Overview: The San Francisco Bay Area
Along with being home to seven million people, the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area is home to a diversity of wildlife and habitats, world-class recreational opportunities, and working farms and ranches.These are the resources that the San Francisco Bay Area Conservancy Program works to protect and improve.
The region is defined by, and named after, the San Francisco Bay, a 1,600 square mile estuary that drains 40% of California’s land and connects to the Pacific Ocean at the Golden Gate. The estuary’s edges are a mix of development for transportation, housing, and industry and tidal wetlands and mudflats used by endangered species and migratory birds. The numerous rivers that flow into the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers and form the Delta are the Estuary’s primary source of freshwater; in addition, numerous creeks and rivers surround San Francisco Bay, such as Alameda Creek, San Francisquito Creek, Coyote Creek, the Guadalupe River, Suisun Creek, the Napa River, and Sonoma Creek that are of importance for steelhead trout and other wildlife that depend on riparian habitat.
Surrounding the Bay are mountains and ridges that separate the Bay from the Central Valley and from the Coastside and that form part of the Pacific Coast Range. These mountains include the well-known peaks of the Bay Area: Mt. Tamalpais, Mt Diablo, Mission Peak, and Mount Hamilton. The mountain ranges and valleys of the Bay Area are home to numerous wildlife habitats, including redwood forests, oak woodlands, serpentine grasslands, sycamore groves, willow groves, and seasonal wetlands. These mountains and valleys also contain rich grazing and farming land, contributing to the Bay Area’s economy and local food supply.
Major Issues and Projects
Open Space
The Bay Area is famous for its greenbelt of open space. The San Francisco Bay Area Conservancy Program works with land trusts, parks departments, open space districts, and others to protect in perpetuity regionally significant habitats, connecting corridors, watersheds, scenic areas, and agricultural lands. Fee title acquisition and conservation or agricultural easements, acquired from willing sellers, are tools used to protect land from development. Examples of lands we have helped protect over the past few years include Mangini Ranch in Contra Costa, Blair Ranch in Santa Clara County, Mindego Hill in San Mateo County, Tomales Farm and Dairy in Marin, Roche Ranch in Sonoma County, Wildlake in Napa County, and King and Swett Ranches in Solano County.
Access to Recreational Opportunities
As the region continues to grow in population, the acreage and accessibility of open space for urban populations needs to keep pace. We are working with others to complete four Regional Trails in the Bay Area: the Bay Area Ridge Trail, the San Francisco Bay Trail, the California Coastal Trail, and the San Francisco Bay Water Trail. In addition, we work to complete other regional trails, educational and interpretive centers, staging areas, piers, picnic areas, campgrounds, urban waterfronts, and other recreational amenities that are accessible to urban populations.
Wetland Habitats
Approximately 85% of the Bay’s tidal wetlands have been lost since the Gold Rush. The Baylands Ecosystem Habitat Goals Report called for restoration of 100,000 acres of wetlands around the Bay. Currently, nearly 40,000 have been acquired and are either being restored or planned for restoration. We are leading efforts for the restoration of the South Bay Salt Ponds, Napa River Salt Marsh, Hamilton and Bel Marin Keys, and Dutch Slough and are funding several other planning and restoration efforts.
Watersheds
The local watersheds surrounding San Francisco Bay have been dramatically altered due to development, water diversions, and urban runoff. This has caused erosion and sedimentation and negatively impacted water quality, hydrology, and habitat for fish and other aquatic species. We are an active participant in the Integrated Regional Water Management Plan, representing the watershed functional area. We also fund local watershed plans and projects to improve watershed processes and functions, including creek and river restoration efforts. A particular focus is on removing barriers to migration and increasing habitat for steelhead trout.
Introduced Species
The Bay Area has been invaded by numerous plants and animals that can disrupt ecosystems. Even the ubiquitous eucalyptus tree came from elsewhere. The San Francisco Estuary is one of the most invaded aquatic ecosystems on earth, with 90% of the species and biomass introduced. The San Francisco Bay Area Conservancy Program’s interest is in funding the successful prevention, control, or eradication of invasive species that threaten important habitats. In particular, we are the lead agency for the Invasive Spartina Project. We also fund numerous hands-on projects that involve students and community volunteers in removing invasive plants and planting natives in habitats around the Bay Area.
Major Partners
