Tag Archives: san francisco

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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A 1912 Tribute to Adolph Sutro

Posted on December 29, 2015 by webmaster

We’d like to wish all our readers a Happy New Year in 2016 and celebrate it with this tribute to Adolf Sutro, the philanthropist who gave so much to San Francisco including the forest we all love. It was written … Continue reading →

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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

San Francisco Butterfly Count 2012 Results

Posted on August 1, 2012 by webmaster

Every year, the North American Butterfly Association (NABA) sponsors a “July 4th” butterfly count; it’s a count of all the species volunteers spot within a 15-mile radius on a particular day in the 4 weeks before or after July 4th.  … Continue reading →

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Mt Sutro Forest – Beautiful Evocation of a Lost Tree

Posted on February 26, 2012 by webmaster

We were sent this clip by videographer and artist Lori Ambrosio, who visited the “Kill-trees Trail” (connecting Stanyan x 17th to Medical Center Way). We thought it was a lovely bitter-sweet evocation of the trees that were there – only … Continue reading →

Posted in Environment, Mount Sutro Stewards, Mt Sutro Cloud Forest, Natural areas Program | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The San Francisco Forest Alliance

Posted on December 16, 2011 by webmaster

We’ve been critical of the so-called “Natural” areas program (or officially, the Significant Natural Resource Areas Plan) that covers some 1100 acres across 32 separate parks in San Francisco.  While the idea of a Natural Area is appealing (as it … Continue reading →

Posted in Environment, eucalyptus, Herbicides, Herbicides: Roundup, Garlon, nativism, Natural areas Program | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on The San Francisco Forest Alliance

Glen Canyon Park: Birds, Habitat, and the Significant Natural Resource Areas Management Program (SNRAMP)

Posted on November 16, 2011 by webmaster

Recently, we attended a meeting where we were given a beautiful pamphlet regarding the Feathered Friends of Glen Canyon Park. It pictured 45 species of birds that have been sighted in the park (including flyovers). And it said: “Willows that … Continue reading →

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

Why San Francisco’s Natural Areas Are — Unnatural

Posted on September 24, 2011 by webmaster

WHEN I first heard about San Francisco’s Natural Areas Program (SF NAP) some years ago, I was charmed. Over 1000 acres of city-owned land would be left to Nature, more wild and free than the orderly, gardened lawns and playgrounds … Continue reading →

Posted in Environment, Natural areas Program | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Twin Peaks: Fall Weather, Roundup and Garlon

Posted on October 19, 2010 by webmaster

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 , , | 2 Comments

Native Plants, Chaparral: Conversation with ‘Charlie’

Posted on August 1, 2010 by webmaster

From time to time, people come by to comment and engage with the information on this website. We appreciate that. ‘Charlie’ commented on several posts, but this comment was long and complex enough that it deserved a separate post. ******************* … Continue reading →

Posted in eucalyptus, Herbicides: Roundup, Garlon, nativism, Sutro Forest "Fire Risk", UCSF | Tagged , , , , | 62 Comments

Butterfly Count Results, 2010

Posted on June 16, 2010 by webmaster

It’s nice to have positive things to say about Nature in the City (which we’ve disagreed with, more than once), and this is really a win. Despite some pretty cold foggy weather, their June 7th Butterfly Count got 34 participants … Continue reading →

Posted in Environment | Tagged , , , | 8 Comments

Protecting Mount Sutro Cloud Forest Helps Biodiversity

Posted on May 7, 2010 by webmaster

We’d like to put Mt Sutro Cloud Forest in the context of the bio-diversity in the Western part of San Francisco. This is an 80-acre forest (including both the UCSF portion and the Interior Green Belt). That’s fairly large for … Continue reading →

Posted in Environment, eucalyptus, Herbicides, Maps, Mt Sutro Cloud Forest, UCSF | Tagged , , , , | 13 Comments

San Francisco – an Urban Forest Map

Posted on April 26, 2010 by webmaster

It’s ambitious: a database listing every tree in San Francisco. There’s a new wiki in town: An Urban Forest Map that relies on crowd-sourced information, rather like Wikipedia. The project is live now (in beta), and anyone can play. The … Continue reading →

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Native Plants and Neurotoxins

Posted on January 29, 2010 by webmaster

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 , , , , | 11 Comments

Report: UCSF Oct 19th Meeting

Posted on October 20, 2009 by webmaster

We report on the UCSF October 19th meeting seeking community input into the “Fire Mitigation” project. [Italics in brackets are our comments.] It was a well-run meeting, moderated by Daniel Iacafano of Moore Iacafano and Goltsman. Barbara French, UCSF’s Associate … Continue reading →

Posted in eucalyptus, Herbicides: Roundup, Garlon, Meetings, Mt Sutro landslide risk, nativism, Sutro Forest "Fire Risk" | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

The Appalling Example of Twin Peaks

Posted on October 5, 2009 by webmaster

We always love going up to Twin Peaks, the place for the iconic view of our magnificent city. Recently, though, we were on a different mission: To look at Twin Peaks, not from Twin Peaks. This is a “native area” … Continue reading →

Posted in Herbicides: Roundup, Garlon, nativism | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 28 Comments

In the News: UCSF; Tree Planting; Native Herbicides

Posted on September 11, 2009 by webmaster

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 →

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