Tag Archives: UCSF

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

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SF’s Natural Areas Program Uses Even More Pesticides

This article was reprinted from sffforest.net with minor changes and additions. Sutro Forest may be the only pesticide-free wild land in San Francisco – but that could change this year. ————————- The 2012 final data are in, and it’s official: … Continue reading

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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

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“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

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UCSF Long Range Development Plan Meeting and Sutro Forest

We attended UCSF’s Long Range Development Plan meeting this evening. It’s due 2014, and gives UCSF a road-map through 2035. Most of the discussion focused on how UCSF should get back under their space ceiling, a limit they had decided … Continue reading

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Mount Sutro Cloud Forest: Forest report, July 2012

While the rest of the country bakes and burns, we’re having a cool San Francisco fog-belt summer. The other day, strong gusty winds blew the fog blew in from the sea, and we headed up to the forest. Mount Sutro … Continue reading

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UCSF Postpones Tree-felling Another Year

At a public meeting of the Community Advisory Group on 4 June 2012,  UCSF’s Barbara Bagot-Lopez announced that the project to fell trees on four “demonstration”plots would be postponed, probably to the Fall of 2013. (Those are the yellow areas … Continue reading

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What Adolph Sutro Didn’t Know About the Eucalyptus Forest

Mount Sutro Cloud Forest, a century-old forest of eucalyptus, was planted by former mayor and philanthropist Adolph Sutro (1830-1898). Like the larger and better-known Muir Woods, it’s the last remnant of a forest that covered a much larger area – … Continue reading

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Sutro Forest in February 2012

We were up in Mt Sutro Forest a couple of days ago, the day after Valentine’s Day. The forest looked appropriately romantic. A number of cherry trees were in bloom with tiny white flowers,  like this one near the entry … Continue reading

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Mount Sutro Forest: The View From Cole Valley

Soon after we posted our impression of a deforested Mount Sutro viewed from the south, someone wrote to us about the views from the Eastern side, where Cole Valley and Mount Olympus and many other neighborhoods currently enjoy the view … Continue reading

Posted in deforestation, eucalyptus, Mount Sutro Stewards, nativism, Natural areas Program, UCSF | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Destroying the Soundscape of Mount Sutro Forest

People have mentioned the sounds of and in the forest before, but it was only when we joined a Soundwalk in the forest that we became so conscious of it. Recently, someone pointed us to an article about Soundscape Ecology, … Continue reading

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Killing 5000 Trees in Mount Sutro Forest

[ETA (1 Aug 2011): We’ve just received a recent update from UCSF. It appears the timeline has been pushed out. If the projects are approved, they will start felling trees in August 2012. This Google Map shows the forest. (You … Continue reading

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Report: UCSF’s EIR Scoping Meeting, Jan 2011

Last evening, UCSF held its scoping meeting for the Environmental Impact Report (EIR). They plan to finish the Draft EIR in spring, in time to start felling trees on the South Ridge (above Forest Knolls neighborhood) by September 2011. This … Continue reading

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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

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

Stumbling in Sutro Forest

This gallery contains 4 photos.

Someone who’d been walking on the South Ridge Trail loop recently sent us these photographs of stumps in the middle of the pathway. “If UCSF and the Mt Sutro Stewards insist on cutting down trees, at least they could do … Continue reading

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Twin Peaks – Still Appalling – Mount Sutro’s Future?

Over a year ago, we drove up to Twin Peaks, an example of a mountain very like Mount Sutro — but without the trees. Everyone goes to Twin Peaks, but they’re usually there for the views (which are doubtless absolutely … Continue reading

Posted in Environment, Herbicides: Roundup, Garlon, Mount Sutro Stewards, Mt Sutro landslide risk, Neighborhood impact, UCSF | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

Sutro Forest EIR Scoping Meeting – 10th Jan 2011

Here’s an extract from a message from UCSF: “Next Steps:  EIR Scoping Meeting and Initial Study An Environmental Impact Report (EIR) scoping meeting for the UCSF Mount Sutro Open Space Reserve Management Project will be held: Monday, January 10, 2011,  … Continue reading

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Parnassus Meeting Nov 8th 2010

We received this message from one of the neighbor organizations under the heading: ————————————————————————————————————————– Announcing: mt. sutro stewards / UCSF update meeting MEETING: UCSF PCAT Meeting MONDAY, November 8, 7:00 pm UCSF Parnassus Library, 530 Parnassus Avenue Lange Room, 5th … Continue reading

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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

Posted in Herbicides, Herbicides: Roundup, Garlon, Mount Sutro Stewards, Mt Sutro Cloud Forest, UCSF | Tagged , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Excerpts from the Arborists’ Report

As we said in an earlier post, we asked two arborists to look at the Mount Sutro Forest and give us a report. Jocelyn Cohen, a Certified Arborist, holds a seat on the Urban Forest Council for the City of … Continue reading

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

One More Time: Fire Hazard? (FEMA notes UCSF’s inaccuracy)

Recently, we received a letter obtained by a public records request from FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency). UCSF had applied to this organization for pre-disaster mitigation funds to chop down trees on 14 acres of the forest, claiming the forest … Continue reading

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A Tree House Dream

UCSF’s building a new community center in the Aldea Student Housing area. There’s nothing especially wrong with the building, a practical-looking structure that’s going where a student residence used to be. [ETA Aug 2011: Here’s a picture of the completed … Continue reading

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UCSF “Community Input”: The Opposites Game

We’ve been concerned that the only community input UCSF has been accepting is from the Mount Sutro Stewards and their supporters. Grade school kids sometimes play an infuriating game called Opposites: They do the opposite of what you ask. If … Continue reading

Posted in Herbicides, Herbicides: Roundup, Garlon, Maps, Meetings, Mt Sutro Cloud Forest, Neighborhood impact, UCSF | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Report: UCSF Forest Meeting, July 2010

UCSF’s Forest meeting this evening had a reasonably good turnout with a few new faces among the familiar ones. Janet Kessler, the Jane Goodall of San Francisco’s coyotes, was present but preferred not to speak in public. We suggested she … Continue reading

Posted in eucalyptus, Herbicides, Herbicides: Roundup, Garlon, Meetings, Mt Sutro Cloud Forest, Neighborhood impact, Sutro Forest "Fire Risk", UCSF | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Report: Agenda Planning Meeting #3

This agenda planning meeting discussed the four demonstration sites, herbicide usage, and more fundamental issues of process and input. It clarifies what UCSF/ Sutro Stewards want:  to remove the forest, and convert the mountain to a park with broad trails, … Continue reading

Posted in Environment, Herbicides, Meetings, Mt Sutro Cloud Forest, Neighborhood impact, UCSF | Tagged , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Report: UCSF Sutro Forest meeting, June

This meeting, held at small Faculty center, was large and contentious. The Native Plant supporters were well-represented. There were some irate opponents, and some interested neighbors/forest-users who have not been continuously involved in the process. The most important issue discussed … Continue reading

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Our notes on UCSF’s Notes – May 25th Meeting

This is UCSF’s summary of the May 25th meeting, which we reported on here. We have edited it for clarity. “C” stands for comment; “Q” for question; “A” for an answer provided by UCSF or by its hired arborist, Ray … Continue reading

Posted in Herbicides, Meetings, Mt Sutro Cloud Forest, Neighborhood impact, UCSF | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Six Reasons Not to Destroy Sutro Forest’s Understory

We have been talking about the destruction of the forest’s understory in several areas. This is not an innocuous activity.  Here are six reasons why: Creating a fire hazard. We have explained at length that the Cloud Forest, in its … Continue reading

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Habitat Destruction in Sutro Forest

We posted recently about the destruction of the forest understory along the South Ridge trail, near where it meets the Nike Rd. Now we hear that this isn’t the only area where habitat has been destroyed along the trail. Areas … Continue reading

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The 1976 UC Regents’ Resolution

As promised, Barbara Bagot-Lopez of UCSF sent us a link to the 1976 resolution by the UC Regents. Most of it pertains to housing on Third Avenue, but it also makes the Open Space Reserve Permanent. For your convenience, we … Continue reading

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