Mt Sutro” So when one of our readers told us about this SF Bay Guardian article, we went looking online. No luck. We went right out for … Continue reading

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The Importance of Eucalyptus

It’s Earth Day today, and we’d like to talk about the importance of Eucalyptus trees. Surprisingly, even some people who identify as environmentalists have no idea of the far-reaching value of these trees in our environment. San Francisco has a … Continue reading

Posted in Environment, eucalyptus, Mount Sutro Stewards, nativism, Natural areas Program, UCSF | Tagged , , | 9 Comments

Mount Sutro Forest “Management Plan” Timeline

The public comment period for the Mount Sutro Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) closed on March 19th. A lot of people are saying, Now What? The bottom line: Unless the project is delayed or cancelled, tree-felling could start in mid-August … Continue reading

Posted in deforestation, Herbicides: Roundup, Garlon, Mt Sutro Cloud Forest, UCSF | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Bucketloads of Herbicides Coming to Sutro Forest

We’ve often praised UCSF here for keeping Mount Sutro forest pesticide free. No pesticides have been used there since 2008. We’ve said things like “This may be the last pesticide-free wild land in the city. (Thanks, UCSF!)” On the other … Continue reading

Posted in Herbicides: Roundup, Garlon, Mount Sutro Stewards, Natural areas Program, UCSF | Tagged , , , , , | 10 Comments

ABC7 Television, an Idyllic Forest, and Fear of Fire

ABC7 television had a 2-minute piece on Sutro Forest recently. We think it’s great coverage, and ABC7 is doing the community a service by getting this issue out there. But we’re concerned about how two interviewees focused on fire hazard,  … Continue reading

Posted in Sutro Forest "Fire Risk", UCSF | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

“Don’t Cut Me Down”: Found in Sutro Forest

A few weeks ago, we’d mentioned seeing lots of trees along the Sutro Forest trails marked with orange blobs of paint. They were mostly trees in apparently poor condition, though they didn’t look especially hazardous. We assumed they had been … Continue reading

Posted in Mt Sutro Cloud Forest, UCSF | Tagged , , | 7 Comments

Flaws in UCSF’s Sutro DEIR: Public Comments Due 19th March 2013

This post is about flaws in UCSF’s Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) for Mount Sutro Open Space Reserve. It isn’t comprehensive, but hits some of the high points. Here is the PDF of the DEIR: Mount_Sutro_EIR_1-16-13_with_Appendices MISLEADING PICTURES The DEIR … Continue reading

Posted in Environment, Mt Sutro Cloud Forest, UCSF | Tagged , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Sutro Forest Statement by Dr Joseph Mascaro

This is the statement of Dr Joseph Mascaro at the February 25th 2013 hearing UCSF held about the Draft Environmental Impact Report regarding Sutro Forest. It is published here with permission and added emphasis. ——————————- My name is Dr. Joseph … Continue reading

Posted in Environment, eucalyptus, Meetings, Sutro Forest "Fire Risk", UCSF | Tagged , , , , , | 7 Comments

UCSF’s Mt Sutro DEIR: How Many Felled Trees – 30,000 or 22,000 or zero?

As we’ve noted before, UCSF’s Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) on the Management Plan for Sutro Forest has been published, and public comments are due by March 19th, 2013. It covers what UCSF designates the Mount Sutro Open Space Reserve, … Continue reading

Posted in Environment, Mount Sutro Stewards, Mt Sutro Cloud Forest, Neighborhood impact, UCSF | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Tree Wars by Joel Engardio

Joel P. Engardio lives West of Twin Peaks and serves on the Board of Directors of Plan C and the Alice B. Toklas LGBT Democratic Club. You can follow his blog at http://www.engardio.com or find him on Facebook. The article … Continue reading

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

Fimrite’s Forest: The Evil Twin of Sutro Forest

Fimrite’s Forest is the evil twin of Mount Sutro Cloud Forest. It occupies the same space, but it’s quite different from the forest we know and love. It’s described in Peter Fimrite’s recent article in the San Francisco Chronicle, and … Continue reading

Posted in Environment, eucalyptus, Mt Sutro Cloud Forest, Sutro Forest "Fire Risk", UCSF | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Sutro Forest’s on Channel 2 News

Channel 2 (KTVU) has coverage of the proposed tree-felling in Sutro Forest. Click on the picture below to go to their video. They were also present for part of  UCSF’s public hearing this evening.

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

Report: UCSF’s Public Hearing Strongly Favors Preserving Sutro Forest

This is a quick post reporting on UCSF’s Feb 25th hearing. We’ll update it as necessary from the transcript and notes. [Edited to Add: Post updated to put in actual numbers of speakers and add two themes.] —————————- Around 250 … Continue reading

Posted in deforestation, Environment, eucalyptus, Herbicides, Mount Sutro Stewards, Mt Sutro Cloud Forest, Mt Sutro landslide risk, Neighborhood impact, Sutro Forest "Fire Risk", UCSF | Tagged , , , , | 8 Comments

Mount Sutro Forest: Why UCSF’s Protests Aren’t Convincing

UCSF has been messaging their mailing list, claiming they have no plans to fell 30,000 trees. They only intend to fell trees on 7.5 acres, the four “Demonstration Projects.” After that, they’ll get community input to figure out how many … Continue reading

Posted in deforestation, Mount Sutro Stewards, Mt Sutro Cloud Forest, UCSF | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

Why Does UCSF Want to Destroy Sutro Forest?

This article is republished from Death of a Million Trees with permission and minor edits. —————- Why Does UCSF Want to Destroy Sutro Forest? The short answer to that question is “I don’t know.” However, since many of the over … Continue reading

Posted in Environment, eucalyptus, Mt Sutro Cloud Forest, nativism, Sutro Forest "Fire Risk", UCSF | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Message to UCSF: Do the math!!

We are reprinting, with permission, the following article from the Million Trees blog. ************************************************************************************* UCSF has sent an email to its neighbors about its plans for the Sutro forest in which they say, “Contrary to rumors being circulated, there is … Continue reading

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

Mount Sutro Forest Hike in February

The day was perfect, the weather unusually nice. A long weekend, and perhaps the publicity surrounding UCSF’s plans to “thin” the forest, drew many more hikers than usual. We hiked up the steep trail from Christopher (scheduled to be closed … Continue reading

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

Is UCSF’s Sutro Forest Actually Unhealthy?

The main argument UCSF makes for the plan to remove 30,000 trees is that the forest is unhealthy. But is it? The letter below is from Alma Hecht, a Certified Arborist who evaluated the forest. SAN FRANCISCO’S FORESTS by Alma … Continue reading

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

A Hiker’s Letter: Sutro Forest A Midcity Treasure

We received this letter recently, and publish it here with permission. I’m a solitary hiker who loves San Francisco’s beautiful parks and am concerned about all the overdone enthusiasm lately for baring our forests so that there will be mostly … Continue reading

Posted in deforestation, Mount Sutro Stewards, Mt Sutro Cloud Forest, UCSF | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

Nearly 800 Signatures on the Mount Sutro Forest Petition

At midnight of Feb 7, the petition already had 789 signatures,  and of course, many more comments. If you’re interested,  please go to the petition by clicking on the button below. And if you haven’t signed it but would like … Continue reading

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

“Enough with this Tree Genocide”: Comments from The Petition to Save Mount Sutro Forest

In two days, 540 people have signed the petition to save the trees on Mt Sutro. To recap, the UCSF plan for Mount Sutro Open Space Reserve – of which it owns 61 acres – proposes to fell over 90% … Continue reading

Posted in deforestation, eucalyptus, Mt Sutro Cloud Forest, UCSF | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Save Mount Sutro Forest – How You Can Help

If you would like to help save this forest, there are a number of ways to help. 1)   Write to Governor Jerry Brown. He is ex-officio a Regent of the UC Board of Regents. Governor Jerry Brown c/o State Capitol, … Continue reading

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

UCSF Plans to Fell More Than 30 Thousand Trees on Mount Sutro

Mount Sutro Forest has approximately 45,000 trees in the 61 acres belonging to UCSF, and designated as an open space reserve. This dense forest, with an estimated  740 trees per acre, a sub-canopy of acacia, an understory of blackberry and … Continue reading

Posted in Herbicides: Roundup, Garlon, Mt Sutro Cloud Forest, UCSF | Tagged , , , , | 9 Comments

The Draft Environmental Impact Report for Sutro Forest

The Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) for Sutro Forest is available for comment. It’s long, and we’re still going through it. (We find the report cover a little disturbing, though; the “forest” seems to consist of some trees growing in … Continue reading

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

Sutro Forest Draft Environmental Impact Report: Opening For Comments

Today we learned that the Draft Environmental Impact Report for Sutro Forest will open for comments on January 18th, 2013.  The public will have 45 days in which to comment on the DEIR, until March 4, 2013. There’s a meeting … Continue reading

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

“Functional, Beautiful Ecosystems Should Be Left Alone”

We received this letter from one of our readers, “R.R.”. It’s republished here with permission. ——————————— To Whom it May Concern: I am appalled at the planned destruction of thousands of trees by UCSF and the SFNAP [San Francisco Natural … Continue reading

Posted in Environment, Natural areas Program, UCSF | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

San Francisco’s Natural Areas: 2012 A Record Year for Pesticide Use

If, like us, you hoped that 2012 might be the year that San Francisco’s Natural Areas Program (NAP) proved us wrong about its escalating  pesticide use — it’s not happening. That ship sailed in September. Readers of this site will … Continue reading

Posted in Herbicides, Herbicides: Roundup, Garlon, Natural areas Program, UCSF | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments