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PETITION TO UCSF: SAVE SUTRO FOREST
PETITION : Stop NAP, save the Forest
PETITION: Sierra Club, Please Stop!
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Recent Posts
- Tree-Thoughts at 125 Years
- Sutro Forest Destruction – March 2022
- More Trees Being Felled in Sutro Forest
- Why Urban Forests Can’t be “Native”
- A Candle for the New Year
- Don’t Feed Coyotes
- Wildcare’s Request: Respect the Nest
- Dr Morley Singer, RIP
- Destruction of Sutro Forest Likely to Accelerate
- Season’s Greetings – 2020
- UCSF Parnassus: December 2020 Meeting Report
- UCSF Plans More Damage to Sutro Forest
- Trees on Clarendon Avenue Felled
- Season’s Greetings, and Good Wishes for 2020
- Clear-cuts in Sutro Forest
A HIKE IN SUTRO FOREST (Links)
BIRDS & WILDLIFE IN BAY AREA (Links)
- Bird checklist for San Francisco from USGS
- Birding – A really good blog for Oregon and California (including San Francisco)
- Birding on Mt Sutro
- San Francisco's coyotes
- The Beavers at Martinez
- Urban Wildness: San Francisco wildlife (birds, coyotes, insects)
- Wildlife Activism blog
- Wildlife Hospital in San Rafael (Marin County, CA)
BUTTERFLY ID (Links)
HERBICIDES (Links)
SAVING TREES (Links)
SITES OF INTEREST (Other Links)
Tag Archives: native plants
UCSF, Mt Sutro Stewards, and the Fate of Sutro Forest
In an article about East Africa, conservationists WA Rodgers and ND Burgess spell out some of the difficulties faced in preserving coastal forests: the attitudes of the people. “At best the local inhabitants see their forest as a resource to … Continue reading
Quirky Oaks: Parody of an anti-Eucalyptus Pamphlet
We’d never expected to come upon a well-researched tree article that made us laugh. This one from the HCN Newsletter cracked us up: It was riff on a widely-circulated but biased pamphlet on eucalyptus, and it was spot on. [Edited … Continue reading
Native Plants and Pesticides: Glyphosate at Lake Merced
It was inevitable: a walk into a Native Plant area (aka Natural Areas Program areas) yielded yet another new pesticide notice. Last time, Imazapyr at Stern Grove. This time, Aquamaster at Lake Merced, targeting ludwigia (water-primrose). Aquamaster is a pesticide … Continue reading
Posted in Herbicides, Herbicides: Roundup, Garlon, nativism
Tagged native plants, Natural Areas Program, wildlife
2 Comments
SF Natural Areas Program, Roundup and Birth Defects
Someone sent us a paper published May 2010 in the journal, Chemical Research in Toxicology. It linked glyphosate to birth defects in vertebrates. We’d like people who have assumed that Roundup’s problems come mainly from its surfactant POEA to take … Continue reading
Twin Peaks: Fall Weather, Roundup and Garlon
Twin Peaks in the Fall. The blaze of wildflowers in the spring is a distant memory. The fog blows in, but unlike the verdant Sutro Forest, where the trees harvest its water and the understory and duff hold in the … Continue reading
Posted in Herbicides: Roundup, Garlon, nativism
Tagged native plants, san francisco, Twin Peaks
2 Comments
The Failed Experiment at Tank Hill
Someone emailed us to ask why UCSF were bothering with demonstration projects, when there was the obvious example of Tank Hill. “Trees were cut down, natives planted and died,” said the email. What did they achieve? So we looked into … Continue reading
Posted in Environment, eucalyptus, nativism, Neighborhood impact
Tagged birds, butterfly, native plants, nativism, Natural Areas Program, Tank Hill
11 Comments
Hazardous Tree Removal, Chain Link Fence, etc
At the last agenda planning meeting, one of the issues raised was managing hazardous trees near homes. A Forest Knolls resident of Crestmont Drive pointed out that neither the City nor UCSF were accepting responsibility for hazardous trees (some dead, … Continue reading
Dialogue with Sutro Biker
This conversation with Sutro Biker started in the Comments. We felt it was interesting enough to have it in a separate post instead of buried at the bottom of a page. ************************************************************************ Sutro Biker (SB): I still can’t believe all the misinformation … Continue reading
Garlon in Our Watershed
Garlon is one of the two pesticides that UCSF proposed to use to prevent re-sprouting of felled eucalyptus, blackberry and vines. It is regularly used on Twin Peaks, one of the highest points in the city. We should mention that … Continue reading
Posted in Environment, eucalyptus, Herbicides, Herbicides: Roundup, Garlon, nativism
Tagged Garlon, herbicide, native plants, nativism, Sutro Forest, Twin Peaks
22 Comments
Nativism vs the Environment
When most people think of preserving natural areas, they envision saving green growing things from encroachment by parking lots and housing development. Nativists focus on a different agenda – removing non-native plants and substituting natives. What’s wrong with that? Several … Continue reading
Posted in Environment, Herbicides, Herbicides: Roundup, Garlon, nativism
Tagged eucalyptus, eucalyptus myths, herbicide, native plants, nativism, trees, wildlife
10 Comments
Dusk in the forest (with owls)
We walked up into the Sutro Forest on a peaceful bird-filled evening. A few outside noises drifted in. The trees were full of the tweets and trills of bird-sounds, but the creatures themselves, evidently looking to settle in for the … Continue reading
Posted in Environment, eucalyptus, Mt Sutro Cloud Forest
Tagged BIRDS & WILDLIFE IN BAY AREA (Links), native plants, owls, sutro, Sutro Forest
2 Comments
“Nature in the City”: Tree-huggers vs Tree-killers
Recently, we posted a reader’s note about a talk from the organization called ‘Nature in the City’ (NC) on the “urban forest.” (Those are NC’s quote-marks; they apparently don’t believe in urban forests). NC is the parent organization of the … Continue reading
Posted in Environment, eucalyptus, nativism
Tagged birds, eucalyptus, eucalyptus myths, native plants, nativism, nature in the city, puzzled, tree killers, unscientific, wildlife
11 Comments
Native Plants and Neurotoxins
It appears that Native Areas in San Francisco are again linked to toxic herbicides. We’ve posted earlier about Twin Peaks and Garlon/ Roundup. This time, it’s Imazapyr in Stern Grove. Imazapyr is sold under the brand name of “Habitat” when … Continue reading
Posted in Environment, Herbicides, nativism
Tagged herbicide, imazapyr, native plants, nativism, san francisco
11 Comments
Twin Peaks in Bloom
Twin Peaks is covered with wildflowers. Right now, it’s mainly the white clusters of sweet alyssum (Lobularia)… But the yellow oxalis (oxalis bes-caprae) is beginning to flower, too, and soon there’ll be drifts of it all over the mountain… [ETA … Continue reading
Posted in Environment, Herbicides: Roundup, Garlon, nativism
Tagged Garlon, herbicide, native plants, nativism, Roundup, Twin Peaks
1 Comment
Global Warming & Quarter-mile relocations
Someone drew my attention to an article in today’s San Francisco Chronicle: “Global Warming to Keep Animals, Plants On Move.” The story was about a study from a scientific team from Cal Academy of Sciences, UC Berkeley, and Carnegie Institute … Continue reading
Posted in Environment, nativism
Tagged climate change, eucalyptus, global warming, native plants, nativism, sequester carbon, trees, wildlife
1 Comment
Eucalyptus Saves Rare Native Plant!
Nancy Wuerfel sent us this note: “For those who blame the eucalyptus for “taking over” the forest, please note that they were responsible for protecting this rare plant in the Presidio and keeping it safe from harm. Give credit, where … Continue reading
Stewardship of a Forest
Two weeks ago, I visited the forest surrounding the Meiji shrine, in Tokyo, Japan. As with the Sutro Cloud Forest, I was struck by the wonderful old trees growing in the heart of a city, and wanted to find out … Continue reading
Posted in eucalyptus, Mt Sutro Cloud Forest, nativism, Neighborhood impact, UCSF
Tagged birds, eucalyptus, Honda Seiroku, mount sutro, native plants, nativism, Seiroku Honda, sutro, Sutro Forest, trails, UCSF, wildlife
11 Comments
Cutting Down Trees
Someone brought over the November/ December 09 copy of the Sierra Club Magazine. It fell open to the centerfold. There in a big blue box and large letters it said: ————- “It’s cool because people are cutting down trees instead … Continue reading
Posted in eucalyptus, nativism, UCSF
Tagged mount sutro, native plants, nativism, sierra club, Sutro Forest, trees
1 Comment
Slate magazine on Invasives
Someone sent me a link to a thoughtful article in Slate magazine called “Don’t Sweat the Invasion” by Rebecca Tuhus-Dubrow. The author starts out with the example of tamarisk, also known as salt-cedar; it’s an “exotic invasive” that spreads along … Continue reading
Posted in nativism
Tagged eucalyptus, mount sutro, native plants, nativism, sutro, Sutro Forest, trees, wildlife
1 Comment
In the News: UCSF; Tree Planting; Native Herbicides
We’re starting a new feature here: In The News. We plan to post summaries of relevant news items (or other pieces from the internet), and comment on them. SAVING FORESTS IS ONE OF THE MOST EFFICIENT CLIMATE REMEDIES This article … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Elizabeth Blackburn, Garlon, herbicide, native plants, nativism, Nobel prize, Roundup, san francisco, sequester carbon, trees, UCSF
9 Comments
Peter Scott’s article on Native Plant Restoration
We were sent this article, with a request to re-publish it on this website. The author, who wrote this in the context of the East Bay, kindly gave permission. Emphasis has been added. ———— NATIVE PLANT RESTORATION: IT LOOKS A … Continue reading
Michael Pollan Takes on Native Plant Ideology
Someone sent us a New York Times magazine article by author and UC Berkeley professor Michael Pollan, he of the locavore food fame. He describes the storm of letters he received when he published a story about his failed attempt … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged eucalyptus myths, herbicide, michael pollan, mount sutro, native plants, nativism, sutro, Sutro Forest
5 Comments
Edgewood and Farnsworth
So far, we have concentrated mostly on the South Ridge, planned for the first tree-felling. But recently, we walked around to Edgewood and Farnsworth, the site of the second cut. That appears even more problematic than South Ridge, in some … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Edgewood, Farnsworth, mount sutro, native plants, sutro, Sutro Forest, UCSF
1 Comment
Letter: Grass fires are worse…
We received this letter from “Bewildered in Berkeley” in response to David Maloney’s letter exonerating eucalyptus in the 1991 Oakland fire. ———— Thanks for telling us about the Oakland-Berkeley Mayors’ Firestorm Task Force analysis of the cause of the 1991 … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged 1991 oakland fire, eucalyptus myths, fire risk?, grass fires, hills conservation network, native plants, sutro, Sutro Forest, UCSF
1 Comment
Old San Francisco: Sand, wind, and windblown sand
San Francisco, at the time when Sutro planted the historic forest, was a world of windblown sand that got into everything, including residents’ lungs. We received a letter from a San Franciscan who has “a small San Francisco library and … Continue reading
Mount Sutro Forest That Was 