Burrowing Owl photo taken by Mary Malec, a 2009 docent, at Cesar Chavez Park.

GGA’s experience surveying and documenting oiled birds and assisting local agencies during the Bay Area’s major 2007 Cosco Busan spill led us to become an OWCN member. Staff and volunteers completed important instruction including certification and we developed an emergency plan which was implemented during the 2009 Dubai Star oil spill. These local oil spill events served as invaluable training and preparation for regional and national oil spills and their impacts on birds and wildlife.

IBRRC and National Audubon are wildlife responders on-site in the Gulf of Mexico at the Deepwater Horizon oil spill (Audubon alone has mobilized 20,000 oil spill volunteers). And Golden Gate Audubon’s trained staff & volunteers are on-call to respond in the Gulf of Mexico if needed.

Please make a charitable donation to Golden Gate Audubon today. Your gift supports all of GGA’s programs, including staff and volunteers on alert to respond to the current national tragedy and those who are preparing for future oil emergencies here in San Francisco Bay.

On April 30, 2010 the San Francisco Recreation & Parks Department announced that they will perform an Environmental Impact Report for the Beach Chalet Soccer Fields project. 

Read the article from the San Francisco Chronicle here

Read Golden Gate Audubon’s press release here

Please continue to stay informed and comment on the EIR scoping process. Golden Gate Audubon and other groups will ask for a scoping hearing, at which the focus of the EIR will be discussed and determined.  Your letters can be a part of this process..

We will continue to keep you informed.

Below is a summary of the background:

On April 28, 2010 Golden Gate Audubon and 14 other community and environmental groups joined in filing an appeal to the categorical exemption of the Beach Chalet soccer fields renovation.   While the San Francisco Planning Department claimed a categorical exemption under classes 1, 3 and 4 of the CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act) we are challenging this exemption.  These exemptions are for minor projects with no impact to the environment for existing facitlities, new construction and conversions of small structures, and minor alterations to land because these projects have no significant environmental impact.
Despite strong opposition from the environmental community, the historic preservation community, neighborhood groups, and many individuals, the San Francisco Recreation and Park Commission approved the Beach Chalet Soccer Fields project on April 15th, 2010.  Testimony submitted included statements by over 35 opponents,  200 personal letters, the concerns of 80 neighborhood groups and organizations and petitions from over 1,400 individuals questioning this project.
 
This project will have a significant adverse impact on Golden Gate Park and Ocean Beach from the standpoint of the environment, the historic character of the Park, the sports field lighting on 60 foot poles, the plastic grass, the introduction of paving into parkland, the expansion of the parking lot, the increase in traffic into the park and at Ocean Beach, the damage to the windbreak that protects the park, and so many other issues.  An EIR is vital to explore the adverse impacts on this parkland, evaluate them, and propose mitigations or alternatives.  

The Planning Department issued a categorical exemption for the Beach Chalet Soccer Fields project. That means that they determined that the following would not have a substantial adverse impact on the environment or on Golden Gate Park:
·         loss of 6 acres of natural grass and topsoil
·         installation of 6 acres of artificial turf  = gravel, plastic carpet, old tires
·         60 foot tall stadium lighting spread over four fields
·         16 foot tall fencing
·         new sidewalks through and all around the fields and up to the parking lot
·         a 25% larger parking lot
·         more traffic in the park; less parking at Ocean Beach
·         15 foot lights on all the paths around the field and in the parking lot
·         lighting to be on from before sunset until 10:00 p.m. at night EVERY NIGHT OF THE YEAR
·         loss of over 58 trees and many more shrubs
·         loss of habitat for birds, butterflies, and other wildlife
·         located next to a new native plant area, which was meant to attract wildlife
·         runs contrary to the Golden Gate Park Master Plan
·         runs contrary to the National Register of Historic Places
·         destroys the historic character of the western end of Golden Gate Park
·         destroy views of the windmills, the Beach Chalet, and the Millwright’s house
·         excludes use as parkland by everyone else – dogwalkers, kite flyers, bird watchers, amateur astronomers, and people out for a walk.

We disagree!

The Golden Gate Audubon Society, Sierra Club, California  Preservation Foundation, Coalition for San Francisco Neighborhoods, Coalition to Save Ocean Beach, Friends of Lands End, Friends of Sutro Heights Park, Golden Gate Park Preservation Alliance, In Defense of Animals, Richmond Community Association, San Francisco Tomorrow, SF Ocean Edge, Save the Stow Lake Boathouse Coalition, Sunset Parkside Education and Action Committee (SPEAK) and the Sunset District Neighborhood Coalition appealed the Planning Department’s decision to deny an EIR, to the Board of Supervisors. 

Please write letters to the Board of Supervisors and to the Mayor, asking for an EIR.  Copy us on your letters.

Read more here…

This trip, scheduled monthly through the spring, is offered exclusively to Golden Gate Audubon Supporting Members and is limited to 10 participants. Expect to see numerous breeding birds: Western and California Gulls, Brandt’s and Pelagic Cormorants, Pigeon Guillemots, Snowy Egrets, Black-crowned Night-Herons, and Black Oystercatchers.

Reserve your spot by contacting Stephanie Strait, GGA Office Manager, ggas@goldengateaudubon.org or 510.843.2222. Once you have received confirmation, book space on the ferry with Alcatraz Cruises at 415.981.7625 or www.alcatrazcruises.com. Buy a ticket ($26) for the 9 a.m. Early Bird Tour. Tickets sell out several days in advance, so reserve as soon as possible. The ferry departs from Pier 33, near the corner of Bay St. and Embarcadero. Each walk is about 1.5 hours.

The ferry boards at 8:30 a.m. and sails at 9 a.m. Participants can stay as long as they like on the island.

Initial meeting place for both classes is the Yuba Pass parking lot on highway 49 between Sierraville and Bassetts.  Additional details will be provided upon registration.  For old hands at this class, the Sierra Valley Lodge has changed hands and room availability there is uncertain (we’ll update info on the GGAS webpage as it develops).  Students will be responsible for their own lodging reservations, but suggestions include

• Golden West Saloon Restaurant & Motel in Loyalton (530) 993-4467
• Canyon Ranch Resort in Sierraville (530) 994-1033
• Sierra Hot Springs Resort and Retreat in Sierraville (530) 994-3773
• Sierraville Motel & RV Park, Hwy 89 (530) 994-3751

Birds of the Sierra – I

Bob Lewis (Bob@wingbeats.org) and

Rusty Scalf (RScalf@sonic.net)

Thursday, June 10, 3 p.m. through Sunday, June 13 at noon.

Fee:  $99 for GGA members, $109 for non-members, including one unforgettable dinner at SF State’s campus in Bassetts on the 11^th.

Birds of the Sierra – II

Bob Lewis (Bob@wingbeats.org) and

Eddie Bartley (eddie@naturetrip.com )

Thursday, June 17, 3 p.m. through Sunday, June 20 at noon.

Fee:  $85 for GGA members, $95 for non-members, does not include any meals.