Tag Archives: environment

UCSF Parnassus: December 2020 Meeting Report

Posted on December 15, 2020 by webmaster

In December 2020, UCSF had a public virtual meeting about its further plans, which modify the earlier ones for which it produced an extensive Environmental Impact Report (EIR). Dr Ariane Eroy attended, and sent us these notes. They are published … Continue reading →

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UCSF Plans More Damage to Sutro Forest

Posted on September 11, 2020 by webmaster

The main destruction of Sutro Forest – from the so-called “Vegetation Management Plan” of 2018 – is already underway. But a recent Draft Environmental Impact Report (Read it here: UCSF-CPHP-Draft-EIR (1) ) developed because UCSF is making significant changes to … Continue reading →

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Clear-cuts in Sutro Forest

Posted on April 30, 2019 by webmaster

At the end of March, we went into Mount Sutro Forest. We found a lot of trees had been cut down, and it’s practically a clear-cut on the East side – contiguous with the Aldea Student Housing, where housing density … Continue reading →

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Dead trees: the life of the forest

Posted on February 3, 2019 by webmaster

UCSF is undertaking an assault on Sutro Forest, starting with trees it classifies as “dead or dying.” We question whether the so-called “dying” trees are actually dying, or merely in a defensive mode against four dry years, from which they … Continue reading →

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Blackberry Provides Valuable Habitat

Posted on August 15, 2018 by webmaster

From time to time, over the years, we have written about the value of blackberry as habitat, and as part of this wonderful forest.  (See: Sutro Forest Ecosystem and Wildlife Habitat.) Recently, wildlife photographer and observer Janet Kessler published this … Continue reading →

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The Very Long Life of Eucalyptus Trees

Posted on June 27, 2018 by webmaster

From the time we established this website in 2009, we have battled a series of myths used to attack eucalyptus trees. One of the most pernicious is that the trees are short-lived, and so are dying of old age. We … Continue reading →

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UCSF to Start Cutting Trees in Fall 2018 – “Final EIR” Published

Posted on May 2, 2018 by webmaster

UCSF has issued its proposed Final Environmental Impact Report. (You can read it here as a PDF. It’s more than 2000 pages. Mount Sutro Vegetation Management Plan 2018 Final EIR_Full Document They expect to have it certified by the Board of … Continue reading →

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

Two Nativist Myths: Eucalyptus Kills Other Plants; Mutually Exclusive Relationships are Common in Nature

Posted on February 12, 2018 by webmaster

We re-publish with permission (and added emphasis) an article from  MillionTrees.me, a website that fights the unnecessary felling of trees in the Bay Area. The article, a report from someone who attended the February 2018 meeting of the California Native … Continue reading →

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Bad News from Sutro Forest – Clearcuts in Interior Green Belt

Posted on December 28, 2017 by webmaster

A forest lover alerted us to some serious tree destruction on the Cole Valley side of Sutro Forest – the Interior Green Belt. This is the city-owned side of the forest. We knew that some tree-cutting was planned. Some months … Continue reading →

Posted in Mt Sutro Cloud Forest, Natural areas Program | Tagged , , , , | 14 Comments

Furious Letter from a Forest Lover

Posted on November 28, 2017 by webmaster

We received this letter from a long-time hiker in Sutro Forest, who is aghast at the destruction there. We publish it unedited. —————————— “Dear fellow environmentalists and friends of Mount Sutro Forest … I am lately shocked and horrified even … Continue reading →

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Sutro Forest Plan: Heavy Machinery in Unstable Areas

Posted on September 8, 2017 by webmaster

Recently, we wrote that the  Sutro Forest 2017 Plan Imposes a Landslide Risk. A University of Washington study shows that mudslides are most like 5-10 years after trees have been cut down on slopes. The picture below shows the South … Continue reading →

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Public Comments due Sept 22, 2017 on Sutro Forest DEIR

Posted on August 5, 2017 by webmaster

UCSF has released a humongous 1087-page Draft Environmental Impact Report on the Plan to cut down thousands of trees in Sutro Forest. The deadline for public comment has been extended in response to a San Francisco Forest Alliance request, to … Continue reading →

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Year 9 of Mission Blue Butterfly on Twin Peaks: Mixed Results

Posted on July 22, 2017 by webmaster

It’s now Year 9 of the the Mission Blue butterfly project on Twin Peaks, San Francisco. In 2008, SF Recreation and Parks Department (SFRPD) started trying an attempt to reintroduce the Mission Blue Butterfly to Twin Peaks, by planting lupine and transferring … Continue reading →

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Here it Comes: UCSF announces the Draft EIR for Sutro Forest

Posted on July 21, 2017 by webmaster

UCSF sent out a notification recently, saying that the Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) for the 2017 Plan for Sutro Forest will be released on July 24th, 2017. The public will have until September 8th, 2017 to make their comments. … Continue reading →

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Ecological Novelty is Nature’s Future

Posted on June 4, 2017 by webmaster

This thoughtful article and guest post by Professor Mark Davis was first published in Death of a Million Trees (which fights unnecessary tree destruction in the San Francisco Bay Area), and subsequently on the website of the San Francisco Forest … Continue reading →

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April Visit to Beautiful Sutro Forest

Posted on May 20, 2017 by webmaster

“I would love to see Sutro forest,” said the out-of-town visitor. “I’ve heard so much about it!” So when the welcome rain cleared into welcome sunshine, we headed up the new trail at the Pumphouse on Christopher Drive. It doesn’t provide the … Continue reading →

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The Forest at the City’s Heart – Sutro Cloud Forest

Posted on April 18, 2017 by webmaster

[This article was published recently on the website of the San Francisco Forest Alliance, and is reprinted here with permission. Thousands of trees are being cut down in San Francisco. Sutro Forest may actually be the worst, with many thousands … Continue reading →

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Mt Sutro Forest: Nibbling at the Western Edge with Kirkham Heights Project? [UPDATE: Project Withdrawn]

Posted on March 26, 2017 by webmaster

[Edited to Add: UPDATE – The project is off. The owner, Westlake, thinks its a low priority especially since the site is situated on a hillside that’s in an “earthquake-induced landslide zones,” meaning areas with a high probability of slope failure.” It … Continue reading →

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How Many Trees in Sutro Forest? And What Will be Left?

Posted on February 23, 2017 by webmaster

Mount Sutro is a very difficult site. Its soils are shallow, its rocks unstable. It’s very windy. Few trees survive those conditions. Nevertheless, the eucalyptus forest has naturalized there for over a century – nearly 125 years now – and … Continue reading →

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Old Trees Trap More Carbon and Fight Climate Change

Posted on February 16, 2017 by webmaster

The older a tree grows, the more carbon dioxide it grabs out of the air and sequesters, thus fighting climate change. Cutting down these large old trees releases this carbon back into the atmosphere. An article published in the Nature … Continue reading →

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Why “Thinning” Damages a Forest

Posted on February 1, 2017 by webmaster

This article is republished with permission (and minor format changes) from Death of a Million Trees, a blog dedicated to fighting unnecessary tree-felling in the San Francisco Bay Area. It beautifully reflects the interlinked reality of Sutro Forest, which has … Continue reading →

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4th Sutro Forest TAC Meeting: Nativist Coup

Posted on January 24, 2017 by webmaster

When UCSF surprisingly announced there would be a 4th Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) meeting after the original three, we suspected adverse changes to the Draft Plan.  That meeting was held this evening, and we were right to be concerned. Significant changes … Continue reading →

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UCSF Meeting about 2016 Sutro Forest Draft Plan – Oct 27, 2016 – Report

Posted on October 28, 2016 by webmaster

We attended the UCSF community meeting about the new draft plan for Sutro Forest. On this rainy evening, only about 6-8 people came, outnumbered by the UCSFers present. Unlike previous meetings, there were no presentations, just stations that were set … Continue reading →

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“New Battle over Managing Sutro Forest Trees” – San Francisco Chronicle

Posted on June 28, 2016 by webmaster

Someone sent us a really interesting article about Sutro Forest in a recent San Francisco Chronicle (25th June, 2016). A MYSTICAL PLACE Titled “New battle over managing Sutro Forest trees,” the article is by well-known journalist Carl Nolte. It starts … Continue reading →

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

Report: UCSF Second Sutro Forest TAC Meeting

Posted on May 16, 2016 by webmaster

UCSF held its second Planning Meeting for Sutro Forest on 28 April 2016. The two hired arborists, Jim Clark of Hort Science and Matt Greene, presented the direction they were taking the Plan, and their evaluation of the forest. The … Continue reading →

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UCSF’s Second Sutro Forest Meeting – April 28, 2016

Posted on April 18, 2016 by webmaster

UCSF has announced its second meeting of the Technical Advisory Committee: “On Thursday, April 28, UCSF will convene the second meeting of the Mount Sutro Technical Advisory Committee (TAC).  The TAC is comprised of volunteer experts in forestry, fire hazard … Continue reading →

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Two Views of Sutro Forest

Posted on March 25, 2016 by webmaster

Tom Roop sent us several pictures of Sutro Forest and Mount Davidson from a distance. We’ve labeled them to clarify the position of the two mountains. He also sent us this one – a classic San Francisco vista. “The point … Continue reading →

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Coming to Sutro Forest: Three New Trails and a Fancy Trail Head

Posted on March 19, 2016 by webmaster

This article is slightly modified and republished from a post on forestknolls.info UCSF is going ahead with plans to add three new trails to Sutro Forest. While we don’t object to trails as such, they all cost us trees – … Continue reading →

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Mount Sutro Forest: Logging a Lovely Forest

Posted on February 17, 2016 by webmaster

“I was in the forest and it looks like a lumber company came in…” wrote one of our correspondents. UCSF has been aggressive about cutting down trees this winter. These are not evaluated as *hazardous* trees, as Jim Clark of … Continue reading →

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Report: First UCSF TAC Meeting, 14 Jan 2016

Posted on February 10, 2016 by webmaster

As we reported earlier, UCSF held a meeting on 14th Jan 2016 at which it announced it was restarting the planning process. UCSF has hired two people to write the plan: Jim Clark, of Hort Science; and Matt Greene, a … Continue reading →

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