Ear to the Ground July-September 2003

News from the Conservation Community and the Natural World

By Leah Messinger

A.J. Young/Monterey Bay Whale Watch

A funny thing happened in 2000. And again in 2003. For the first and second time in recorded history, a southern resident killer whale entered the waters of Monterey Bay. With fewer than 80 remaining individuals, the southern resident orcas are more commonly spotted in Puget Sound and off southern Vancouver Island. The whales have suffered a number of hardships over the past several decades: an increase in water pollution and vessel traffic and a decrease in chinook salmon, their staple food. According to the Oakland office of the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD), the southern residents, which have a unique acoustic repertoire and don’t interbreed with other killer whale populations, could become extinct in as little as 30 to 100 years. Some experts suggest the whales swam as far south as Monterey in search of new food sources due to the depletion of food stocks in their home waters; others believe migration records may be incomplete, and that perhaps coastal California waters are part of the southern residents’ traditional range. Either way, the CBD is hoping the whales will be around long enough to sort the situation out. In May of 2001, the CBD and other groups filed a petition with the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to add the southern residents to the endangered species list, thereby giving the population full protection under the federal Endangered Species Act. In an unprecedented finding, the NMFS declared in July 2002 that the southern resident stock is too "insignificant" to be included on the federal list, invoking a new rationale for declining to protect a species. Says Brent Plater of the CBD, "This is the first time I’m aware of any administration stating that a population won’t be protected because we don’t find that population to be significant." The CBD and its partners filed a lawsuit against NMFS last December protesting the decision; oral arguments are expected to begin in August or September.

While we’re out at the ocean, let’s review several recent books that will make the visit more rewarding. Foghorn Outdoors has just released the third edition of California Beaches: The Best Places to Swim, Play, Eat, and Stay on the Coast by Parke Puterbaugh and Alan Bisbort (www.foghorn.com). This comprehensive guide to the more than 1,200 miles of California coastline is organized by coastal county. Each chapter begins with a detailed map and a bit of insight into the distinctive character of local beaches. Keys indicate cycling, diving, camping, and hiking opportunities, as well as overall desirability.

Anne W. Rosenfeld

The Intertidal Wilderness: A Photographic Journey Through Pacific Coast Tidepools by Anne Wertheim Rosenfeld with Robert T. Paine, originally published in 1985, has recently been revised and reissued by University of California Press (www.ucpress.edu). A gorgeously photographed introduction to the tidepools of western North America, the book covers such topics as competition, predation, reproduction, and conservation. Among the books useful appendices are "Planning Your Visit to the Tidepools" and "Classifying Animals and Plants."

Once you’ve grasped the basics of tidepool ecology with Intertidal Wilderness, you’ll be ready to start exploring the coast with The Beachcomber’s Guide to Seashore Life of California by J. Duane Sept (Harbour Publishing, 800-667-2988). Beginning with a brief overview of the state’s intertidal habitats and the tidal cycle, and ending with descriptions of the best beachcombing sites in the state, this book is packed in the middle with information about sea anemones, mollusks, seaweeds, arthropods, and more. Each species overview includes a photograph accompanied by scientific and common names, as well as descriptions, habitat ranges, and other useful notes.

While most beachgoers or surfers in Northern California would prefer never to meet up with great white sharks, some folks are actually paying big bucks for the privilege of such an encounter. Several adventure boat operators have been sailing tourists out to the Farallon Islands, where the sharks are known to be present, and sending them beneath the ocean’s surface in protective cages. This budding business is as yet unregulated, with no policies in place to prevent boat operators from baiting the sharks with decoys or chum, which alters both shark behavior and diet. Patric Douglas, owner of Absolute Adventures-Shark Diver, has become concerned about the potential impacts of the adventure tourism he’s spent the past few years promoting. Increasing controversy between researchers at the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary and tour operators has motivated Douglas to self-impose a ban on underwater shark tourism, sacrificing a reported $225,000 in revenues this year alone. Douglas is currently in the process of encouraging the other four boat operators who visit the Farallones to follow his lead and institute a two-year halt on cage-diving and shark baiting so researchers can study the effects of these practices on the sensitive shark population. You can read Douglas’ article Save the Sharks online and you can contact Douglas directly at staff@absoluteadv.com.

The urban environmental education and youth empowerment organization Literacy for Environmental Justice (LEJ) is about to begin construction work on its Living Classroom, an eco-efficient, solar- and wind-powered community meeting space and environmental classroom in San Francisco’s Heron’s Head Park. The park is a 24-acre restored wetland on the former site of Pier 98 in Hunter’s Point. Funded by the San Francisco Department of the Environment, and designed with input from San Francisco public school students as well as adult community members, the Living Classroom will be the first "off the grid" public building in San Francisco. It will also be a model of building efficiency, using recycled construction materials and incorporating a natural wastewater treatment plant. The area surrounding the classroom will feature a greenhouse; a garden of plants traditionally used by the area’s original Ohlone inhabitants for food, medicine, and boat-building materials; and a butterfly garden. Community volunteer workdays are planned for July 14, July 28, and August 11. To donate materials, volunteer time, or offer other forms of support, contact Jenn Sramek, Living Classroom Program Coordinator, at (415) 508-0575.

Ahmad Anvari

Treasure Island, passed over daily by thousands of Bay Bridge commuters, sits at the crossroads of the Bay, with spectacular views of the City, the Golden Gate, Mount Tam, and the East Bay hills. Built between 1936 and 1939 from sand and gravel and introduced to the world as the site of the 1939–40 Golden Gate International Exposition, the island spent most of its life as a military base. The Department of Defense closed the base in 1993, and the island is expected to be transferred to the City of San Francisco by the end of this year. In 1997, the state legislature and the San Francisco Board of Supervisors created the Treasure Island Development Authority (TIDA) to oversee redevelopment of the island, along with neighboring Yerba Buena Island. In 2002, TIDA issued a request for proposals for a master developer. The responding development team, the Treasure Island Community Development LLC (TICD), has proposed creation of what they call "a new neighborhood" comprising 2800 units of housing, retail stores, several hotels, and a conference center. Given the stakes involved in developing such a prime piece of real estate, the process has received surprisingly little public attention. Now, environmental and community activists would like the public to become more involved, especially in light of a recent agreement reached between the TIDA and TICD, which could limit future opportunities for public participation. Environmentalists are particularly interested in ensuring that the 10-acre storm-water treatment wetland and potential 20-acre tidal wetland contained in the draft development proposal are implemented, that the diverse remnant natural habitats of Yerba Buena Island are protected and restored, and that publicly accessible shoreline is maximized. The Treasure Island Wetlands Project is compiling an e-mail list of people interested in being notified of pending opportunities for public input—including the release of the draft environmental impact report, due by the end of 2003—as well as tours of the island. For information, contact Ruth Gravanis at gravanis@earthlink.net. View a copy of the draft development proposal.

When Anne Hayes wrote in our January 2003 Gardening for Wildlife section that "Habitat doesn’t only mean parks and undeveloped lands; it also means backyards and front yards and side yards and median strips," perhaps she wasn’t thinking far enough outside the box. Fairfield Residential, a housing development company seeking to build 1,000 low-income units in the Dougherty Valley development in San Ramon, isn’t afraid to be creative, though. The Contra Costa Planning Commission has approved Fairfield’s request to count the balconies, landscaped parking stalls, and roadway access areas in its 350-unit complex toward the open space requirement for this development. And although the total combined square footage of these patches still falls short of the mandated amount, the commission voted to approve a deviation allowing the development to go forward anyway. While the decision seems absurd at first glance, there are mitigating circumstances. Nancy Tatarka, City Council member of San Ramon and member of the Dougherty Valley Oversight Committee, says Fairfield Residential’s affordable housing project is one the city desperately needs. "This is one of those things between affordable housing and open space…. What are you going to do, paint the cement green? It was a tough decision for me to make because the funding for this project was just going to go away [if we didn’t approve it]," says Tatarka. Greenbelt Alliance, a strong advocate of both open space and affordable housing, would frame the choice differently. "It’s another example of a false dichotomy," says Evelyn Stivers, Greenbelt’s East Bay field representative. She points out that it is the responsibility of the master developer, Shappell Industries, to meet the dual obligation of open space protection and affordable housing. "The county needs to follow through and require the developer to donate enough land to make the project work. Changing the definition of open space will not protect the environment or help us meet our affordable housing needs." For updates, e-mail Evelyn Stivers at estivers@greenbelt.org.

Amid predictions that the West Nile virus will reach the Bay Area some time this summer, local health and pest control authorities are keeping a sharp eye out for mosquitoes carrying the disease. The first sign of the virus’ presence is likely to be dead birds; crows, ravens, jays, magpies, and hawks are particularly susceptible. If you see any such dead birds, call the hotline set up by the California Department of Health, (877) WNV-BIRD. Do not handle the birds yourself.

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You will find this article and additional features in the July-September 2003 issue of Bay Nature, available through our online store or by calling
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