Thank you for attending the Shoreline Advocates event in February!

Shoreline Advocates' very successful Feb. 23 meeting more than lived up to our goal of information sharing and fostering collaborations. Thank you to all who attended and welcome to new attendees representing Garber Park Stewards and Marin Conservation League. Read on for an event recap, upcoming events and more ways to stay connected.   

Sejal Choksi, San Francisco Baykeeper, outlined how the "mystery goo" that killed Bay diving birds showed our lack of preparedness for spills that don't involve oil. Basically, the oil industry pays for a quick-response system for oil spills, but it can't be used for other pollutants.  Baykeeper is working on proposed fixes that we can support. Meanwhile, Patty Donald of Shorebird Nature Center and others exchanged information that should help with a collaborative response in future.

Julian Wood of Point Blue (former PRBO) demonstrated their new interactive Future Marshes maps (http://data.prbo.org/apps/sfbslr/), which use modeling to show the likelihood that Bay Area salt marshes will keep up with rising seas at different rates of sedimentation and sea-level rise.  One aim is to forecast how marsh flooding might affect birds. A broader one is to help with decisions on where and how to acquire or create marshes.

Several groups pooled their understanding of the Association of Bay Area Governments' effort to have local governments nominate Priority Conservation Areas (PCA) by (http://abag.ca.gov/priority/conservation/). 

This outgrowth of ABAG's designating Priority Development Areas, this designation might lead to funding.  ABAG is seeking natural landscapes, farmland, urban green areas, and parks that should be protected - and also areas that need these because of pollution, public health, or future dense development. All agreed that time is short (city councils have to approve nominations) and that we are far from clear on what should be nominated!

Scroll down to read a recap from Margot on the PCA Urban Greening Webinar held on Feb. 17.  

Sincerely,

Citizens for East Shore Parks and Friends of Five Creeks

Shoreline Advocates: shorelineadvocates@gmail.com

Upcoming events

Friends of Five Creeks Bay Currents Talks continue on 2nd Tuesdays, March 10, & April 14 - 7 PM, St. Albans Parish Hall - 1501 Washington Ave. (at Curtis), Albany. These talks focus on Bay Area nature and environmental issues emphasizing positive solutions. 

3/10: What Your Bird Guide Tells You about Evolution - Alan Kaplan

4/14: How the East Bay Got its Forest - Jerry Kent

The Berkeley Bay Festival takes place on Saturday, April 11th. This is an excellent place to meet again and share what your organization's work with the public. To get involved send an email to: naturecenter@cityofberkeley.info. 

  

The San Francisco Bay Shoreline Advocacy Event steering committee:

Citizens Committee to Complete the Refuge

Citizens for East Shore Parks

Friends of Five Creeks

Golden Gate Audubon Society

Mare Island Heritage Trust

San Francisco Baykeeper

Sierra Club, San Francisco Bay and Loma Prieta Chapters

Notes from PCA Urban Greening Webinar, Tuesday, Feb. 17

Here's a transcription of my notes from the urban greening webinar. -Margot

Urban greening and PCA's, Adam Garcia, Greenbelt Alliance

4 types of PCA's: agricultural, natural lands, regional recreation, and urban greening

Submit PCA nominations to appropriate planning bodies by the 1st week of March

ABAG receives all nominations by May 30

Funding reviewed every 4 years as tied to Regional Transportation Plan and One Bay Area Grant funding; next review 2017

North bay county funds administered by Congestion Management Agencies, south bay county funds administered by Coastal Conservancy

Urban greening is defined as strategically planned and managed networks of natural lands, working landscapes, and other open spaces that conserve ecosystem values and functions and proves benefits to humans

Example: creek daylighting along trail good for fish and humans

Other examples around bay area:

Alameda-urban farming and Parks Master Plan

El Cerrito-network of green places to accommodate infill

Richmond-urban forestry, landscape and growth maintenance district plan

Trust for Public Land, Bob Heuer, Assoc GIS Director, Santa Fe, NM

On the TPL website Parkscore Index rates parks systems in the 60 largest cities in the US, according to acreage, service and investment, and access

Identifies areas in need of parks

Park Evaluator is a geodesign tool that plans where cities can put parks

Draws boundaries, access points, can see how many people will be served

Park Optimizer models where the best places would be to put parks

Urban Biofilter, Marisha Farnsworth, Brent

AdaptOakland.org, project of Urban Biofilter

Identifies sources of urban pollution, then natural ways to filter

Storm water systems are overloaded and climate change will cause flooding; bio filtering can alleviate these

Urban forests capture particulate matter, improve soils, decrease flooding, and decrease heat island affects

Caltrans lands are abundant in west Oakland, may not be the most scenic, but can be made more aesthetic through sound wall vegetation, for example

Funding through storm water mitigation and air quality mitigation

Oakland Food Policy Council, Brian Fulfrost

Urban Agricultural Mapping

Need--food access, social equity

Potential--parcels (parks, open space, vacant lands), buildings (blue roof, green roof)

Environmental variables of solar exposure, urban heat islands, aerial photos review, soil and hydrology

USDA low income, low access areas (what used to be called food deserts)

Overlay needs with potentials using GIS

SF Estuary Partnership (part of ABAG), Jennifer Krebs

She does PCA designations for water pollution prevention

Green infrastructure uses natural hydrological features to manage water and provide environmental and community benefits

Funding sources are insufficient

Examples:

1. Newcomb Ave, SF, Bayview District traffic calming and storm water infiltration

2. Fremont tree well filters, better than just planting trees along street

3. San Pablo Ave in El Cerrito--biofilters along sidewalks

Need to develop integrated funding strategies in association with capital improvement projects

Green Plan Bay Area, greenplanit.sfei.org

Ranks where to put green infrastructure

San Mateo using this in their sustainable streets plan

San Jose using it for storm water mapping and urban village planning

Greenbelt Alliance, Adam Garcia

Have maps on their web site to show where greening needed

4 examples--

1. PCA urban greening approach with these overlays:

Water- storm water, sea level rise, quality and supply

Health- urban heat island, food, parks, pollution

Wildlife- aquatic/wildlife habitat

2. Sea level rise map:

Bay lands buffer sea level rise

Trails and bikeway on levees buffer sea level rise and provide recreation

Wastewater treatment facilities may flood with sea level rise, causing pollution

3. Urban heat island effects and pollution:

Riparian, urban forests, open space areas provide buffers and CO storage

Shows where urban greening needed

4. Parks and recreation development:

To mitigate pollution and urban heat islands

Shows creeks, schools, trails, PCA's

Guides where to put new parks, urban farms