TO: PARK ADVISORY COMMITTEE
FROM: BRUCE KERN, CHAIR
SUBJECT: PARK ADVISORY COMMITTEE
Date: May 22, 2017
Location: Peralta Oaks Court 2950 Peralta Oaks Court Oakland, CA
REGULAR MEETING
7:00 p.m. 1. Approval of Minutes – April 24, 2017 2. Introductions 3. Board Member Comments – Director Waespi 4. Foundation Update 5. Public Comments 7:20 p.m. 6. Presentations: (I) a. Lifeguard Services Update – Pete DeQuincy, Aquatics Manager (I) b. Managing the Existing Dog Policy – Jim O’Connor, AGM Operations, Lt. Alan Love, Public Safety (I) c. Trails Damage Assessment – Steve Castile, Chief of Park Operations 8:30 p.m. 7. PAC Member Comments 8. Report from the Chair – Julie Bueren 9. Board Committee Reports . 10. Status of Recommendations 11. Old Business 12. New Business 13. Adjournment
Next Meeting – June 26, 2017
(A) Action (I) Information (R) Recommendation
ATTACHMENTS
1. Lifeguard Services Update memo 2. Managing the Existing Dog Policy memo 3. 2017 Work Plan 4. Status of Recommendations 5. Articles & Correspondence
Unapproved Meeting Minutes PARK ADVISORY COMMITTEE April 24, 2017
ATTENDING: Bueren, Kern, Godfrey, Gregory, Ho, Mercurio, Palacios, Rickard, Sanwong, Skaredoff, Trotter, Volin
NOT ATTENDING: Best, Yee, Thompson, Madsen, Wilkins, Robinson
STAFF ATTENDING: O’Connor, Nisbet, Pfuehler, Bondurant, Tumber, Schirmer, Breines, Hamlat, Cunning, Clay
GUESTS: Board Member Dennis Waespi
PUBLIC: William Yragui, Kelly Abreu
The meeting began at 7:07 p.m.
1. Approval of the March 37, 2017 Minutes: The March 27, 2017 minutes were approved with edits. The motion to approve was moved by PAC member Trotter. PAC member Palacios seconded approval of the minutes. The motion was approved.
2. Introductions: PAC Chair Kern asked PAC members, staff, and the public to introduce themselves.
3. Board Member Comments: None.
4. Foundation Update: Juliana Schirmer, Foundation Development Director announced that the results of the Whole Food Day that took place Wed. April 5. All nine Bay Area stores donated 5% of sales that day. Schirmer was pleased to announce that the Whole Foods stores gave $44,042.00 to the Foundation. A check was presented at the Earth Day Festivities held at Crab Cove to Regional Parks Foundation President Yarborough and EBRPD Director Ellen Corbett.
Schirmer stated that they are currently focusing on social media to promote fundraisers and readily accept memberships and donations on a mobile friendly platform. The Foundation will also be working with the District on the Corporate Volunteering Program to try and get groups that have corporate dollars associated with their groups to donate through the Regional Parks Foundation, and then those gifts would be given to the parks that are participating.
Schirmer announced she is currently working on an event scheduled for Sat. May 6 with the Pleasanton Chamber of Commerce to come do a cleanup day at Shadow Cliffs.
Schirmer showed a branded bike jersey available through the Foundation designed by Bob Nisbet. Kern reminded Schrimer that the PAC members can be contacted to help with Foundation efforts.
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5. Public Comments: Kelly Abreu provided his edits to the April Park Advisory Committee minutes. Abreu read from a memo from the City of Fremont regarding the Mission Peak parking issue.
6. Presentations:
(R) a. Dumbarton Campground Phase 1 Development Naming Program – Raphael Breines, Acting Principal Planner Raphael Breines, Senior Planner presented a PowerPoint on the Dumbarton Campground Phase I Development Naming Program. Breines stated that the 2005 land use plan for Coyote Hills Regional Park emphasizes naming of trails and facilities to recognize the area’s first inhabitants, the Tuibun Ohlone, by using a number of words from the Chochenyo dialect. Visitor center exhibits and naturalist programs focus on Native American lifestyles. To expand public education at the park, staff propose a naming program for the campground facility that emphasizes names associated with Mission and settler ranching history, salt production and rock quarrying. General themes for proposed names include local historical places, towns and family names for the reservable campground, store, and picnic sites; and geological and ecosystem names for a playground, viewpoint and trails.
Breines reported that the first phase of this park, expected to be completed in 2018, will include; a unique bayside campground with 63 RV hook-up sites, picnic area, playground , restrooms, amphitheater, trail connections to coyote hills, SF Bay Trail, and the Don Edwards National Wildlife Refuge.
Breines explained that at the Board Executive Committee on April 6, 2017, considered the naming program and made several small adjustments. The Committee was undecided as to whether the facility should be named Dumbarton Quarry Campground or Dumbarton Campground, and decided to defer it to the Park Advisory Committee.
Mercurio commented he was impressed that the District’s consideration to name the facilities as an educational tool. He continued that the names were well thought out, and were diverse in terms of many different areas of history and different communities.
Palacios asked what the naming policies are. Breines explained the naming policy was adopted in 2004. Typically the names are included in the Masterplan, or as part of the Land Use Planning process.
Volin inquired if there are any Native American names in any of the facilities at Coyote Hills. Breines replied that there are several trails and facilities that are named with Native American names.
Trotter asked if the proposed naming which is non Ohlone, is an amendment to the 2005 policy, passed on and approved by the Executive Committee. Breines replied yes. Ho commented that since this an amendment to the previous naming policy that called for Ohlone names, is there concern that Ohlone groups in the area may be opposed to this? Ho asked if there been any outreach to the Native American communities. Breines replied there has not been specific outreach to the Native American communities, and no controversy is anticipated. Staff, particularly Interpretive and Naturalist staff are excited to bring prior land uses and 2
historical issues to the visitors such as a naming program for the campground facility that emphasize names associated with Mission and settler ranching history, salt production and rock quarrying. General themes for proposed names include local historical places, towns and family names for the reservable campground, store and picnic sites; and geological and ecosystem names for a playground, viewpoint and trails.
Volin inquired about the timeline for the project. Breines replied the campground will open in 2018. The quarry is about 65% filled, but it is anticipated that it will take an additional 10 years to complete. O’Connor explained that during the first phase there will a berm between phase 1 and phase II with a double fence to provide safety barrier until the quarry is completely filled. Kern and Mercurio both thought that the suggested name of Dumbarton Quarry would nicely represent the history of the area. Mercurio stated that the Dumbarton Quarry rock built a lot of things throughout the East and South Bay.
Godfrey suggested that the name should be attractive to park users and pull people towards the recreation and the history. Godfrey suggested that staff approach the Native Americans for names.
Trotter moved that the facility should be named Dumbarton Quarry Campground. Seconded by Mercurio. Opposed by Palacios, Volin, and Godfrey. Motion passed.
Motion made by Mercurio on the total naming with the PAC’s suggestions included. Seconded by Rickard. Motion passed.
(I) b. Regional Planning and Funding Measures – Sandra Hamlat, Senior Planner, Erich Pfuehler, Government Affairs Manager Sandra Hamlat, Senior Planner provided a PowerPoint update on different regional planning efforts the District has been engaged in.
Hamlat explained that Plan Bay Area is the Regional Transportation Plan and Sustainable Communities Strategy that guides federal transportation funding and Senate Bill 375 implementation/compliance in the nine-county Bay Area and is primarily responsible for Plan Bay Area is the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, which is in the process of merging with the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG). Park District staff is tracking Priority Conservation Areas that are defined in Plan Bay Area for funding opportunities for key potential parklands. $16 million is available through the One Bay Area Grant program that can fund active transportation and open space projects.
Hamlat reported that BCDC is leading climate change adaptation planning, primarily along the shoreline, in the San Francisco Bay Area mostly through their Adapting to Rising Tides program. Through this program, they have conducted vulnerability assessments for Alameda and Contra Costa Counties that include Park District shoreline parks. BCDC is leading the development of a regional adaptation plan that will serve as the resilience and adaptation chapter of Plan Bay Area, and Park District staff has been working with them to ensure our interests are included in this plan.
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Hamlat reported that Bay Area Regional Collaborative BARC is an inter-agency organization that seeks to coordinate the climate change activities of the four regional agencies – MTC, ABAG, Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD), and BCDC. Hamlat explained that BARC is co-authoring the resilience/adaptation chapter of Plan Bay Area with BCDC. District staff is working with BARC staff to include the urban/wildland interface - upland areas - into the resilience/adaptation plan so that it can consider factors such as freshwater resources, drought, habitat, and monitoring the effects of climate change to inform land management decisions.
Hamlat reported that Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) recently published their Draft 2017 Clean Air Plan that includes carbon sequestration in natural and working lands as wells as wetlands. Hamlat clarified that Park District staff is interested in partnering with BAAQMD staff on a soil carbon pilot project to leverage their expertise in this area and guide the development of the greenhouse gas sequestration protocol for natural and working lands.
Hamlat continued that the Regional Advance Mitigation Program (RAMP) is a component of Plan Bay Area and a mechanism to coordinate regional mitigation funds for land acquisition primarily to offset impacts of transportation projects that may result from implementation of Plan Bay Area. The State Coastal Conservancy will possibly be the primary coordinating agency, since they work in all nine counties of the Bay Area. Hamlat remarked that Regional mitigation funds could be used to acquire and manage lands in Alameda and Contra Costa Counties that are adjacent to parklands. Regional Advanced Mitigation Program is an effort to offset the impacts mostly related to transportation projects that would result from Plan Bay Area.
Pfuehler commented that one other program is The Bay Area Toll Authority is considering putting on the ballot, Regional Measure 3, which would allow them to increase the toll for the bridges. It could go up three dollars over three years. Some of that funding could be used for green transportation, paved trails leading up to the bridges, or potential staging areas near the bridges. For example, Gateway Park is at the foot of the Bay Bridge and could qualify for funding under Regional Measure 3. Pfuehler also mentioned another agency the District is tracking is San Francisco Bay Restoration Authority who recently passed Measure AA; five millions dollars for shoreline projects in the Bay. They will be putting out a call for projects at the end of 2017. The District will be submitting projects requests to the Authority.
Kern complemented Hamlat for her good work. He asked if the original allocation for Plan Bay Area was 10 million. Hamlat replied yes, it is now bumped up to 16 million. Pfuehler replied that out of the first round the District netted about 2.5 million.
On the SF Bay Conservation Development Commission Kern asked, if their Regional Adaptation Plan informs the restoration authority and their grant program? Hamlat replied that the Regional Adaptation Plan should function similar to a Transportation Expenditure Plan that guides funding and would also identify projects that have their permitting coordinated expedited if it’s a green infrastructure project along the shoreline.
Pfuehler said there is state legislation to better coordinate adaption strategies among
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stakeholders. Senator Wieckowski has been the lead on this issue. There has been discussion amongst agencies and organizations that do project delivery about streamlining the process.
Kern asked about Bay Area Air Quality Management District’ grant program. Did the District complete their study on the amount of carbon that is being sequestered? Hamlat replied yes, it is 300,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, which is the same as taking 60,000 vehicles off the road each year.
(I) c. Electric Bikes – Jim O’Connor, AGM Operations, Dan Cuning, Delta Unit Manager Dan Cunning, Delta Unit Manager presented an electric bike pilot program being considered by the Park District. The District has received many requests by primarily older citizens that enjoy the parks, but for health reasons can no longer hike.
Cunning explained that there are three types of electric bikes: Class 1 – pedal assist. Is a low speed pedal assist electric bicycle equipped with a motor that provides assistance only when the rider is pedaling and ceases to provide assistance when the bike reaches 20 miles per hour.
Class 2 – is a low speed throttle assisted bicycle that’s equipped with a motor, and can propel the bikes by means of a throttle and is not capable of providing assistance once the bike reaches the speed of 20 miles per hour.
Class 3 – is a speed pedal system is similar to the Class 1, but reaches a speed of 28 mph. before it ceases powers and is also equipped with a speedometer.
Cunning reported that Assembly bill, AB 1096, enables a broader range of use of electric bikes throughout the state of California. It defines the 3 classes of electric bikes; it adds section 312.5 establishing electric bicycles as a new category in the California Vehicle Code. It makes the determination of an electric bicycle as a bicycle that has fully operable pedals and an electric motor of less than 750 watts. Each bike manufactured after January 1, 2017 is required to have a classification label put on by the manufacture. E- bikes are exempt from Motor Vehicle responsibility including a driver’s license, or license plate. For this reason, e-bikes are not considered a motor vehicle by the State. The Park District would enforce all current bicycle laws currently posted and within Ordinance 38 of the Park District.
Cunning observed that allowing e-bikes as a pilot program, can be the beginning effort as an alternative commute strategy with less traffic congestion and a clean air component. Because the Park District participates in green alternative transportation efforts, the Park District was awarded a 10.2 billion TIGER II Grant in 2010 from the Federal Government to continue the District’s efforts toward creating new transportation opportunities. Two examples of improvements, are the George Miller Trail that connected Martinez to the Crockett area, and the Alamo Canal Undercrossing in the Dublin Area that connects Dublin underneath the 580 freeway. E- bikes have also become a network of social trend in many neighboring communities.
The Bike Pilot Program will include three regional trails in Alameda and Contra Costa Counties; the Central Contra Costa Canal Trail, the Iron Horse Regional Trail, and the Alameda Creek Regional Trail. All three trails combined will allow electric bikes to operate on over 50 miles of regional
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trails. Along the trails are BART stations that can facilitate longer commute routes throughout the Bay Area.
To monitor the Pilot Program during its one-year period, District staff and one or more college academic interns plan to collect data. They will collect opinions and polls, online surveys,
O’Connor discussed what the process will entail. Normally staff would go to Board Operations, Committee, to the PAC, and then to the full Board. Tonight staff will take the PAC comments and then go to the Board Operations Committee. After the one-year pilot period, staff will go before the full board for approval.
Rickard asked how it will be announced to the public. Cunning responded that the District will do outreach through the bike community, District website, and signage. Cunning stated that another program on trail etiquette called, Share Your Trail Day, will also be used as an advocate to get the word out about e-bikes.
Volin asked about how many people currently use e-bikes in the East Bay. Cunning replied he doesn’t know the use in general, but on the trails there has been an increase, mostly in social groups of two-three. O’Connor said the cost for an e-bike is in the 3-4,000 dollar range. Ho asked if they are currently illegal on the District trials. O’Connor replied yes. Ho asked what classes would be allowed. O’Connor replied Class 1 and 2. Ho commented that they should be subject to regular bike rules.
Trotter asked if the cities that would be impacted by this been contacted? Cunning answered that he sits on the Iron Horse Advisory Committee along with representatives from each city and district along the Iron Horse Trail and the pilot program has been discussed. Through that committee there has been much support and at the May meeting the pilot program will be discussed in detail. Trotter suggested that outreach should be done at a higher level.
Gregory said he supports the pilot, and it will not be known until the program is implemented what problems might arise. Cunning explained that they plan to monitor the program, spend time on the trial with District staff and college interns to do physical counts, set time pieces, and conduct surveys.
Bueren expressed her support for the program. It solves a lot issues for folks that don’t have good mobility and want to use inexpensive transportation and it does the last mile for transit. She stated it could potentially solve some transportation issues for short and local trips. Bueren suggested that the District provide talks to cities and other agencies.
Mercurio mentioned that there is a movement to push for e-bikes to have access to all trails. Volin suggested that the Regional Parks Bike Patrol be used to observe/monitor this program.
Yragui spoke as the activity chair of the Sierra Club. He stated that the Sierra Club supports bike use. Electric bike use in the regional parks is a different situation. The Sierra Club does not have a position against bikes on trails, they do have a position against bike use on narrow track trails.
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John Roberts stated he is delighted with the pilot program. Roberts commented he doesn’t agree with Sierra Club’s stance against e-bikes. He feels that e-bikes are a great opportunity for small children, handicapped, and the elderly to enjoy bike riding.
Trotter made a motion to recommend the e-bike as a one year pilot program on the three designated trails adding that the PAC is not making any recommendations with respect to off-paved trail use of e-bikes, and would want to hear more information in the future before making any recommendations to the full Board. Godfrey seconded.
O’Connor explained the comments will be incorporated into the material for the Board Operations Committee. Kern suggested the PAC should do some preliminary work on the mountain bike issue, but it should be moved to the 2018 Work Plan to allow adequate time.
7. PAC Member Comments Godfrey reported that he was at a meeting with Alameda County looking at the Niles Canyon Roll and Stroll which is tentatively scheduled for Sept. 30. The first event was very successful. Godfrey suggested a book entitled, Bikenomics. It has interesting statistics and data regarding safety on bicycles. Most of the data suggests that the more people you have out on bikes, the safer it becomes.
Rickard reported that he attended the Atlas/Bruener dedication at Point Pinole, and led a bike ride with Bob Nisbet.
Skaredoff attended the John Muir Birthday Celebration. One of the EBRPD mobile vans was there. There were over 3,000 people in attendance.
Ho attended the Dotson Family March dedication. She found it interesting that the family worked over 20 years to acquire and construct the property.
Gregory reported that the Friends of San Leandro Creek hosted an event with Dr. Anne Riley. There 40-50 people in attendance.
8. Report from Chair – Kern reported that next month on the agenda will be the Managing the Dogs three-part program. Prior to the PAC meeting, Kern has been asked to meet with the Point Isabel Dog Owners Association to meet their board of directors. Kern will discuss the issue with them. Ho will attend too. Kern along with Sanwong plans to reach out to the Humane Society, and also an Oakland Group that has worked with the District in the past.
9. Board Committee Reports – None.
10. Status of Recommendations – Kern asked that the Work Plan be updated.
11. Old Business – Pfuehler said AB 898 (Frazier) has been pulled by the author from being conserved in the Local Government committee. It has been suggested that the author may add an urgency clause to the bill which means it could be brought up at any time. Assemblymember Frazier doesn’t have much time to make this amendment, so the District is still watching this bill closely.
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12. New Business – None
13. Adjournment – The meeting was adjourned at 8:58 p.m.
Summary of Actions: 1. The PAC approved the March 27, 2017 minutes with edits.
2. The PAC recommended that the Board support the approval of the Dumbarton Campground Phase 1 Development Naming Program, including the name of the facility.
Respectfully submitted,
Sharon Clay Confidential Secretary
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Attachment 1
PARK ADVISORY COMMITTEE Meeting of May 22, 2017
TO: Park Advisory Committee
STAFF REPORT Pete DeQuincy, Aquatics Manager PREPARED BY:
SUBJECT: Lifeguard Services Update
Pete DeQuincy will be discussing the current trends and opportunities for youth mentoring and development and upcoming challenges.
Attachment 2
TO: Park Advisory Committee
FROM: Alan Love, Special Operations Lieutenant, Public Safety
DATE: May 3, 2017
SUBJECT: Update on Commercial Dog Walking Program
Alan Love, Special Operations Lieutenant for the Police Department will provide an update on the District’s Commercial Dog Walking Program. The update will include the process for which Commercial Dog Walkers apply for a permit, the areas where Commercial Dog Walkers are permitted to walk dogs, and a review of commercial dog walking enforcement.
In September 2000, the East Bay Regional Park Directors adopted resolution 2000-09-215, which amended Ordinance 38 to allow for commercial dog walking in the District. The amendment to Ordinance 38, brought commercial dog walking in compliance with Ordinance 38-700.2 which allows for other permitted activities within the District. Since the amendment, minor changes have occurred to the area where commercial dog walking is allowed.
The update will provide an overview of the current program as well as offer items for consideration as the program moves forward as well as an overview of the current Ordinance 38 sections regarding dogs in the parks.
Attachment 3
PAC 2017 WORK PLAN 5.10.17
JAN 23 FEB 27 MAR 27 APR 24 MAY 22 JUN 26 JULY 24 SEP 25 OCT 23 NOV 27 DEC 11
Director Lane Director Director Corbett Director Waespi Director Waespi Director Director Dotson Director Director Director Holiday Rosario Wieskamp Rosario Dinner – Great Community Dumbarton Trails Damage Sibley LUPA (R) - Goals 2018 Alameda California State of the Relations Plan (I) Campground Assessment (I) CAFR (R) – Bondurant Convenience (R) – Kern, 2018 County Delta Trail District (I) – – Koh, Johnson Phase 1 – Castile Auker Camping Pfuehler Proposed Naming (R) – Doyle Development Permitting Update (I) – Budget (R) – Hamlat, Grants Naming Program Lifeguard Measure CC Challenges (I) - O’Connor Black Auker
2017 Dougan Economic Department (R) – Breines Services Public Information Graul Diamond Impact Report Update (I) – Update (I) – Plan and 2018 Expanding Mines LUPA Accessibility – Climate (I) – Johnson Margulici Regional DeQuincy budget (R) – Stay Healty in Volunteer (R) – Breines Americans
PARK ADVISORY COMMITTEE COMMITTEE ADVISORY PARK Resiliency Planning and Johnson, Nature Every Day Programming with Update (I) – Work Plan (R) Legislative Funding Managing the Rasmussen, – Children’s and Capacity Concord Hills Disabilities Act Alvarez - Kern, Priorities(I) – Measures (I) – Existing Dog Pfuehler Hospital Study (I) (I) – LUP (R) - Transition Pfuehler Pfuehler Hamlat, Pfuehler Policy (I) – – Koh Kassebaum Holt Plan (I) – Measure WW O’Connor, Love Advanced Barrington, Update (I) – Electric Bikes (R) Planning for Dogs Communicating Review Measure WW Victor Rasmussen -O’Connor, in the Parks (I) – the Dog Policy balancing the Update (I) – Cunning Nisbet, Holt and User Groups need to Rasmussen (I) Johnson, protect park Trails–Damage O’Connor resources Southern Las Assessment from while providing Trampas Winter storms and Miller Knox LUPA opportunities LUPA (R) – Update (I) - (R) – Julene for mountain Bondurant, Dougan biking (I) – Lavalle Dougan, O’Connor
Exec. Comm. Field Trip - Finance BBQ Meeting – Exec. Comm. Finance Subcommittee Vargas Subcommittee Redwood Canyon Subcommitte Subcommittee Work Plan, Plateau? CAFR (R) - Auker e 2017 Budget Dogs (R) - Goals 2017 (R) - Auker Pfuehler (R) – Pfuehler. Kern
Attachment 4
PARK ADVISORY COMMITTEE 2017 Status of Recommendations
The following is a record of items, which have come from the PAC during the year beginning January 1, 2017.
1. The PAC recommended moving forward the Great California Delta Trail Naming to the Board for approval. (January 23, 2017)
STATUS: The Board voted to approve moving forward the Great California Delta Trail Naming. (Resolution 2017-02-036)
2. The PAC approved a motion to recommend to the Board of Directors the approval of the proposed draft Procedural Guide and method of allocation for a proposed $1.6 million Urban Creeks Grant Program. (January 23, 2017)
STATUS: The Board approved the proposed draft procedural guide and method of allocation for a proposed $1.6 million Urban Creeks Grant Program (Resolution 2017-03-069)
3. The PAC recommended that the Board support the approval of the Dumbarton Campground Phase 1 Development Naming Program, including the name of the facility. (April 24, 2017)
STATUS: The Board voted to approve Dumbarton Quarry Campground Phase I Development naming Program at Coyote Hills (Resolution 2017-05-130)
ARTICLES & CORRESPONDENCE
East Bay Regional Park District Highlight Economic Value and Impact in Video By ECT Apr 11, 2017
The East Bay Regional Park District released a video highlighting its economic value and impact it provided in the San Francisco Bay Area.
According to a 2017 study, the Park District brings an economic value to the area of more than $500 million and has more attendance that local professional sports teams each year. The video was published online on March 8, 2017.
The 120,000 acres of the East Bay Regional Park District are more than just a pretty place. There are creeks that provide drinking water, trails to walk and ride that help us live healthy lives, and grasslands that are grazed which support the local food economy. And now we have an independent, scientific report by economists to prove that East Bay Parks are more than just a pretty place. Based on this report, we now know that the Park District:
Hosts 25 million visits a year. This is more than the A’s, Raiders, Warriors, Giants, 49ers, Earthquakes, and Sharks combined. Provides a range of benefits to residents, businesses, and visitors that total about $500 million annually. This includes the values of recreation, healthcare, property values, and other ecosystem services. Generates nearly $200 million in regional economic activity every year that would not happen without the District. This includes visitor spending and grant-funded capital investments, and the multiplier effects of both.
What does that translate into? This scientific report conclusively says that the District is interconnected with many aspects of life in the East Bay including infrastructure, jobs, transportation, public health, and housing.
In addition to these benefits, the District is a good investment. Based on our annual budget of $127 million, every $1 yields a return of $4. This means that Alameda and Contra Costa County taxpayers are getting good value for themselves and all residents regardless of background.
This report is the second installment in a longitudinal study by Economic & Planning Systems, Inc, a land use and economics firm based in Oakland. The first report was produced in the year 2000 and was groundbreaking at the time. A lot has changed over the past 17 years. The 2017 report – which you can find on our website at ebparks.org – builds on the 2000 methodology and will add to the national body of research about the economic impact of parks and open spaces.
What does this all mean for you as a resident of Alameda and Contra Costa Counties and as a park user? It means that you can go out and enjoy East Bay Parks knowing that they are more than just pretty places. They are an integral part of life in the East Bay.
Natural medicine: Urban families explore benefits of the outdoors
By Erin Allday April 10, 2017
Photo: Mason Trinca, Special To The Chronicle Above: Eight-year-old Marco David (left) and 7-year-old Marietou Keita fish on the docks at Lake Chabot in Castro Valley. Below: Richard Seward and stepdaughter Ceanarionn Smith Woods, 4, afloat on Lake Chabot, look over a bird guide.
On one of the first hot Saturdays of the year, a crowd of families gathered around Dr. Nooshin Razani near Lake Chabot.
They were wilting a bit under the afternoon sun, some gazing longingly at the water, just visible through the trees. That lake, Razani told them, was healing them.
Within minutes of being in nature, their blood pressure lowered, she said; their stress melted away; their breathing slowed and deepened. Razani paused, taking a deep breath of her own.
“Let the lake do its work,” she said. Fifty people had come on a field trip to the lake in Castro Valley. They were single moms and dads, babies in strollers and eye-rolling teenagers, grandmothers and grandfathers. They were families of refugees, and families with roots going back generations in the East Bay. For most, it was their first time at Lake Chabot.
Their visit was part of a growing national appreciation of nature as medicine, and a trend toward developing programs that make it easier for people to be outside.
Every month, Razani — a pediatrician at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland — escorts families she knows through her practice to a different East Bay regional park. They have only one goal: to be in nature. They may learn something, they may get some exercise and vitamin D, but their assignment is to just be.
“From cradle to grave, there is compelling evidence that human beings need to be in natural settings,” said Razani. “We just need to let nature do its own work.”
Photo: Mason Trinca, Special To The Chronicle Kids and families fish along the docks at Lake Chabot.
azani’s program, a collaboration with the East Bay Regional Park District called Stay Healthy in Nature Every day, or SHINE, is open to patients at Children’s Hospital Oakland. There are similar events in San Francisco, where anyone can attend free walks at Golden Gate Park and other sites on Saturdays, and at parks all over the Bay Area.
Six years ago, several agencies came together to form the Healthy Parks Healthy People initiative, which promotes free outdoor activities, many targeting communities that don’t often access natural settings. On April 23, many regional parks will be holding “park prescription” day events to introduce people to the concept of nature as medicine.
Public health and outdoor enthusiasts have long understood that convening with nature is good for physical and mental well-being, but exactly how and why isn’t always clear.
Rigorous clinical research is slim. But studies have found that time in nature can help with stress, depression, cognitive function, physical strength and coordination. Some research suggests that different kinds of nature — from grassy neighborhood parks to Sierra forestland — deliver different benefits.
It’s not just that people tend to get more exercise outside or that the air quality is better, though those factors play a role. One study showed that running on a trail through a forest has more health benefits than running on a treadmill or even outside in a city. In another small study, children with attention deficit disorder were able to concentrate better after a walk through a park compared to a walk around their neighborhood.
There’s something particular to nature — the wildness of it, the freedom and awe it provokes — that seems to uniquely affect human health, Razani said. But no one knows what kind of nature is best, or how much, and that makes it difficult to prescribe. Nature’s effect can’t be bottled or put into a pill.
“I want to be able to talk about milligrams of nature,” Razani said. “It’s a little silly to try to quantify it that way. But we need instructions on how to make use of these things that everyone should have.”
Even if doctors prescribe nature to their patients, following through is not as simple as it sounds. Many people have no easy access to even a neighborhood park, much less a wide expanse of nature, say public health and park advocates.
Photo: Mason Trinca, Special To The Chronicle IMAGE 1 OF 5 Richard Seward and stepdaughter Ceanarionn Smith Woods, 4, look over a bird identification card as they boat on Lake Chabot in Castro Valley.
If it takes a long Muni Metro ride to get from San Francisco’s Bayview neighborhood to Golden Gate Park, people who rely on public transit may not have the time — or motivation — to get there. They could go to McLaren Park, which is more convenient, but maybe they’ve heard about crime there and don’t feel safe.
Or maybe they’re just not comfortable in the outdoors. They may think they have the wrong clothes or shoes, or that they won’t know what to do or where to go. If most of the users of the big regional, state or national parks are middle-class people with North Face gear and $100 hiking poles, a recent immigrant who shows up in jeans and sandals with a plastic bottle of water in hand may feel out of place — and unwelcome.
“It can make it seem in some way like a country club more than open lands,” said Dr. Curtis Chan, deputy health officer with the San Francisco Department of Public Health. “Open spaces are for everyone. And the communities that are poor — they don’t have a small neighborhood park, they don’t have their own large backyard, they might have a chronic disease — they actually need these spaces the most.”
Lisa McHenry with San Francisco Recreation and Park said part of her goal when she leads walks at Golden Gate Park is just to get people comfortable. The park belongs to them, she points out.
“It can be intimidating to go someplace that you’ve never been before, even parks,” McHenry said. “To get out and explore, that takes courage. It’s great to have someone who can introduce them to the park and answer their questions and make them feel better.”
Razani wants her families to relax and feel safe in nature, but also to seek out the moments of awe that make the blood rush — spotting a deer among the trees, or a hill overcome with California poppies.
Aside from wanting to link her patients with nature, Razani hopes to use her park trips as a sort of lab.
Two years ago, she created a clinical trial in which some patients and their families were simply handed brochures for regional parks and encouraged to go outside, while others were invited on three field trips. She followed up with the patients and families to see whether there were differences in their physical and mental health, and plans to publish the results this year.
This month’s trip to Lake Chabot was an extension of that trial.
It was 2-year-old Ehjasi’s first time in “real nature,” said his mom, Rhyan Hodge. She grew up hiking and camping with her family, so it nags at Hodge that her son rarely goes outside. But their neighborhood in Concord isn’t safe for him, she said, and she’s too busy most other times to drive him to a park.
“I’d be happy just to have him run around, get some fresh air — real oxygen,” Hodge said.
Down by the lake, Janice Henry of Oakland stood on a dock, eye on her two daughters while they dangled fishing poles over the choppy water.
Henry isn’t much of an outdoor enthusiast — on two trips to Yosemite, she wasn’t happy sleeping in a tent cabin and having to venture out of it every time she wanted to use the bathroom — but she appreciates the value of nature, especially for her children. And on this perfect spring day, she soaked up the excitement of the families around her. Aleczandrea, 9, in particular was having a good day: For reasons that she has never explained to her mom, the girl had always wanted to go fishing. Finally, she got her chance.
Standing on the dock, pole clutched in both hands, Aleczandrea said she wanted to catch a salmon or a cod or a catfish for dinner. Told there were only trout in the lake, she said that was fine, too. And what if she didn’t catch anything at all?
“I’d be happy that I at least got my dream,” Aleczandrea said, serious, eyes on the lake.
She’d catch their dinner next time, she said.
Erin Allday is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @erinallday
Op Ed: EBRPD is Not the Answer for East County Fire District’s Funding Challenges
Written by Robert Doyle
Apr 8, 2017
This is a Local Problem in need of a Local Solution
For 80+ years, East Bay Regional Park District (EBRPD) has been well known for its transparency in managing public funds by listening astutely to its taxpaying constituents in Alameda and Contra Costa counties. This has allowed EBRPD to successfully obtain the two-thirds votes needed for several park funding measures; we work hard to earn the voters’ trust.
Conversely, the East County Voters for Equal Protection (ECV), an anti-tax payer committee, and Assembly member Jim Frazier, (D-Discovery Bay) haven’t engaged well in East County to lead an effective campaign to raise funds within their community for their beleaguered fire protection district. Instead, they are asking communities outside their boundaries to fund their fire protection district that their own communities have voted against three times!
AB 898 authored by Assembly member Frazier suggests the East Contra Costa Fire Protection District (ECCFPD) should be funded by EBRPD from tax revenues received outside of the Fire District’s jurisdiction. They call it “reallocating” resources. We call it “theft” since EBRPD’s primary source of revenue in East Contra Costa County is a Landscape and Lighting District, and Measure WW bonds for acquisition and development of parks. Given the services EBRPD provides to East County, no proportional funding comes from ECCFPD residents. Frazier is proposing other East Bay cities like Concord, Martinez, Richmond and Antioch pay for ECCFPD’s operations instead of their Regional Parks.
Frazier’s bill is a distraction tactic to avoid telling his anti-taxpayer supporters that in fact, it is fair and appropriate to fund their own important services in East Contra Costa County, the fastest growing region in the East Bay. The arguments supporting this bill are false. Here’s how they compare to the facts:
Argument: Fire service is more important than parks.
EBRPD Fact: Pitting fire safety vs regional parks is not relevant as EBRPD funds approximately $5 million annually for fire services delivered by unionized firefighters trained as first responders to fire and medical emergencies, and to protect communities from wildfires in parklands and open spaces. As a first responder to the 1991 Oakland Hills wildland/urban interface fire, EBRPD firefighters assisted in the preservation of lives and properties. Saving lives and property is equally important to EBRPD as it is to ECCFPD.
Argument: EBRPD can do with less of its property tax growth.
EBRPD Fact: This argument is perpetuated by ECV, the same anti- taxpayer group that opposes local tax increases for essential services, but evidentially feel it is fine to raid the taxes paid by other county property owners. Their misplaced argument doesn’t consider the growing operational expenses needed to maintain the Park District’s existing parks/trails or repair over $8 million in recent flood and storm damage to our parks, lakes and 55 miles of shoreline. This tax transfer scheme would cut 1/5 of the Park District’s budget in Contra Costa County. Should EBRPD lose funding through this Bill, services and operational impacts to parks and trails would occur including: Big Break Regional Shoreline and Visitor Center at the Delta, Contra Loma Regional Park, Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve, Round Valley Regional Preserve, Martinez Regional Shoreline, Briones Regional Park, and the Delta DeAnza, Iron Horse and Marsh Creek Regional Trails, to name a few. Additional reduction in funding may negatively impact the District’s ability to support planning for public access at the Concord Naval Weapons Station or new parklands in Brentwood and Oakley – including proposed new access to the Delta near Discovery Bay.
Argument: EBRPD wasn’t negatively impacted like other government agencies by a property tax shift requirement when the State needed help during fiscal crisis’ 25 years ago.
EBRPD Fact: At the time, EBRPD was one of many agencies, including police and fire districts, justly recognized by lawmakers for its responsibility and significant funding of public safety services and thus, retained local tax dollars during a State-wide budget deficit. In addition, State lawmakers also recognized EBRPD was a first responder for and funder of fire suppression in East Bay State Responsibility Areas (SRAs) where the State of California has primary responsibility for prevention and suppression of wildfires. Lawmakers also recognized EBRPD’s lead in solely funding the operations and maintenance of three State Parks. All of these services remain funded by the East Bay Regional Park District today.
Argument: EBRPD has plenty of money, $210 million annually.
EBRPD Fact: EBRPD’s annual operating budget is $127 million (2016), which includes $5 million allocation to fund three State Parks with no reimbursement. All additional funds transparently reported in our Annual Budget are voter-approved Measure WW bonds and designated grant funds for acquisition and capital development. None of these additional funds are legally transferrable.
A recent economic study found EBRPD provides $500 million annually in benefits which include the values of recreation, healthcare, property values and ecosystem services. Instead of penalizing EBRPD by stealing from its tax revenues and unfairly impacting other community’s park services, we suggest that Mr. Frazier and ECV learn from EBRPD’s prudent good governance model and adapt similar best practices within ECCFPD. We applaud Brentwood’s recent proposal to look internally to fund an ECCFPD fire station within their city limits, and we hope others follow their lead to help develop a local solution to a local problem.
The Park District’s successful funding measures show the public’s significant support for our parks. The best way to ask the public for financial help is to engage them in an open and collaborative process to build credibility and trust, then ask for money … not take it from other popular services.
Share your views and support maintaining your Contra Costa County regional parks and trails at their current funding level. Join us by contacting your local elected officials and saying no to AB 898.
Robert Doyle General Manager of East Bay Regional Park District
In Bay Area, bald eagles breed and soar once more
An eagle sits above its nest on a Redwood tree at Curtner Elementary School in Milpitas — one of 19 known bald eagle nests in the nine-county region. (Gary Reyes/Bay Area News Group) By LISA M. KRIEGER | [email protected] |
PUBLISHED: April 3, 2017 at 7:00 am | UPDATED: April 5, 2017 at 11:34 am Bald eagle population soaring in the Bay Area
From a giant nest perched above the clamor of a Milpitas school playground, there’s a chilling high-pitched peal. It’s the call of the unwild.
Spring has sprung a beautiful surprise in the urban Bay Area: a bumper crop of breeding bald eagles. Long endangered, this powerful symbol of American strength and solitude is making a remarkable comeback in our crowded metropolis, with 19 reported nests in eight counties.
Creatures once seen mostly on the Discovery Channel are being sighted in a place better known for semiconductors, shopping centers and subdivisions. They’re soaring over Stanford’s Inner Quad, San Jose’s Westfield Oakridge mall, the levees of Alviso. One eagle recently perched on a pine tree near Raging Waters aquaticpark in San Jose. Another was mobbed by crows on the runway at Palo Alto Airport.
The eagle boom here and across country is the pay-off for decades of environmental investment. Fifty years ago, the bird seemed destined to become a memory — seen only on coins and flagpoles — until official protection and pesticide restrictions changed its fate. Like paparazzi, Milpitas parents and children gathered last week to gaze up at a redwood tree on the front lawn of Curtner Elementary School, swapping predictions about when eggs might hatch. They cheered when a bald eagle soared off the branch, its wings spread 6 feet wide, flashing its white tail like a winning hand of cards.
“They’re real majestic. Talons big as my hands,” said Ruben Delgadillo, who watches every afternoon when picking up his grandson.
Marveled another parent: “You could go your whole life without seeing this, or only see them in a zoo.”
In choosing a home, eagles look for the same things as people: plentiful food, a nice home and a little space, said Ralph Schardt, executive director of Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society. But just like millennials who get priced out of prime real estate markets, new pairs may be moving to more unconventional neighborhoods throughout the Bay Area. “They fly right over our playground. Everybody’s like, ‘bald eagle, bald eagle! They yell it out,” said 11-year-old Ruben Delgadillo III, joining his grandfather after Curtner’s classes were dismissed. “It’s cool.”
The largest bird of prey in the United States, the bald eagle is one of the great success stories in wildlife conservation — proof that Mother Nature can bounce back, if only given a chance. Pumas, wolves and panthers are back on the prowl. So is the Yellowstone grizzly bear. Condors are recovering, as are gray whales. California sea otters, feared to be extinct until a small number, about 50, were discovered in remote coves off Big Sur in the 1930s, have rebounded to 3,272.
This spring, Bay Area raptors are particularly abundant. A new web camera in a Richmond shipyard is recording an osprey nest — one of 42 pairs producing 51 fledglings along the San Francisco Bay, numbers that have surged over the past five years, according to the Audubon Society. Golden eagles are nesting in Cupertino’s Stevens Creek watershed. A long-gone Swainson’s Hawk returned to the Bay Area several years ago, nesting near the Coyote Creek Parkway. The white-tailed kite, almost extinct in California in the 1930s and 1940s due to shooting and egg-collecting, is common again. There’s a peregrine falcon nest inside a hangar at San Francisco International Airport, said Glenn Stewart, director of the UC Santa Cruz Predatory Bird Research Group. Another pair is nesting on the counterweight of a Bay Area drawbridge, bobbing up and down every day.
Records are sparse about bald eagles’ early populations in the Bay Area. A nest in 1915 near the San Mateo County town of La Honda was the last evidence of local nesting until the current recovery, according to William Bousman’s “Breeding Bird Atlas.”
By the mid-1960s, fewer than 30 nesting pairs of bald eagles remained in the entire state of California — and they were all in the northern third of the state. Marshes were filled, and the pesticide DDT disrupted the eagles’ reproduction, thinning and crushing eggshells. Conservationist Rachel Carson warned in her book “Silent Spring” that the bird would soon be extinct.
The Endangered Species Preservation Act of 1966 helped reverse its fate. Penalties were imposed for shooting the birds. In 1972, DDT was banned.
The fish-loving birds were aided by the creation of many new man-made reservoirs, which were stocked with bass, catfish and trout.
To re-establish breeding populations in Central California, conservationists with the Ventana Wildlife Society in 1987 began importing chicks from Canada and Alaska, then released them into the Big Sur wilderness.
“That was our seed stock,” said UCSC’s Stewart. “We harvested 6- to 7-week-old eaglets and released them, 10 to 12 per year.” Survivors of these 70 transplants began spreading, first to Lake Nacimiento in San Luis Obispo County.
Meanwhile, individuals began coming down from the north; the first modern nest record for the Bay Area was from Lake Berryessa in Napa County in 1989. In 1996, a pair of breeding eagles were found at Alameda County’s Del Valle Reservoir; the female was one of Stewart’s transplants from Alaska. The first nest in Santa Clara County was in 2006. Six years later, there was a nest in San Mateo County’s Crystal Springs Reservoir. One year after that, youngsters were born at Lake Chabot Regional Park in the Berkeley hills.
Now, with 40 known nests in Central California, Stewart said, “we have succeeded beyond our wildest dreams.”
There are now 371 recorded eagle breeding nests or “territories” in California, although they may not be used every year, according to Carie Battistone, statewide raptor coordinator at the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
The federal protection effort has been so effective that the bird has been removed from the endangered species list. Last spring, two bald eagles — dubbed Mr. President and The First Lady — nested in a tulip poplar tree in Washington, D.C.
County Numbers
Alameda County 3
Contra Costa 1
Marin 2
Napa 5
San Mateo 2
Santa Clara 4
Solano 0
Sonoma 2
Lisa M. Krieger Lisa M. Krieger is a science writer for the Bay Area News Group, covering research, scientific policy and environmental news from Stanford University, the University of California, NASA-Ames, U.S. Geological Survey and other Bay Area-based research facilities. Lisa also contributes to the Videography team. She graduated from Duke University with a degree in biology. Outside of work, she enjoys photography, backpacking
Assembly Bill 898 may solve fire district funding crisis
East Contra Costa firefighter captain Robert Ruddick, of Station 52, lowers the fire truck cab after performing a regular maintenance checkup at the fire station in Brentwood, Calif., on Monday, Sept. 28, 2015. Over the past decade, the number of fire stations operated by the East County Fire District has dropped from eight to three. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
By BRYAN SCOTT |
PUBLISHED: April 3, 2017 at 8:57 am | UPDATED: April 3, 2017 at 8:58 am
Lives and property in East Contra Costa County may become a bit safer in the near future.
Assemblyman Jim Frazier has recently announced details of a property tax reallocation plan that could go a long way towards correcting the structural funding deficiency plaguing the East Contra Costa Fire Protection District.
Assembly Bill 898, though still in the draft stage, will move $10.5 million of property tax funding from the East Bay Regional Parks District to the local fire district.
“To me, public safety trumps everything else,” Assemblyman Frazier said.
Brentwood residents Hal Bray and Bryan Scott, co-chairs of the citizens action committee East County Voters for Equal Protection, were surprised and pleased at learning of Assemblyman Frazier’s plan.
“We see Assemblyman Frazier’s planned bill as a validation of the property tax reallocation concept, and appreciate his taking the lead in addressing the community problem,” Bray said. ECV sees the proposed legislation as validating the dire need for increased funding for fire and emergency medical services in East Contra Costa County, and also establishing a method, reallocating property tax revenue, as the correct way to address the fire district’s structural funding problem.
ECCFPD provides fire and emergency medical services to 110,000 residents of 250 square miles of eastern Contra Costa County. Fire districts throughout California are primarily funded by state property taxes, disbursed according to allocation rates set 35 years ago. ECCFPD receives property tax funding at a rate one-fourth to one-third of what other fire districts in Contra Costa County receive.
The proposed legislation also validates the roles of the legislature and local government agencies in solving the crises, according to Bray and Scott.
The EBRPD, in their 2017 Proposed Budget, show Total Resources of $210,260,270 (Page 56). Of this amount $123,004,400 are listed as Property Tax resources. The budget shows that this figure grew by 7.15%, or $8,204,400, when compared with 2016.
AB 898’s $10.5 million property tax reallocation amount is 8.54% of the property tax funds the park district is budgeted to receive in 2017, or 4.99% of their total resources.
The process of how Frazier’s reallocation program will be implemented has not yet been made public. If the plan is implemented over a four-year period, as has been suggested by ECV reallocation proposals, EBRPD would gradually transfer a portion of the growth in property tax funding to ECCFPD for each of the next four years.
If the plan were implemented for 2017 this would mean EBRPD property tax funding would grow by 4.9% ($5,519,400) instead of 7.15%, with $2,625,000 being transferred to the fire district.
This means that the park district’s property tax funding would grow by nearly five percent even while California improves the safety of lives and property in East County.
This process would continue, with the reallocation amount increasing each year by about $2,625,000. EBRPD property tax funding would just grow a little slower than normal until the full $10.5 million has been reallocated to the ECCFPD.
At that point the park district property tax funding would grow normally, and the fire district would have funding at a property tax allocation rate of about 13.86%, which is about the average for county fire districts and second lowest.
Assembly Bill 898 requires approval of two-thirds of the California Assembly and Senate in order for it to become law.
Bryan Scott is a Brentwood resident and Co-Chair of East County Voters for Equal Protection, a non- partisan citizens action committee whose aim is to improve funding for the ECCFPD. He can be reached at [email protected], or 925-418-4428. The group’s Facebook page is https://www.facebook.com/EastCountyVoters/.
Big wildflower bloom expected in Bay Area parks as spring sunshine arrives
A Magenta Red Maid blooms along the Zinfandel trail at Picchetti Ranch Open Space Preserve in Cupertino, Calif., on Tuesday, March 28, 2017. The drenchingwinter rains could see a banner year for wildflowers in the Bay Area. (Gary Reyes/Bay Area News Group)
By PAUL ROGERS | [email protected] |
PUBLISHED: April 1, 2017 at 6:00 am | UPDATED: April 3, 2017 at 6:49 am
Bay Area's gets own "super bloom"
They called it the “Super Bloom.” A once-in-a-decade explosion of wildflowers painted the deserts of Southern California in March with brilliant fields of yellow, orange, white, red and purple, captivating photographers and hikers from around the country. And now it’s the Bay Area’s turn.
The soaking wet winter that put California’s suffocating drought into the history books is also expected to bring a rich bounty of wildflowers to Bay Area parks and preserves as sunshine and warm weather arrive in earnest during the coming days and weeks. Already, patches of orange poppies, purple lupine and bright yellow mustard flowers are appearing along Northern California freeways, backyards and hiking trails from Mount Diablo near Walnut Creek to Henry Coe State Park near Morgan Hill, and from Wilder Ranch in Santa Cruz to Point Reyes National Seashore in Marin County. “It is a little early, but all indications are that it’s going to be a tremendous year,” said
Kevin Damstra, supervising naturalist for Sunol Regional Wilderness, a unit of the East Bay Regional Park District. “We are starting to see wildflowers popping up in areas we haven’t had because of the drought. We’re in for a beautiful display.”
California Poppies bloom at Sunol Regional Wilderness Park in Sunol, on March 28. (Dan Honda/Bay Area News Group)
The wildflower peak this year around the Bay Area should run from mid-April into May, he said.
Damstra said the 6,859-acre Sunol park, which is hosting its annual spring wildflower festival on Sunday, April 9, with hikes, music and crafts, typically has some of the best wildflower displays every year in the East Bay. Rain and cool weather in March have delayed the Bay Area wildflower season by a few weeks, he said.
But already at Sunol Regional Wilderness, a rugged, oak-studded expanse of land east of Fremont, buttercups and blue-eyed grass are out in force. Mid-spring flowers like purple sanicle, checker lilies and some of the lupine species are starting to arrive.
“If you go out right now, there are a great number of flowers out there,” Damstra said. “People won’t be disappointed. I anticipate it will only get better over the next month or month and a half.”
Brian Linde and Jodie Ruland of Oakland hiked with their dog at the park recently and marveled at the majestic spring panorama, a scene of puffy white clouds, bright green hillsides and rushing water through Alameda Creek. They described the early part of the wildflower season as a scavenger hunt, but said they spotted ample amounts of poppies during their hike. “Get out of your car,” said Ruland. “You are going to see stuff. Right here, there are four kinds of flowers,” she said, pointing to the ground. “They are small, but still beautiful.”
Many parks are capitalizing on the public’s interest this year — not only because of the amazing photographs of the “Super Bloom” that filled Facebook, Instagram and Twitter from Anza Borrego, Joshua Tree, Antelope Valley and other Southern California desert parks, but also because the drought has Northern Californians longing for the vibrant spring displays.
Wildflowers boom in the Middle Ridge Open Space in Tiburon on March 16, 2017. (Alan Dep/Marin Independent Journal) “Last I heard, we were at 25 or 26 inches for rainfall this winter,” said Duke Heberling, supervising ranger at Pacheco State Park east of Gilroy. “Our annual average is about 8 inches. We’re still very green out here.”
Pacheco State Park, which hosted a wildflower day Saturday, has been barren and dry for most months back to 2012 — an arid landscape surrounding much of San Luis Reservoir. But as the reservoir filled up this winter — from 10 percent last August to 100 percent today — the hills have bloomed. “We had a pretty good year last year, and this year seems to be better,” Heberling said. “There’s a huge variety. There’s like an 80-acre field of yellow mustard. It’s just amazing.”
Cindy Roessler, a biologist with the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District, said some of the best places in the Peninsula and South Bay for wildflowers in the coming weeks will be the Woods Trail at Sierra Azul Open Space Preserve near Los Gatos, Skyline Ridge Open Space Preserve along Skyline Boulevard and Edgewood County Park and Natural Preserve in the hills of Redwood City.
John Henderson and his wife, Rose, with camera in tow, were out at Edgewood last week, looking for the elusive purple mouse ears, a distinctive lilac-colored plant found in serpentine soils of California and Oregon.
“It’s not a large bloom yet,” he said. “They’re just starting. But it’s a good year to be hopeful.”
Blue larkspurs bloom on Old Stage Road at Edgewood County Park and Natural Preserve in Redwood City on March 28, 2017. (Gary Reyes/Bay Area News Group) Nearby, Diane Thomson of Mountain View was hiking along the Sylvan Trail, having just come back from a wildflower trip to Anza Borrego State Park in eastern San Diego County. ““We saw lots of flowers. All kinds of desert wildflowers. It really was worth the trip,” she said, pausing to point out a bush of purple lupine.
“Isn’t that gorgeous?” she said. “It feels good to be out in nature any time of year. But spring gives us the added benefits of wildflowers.”
How the East Bay Shoreline Became A Park for the People by Lisa Krieger on March 28, 2017
A sailboat leaves the Berkeley marina. (Photo by Kathy Barnhart)
A walk through the Berkeley Meadow along the San Francisco Bay is a walk among the healing ruins of the fiercest and most protracted battle for a state park in California history. You wouldn’t know that underfoot lies a layer of construction refuse—old asphalt, concrete, and building materials—12 feet thick, covered now by a lush landscape of willows, coyote brush, and native grasses. Meadow voles have moved in. Raptors circle overhead, as if doing victory laps.
Burrowing owls make a home at Eastshore State Park. (Photo by Rick Lewis)
The 72 acres of re-created coastal prairie and scrub lie at the heart of McLaughlin Eastshore State Park, today a necklace of open public spaces along the bayshore north of the Bay Bridge. But for a long time it was a polluted and legal quagmire that not even California State Parks really wanted. The land—an 8.5-mile waterfront stretch from Emeryville to Richmond—worth millions, seemed destined to be paved over. One development proposal wanted twin 18-story hotels, and another a “stilt city” of high-rises, at the Emeryville Crescent. There were visions of office buildings, restaurants, and shops in Berkeley, as well as shopping centers in Berkeley and Albany. Yet another set of development plans embraced by many civic leaders in the 1980s called for ten million square feet of construction, roughly equivalent to 14 buildings the size of San Francisco’s Transamerica Pyramid. The Santa Fe Railroad Company and its allies would have benefitted handsomely.
East Bay environmental activist Sylvia McLaughlin was appalled. Beginning in the 1960s, she helped launch a nearly 50-year campaign that prevailed, against all odds, to turn the damaged Berkeley Meadow and the East Bay shoreline into a 2,000-acre sanctuary now managed by the East Bay Regional Park District (EBRPD). “Somebody said, ‘Well, it’s just a dump,’” recalled McLaughlin, a housewife-turned-crusader who passed away a year ago. “I said, ‘Well, it’s our dump … and we want it to be our park.’”
She and her allies faced four big hurdles: They needed to halt shoreline development and activities that were filling in the Bay, in order to protect the Bay. Money had to be found to buy the shore land. They needed to permanently protect it through official park designation. Then, if all that could be accomplished, there was this: Clean up the mess, make it beautiful, and welcome the public.
“People willed this park into existence,” says Robert Cheasty, a former Albany mayor and current executive director (and founding member) of Citizens for East Shore Parks (CESP), which works to conserve habitat and secure public access to the shoreline and was established in 1985.
What started as a small movement grew into a large and determined coalition of environmental and community groups and five East Bay cities. It took lawsuits and legislation, zoning changes and lobbying campaigns, bond measures and propositions, and determined individuals who refused to take no for an answer.
A great egret hunts along the Bay Trail. (Photo by Najib Joe Hakim)
Today the McLaughlin Eastshore State Park is a place of recovery and gradual rehabilitation. At different sites, workers have hauled out garbage and delivered truckloads of fresh dirt. Tractors are furrowing and seeding gentle dunes. Oyster beds and rocky reefs have been built just offshore. New trails are under way. More educational panels will be erected. The enhanced and restored areas provide habitat to hordes of waterbirds, including less-common visitors such as the wandering tattler, red phalarope, black skimmer, and common murre. There are sweeping views of Mount Tamalpais, the Golden Gate Bridge, and the San Francisco skyline, as well as of the East Bay hills.
“Everything doesn’t need to be developed—not this,” says Alex Saunders, 60, of Berkeley, as he casts for bat rays near the Berkeley Marina, a stiff wind fluffing his worn shirt like a sail. “I come every day for the peace of mind. I love it.”
Paddleboarding in the Bay near Cesar Chavez Park. (Photo by Rick Lewis)
The success of saving the Bay from being filled in and reduced to a shipping channel is an inspiring and oft-told tale, an illustration of our region’s changing relationship to our waters. It started in the early 1960s, when California’s population was surging and garbage was filling the Bay at the rate of hundreds, sometimes thousands, of acres per year. Distressed, McLaughlin and friends founded Save San Francisco Bay Association, later called Save The Bay, to end the practice. But the concluding chapter of the story—the politically divisive, exasperating, and expensive creation of Eastshore State Park—is less well known.
The ideas of saving the Bay and creating a park were twins, connected and co - conceived, says Norman La Force, author of Creating the Eastshore State Park: An Activist History. As early as 1963, Save The Bay’s shoreline park committee met to discuss fundraising for a small Berkeley-based park.
“Our first thought was to acquire the land,” recalled McLaughlin in a 2006 interview recorded by the Regional Oral History Office at UC Berkeley’s Bancroft Library. “You couldn’t really plan for somebody else’s land.” But the Bay’s destruction, through dumping, was a more urgent problem. “You sort of go from crisis to crisis,” she said.
The dream of a park became more real when the Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC) went from being an interim agency to a permanent state planning and regulatory entity in 1969. The commission’s landmark Bay Plan cited, to the joy of local environmentalists, the need for new shoreline parks, marinas, beaches, fishing piers, and pathways, especially in urban stretches where people live close to the water but are shut off from it. But city officials hungry for growth were initially dubious. So was the state parks system, which had little experience managing urban land and little interest in the complicated challenges of this particular polluted parcel. Even the East Bay Regional Park District was wary; while it already managed eight urban shoreline parks, officials thought the state should take the lead.
And there was this one big problem: landowner Santa Fe Railroad’s development ambitions. Although trains never ran here—there was only a rail spur, built with the expectation of industry that never materialized—Santa Fe owners knew it was valuable real estate. In one meeting, Santa Fe’s principal planner looked at the Bay and said, “‘See, it’s not being used,’” McLaughlin recalled. Her response: “I’m using it. I’m looking at it right now.”
A man and his dog relax at the tip of Point Isabel. (Photo by Najib Joe Hakim)
A turning point came in 1972 when the Berkeley City Council voted against building a regional shopping center on landfill. There was a second success when Santa Fe’s planned development in Emeryville—a “stilt city” of high-rises on wetlands—was rejected by BCDC. Santa Fe sued Berkeley over the shopping center, but in 1980 the state Supreme Court ruled against the company’s construction plans. The California State Park and Recreation Commission soon placed the shoreline park on its list of priority projects to fund. The state Coastal Conservancy issued an official East Bay Shoreline Report recommending establishment of an East Bay shoreline park and identified key lands for inclusion.
But then progress suddenly stalled. Republican George Deukmejian, who held no great love for the Bay Area, was elected governor in 1983. State Parks put the Eastshore park planning on a back burner. “They were always very polite and seemed to agree but nothing much happened,” says retired UC Berkeley adjunct professor of earth and environmental sciences Doris Sloan, a board member of CESP who joined the effort early. “Things just sort of collapsed, basically.”
Worried, the disparate groups of park advocates realized they needed to organize as a unified force, agree on a common strategy, seek grant funding, and elect more progressive civic leaders. A coalition called Save Our Shoreline was formed—the progenitor of today’s Citizens for East Shore Parks.
“We decided to keep pushing [in] other ways,” Cheasty says.
Santa Fe pressed forward with massive development plans along the shorelines of three cities. But after a decade of back-and-forth battles, Catellus, then the real estate subsidiary of Santa Fe, gave up in 1990 after losing court battles and elections in Emeryville, Berkeley, and Albany, concluding that it made more economic sense to sell its East Bay property than to keep fighting. “We built a juggernaut,” Cheasty says. “Support for the park had built to a crescendo. More and more people saw the rightness of the cause. At this point, there was major commitment from everywhere. Santa Fe realized the wisdom of getting out,” he adds. “We could finally tell developers: ‘Don’t even bother calling.’”
But how to pay for a park? Without the support of State Parks, the citizens couldn’t afford it, although that had begun to change in 1988 when voters approved two bond measures, one state and one regional, for a total of $40 million to acquire land for the Eastshore State Park. And who would manage it, if not State Parks? State Assemblyman Tom Bates led a unique legislative effort that gave the East Bay Regional Park District (EBRPD) the authority to act on behalf of the state and use the state’s funds to buy and run the park.
“I don’t think there is anything anywhere in a metro area in the United States where you have nine miles and six urban cities that are connected through a shoreline park like this,” says EBRPD General Manager Robert Doyle. “It’s an environmental justice issue. It’s a small miracle. But it really took a lot of effort and would not have been done without the park district being willing to step into a very difficult situation.” By 1992 the Emeryville Crescent, Albany Mudflats, and part of Hoffman Marsh had been purchased. But the prize acquisition came in 1998, when the park district bought the coveted acres encompassing the Berkeley Meadow, Brickyard Cove area, and North Basin Strip (together considered of greater value than the narrow shoreline parcels). Catellus wanted $80 million for the land, but ultimately settled for $27.5 million under the district’s threat of eminent domain.
“We spun garbage into gold,” said Bates at the park’s 2006 dedication ceremony.
Now the healing could begin.
Playing ball along the shore at the North Basin Strip. (Photo by Sally Rae Kimmel)
What does victory look like? You can find out during a visit to the park, where you’ll experience the results of a contentious two-year planning process wherein many disparate groups asserted, in good faith, their own visions of the park, culminating in the final plan in December 2002. The plan provides for a wide range of users—soccer clubs and Little Leaguers, kayakers and windsurfers, anglers and birdwatchers, dog lovers, and the Let It Be group, who loved the rebar, concrete and weeds—all brought together by CESP.
Environmentalists successfully argued that the park should receive designation as a state seashore rather than a recreation area. And recent revisions to regulations have strengthened protection of wetlands. “We thought public access to the Bay was a good thing, and back then there wasn’t any. It was measured in feet,” McLaughlin, who the park is named in honor of, noted at the dedication ceremony. “Today it’s measured in miles.”
Flying kites in the bayshore breeze at Cesar Chavez Park, owned by the city of Berkeley but close to the meadow. (Photo by Rick Lewis)
The Berkeley Meadow flanks the western terminus of University Avenue and marks the official entrance to the park with an expansive sign adorned with the image of a great egret. Just to the south, in the area called the Berkeley Brickyard, renovations of 31 acres tucked between Interstate 80 and the Bay are under way. Last year, large piles of soil that had been stored on the property for more than a decade were regraded and spread over the property; trails have been built. There are plans to plant grasses and native wildflowers this spring, followed by installation of a parking lot, interpretive display, picnic tables, new concession building, and a small service yard. Currently the Brickyard’s opening to the public is slated for winter of 2019.
The neighboring Berkeley Meadow’s reconstructed seasonal wetlands and coastal prairie are transected by two trails and protected by fencing. To build this meadow, EBRPD delivered truckloads of dirt from the construction of UC Berkeley’s Memorial Stadium, Oakland’s Kaiser Permanente building, and other projects, says Chris Barton, EBRPD’s environmental programs manager.
Historically, “there were a lot of seasonal wetlands here—pockets of perched water in upland areas,” Barton adds. “So to create the seasonal wetlands in the meadow, we took clay soils that collect rainfall and hold water over time.” The new meadow’s diversity of habitats—including dense willow forest, shrubs, open grasslands and deep standing water—attracts many kinds of birds, notes Douglas Bell, EBRPD wildlife program manager and a raptor specialist.
Song sparrows perch on fennel stalks. In the winter, look for yellow-rumped warblers. Northern harriers, white-tailed kites, and red-tailed hawks may be overhead. In standing water there might be ducks, greater yellowlegs, great blue herons, and great egrets. Small, round burrowing owls, mostly female, have been seen in the meadow, using ground squirrel holes for their homes. There’s even been a bobcat sighting in the area.
Farther north is a long landfill peninsula that juts out into the Bay. This peninsula, once open water, was created when asphalt, concrete, rebar, tile, brick, and household waste was dumped here between the 1960s and 1987. Now part of the park, the “neck” is being restored by the park district. It leads you toward the Albany Bulb, owned by the City of Albany and not yet managed as part of the park, and formerly home to a flourishing outlaw culture of artists and homeless people.
Visible in the water are crescent-shaped oyster-shell reefs and tide pools favored by nudibranchs, sea squirts, and other aquatic invertebrates. When the tide rolls in, the peninsula offers a great view of sea ducks like surf scoters and bufflehead, diving ducks like scaup and wigeons, and dabbling ducks like mallards and gadwalls. Cormorants perch on rocks, spreading their wings to dry.
The park concludes at Richmond’s Point Isabel (which USA Today dubbed one of the “10 Best Amazing Dog Parks”), a 23-acre off-leash canine mecca with paved trails and sweeping views of Mount Tamalpais and the Golden Gate Bridge. Nearby is 40-acre Hoffman Marsh, an intertidal salt marsh that is a remnant of the vast marshes and tidal flats that once ringed the Bay. The delta for the mouth of a creek that drains portions of Richmond and El Cerrito contains a complex channel system and upland vegetation where birds can roost, forage, and nest during high tide in a habitat now rare in the East Bay.
Someday, this kind of ribbon could be copied elsewhere along the Bay, creating a park that protects us from a threat early activists never imagined: climate change. “Buffer zones” of wetlands could defend against a rising sea level and storm surges. Setback lines for coastal development could prevent deaths and destruction of homes.
Then the shoreline we saved may end up saving us.
Lisa M. Krieger is a science writer at The Mercury News. How Nature Heals: Why East Bay Doctors Are Prescribing The Outdoors To People Of Color Doctors and experts also say there are too many barriers for communities of color to access parks. By Kathleen Richards @KathORichards
Photo By Sam Zide An East Bay physician prescribed an outdoors adventure in Alameda to Ana Muñoz and her daughters, Anahi and Raquel, earlier this month.
Ana Muñoz was having trouble sleeping. It was 2015, and she was living in a shelter with her two daughters after leaving an unhealthy relationship. Having immigrated from Mexico City a couple years earlier, Muñoz didn’t have a job, or any family or friends nearby. She didn’t understand the legal process. And, to complicate matters further, her eldest daughter, Anahi, who’s now 13, was preparing to have surgery. That’s when Muñoz got help from an unexpected source: her daughter’s pediatrician.
The prescription? Nature.
Every month for the past three years, pediatrician Nooshin Razani and her UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland colleagues have taken a group of patients and their families on a park outing, part of a program called Stay Healthy in Nature Everyday, or SHINE. It’s a collaborative effort between the hospital and the East Bay Regional Park District that aims to both improve the health of patients and their families while also encouraging awareness and usage of the green spaces in their backyard.
Muñoz said SHINE helped her reconnect with nature. “I forgot about what I enjoyed when I was a little one,” the 43-year-old said. Now, being in a park makes her feel “confident” and “optimistic,” she explained — and she loves seeing her daughters smiling, jumping, and running.
“I take that moment to forget everything,” Muñoz said on a recent Saturday, before a SHINE outing to Crab Cove in Alameda. “To see the green hills, to feel the fresh air — that makes me relaxed.”
There is scientific evidence to back up her experience. Razani says more than 400 studies have been conducted on the health benefits of nature, showing how it does everything from decrease stress levels to lower rates of chronic diseases. Even just living near green spaces has been associated with lower mortality rates.
In the last decade or so, park-prescription programs have spread worldwide in response to this mounting scientific evidence. Razani and her colleagues hope to add to it, having completed a first- ever trial that looks at how park prescriptions can impact stress and social isolation, the results of which are expected to be published soon.
“Communities should be immersed in nature. Nature should be like air,” Razani argued.
An obstacle, however, is that access to nature isn’t always equal. While people of color have the most to gain from being outdoors — because they suffer from higher rates of chronic disease than whites — their communities disproportionately lack green space or properly maintained, safe parks. Studies have also shown that the way parks are managed tends to alienate communities of color.
A 2007 report called “Access to Parkland: Environmental Justice at East Bay Parks” noted that, while the East Bay park district manages vast acreage in Alameda and Contra Costa counties — now more than 120,000 acres — the majority of this land is located in the hills, which are surrounded by affluent residents, and whose users tend to reflect those primarily white communities.
Could access to parks, or lack thereof, be responsible for health disparities? For Oakland residents, depending on your race and the ZIP code you live in, there can be as much as a 15-year difference in lifespan, according to a 2014 report by the Alameda County Public Health Department.
“Nature has the potential to be a low-cost, readily available resource for preventing and treating chronic illness, health inequity, and other things,” Razani said. (The SHINE programs costs $20,000 per year, paid for by the park district’s foundation.) And it’s not just the patients who would benefit. With skyrocketing health-care costs, and the bulk of health-care spending going to treat chronic medical conditions, park prescriptions make a lot of sense — and could change doctors, too.
Yes, social determinants such as poverty, racism, and discrimination contribute to health disparities, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But it’s also entirely possible that the lack of parks and trees in certain areas of the East Bay is in and of itself contributing to making people sick.
Science Of The Outdoors We don’t spend nearly as much time in nature as we should. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the average American spends just 7 percent of their life outdoors.
This sedentary lifestyle coincides with skyrocketing rates of obesity and chronic illnesses such as heart disease, cancer, and type-2 diabetes. The the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says half of American adults have a chronic disease, and one-quarter of them have two or more. And, as mentioned before, people of color are more likely to be sick. For example, Black people are 40 percent more likely than whites to have high blood pressure, and suffer from a 77 percent higher rate of diabetes. Hispanics and Asians also have higher rates of diabetes than whites (66 and 18 percent, respectively).
At the same time, we know more than ever that nature improves health, even when we’re physically inactive in it. Even as far back as 1984, a study by Roger Ulrich showed that patients recuperating from the same procedure in a hospital improved at a faster rate, and required fewer painkillers, when they had a view of a tree compared to those who had a view of a wall.
Razani described the vivid change that our bodies undergo when we interact with nature — specifically, when we enter tree cover. “Within minutes your breath rate is lower, your heart rate is slower, and your blood pressure decreases and then it plateaus,” she explained to a group of park and health agencies during a presentation at the Health Outdoors Forum last September. “You sweat less. Within 15 to 20 minutes you perform better on cognitive tests. Your concentration is what they call restored or reset. Children with ADHD have improved attention spans. Stress hormones are reduced, inflammatory markers are reduced, and glucose levels go down.”
And that’s not all. Exposure to nature is also associated with experiences of awe, which is defined as “a perception of fear and pleasure at the same time, and is correlated with the development of empathy, and with focus going from internal rumination to external, and has the long-term consequence of decreased anxiety and depression,” Razani continued.
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the average American spends just 7 percent of their life outdoors.
A study at UC Berkeley, which has yet to be published, has found that “nature-inspired curiosity” (incurred while whitewater rafting for one week) eased symptoms of PTSD among student veterans by as much as 30 percent. And research participants who reported feeling a greater sense of awe also said their relationships with family and friends improved.
Trees don’t even have to be alive to have a healing effect; according to a study published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health in 2015, just looking at photos of green spaces can help people recover from stress.
What is nature doing to us? While the exact mechanism is not fully understood, we do know that plants and trees give off phytoncides, airborne compounds that have antibacterial and antifungal properties. They help plants fight off pests and diseases, and when we breathe them in they appear to help boost our white blood cells, which are responsible for immune functioning. A 2007 study in Japan monitored the level of so-called “natural killer” cells, a type of white blood cell, in men who took two-hour walks in a forest over two days. The result: a 50-percent spike in natural-killer cell activity.
The fact that we only spend 7 percent of our time outdoors, then, has significant consequences for our physical and mental health. In his 2005 book Last Child in the Woods, author Richard Louv used the term “nature deficit disorder” to describe the human cost of alienation from nature. He says several factors have contributed to our lack of time spent outdoors, such as the excessive use of electronic devices, poor urban planning, disappearing open spaces, a failure by the education system to place importance on the natural world, increased traffic, and even parental fear of outdoor spaces.
Another major issue is that “doctors don’t think about parks as an ingredient in health,” according to Robert Zarr, a pediatrician at Unity Health Care in Washington, D.C. “It’s so focused on surgery. There’s very little focus on public health.”
Photo By Sam Zide According to Dr. Nooshin Razani, exposure to natural settings like the ocean and mountains reduces stress and the risk of suffering from a chronic disease.
A Doctor's Mission For Razani, nature is more than just a public health intervention: It’s personal. “I think my journey has been one of coming to terms with pain,” she said on a recent Thursday morning, walking on the Mills College campus.
She described how she was born in the United States, but moved to Iran when she was very young. This exposed her to village life filled with loving family members, as well as to a culture that is very nature-based.
But when she moved back to the United States at age 6, around the time of the Iran hostage crisis, she found herself straddling two worlds. “Looking for something common led me to look at the Earth,” she said. “When you are thinking, ‘Where do I belong?’ and ‘Which is my home?’ I think my conclusion was, ‘The whole thing is my home.’ I belong to the whole thing.”
A trip to Yosemite in the fifth grade and subsequent school outings nurtured her commitment to the natural world. In an interview with the Children in Nature Collaborative, she spoke of how “these early experiences provided a reservoir, a relationship with nature that helped sustain me through some of the traumas in life.”
About ten years ago, Razani experienced another trauma: Her brother died in the Iraq War. Once again, she sought healing through nature. “There was a period of time where all I could think about was planting trees and just trying to create resilience,” she said.
In a TEDx talk she gave last year, Razani talked about the intense loneliness she experienced as a mother, because it made her miss her family — aunts, grandmother, mother, and cousins — in Iran. “I felt so uprooted,” she said.
In her career, Razani gravitated toward infectious diseases, which was another connection to nature. She saw how malaria and other vector-borne illnesses were related to a disruption of the way human beings should be living. And through her kids, she understood how children have a natural affinity to nature. “For them, the barrier between inside and outside is less distinct,” she said.
She became a fellow in academic pediatrics at UCSF with a focus on nature and public health, and in 2009 was trained as a “nature champion” by the U.S. Bureau of Fish and Wildlife and the National Environmental Education Foundation, which instructs pediatric health-care providers around the country to prescribe nature and help other clinicians to do the same.
As part of her fellowship, Razani started a pilot park-prescription program in Bayview-Hunters Point, and helped found a Bay Area-wide collaborative called Healthy Parks Healthy People: Bay Area with other parks and public health agencies.
In 2012, the East Bay Regional Park District approached UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland about a potential partnership. Even though she was trained as a “nature champion,” Razani was skeptical of the park district’s idea. “Our response was a little bit, not negative, but we thought the concept was a little bit naive,” she said. “Because really getting people into nature, the problem is not that a doctor has never told them to do it. The problem is that they don’t have nature access, or they’re excluded from the outdoors because of racism.”
Carol Johnson, assistant general manager of public affairs for EBRPD, admitted she was unaware of the severity of the challenges facing the hospital’s low-income patients. “It was eye-opening for us to not have an understanding [that] sometimes people have to make a choice of whether they’re going to eat or take a bus to a medical appointment,” she said. “That floored us.”
At the hospital’s primary care clinic, more than 90 percent of the 12,000 patients are on Medi-Cal, meaning they are at or near the poverty line, according to the hospital’s communications director, Melinda Krigel. They come from diverse backgrounds as well: 12 languages are represented in the clinic.
It took a couple years for park officials and hospital staff to come up with a park-prescription program that would address barriers of race, income, and language. For starters, images and maps of parks were brought into the clinic. Razani asked park officials to provide transportation, food, and programming for the monthly park outings, and to allow the patients to bring their entire families.
“The program that has developed is one that’s really trying to get at those root causes of why people are not in nature,” Razani explained. It’s also one of the more unique park-prescription programs in that hospital staff actually accompany the patients to the parks. To date, Razani and her staff, including SHINE coordinator Maoya Alqassari, have taken patients and their families on 45 trips to parks around Oakland and the East Bay, the equivalent of about 900 total park visits. At an outing to Alameda’s Crab Cove earlier this month, Razani brought her family along, as well.
Razani hopes her study, which looked at the impact of the outings on both the child and the parent, will not only dispel myths about people of color and the outdoors, but also highlight a shortcoming in the current nature research world — the fact that most of the studies have been conducted on young white men.
“When you’re really talking about clinical medicine, you have to think about all the messy things that go into life,” she said. “And our system is a highly inequitable system, and it’s hard to get people the treatments, even if they’re proven to be correct.”
“Medicine is in a rut. You see that fatigue in the physicians themselves. They’re overworked and burnt out, so by changing what we do, we actually change who we are.”
Robert Zarr, a pediatrician at Unity Health Care in Washington, D.C., and leader of DC Park Prescription, which has trained some 300 health-care providers to prescribe nature to kids, says it’s important for doctors to have a relationship with their patients. “It’s all based on trust,” he said.
His program allows doctors to search for and prescribe a local park activity directly within a patient’s medical record. Zarr says the doctor and patient devise a treatment plan, say, play basketball for half an hour on Saturday evenings. “I write that down and hold them to that,” he explained. Then, he schedules a follow-up appointment in a month or two. “It’s another tool in our toolkit to help people be active and, even simpler than that, be outside,” he said.
Like the park-prescription program at the children’s hospital in Oakland, the program at Unity Health Care overwhelming serves low-income communities of color. While Zarr said prescribing parks isn’t limited to this demographic, “the people we serve are most likely to benefit from parks and have the most to gain.”
Zarr thinks park prescriptions should be expanding as quickly as possible, as they have the potential to be a sea change not just for patients, but also for the doctors and clinicians dispensing them.
“Medicine is in a rut,” he said. “We’re over-proceduralizing and over-medicating. You see that fatigue in the physicians themselves. They’re overworked and burnt out, so by changing what we do, we actually change who we are.”
Unequal Access Go to a national or state park on any given day, and you’re likely to see a lot of white faces. According to a survey conducted by the National Park Service in 2009, just 7 percent of park visitors are African-American, 9 percent are Hispanic, 3 percent are Asian, and 1 percent are American Indian or Alaskan.
Is it because people of color are less interested in the outdoors? According to research, the answer is no.
Nina Roberts, a professor at San Francisco State University in the department of recreation, parks and tourism, says that communities of color report significant barriers to visiting parks and public lands. They cite reasons such as feeling unwelcome, having trouble reading signs, and lacking transportation or money to pay for fees.
There’s also the matter of historical context. “Looking at the history of African-Americans, they didn’t spend time in the outdoors and in the wilderness for refuge and peace of mind and sanity and stress relief,” Roberts said. “It was a very different reason why they spent time in the outdoors.”
Among African-Americans who don’t visit parks, 16 percent cite safety as the reason, according to the aforementioned 2009 study. For Hispanics, that number is 24 percent. That compares to only 5 percent of whites.
Roberts said the “traditional Eurocentric structure” of park management may alienate communities of color. “They have a way of designing parks, a way of using parks and maintaining them without being inclusive of communities they’re trying to serve,” she said. “So communities see that — they can read between the lines and understand whether they are welcome there or not.”
At three SHINE outings, most of the parents interviewed had not been park visitors previously. They said proximity, lack of time, and lack of knowledge were some of the factors.
Golden Gate University School of Law professor Paul Stanton Kibel, who authored the 2007 report “Access to Parkland,” says people living in East Bay flatland neighborhoods may also lack cars to get to parks in the hills.
EBRPD spokesperson Carol Johnson did not provide data on park user demographics, however, she said park visitors have become more diverse in the past decade, both because of the growing immigrant population in the Bay Area and because the park district has improved its outreach to those communities.
Razani thinks it would help if park staff were more diverse themselves. “People working in parks would serve communities better if they’re from those communities, if they look like those communities, if they speak the languages communities speak, and if parks are very clearly designated hate-free zones because the world is mean, and it’s only getting meaner,” she said.
In recent years, there has been a movement by underrepresented groups in the outdoors to increase their visibility, including through nonprofits (Outdoor Afro, Latino Outdoors), hiking groups (Hiking Every Available Trail, or H.E.A.T.), books (Black and Brown Faces in Wild Places), media projects (TrailPosse.com), and social media accounts (@unlikelyhikers, @melaninbasecamp, @brownpeoplecamping). They are telling their own stories of connecting with nature, and advocating for greater diversity in parks at the same time.
The National Park Service has recognized the need to appeal to a broader base of park users. And last year’s centennial celebration offered an opportunity to restate their commitment to creating a more inclusive environment.
“The next 100 years, we figured out that what we need to do is connect all people to these 400-plus special places that we’ve been charged to care for,” Aaron Roth, former interim general superintendent of Golden Gate National Recreation Area, said at last year’s Health Outdoors Forum. “This is not necessarily a new idea, but we’ve now understood that it’s the most important thing to do in the next century of stewardship.”
Nevertheless, by all measures, the park-prescription program at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland has been a success. While Razani waits for her study to be published, she is already working on raising funds (with the help of the Sierra Club) for a study on teen girls, depression, anxiety, and wilderness outings. REI also gave UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland $200,000 to support its new Center for Nature and Health, which opened last April.
Razani acknowledges that nature can’t replace basic needs, such as having proper rest, nutrition, shelter, and access to quality medical care. But she says it’s an important part of healing. She hopes the children at her clinic can develop a close bond with nature, and she also recognizes the difficulty of that prospect when many of them are disenfranchised and marginalized.
Photo By Sam Zide
Raquel Muñoz at Crab Cove in Alameda.
At the outing to Crab Cove earlier this month, there was a mother newly arrived from Sudan who didn’t speak much English, a mother who was looking for activities for her autistic foster son, and a mother, Ana Muñoz, who was just happy to see the smiles on her daughters’ faces.
Muñoz now has full custody of her kids and a five-year restraining order against her former partner. She’s waiting to gain legal residency so she can move to Florida, where she has relatives. In the meantime, she has found a job cleaning houses and facilitates a women’s group.
Most importantly, she says she’s not afraid anymore.
After eating lunch and getting a quick tour from a park naturalist, the diverse group of about 40 parents and children headed down to the mud flats, where Razani helped Muñoz’s daughter, four- year-old Raquel, take off her socks and shoes so she could run around barefoot.
“This is my favorite part,” Razani said to Muñoz, as the children began scrambling down the beach toward the water. “It’s freedom, right?”
It wasn’t clear if she meant freedom for the children, or for the parents. Maybe it was both.
“Yes, it’s freedom,” Muñoz responded, smiling.
Then Raquel took off running toward the other children, toward the ocean.
Byron, California Byron Hot Springs Hotel A ruined hotel with an unlucky history and an eerie present
Stars at the Bryon Hotel
Side entrance.
Kitchen and maintenance wing.
It has been burned down and sold, rebuilt and re-purposed. But now it only exists as a crumbling skeleton–a respite only for the cattle which share its land on the side of an otherwise sleepy city of Byron, California. Given its history of glamour, combustion, and military use, it makes a lot of sense to try to restore the Byron Hot Springs Hotel. But given the condition of the structure, it makes no sense. The three-story building is gutted, vandalized, cracked and outdated. If dreams to return it to its former grandeur should be realized, if groves and gardens and springs and popularity among the elite should be restored, it would only make sense to knock it down and start over.As it is, the prevalence of cowpies on the bottom floor suggests who gets the most use out of the place. Cattle are also likely the only living thing to see you, save maybe some construction workers before you enter the private property. Visitors can find parking off-site and walk to the entrance of the Hot Springs road. Palms partially obscure a spray-painted sign reading “Danger - No Trespassing,” and a bent barbed-wire fence is at the entrance to the trail. About a half mile down the road, the first sign that you’re going to have fun is a tree stump painted with the words “Turn Back.” Far down the road is the structure, in which there are of course rooms, bathrooms, closets and staircases, all with their own graffiti and photo ops. The elevator shaft is missing an elevator, and the lobby, lined with sweeping staircases on each side, is flush with broken concrete. Many of the palm trees on one side of the hotel are severed near the base. No one has been keeping these littered, dumpy grounds for a long time, besides the cattle that graze nearby. Still, there is an unmistakable serenity to the place. The grass is green in the winter, and trees grow all around the property. Hills surround, topped with windmills. The property has changed hands and purposes more than Black Beauty. People and animals alike were attracted to the salt springs, and in 1863 the Risdon family filed for a land patent for 160 acres, with the hot springs on the center. Then it was bought by the Mead family, who made the place into a hotel in 1889, which only lasted until 1901 before burning down. A second hotel was built in 1901 and stayed up until 1912, when it was also destroyed by fire. The retreat attracted many wealthy people and celebrities for the “health benefits” of the hot, sulfurous waters that sprung from the ground. The third hotel was built in 1913 and closed in 1938 after lawsuits and the death of resort founder Lewis Mead. In 1941 the building became Camp Tracy, a WWII Interrogation camp for German and Japanese prisoners of war. This camp actually utilized cultural understanding, offered the prisoners access to the hot springs. Then it was sold to the Greek Orthodox church to be used as a Mission St. Paul, and then in 1956 it changed hands many more times. Different owners planned to restore the springs, but bankruptcy, politics, financial issues, illness, and more bankruptcy stifled all plans for development. Today, the property is owned by Stonecrest Investment Group, as part of the Coast Capital Income Fund, LLC. However, East Bay Park is currently in negotiations with East Bay Park to purchase the property and turn it into an ecological preserve and park.
ANTHONY KUKULICH Photo by Tony Kukulich Following the transition into fire season by CAL FIRE, the East Bay Regional Park District (EBRPD) is also transitioning and preparing for wildland fire season, effective May 15, in its 120,000 acres of parklands in the counties of Contra Costa and Alameda. “The East Bay Regional Park District has a major role in fire prevention and protection of park visitors, staff and natural and cultural resources,” said EBRPD Assistant Fire Chief Paul Cutino. “We have already had our first fire of the year, and our neighboring fire departments are experiencing an abnormally high number of fires. We need everyone to be alert and obey fire-danger restrictions in the parklands.” Park supervisors are working with local fire agencies to abate weeds as needed on parklands, and park staff members are creating and maintaining a defensible space around park structures, allowing firefighters to more safely defend them in the event of a wildfire. District staff is actively implementing a wildfire hazardous fuel reduction program to improve fire protection on parklands in the East Bay hills and other wildland urban interface areas, as guided by the board-approved Wildfire Hazard Reduction and Resource Management Plan. District fire crews, contract tree removal companies and even organized neighborhood groups are aiding in this effort. Cutino said this year’s winter rains promoted a heavy grass crop and abundant growth on brush and trees. Vegetation is drying earlier than normal and any late rains it will contribute to an already significant grass crop. Once these grasses cure, this fuel load could produce intense, fast-moving fires. This will be especially true on dry, windy days in areas where topography also contributes to fire spread. The heavier fuels, like brush, will soon be dry enough to burn actively, and the combination of heavy grass and brush will likely present a challenge to suppression capabilities. These fires will be especially worrisome when they move into dense forest stands. Torching trees launch burning embers high into the air, possibly igniting fires hundreds or thousands of yards down wind. “We need the public to be aware of fire danger, and to take action to help us protect people and parks this season,” said Cutino. “Many of our parks have signs with Smokey Bear and an adjective rating of the current fire danger. Or ask any park ranger.” Interim Fire Chief John Swanson also stated residents can take steps to reduce flammable brush and foliage around their homes. “Visit ebparks.org or contact your local fire department for tips on reducing fire risks,” said Swanson. The park district offers the following park fire safety recommendations: Be extra careful with fire. Of the roughly 6,000 California wildfires every year, more than 90 percent are caused by people. - Be prepared for the worst. Have a plan for gathering family members, pets and valuables in case an approaching wildfire requires evacuation. - Observe and obey the fire department warning signs and park restrictions. - Be alert and report any small fires immediately by calling 9-1-1. - While visiting local parks, use extra caution with charcoal and gas barbecues. Be sure to use your barbecue in a clear area, away from dry grass or brush. Make sure coals are cold before disposing of them. In some cases, parks may be closed due to fire danger, and everyone should comply to help prevent fires in our beautiful regional parks. For more information, visit www.ebparks.org/fireweather.
East Bay Regional Park District Announces Wildland Fire Season The East Bay Regional Park District is preparing for wildland fire season effective May 15 in its 120,000 acres of parklands. By Jamie Wilkins (Patch Staff) - May 8, 2017 6:48 am ET
From the East Bay Regional Park District: Following the transition into fire season by CAL FIRE, the East Bay Regional Park District is also transitioning and preparing for wildland fire season effective May 15, 2017 in its 120,000 acres of parklands in the counties of Contra Costa and Alameda. “The East Bay Regional Park District has a major role in fire prevention and protection of park visitors, staff and natural and cultural resources. We have already had our first fire of the year, and our neighboring fire departments are experiencing an abnormally high number of fires. We need everyone to be alert and obey fire danger restrictions in the parklands,” said EBRPD Assistant Fire Chief Paul Cutino. Park supervisors are working with local fire agencies to abate weeds as needed on parklands, and park staff are creating and maintaining a defensible space around park structures to allow firefighters to more safely defend them in the event of a wildfire. District staff are actively implementing a wildfire hazardous fuel reduction program to improve fire protection on parklands in the East Bay hills and other wildland urban interface areas, as guided by the Board-approved Wildfire Hazard Reduction and Resource Management Plan. District fire crews, contract tree removal companies and even organized neighborhood groups are aiding in this effort. Chief Cutino said this year’s winter rains promoted a heavy grass crop and abundant growth on brush and trees. Vegetation is drying earlier than normal and any late rains it will contribute to an already significant grass crop. Once these grasses cure, this fuel load could produce intense, fast-moving fires. This will be especially true on dry, windy days in areas where topography also contributes to fire spread. The heavier fuels, like brush, will soon be dry enough to burn actively, and the combination of heavy grass and brush will likely present a challenge to our suppression capabilities. These fires will be especially worrisome when they move into dense forest stands. Torching trees launch burning embers high into the air, possibly igniting fires hundreds or thousands of yards downwind. “We need the public to be aware of fire danger, and to take action to help us protect people and parks this season,” said Chief Cutino. “Many of our parks have signs with Smokey Bear and an adjective rating of the current fire danger. Or ask any park ranger.” “While our efforts to reduce the risk of severe wildfires are extensive, residents can take steps to reduce flammable brush and foliage around their homes too. Visit ebparks.org or contact your local fire department for tips on reducing fire risks,” added Interim Fire Chief John Swanson. The Park District offers these park fire safety recommendations:
Be extra careful with fire. Of the 6,000+ California wildfires every year, more than 90% are caused by people. Be prepared for the worst. Have a plan for gathering family members, pets and valuables in case an approaching wildfire requires evacuation. Observe and obey the Fire Department warning signs and park restrictions. Be alert and report any small fires immediately by calling 9-1-1. While visiting our parks use extra caution with charcoal and gas barbecues. Be sure to use your barbecue in a clear area, away from dry grass or brush. Make sure coals are cold before disposing of them.
In some cases, parks may be closed because of fire danger, and everyone should comply to help prevent fires in our beautiful regional parks. Visit here for more information. The East Bay Regional Park District is a system of beautiful public parks and trails in Alameda and Contra Costa counties east of San Francisco Bay, established in 1934. The system comprises 120,000 acres in 65 parks including over1,250 miles of trails for hiking, biking, horseback riding and nature learning.
Pleasanton Ridge: What a sight Spring in full swing at Augustin Bernal Community Park by Jeremy Walsh / Pleasanton Weekly
Uploaded: Thu, May 4, 2017, 1:55 pm
An oak tree near sunset along the Ridgeline Trail at the city of Pleasanton's Augustin Bernal Community Park on the Pleasanton Ridge. (Photo by Chuck Deckert)
The sun has been shining. The skies clearer. Flowers in bloom and natural grasses lush green. And more hikers, bikers and pooches -- not to mention, resident critters -- are turning out on trails that are starting to dry out after winter rains.
That's the scene you'll find these days at Augustin Bernal Community Park, the city's 237-acre public tract on the Pleasanton Ridge complete with miles of trails, a wealth of open space and some of the best views Pleasanton has to offer.
The city park, and its main staging area at 8200 Golden Eagle Way, are traditionally accessed through the main gate to the Golden Eagle Farm gated neighborhood, with all Pleasanton residents able to get into the park with valid proof of residency and non-residents able to get in with a city-issued pass.
Augustin Bernal trails also connect to the 5,271-acre Pleasanton Ridge Regional Park, managed by the East Bay Regional Park District. To spotlight the spring scene there, I recently joined local photographer and frequent Pleasanton Ridge hiker Chuck Deckert for a tour of the parkland the city refers to as its "natural jewel."
Check out our favorite photos from that tour, along with a few others Deckert has taken at the city park so far this spring. To learn more about Augustin Bernal Community Park, visit www.ptownlife.org/parks.
Editor's note: Longtime Pleasanton resident Chuck Deckert has been hiking on the Ridge for more than 30 years. He was also sworn in this week as the newest alternate on the city's Parks and Recreation Commission.
What to know before going camping Courtesy Metro Creative May 3, 2017
Press file photo. Camping is one of the most popular outdoor activities, and the East Bay Regional Park District offers a variety of outdoor experiences.
Comedian Jim Gaffigan often jokes that camping is a tradition in his wife’s family, but he’s what people would consider “indoorsy.” Gaffigan notes the idea of burning a couple vacation days sleeping on the ground outside isn’t his idea of fun, but the comic may be in the minority. Camping is one of the most popular outdoor recreational activities in North America. Statistica, a statistics resource, reports the revenue of campgrounds and RV parks was estimated at $5.8 billion in 2015. More than $2.5 billion was relegated to camping-equipment spending. Locally, the East Bay Regional Park District offers a wide variety of camping options. Family campsites are available for those interested in a traditional camping experience. Group camping locations are also available at eleven different parks throughout the East Bay. Camping takes many forms. Some purists equate camping to minimalistic survivalism – eking out an existence for a few days with nothing more than a tent, a single roll of toilet paper and a fishing pole. Others enjoy the creature comforts of home and would readily consider camping as something done from their climate-controlled RV. Camping ranges between sleeping under the open stars and ‘glamping’ – a style of camping with amenities and potentially resort-style services. No matter how one defines camping, information is the key to becoming the proverbial “happy camper.” The following list is a general starting-off point for planning a camping adventure:
Not all campsites are equal When choosing a campsite, seek an area that offers the amenities you desire. Popular places like lakeside spots or those close to trails tend to book up early. Also consider proximity to bathrooms, showers and ingress and egress spots. People who desire solitude will pick different campsites in comparison to those who want to be near the family action. Choose a tent for the weather Supplies will differ depending on the temperatures when you plan to camp. Select a tent with a sun- protection sealant to prolong its longevity. Opt for a location with partial afternoon shade to keep the campsite and tent cool. Face the tent door into the wind for a breeze – and also to keep mosquitoes from camping alongside you. Speak with a camping-supply retailer about your camping needs. Bring along low-salt, high-protein snacks Low-salt, high-protein snacks will keep you fueled for day trips along the trails, without making you thirsty. Dried berries and high-fiber trail mixes can also keep energy levels up. Invest in an insulating pad
A good insulating pad will keep you comfortable when sleeping on the ground. Such a pad will also serve as an extra moisture barrier and help keep you warm or cool. Use the moon If this is your first time camping, schedule the night out to coincide with a full moon. There will be extra light at night to chase away any fears and make navigating a bit easier. Be an early bird To see wildlife, hit the trails as early as possible. Early morning hours also are cooler for working. Remember that camping involves getting in touch with nature. Leave the campsite how you found it, taking trash along with you. For more information about East Bay camping options, call 1-888-327-2757 or visit http://www.ebparks.org/.
Vargas Plateau Regional Park to reopen May 15
Locks are seen at the entrance gate to the parking lot at Vargas Plateau Regional Park in Fremont. The park has been closed due to a lawsuit since July, but will reopen on May 15, 2017, according to the East Bay Regional Park District. Photo by Joseph Geha.
By Joseph Geha | [email protected] | Bay Area News Group
PUBLISHED: May 2, 2017 at 8:12 pm | UPDATED: May 3, 2017 at 12:19 pm Vargas Plateau Regional Park in Fremont will reopen to the public May 15, roughly 10 months after it was ordered shut by an Alameda County judge, the East Bay Regional Park District announced Tuesday. The announcement came after a settlement was reached last week between the park district and two park neighbors who sued to close Vargas Plateau. The 1,249-acre park in the hills above Fremont has been closed since mid-July when real estate developer Jack W. Balch and CMG Financial president and CEO Christopher M. George alleged in their suit that some improvements to the main road leading to Vargas Plateau — promised in a 2012 legal settlement — were not completed before the long- awaited park opened in May. Superior Court Judge Frank Roesch agreed with the plaintiffs and ordered the gates closed to visitors, marking the first time in the district’s 80-years-plus history that one of its parks had been shut by a court order. “The letdown was tremendous,” Dennis Waespi, a parks district board director whose jurisdiction includes Vargas Plateau, said of the unprecedented closure last year. The district had spent $7.2 million since 1993 to acquire various parcels that make up Vargas Plateau and about $1.1 million to install a parking lot and signs for the park and fix up a water tower. “All the anticipation was there,” Waespi said. “It was a beautiful park, just some of the best views,” he added, recalling the few trips he took to Vargas Plateau while it was briefly open. The long legal dispute began in 2008 when Balch and George sued over potential parking and traffic issues associated with the planned park, leading to the 2012 settlement in which the district agreed to make some improvements. The men sued again last May over what they said were insufficient upgrades to Vargas Road, resulting in the months-long closure. The district said the most recent work done as part of the latest settlement agreement included expanding and paving portions of the shoulder of Vargas Road. The roughly $90,000 worth of work was managed by the city of Fremont and paid for with Measure WW park district bond funds allocated to the city. The district said it also agreed to construct a vehicle turn-around on upper Morrison Canyon Road, which is near Vargas Plateau’s parking lot. Park district spokeswoman Carol Johnson said the lower access gate to the park, off Morrison Canyon Road, will also be reopened on May 15 for pedestrians, bicyclists and horse riders. Over the past several months, residents and access advocates spoke out at park district board meetings, Fremont City Council meetings and community gatherings with park representatives to voice their displeasure over the park’s closure. Some residents had suggested the district allow pedestrians and bicyclists to enter the park from other streets besides Vargas Road. But the district said that wouldn’t fly because partially opening Vargas Plateau would favor those living closest, undermining its mission of providing “access for all.” Waespi credits the community for continuing to make its thoughts known to both government officials and the plaintiffs and push for the park’s reopening. “It needed to be opened,” Waespi said. Park district general manager Robert Doyle said in a written statement, “The public has waited a long time for access to this park, and we are appreciative for the patience many people have shown.” Vargas Plateau Regional Park is accessible via Interstate 680 to Vargas Road; the park district recommends carpooling because the parking lot has limited spaces.
Sharks Are Dying By the Hundreds in San Francisco Bay by Eric Simons on May 02, 2017
A dying leopard shark on the beach in Foster City on April 26, 2017. (Photo courtesy Mark Okihiro, California Department of Fish and Wildlife)
Hundreds of leopard sharks and bat rays have washed up dead or dying on the San Francisco Bay shoreline this spring, the second year in a row of mass elasmobranch death in the Bay and the third major die-off in the last six years. But for the first time since an unusual shark stranding was first reported in the East Bay a half-century ago, scientists say they’re close to an explanation. “I look at it as a 50-year-old shark murder mystery, and we are hopefully closing in on the killer,” said California Department of Fish and Wildlife senior fish pathologist Mark Okihiro, who has led the stranding investigation. The 2017 die-off started in mid-March and has been concentrated around Foster City and Redwood City, with additional reports from Hayward, Berkeley, Oakland, and San Francisco. Okihiro, who is based in Southern California, hiked five miles of shoreline around Foster City in the last week of April and found 24 dead or dying leopard sharks and two dead rays. The event is ongoing and appears to be “heating up some,” he wrote in an email this week. “It’s the dead shark capital of California,” said Sean Van Sommeran, the executive director of the Pelagic Shark Research Foundation (PSRF) in Monterey, which tracks strandings. “It’s major major major.”
A map of reported shark strandings in the San Francisco Bay in 2017, created by volunteer Joe Flowers at the Pelagic Shark Research Foundation. (Map courtesy PSRF)
Shark die-offs have occurred in the Bay going back to at least 1967, when then-East Bay Regional Park District naturalist Ron Russo reported the deaths of more than 725 sharks and rays on the Alameda shoreline over two summer months. More recently, Van Sommeran says, there were big die-offs reported in the South Bay between 2002-2006. The next major event came in spring 2011, when PSRF tracked several dozen deaths in Foster City, San Mateo, Sausalito and Mill Valley. The timing of the most recent outbreaks offers a clue to the cause, Okihiro said: leopard sharks come together to spawn in shallow water in the spring and early summer, exposing them to more toxins than they’d see in the deeper parts of the Bay where they spend most of the rest of the year. The problem, though, has been in figuring out exactly where and when the die-offs were happening, the necessary first step to figuring out why they were happening. “No one’s looking at it consistently,” Okihiro said. “It’s not like we could plot out, there were 2,000 leopard sharks that died in 2011 versus 250 in 2012. There is no one with the job of tabulating leopard shark and bat ray death. We’re doing this all on the fly, on a shoestring.”
Dead and dying leopard sharks and bat rays on the beach near Foster City. (Photo courtesy Mark Okihiro, California Department of Fish and Wildlife)
In 2016, Van Sommeran said, a new die-off caught researchers off-guard. This year Van Sommeran’s PSRF team caught wind of the strandings as they started, and so were able to map them as they happened and ship fresh sharks to Okihiro to examine. Okihiro performed necropsies on 26 sharks in April, including what he labeled the “patient zero” for this die-off, a leopard shark recovered from a beach near the San Francisco Airport by a California Fish and Wildlife warden on April 9. That shark, and another one collected a few days later, had signs of a brain infection that had caused them to become disoriented and swim onto shore. So did seven more sharks that Okihiro necropsied after his shoreline walk in late April. With meningitis established as a cause of death, Okihiro next took samples from tissues and fluid around the sharks’ brains, and isolated a set of still-unidentified fungal pathogens that he thinks infected and killed them. How the pathogens might have made it into the sharks’ brains in the first place says a lot about the complicated modern Bay. Two centuries of development and fill means that most of the flow of water along the bayshore is controlled — in flood control channels, managed wildlife ponds, and man-made lagoons like the ones surrounding the houses in Foster City. That often stagnant water has become, Okihiro said, like a “giant broth culture” for fungi, and when the water conditions are right the fungal pathogens go nuts and “explode into billions of infective particles in the water column.” Big rain events then push a toxic plume of pathogens out into the wider Bay — just as large groups of the sharks are coming into shallow water to spawn. The pathogens, Okihiro said, seem to enter through the sharks’ ears or nose, and then travel up a set of ducts into the brain — a pathway recently uncovered by Long Beach State shark biologist Chris Lowe.
A photo of the unidentified fungal pathogen from the brain of a dead leopard shark, which California Department of Fish and Wildlife pathologist Mark Okihiro took from the shark’s brain and grew in the lab. (Photo courtesy Mark Okihiro, California Department of Fish and Wildlife)
Van Sommeran said he thinks the sharks and rays are also harmed by poorly designed tidal gates around the Bay, which were built to control the flow of water around urban areas. Particularly in Redwood Shores and Foster City, he said, tidal gates close in anticipation of rain (to keep tide water out so ponds and canals can absorb runoff rainwater and houses don’t flood) — but in doing so, they can trap sharks and rays in stagnant and increasingly toxic water. “It’s like a tourniquet,” Van Sommeran said. “The pH gets off, dissolved oxygen diminishes, temperature and salinity skyrocket and the sharks begin to die within a day or two. Then when the backwash of urban and suburban runoff fills in, it’s just nasty. The sharks are getting all kinds of infections.” Jared Underwood, a refuge manager at the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge, said in an email the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has installed fish screens on its tidal gates in the refuge to avoid trapping animals, and that the refuge has not received any reports of shark or ray strandings this year. Leopard sharks are the most common shark in the Bay, and are frequently spotted in shallow coastal waters from Baja to southern Oregon. Like many sharks, they’re long-lived and slow- growing, making mass mortality events particularly concerning for shark researchers. “They’re beautiful sharks, they’re kind of a signature species of California and San Francisco Bay in particular,” Van Sommeran said. “Leopard sharks, in the big picture, are vastly diminished from like the 1950s. They used to be typically 5-6 feet long, and common. It’s hard to find one 4 feet long now.” Strandings probably represent a fraction of the sharks that have actually died, since sharks that die in open water simply sink. Even those that do wash up onto beaches, though, don’t find their way to wildlife officials. Well-intentioned onlookers often try to push sharks back into the water in an attempt to revive them — assuring, Okihiro said, that the shark swims off to die elsewhere. “Everybody wants to save the sharks,” he said. “But we can say with 99.9 percent certainty that the shark is on the beach because it’s infected and dying. Pushing it out to sea just means we don’t get a chance to examine it. We don’t get a chance to know what killed it.” Strandings also aren’t always reported, Van Sommeran and Okihiro said, but if they are it’s often to The Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito, which then forwards the calls to PSRF in Monterey. (A TMMC spokesperson confirmed that it forwards the calls, but doesn’t track how many it gets.) Seven weeks into trying to track this year’s die-off, Van Sommeran said he’s stretched thin every volunteer he has and is running on fumes. “I’m down here in Monterey Bay,” Van Sommeran said. “We were responding daily for the first four weeks of it. I’m driving an ‘85 Nissan sedan, but it’s in the shop now. It’s been a disaster.” If you see a stranded or dying shark anywhere in California, call or text the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s CalTIP hotline. You can also report strandings to the Pelagic Shark Research Foundation. Or take a picture and upload it to iNaturalist, where it can be added to a project tracking leopard sharks and bat rays around the Bay.
Community News Crowd turns out for Albany’s Earth Day cleanup
A crowd of about 140 people turned out at the Albany Bulb and beach on Earth Day to clean up the shoreline. (Courtesy of Sharon Gibbons)
By From Staff Reports | Bay Area News Group
May 2, 2017 at 8:27 am ALBANY — Approximately 140 people volunteered at the Albany Bulb and the beach on Earth Day to clean up litter, dropped by people using the park or washed up on the shoreline, according to Sharon Gibbons. Families, dog walkers, and student groups walked the trails to hunt for trash or chose a spot on the beach to sift beach sand for small pieces of plastic. Hosted by The Watershed Project, this annual event attracts local residents and volunteers enjoying the park for the first time. The Watershed Project, in partnership with the City of Albany and the East Bay Regional Park District, provided gloves, buckets, bags and snacks. The volunteers collected at least three cubic feet of trash and several bins of recycling. Much of the trash was made up of tiny pieces of plastic. The Watershed Project works to promote a greater appreciation for San Francisco Bay through hands-on experiences of cleaning up the park and seeing the impact of trash ending up in the natural environment.
Around San Ramon: Knights of Columbus honor firefighters, police
Tri-Valley Knights of Columbus
The Tri-Valley Knights of Columbus recently hosted the 24th annual Red, Blue and Gold Banquet at the Blackhawk Country Club. Several honorees from area law enforcement agencies and fire departments were recognized for their service. By Monica Lander |
PUBLISHED: April 28, 2017 at 6:15 am | UPDATED: April 28, 2017 at 6:59 am Local law enforcement officers and firefighters were honored recently for their outstanding performance and for being “the heroes that keep our homes and communities safe.” The Tri-Valley Knights of Columbus hosted the 24th annual Red, Blue and Gold Banquet at the Blackhawk Country Club. Fifteen honorees were recognized for their service including San Ramon Firefighter Brian Olson and San Ramon Police Officer Jarred Pereira. Rich Schiffer, Faithful Navigator, or CEO of the Knights of Columbus Holy Spirit Assembly #1979 in Danville, said each of the agencies nominate an honoree and they are “selected by their peers in their respective departments.” Additionally, each department has its own criteria for the recognition. About 320 guests attended the event including Knights from San Ramon, Dublin, Danville, Pleasanton and Livermore. Radio personality Don Bleu was the master of ceremonies, and Union City Police Chief Darryl McAllister was the keynote speaker. Honorees also included Officer Carl Somers, Danville Police Department; Detective Alan Corpuz, Dublin Police Services; Fire Engineer Gregg Stanford, Livermore-Pleasanton Fire Department; Officer Dan Cabral, Livermore Police Department; Sergeant Jason Hunter, Pleasanton Police Department; Officer Ryland MacFadyen, East Bay Regional Park District Police Department; Capt. James Morris, Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office; Cpl. Tim Allen, Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office; Officer John Nguyen, California Highway Patrol, Capt. Jim Taranto, Alameda County District Attorney’s Office; Capt. Matthew Portteus, Alameda County Fire Department; and Deputy Nicholas L. Paxton and Lt. Paul Liskey, Alameda County Sheriff’s Department. Born and raised in San Ramon, Firefighter Brian Olson toured the San Ramon Fire Protection District’s Station 39 as a young child and knew he wanted to be a firefighter in his hometown. After achieving an Associate of Science degree in fire service technology and a Bachelor of Arts degree in legal studies/public policy, he volunteered in several capacities for the San Ramon department and was hired by the San Rafael Fire Department, where he worked until 2011, when he was finally hired as a firefighter paramedic in San Ramon. He was always motivated by challenges and helping people in the community, and he was honored because his “desire to give back never waned.” Officer Jarred Pereira was hired by the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office in 2012 following his graduation from Sacramento State with a degree in criminal justice. He joined the San Ramon Police Department in 2014 and is called “the cream of the crop” working the Patrol Division and as a member of the department’s SWAT team. As a member of a regional DEA task force, Pereira’s relentless dedication to a 10-month investigation up and down the state resulted in the uncovering of a major drug trafficking organization that stretched as far south as Mexico and the indictment of 23 of its members. Senior fair: The Annual Senior and Community Live Well Resource Fair will be held at the Alcosta Senior and Community Center from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. May 13. Seniors, families, caregivers and friends are invited to begin the celebration with a pancake breakfast hosted and cooked by members of the San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. From 8:30 to 11:30, vendors will exhibit information about health, exercise, travel, finance, health care, housing, safety, transportation and more. Several health screenings will also be available. A special presentation will be held from 11:30 to 12:30. Door prizes will be awarded throughout the day, and you must be present to win. The Alcosta Senior and Community Center is located at 9300 Alcosta Blvd.
Spreading the joy of nature, area hikes By Spud Hilton Published 2:36 pm, Thursday, April 27, 2017
Rue Mapp, the founder of Outdoor Afro, hits the trail in easily accessible
Joaquin Miller Park in Oakland to get her weekly giant-redwood fix.
Photo: Natasha Dangond, The Chronicle
When she started with a modest blog in 2009, Rue Mapp knew the goals she had set were not going to be easy: Help African Americans connect with each other and, more to the point, connect them with the outdoors. But the modest blog turned into Outdoor Afro (www.outdoorafro.com), a network of 60 trip leaders in 28 states and more than 12,000 members. The organization schedules and operates trips and activities on public lands — from regional open space to national parks — for groups of people of color, a demographic that is underrepresented among visitors to protected parks. “So much of how I became who I am is because of nature,” Mapp said in an interview last year. “There are lessons that nature taught me that I wouldn’t have learned anywhere else.” It helps that she had as a classroom the Northern California region, which is particularly rich with protected parks and natural wonders. What follows are a few of Mapp’s favorite spots for connecting with nature, as well as tips for getting the best experience. A few favorites Samuel P. Taylor State Park, Marin: “This popular site has interpretation programming in the summer, an accessible creek for cooling off under redwoods in the summer, with many trails for biking and hiking that surround the camp. Site spaces are generous, appointed with the right amount of privacy and community feel.” Pro tip: Try to reserve a campsite on the creekside. Leona Canyon York Trail: Mapp says this is one of her favorite local trails. “This beauty is very short, but challenging in parts, with some scrambling. Views include lovely, rushing waterfalls and a panoramic view of the bay from the East Oakland hills at the summit.” Pro tip: Ideal for older youths and more experienced hikers. Joaquin Miller Park: “I don’t know what my life would be like without redwoods, so I visit the Oakland Parks and Recreation’s own Joaquin Miller Park for my weekly dose of these West Coast beauties.” Pro tip: Parking is easy and free along the many trailheads on either Skyline Boulevard or Joaquin Miller Road. Point Pinole Regional Park: “This is a favorite along the Richmond shoreline with trails that catch the bay breeze and stunning views of the San Pablo Bay. Dogs are welcome here, and it’s a great place for the entire family for hiking and picnics.” Parking is only $3 and plentiful. Pro tip: Bring binoculars to catch some of the most incredible birding along the Pacific flyway, and especially near the vernal pools found in the spring.
— Spud Hilton, [email protected]
New Richmond shoreline area ‘rivals Crissy Field’
April 26, 2017
The Trails for Richmond Action Committee (TRAC) on Wednesday released an 8-photo slide show revealing a stunning new segment of the Bay Trail that winds through the newly restored and dedicated Dotson Family Marsh at Point Pinole Regional Shoreline.
The trail opened Saturday with a celebration hosted by East Bay Regional Park District, which also dedicated Atlas Road Bridge, a new entry point to Point Pinole Regional Shoreline from the Hilltop District.
“With dramatic views of Point Pinole and sweeping vistas across San Pablo Bay to Mt. Tamalpais, [the area] rivals Crissy Field,” according to TRAC.
Also here’s a good tip: The quietest time to visit is Monday, Tuesday or Thursday, when the firing range is closed at nearby Richmond Rod & Gun Club.
For more information about the evolving Bay Trail on Richmond’s northern shoreline, go to TRAC’s website here. A recap of Oakley's Science Week
Apr 27, 2017
Photo courtesy of City of Oakley. Birds of prey are a popular sight at Oakley Science Week. The annual event offers a free series of workshops for students and families.
Oakley’s Annual Science Week wrapped up after eight days of exciting science-related activities and workshops.
This popular program would not be possible without the support of the city’s partners, which host and facilitate programs, including the East Bay Regional Park District, Delta Science Center, Friends of Marsh Creek, Ironhouse Sanitary District, the Oakley Youth Advisory Council and the city’s newest partner, the Freedom High School STEM Academy.
More than 1,200 people attended to see live reptiles and raptors. Participants learned how to build a kite, make ice cream and bottle rockets and how to write code to make video games. Participants learned about their community’s waterways, including Marsh Creek and the Delta. They also got familiar with water conservation, water treatment and the hazards of pollution.