Photo of San Francisco’s Wild Turkey on Mount Davidson – by Tim Cashman

April 12, 2013 3 Comments

wild turkey in SF - edited from photograph by Tim Cashman

Wild Turkey on Mount Davidson in San Francisco – edited from photo by Tim Cashman

Tim Cashman got photographs of San Francisco’s wild turkey, the same one Jacquie and Ron Proctor saw on March 30th 2013.  Here’s his account and the photographs (printed with permission):

Wild turkey San Francisco - photo by Tim Cashman

Wild turkey San Francisco – photo by Tim Cashman

“I was working at my computer when something large and black flew across the large picture window we have that looks directly west. Nothing unusual here as large crows fly by often. A moment later came a commotion on our rooftop, two stories above, that sounded like two animals in the midst of a fierce fight. When I stood up to go upstairs and see what was going on, a large bird like creature flew off the roof, beating its wings ferociously. I at first thought it was a hawk, but a hawk is graceful and this was not. It alighted in my neighbor’s tree and sat very still. It was only when it finally turned in silhouette that I could see it was a wild turkey. It was still in the same spot about a half hour later when I left. I’m familiar with wild turkeys as I play golf frequently at a course in Marin County that is loaded with them. “

Wild turkey San Francisco by Tim Cashman

Another view of the San Francisco Wild turkey by Tim Cashman

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Wild Turkey On Mount Davidson

April 7, 2013 1 Comment

Wild turkey in Marin

“For you wildlife watchers, I just saw a wild turkey cross the north trail on Mt. D today,” wrote Jacqueline Proctor.  “He flew off toward Glen Canyon when we tried to get a better look and picture. I have never seen one up there before or heard of them being in SF for that matter.”

Neither had the birders on the Yahoo Birds list. They wanted to know more. Jacquie confirmed the sighting: March 30th, around 1 p.m.  But there were no pictures. (The picture here is of a wild turkey in Marin county, not the bird that Jacquie saw.)

Then, the Westside Observer carried a grayscale photograph of  the Mount D turkey, submitted by Kay Curry [bottom of page 8]. And someone else said a lone male turkey had been seen hanging out on Potrero Hill.

If anyone sends us photographs of San Francisco’s wild turkeys, we’d be happy to publish them here. [We did. Thanks, Tim Cashman!]

Meanwhile, it looks like there’s a new addition to San Francisco’s wildlife.

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Mt Davidson’s Memorial for the Newtown Children

December 28, 2012 1 Comment

Twenty-six white crosses stand beside the Murdered Tree on Mount Davidson,  a memorial to the children and the adults killed by a crazed young  man in the heartbreaking tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown. We don’t know who put it there, but it’s a moving tribute on the brow of the hill.

Newtown Memorial on Mt Davidson, San Francisco

Rest in peace, children. Rest in peace, Charlotte Bacon, Daniel Barden, Olivia Engel, Josephine Gay, Dylan Hockley, Madeleine Hsu, Catherine Hubbard, Chase Kowalski, Jesse Lewis, Ana Marquez-Greene, James Mattioli, Grace McDonnell, Emilie Parker, Jack Pinto, Noah Pozner, Caroline Previdi, Jessica Rekos, Avielle Richman, Benjamin Wheeler, and Allison Wyatt.

MtD_Memorial_07

And rest in peace those who died defending the children in their care:

Teachers Lauren Rousseau and Victoria Leigh Soto; teacher’s aides Rachel D’Avino, and Anne Marie Murphy; principal Dawn Hochsprung; and school psychologist Mary Sherlach. Rest in peace.

Mount Davidson Memorial crosses for Sandy Hook Elementary

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Inserting Endangered Manzanita in City Parks – A Call to Action

October 7, 2012 1 Comment

Recently, the Franciscan Manzanita has been declared an endangered species. Though readily available in plant nurseries, it does not exist in the wild. One specimen was found on Doyle Drive during the reconstruction work there, and has now been declared endangered. There are plans to designate certain areas as “critical habitat” for this plant, including Glen Canyon, Mount Davidson, Bayview Hill, and Bernal Heights. SFForest provided general information earlier when the proposed rule was first issued:  HERE

After additional review, we noted the Federal Registry says “We have not proposed to exclude any areas from critical habitat, but the Secretary is considering exercising his discretion to exclude areas within the Presidio and City or County Park Lands from final critical habitat designation.”  We need to tell the Federal government that city park land and forests are already scarce and are critical to the health and well-being of the second densest city in the country as well as the wildlife within the parks.

IS IT EVEN VIABLE IN THE WILD?

We have concerns about introducing the “2009 Doyle Drive” Franciscan Manzanita in the “wild” (actually, city parks):

  • The Franciscan Manzanita is not propagating naturally from seed and even if it did it would likely hybridize with other non-Franciscan Manzanita, nullifying the hybrid off-springs as Franciscan Manzanita.  (Crazy and unnatural to only value species variations from 300 years ago.)
  • A clone of the “Doyle Drive” Manzanita found in the “wild” (i.e., the Highway 101 shoulder) in 2009 is labeled as being a hybrid at Tilden Botanical Gardens.   This Manzanita is highly protected and controlled and this 2009 roadside plant discovery is what is in the process of being designated as an endangered species.
  • Exact clones, not hybrids, of the Franciscan Manzanita relocated from Laurel Hill Cemetery in the 1930s are readily available for sale and are grown in home gardens.  Tilden has a nursery sale every Thursday. We were able to acquire a specimen for $6.
  • The Franciscan Manzanita is only known to have ever existed at four locations: Laurel Hill Cemetery, Mount Davidson, Masonic Cemetery, and Doyle Drive.  According to Wikipedia, “there are 106 species of Manzanita, 95 of which are found in the Mediterranean climate and colder mountainous regions of California, ranging from ground-hugging coastal and mountain species to small trees up to 20 feet (6m) tall.”  The Manzanita adapts to unique locations and the San Francisco environment today is quite different than 300 years ago making it unlikely the species can actually survive in the “wild” of urban San Francisco.

If limited Fish and Wildlife Service funds and resources are shifted from other vulnerable and higher priority endangered species this will be detrimental to other species at risk.   The Franciscan Manzanita has probably always been a weak competitor and never a keystone species.  We wonder why it should be introduced to 318 acres where it is not known to ever have existed and where it is not known to have a significant ecosystem function?  The efforts to introduce the species could in fact be detrimental to the existing healthy ecosystems.

IMPACTS ON THE CITY PARKS

City parks are for the residents of the city, especially in San Francisco, which has the second densest population in the country. We don’t have enough open space for all the recreation needs of city residents as it is. We cannot afford to lose huge swaths of this precious resource to become a Manzanita garden.  Rec & Park in the process of decommissioning about 66% of the Twin Peaks hiking trails to protect the endangered Mission Blue Butterfly critical habitat even though there is no evidence that the trails are significantly harmful to the butterfly’s recovery.

Extreme activists could sue if the city does not completely close off the critical habitat to all park visitors to “protect” the Manzanita once they are planted there.  Activists are already suing the city over non-critical habitat for the California Red-Legged Frog and attempting to shutdown Sharp Park even though the frog population is healthy at Sharp Park.  History is a guide to future behavior.

This has been described as in essence a federal land grab of city parkland — the federal government demanding that SF take its parkland away from use by the people who live here (and in some cases, like Bernal Hill, heavy use by the people) and turn it over to a single purpose — a Manzanita garden. There is NO reason to plant endangered species in city parks.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

It’s important for people who care to write in to stop scarce city parks from becoming protected Manzanita gardens. Public Comments are being accepted until November 5, and we’ve drafted a general public comment to get you started.

Postmark or send electronically by November 5, 2012. 

It is best to submit your own personal public comment but if that is not possible then please submit our standard comment opposing designating city parks as “critical habitat” for the Franciscan Manzanita. (Below the map.) Please also consider encouraging others to sign and submit a comment.

Federal Register with Proposed Rule:  http://tinyurl.com/FWSFranciscanManzanita

To send electronically:

  1. Go to the Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
  2. In the Search box, enter Docket No. FWS-R8-ES-2012-0067, which is the docket number for this rulemaking.
  3. Then, click on the Search button to locate this document.
  4. You may submit a comment by clicking on “Comment Now!”

DRAFT COMMENT FOR CONSIDERATION

You can either attach a letter file with your comment or type a short comment (<=2000 characters).  Here is a short draft public comment that can be quickly posted in their “Type Comment” box:   Here is a draft public comment for consideration:

I am specifically requesting that popular recreation areas and forests be excluded from the critical habitat designation for the Franciscan Manzanita.   The proposed critical habitat identified at Bernal Hill, Glen Canyon Park (labeled Diamond Heights), Mount Davidson, Corona Heights, and Bayview Hill is not “unoccupied” as stated in the proposal. These sites have popular hiking trails that are important for the health and well-being of local residents that use these parks on a daily basis. These areas have also been identified by Rec & Park as important bird habitat and conversion to a Manzanita critical habitat could be detrimental to wildlife that depends on these areas. The designation may also lead to unnecessary conflict with the local communities that have used these popular nature areas for generations.

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In Mt Davidson’s Forest

August 22, 2012 Leave a comment

We found a recent video by artist and photographer Lori D’Ambrosio , a self-portrait in the forest on Mt Davidson. This one’s mysterious and scary, with eerie music she composed for it…

Lori D’Ambrosio on Mt Davidson, San Francisco

This forest inspires artists, photographers, and people who want to just walk through it in awe. Why do they want to fell 1600 trees in this special place?

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Mt Davidson Chirps: The Pink Umbrella

July 25, 2012 Leave a comment

Umbrella for rain or shine

We received this letter recently from a foggy-day visitor to Mount Davidson. It’s published with permission.

After many visits to Mt Davidson, I’m still amazed at how it rains inside the forest even on some sunny days, and creeks run down the trails leading up to the dry, sandy grasslands on the other side. This time, someone had a vibrant pink umbrella to block the rain in the forest – and the sun in the grasslands. It was surreal.

I wish there was a way to capture the raining forest — with the tinkle of creeks, patter of raindrops, and chatter of birds — for those that don’t know Mt Davidson. The forest feels spiritual almost as if it is trying to renew life or soothe away cares. A summer fire in the Cloud Forest seems nearly impossible; while in the dry grassland, it seems one flicked cigarette away.

Enchanted Cloud Forest

Mt Davidson, along with the sister Mt Sutro, is uniquely San Francisco and is unlike any other place in the world that I’ve experienced. It is criminal to think of these magnificent forests being turned into coastal chaparral or grasslands common all over the Bay Area and losing part of San Francisco’s magic.

[See SaveSutro.com for a description of that forest, and the threat it faces.]

Just as tragic, San Francisco native plant “naturalists” or “nativists” point to massive English Ivy, with vines larger than my wrists, scaling high into the century-old and equally massive cypress and eucalyptus, as an enemy strangling the life from these invading trees, the supposedly greatest of invasive enemies.  I look at the same ivy and trees and am in awe of the green, layered biomass providing life for rich wildlife and human spirits alike and see the forest as a really old, old friend.  Surely the ivy and forest and wildlife have existed together for 50 to 150 years with little human intervention and now “nativists” want to destroy these beautiful, green natural filters even though the forest  absorbs massive air pollutants and carbon dioxide and releases health-giving oxygen.

A hundred years of growing together

These mountain Cloud Forests can never return to someone’s vision of a pure state even if San Francisco foolishly tried. It is hard to accept that San Francisco, which nurtures so many unique human communities, would tolerate the sterilization of city parks and destruction of these unique forest communities just because they migrated and flourished here within the last 200 years.

Social Trail with Non-native trees, shrubs, and grass

Why is San Francisco willing to spend millions to remove healthy forests that provide millions yearly in health benefits and global warming reductions?  I can only hope that San Francisco wakes up before a few native plant purists succeed in returning San Francisco nature to a harsh land with “scarce trees” and no forests that greeted the Spaniards over 200 years ago.

Dry grassland and murdered tree

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While we’re on the topic of Mount Davidson – we’d like to re-publish a lovely whimsical video from photographer and artist Lori D’Ambrosio. It captures some of the magic of the forest.

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SAVE MT DAVIDSON

We’d also like to link to an earlier article about the “Natural Areas Program” plan for Mt Davidson – including felling 1600 trees:  Mt Davidson Park: An Open Space for Recreation or Native Plants?

If you’re not aware of the “SNRAMP” (Significant Natural Resource Area Management Plan) blueprint for the mountain, please do read that article.

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West Portal Monthly: Neighbors Mobilize to Save Mt Davidson from the Axe

March 19, 2012 Leave a comment

West Portal Monthly ran Jacquie Proctor’s article about the San Francisco Forest Alliance’s petition on its front page. Headlined “Neighbors Mobilize to Save Mt Davidson from the Axe,” the article explained how the petition drive is planned to end with signatures being submitted to the city on Arbor Day -  April 27th.  Unfortunately, the paper isn’t online, so we can’t link to it. (If you want to see the article below larger, click on it, then click again on the image that comes up.)

If you haven’t signed the petition already, and would like to do so, here’s the button:

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The Natural Areas Plan for Mt Davidson: a Walk with Jacquie Proctor

February 28, 2012 3 Comments

Most people have no idea that the Natural Areas Program calls for cutting down 1600 trees on Mt Davidson.

Jacquie Proctor, the historian of Mt Davidson (who quite literally wrote the book on it), led a tour there last Saturday, to show people what was planned and where. About 40-50 people attended.  The most frequent comments we heard were “Can they do that?” and “Why would they?” and “I live here and I had no idea!“

She started with the history of the mountain – and then the map of NAP’s plan. It plans to clear-cut a huge swath through the forest, right down to the road. (Click here to link to an article with a video with the details, and here for an article from the West Portal Monthly.)

This would expose the remaining trees to the strong winds we get in this area, and more trees would be lost to wind-throw. Trees under 15 feet tall wouldn’t count as trees and would be removed at will. The number 1600 is large enough; the actual losses will be higher.

In fact, the native plant people have already been at work here. A number of trees have been killed by being “girdled” — bark is cut away all around the tree so it starves to death. The most visible one is the Murdered Tree of Dead Tree Point.

We walked up to the Cross, which Jacquie fought to save when there was a legal challenge against it. (The Atheists said it was mixing church and state. The City compromised by selling 1/3 acre under the cross to the Council of  Armenian-American Associations.) All the trees to the right of the cross in this picture would be felled.

As the group went down to the little plateau behind the cross, she explained that most of the trees they were looking at would be killed.

We continued on through a lush forest… and Jacquie pointed that many of the trees were slated for destruction. This was part of the planned clear-cut.

Further on, there was a broad gash through the forest. It’s nicknamed “the ski jump.” The PUC built a new pipeline there. Native plant interests prevailed on the PUC to move its pipeline away from the existing route (which ran through a patch of scrub) and instead run it through the forest. It reportedly doubled the cost of the pipeline from $300,000 to $600,000. It also cut down a whole lot of trees, which the Native Plant interests consider a bonus.

Further on, we encountered more girdled trees. The one at the center of this picture is dead, still reaching for the sky. This other one has been girdled near its base, and still clings to life. But it’s dying.

We emerged  into an area called The Boneyard. It’s lined with dead trees.
In addition to felling trees (or girdling them so they die, or driving in nails of poisonous metals to kill them), they also want to block many of the trails. And pesticides are being used, to kill non-native plants.

It’s not to kill poison oak as some had hoped – poison oak is native, so they’re fine with that. The only compromise is they’ll remove it from beside the trails… and too bad if you explore off-trail. You’re not allowed to do that.

And this tree was near the exit as we left… it had a pink ribbon tied to it. Will it be gone by the next time we visit? Maybe.

Most of the people who attended the walk signed the petition.Very few of them had any idea this was happening. Some had wondered about the forest growing thinner and sparser over time, but didn’t know why.

Jacquie knew. “Everything dead you see? Very little of that is natural. It’s the NAP or their volunteers killing things.”

If you’d like to stop this desecration of the mountain – please help spread the word.

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Mount Davidson’s Garlon Pesticide – Again

February 19, 2012 3 Comments

The other day, we walked on Mount Davidson. The view from the top was lovely, and in the middle of it was a pesticide sign.

It was difficult to read because the moisture had condensed under the plastic. But we pressed it down, and were able to discern that it warned they were using Garlon 4 Ultra (a Tier I pesticide, Most Hazardous) against oxalis. (That’s the little yellow flower also called Bermuda Buttercup, or referred to as clover. Kids like to nibble on it because it’s sour.)

Oxalis grows from little underground tubers, called bulbils. Garlon isn’t very effective against oxalis because it kills the plant on top, but not the bulbils, which then can resprout.  Oxalis doesn’t set seed in San Francisco, so there’s no point killing the top of the plant before it flowers, either. It just deprives bees and butterflies of their nectar.

From the website, SaveSutro.com (which based it on a detailed study by the Marin Municipal Water Department)

These are the main issues with Garlon, in brief:

  • Garlon “causes severe birth defects in rats at relatively low levels of exposure.” Baby rats were born with brains outside their skulls, or no eyelids. Exposed adult females rats also had more failed pregnancies.
  •   Rat and dog studies showed damage to the kidneys, the liver, and the blood.
  •   About 1-2% of Garlon falling on human skin is absorbed within a day. For rodents, its absorbed twelve times as fast. It’s unclear what happens to predators such as hawks that eat the affected rodents.
  • Dogs  may be particularly vulnerable; their kidneys may not be able to handle Garlon as well as rats or humans.  Dow Chemical objected when the Environmental Protection agency noted decreased red-dye excretion as an adverse effect, so now it’s just listed as an “effect.”
  •  It very probably alters soil biology. “Garlon 4 can inhibit growth in the mycorrhizal fungi…” ( soil funguses that help plant nutrition.)
  •  It’s particularly dangerous to aquatic creatures: fish (particularly salmon); invertebrates; and aquatic plants.
  •  Garlon can persist in dead vegetation for up to two years.

The DEIR has said that the SF NAP’s phasing out Garlon.

If they are, it’s not apparent on Mount Davidson.  And we also saw another sign, this time warning about the use of Polaris (imazapyr) on cotoneaster.

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West Portal Monthly: Clearcut Case of Overkill at Mt Davidson Park

February 13, 2012 Leave a comment

The West Portal Monthly today published an article by Jacquie Proctor explaining the problem of the NAP specifically at Mt Davidson and generally throughout the city.  The plan seeks to destroy at least 1600 trees on Mt Davidson alone. Read on:

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Mt. Davidson Park – An Open Space Preserved for Recreation or Native Plants?

January 11, 2012 4 Comments

Native plant interests threaten trees throughout the city, and in particular, in one of San Francisco’s significant century-old forests: Mt Davidson. A favorite area for the residents of Miraloma Park, the Significant Natural Areas Management Plan calls for felling over 1600 trees.

Photo credit: Peter Earl McCollough

In the map below, the brown areas would be… well, brown. At least in summer. They are to be turned over to native plants.

This diagram is reproduced from public documents of the city of San Francisco, and used here for the purpose of discussion and education.

The article below by Jacqueline Proctor was published in Miraloma Life in November 2011, and is republished here with permission and added emphasis. [ETA: The publication followed up with an even longer article by Dan Liberthson.]

————————————————————————————-

Mt. Davidson Park – An Open Space Preserved for Recreation or Native Plants?
By Jacqueline Proctor

In 1995, the City transferred Mt. Davidson Park to the Natural Areas Program with the result that protection and restoration of native plants—rather than public recreation, aesthetics, or forest maintenance—has become the first priority of the few City staff assigned to maintain the park. A recently completed Draft EIR has determined that the Natural Areas Program Plan will have a significant impact on the environment. Indeed, the Plan envisions the negative consequences to public enjoyment of the Park to be beneficial.

While the City is busy planting 1000s of street and median trees to “clean the air,” it is giving the OK to spend limited Recreation and Park funds to cut down 1000s of the historic trees along the trail and road areas of Mt. Davidson, restrict public access through native plants areas by installing barriers, prohibiting benches in the best view areas, and fostering the growth of poison oak (a native plant now thriving where non-native shrubs and trees have already been removed).

The Miraloma Park Improvement Club Board plans a letter to the City advocating for the Final EIR to recommend preservation of the forest as an historic, natural, recreational, and aesthetic resource, as well as advocating for full access to the native plant area and installation of benches in the view areas.

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(The Board did write such a letter in comments to the Draft Environmental Impact Report on the SNRAMP.)

Recently, the Wall Street Journal covered this in its December 15th 2011 issue; and the San Francisco Examiner had an article about it on the same day. The San Francisco Forest Alliance (SFFA) has links to both articles on its Facebook page. Click here for WSJ, and here for the article in the Examiner.

The picture at the top of this post is the one used in the Wall Street Journal article. It’s reproduced here with permission from photographer Peter Earl McCollough, who also provided the the picture in the article by Jacqueline Proctor.  (His photography website is at www.petermccollough.com )

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Aquamaster (Glyphosate) on Mt Davidson

December 24, 2011 Leave a comment

“I saw this sign posted on the road going up to the top of Mt. Davidson today,” noted the member who sent in this sign. “I guess people and birds won’t have as many berries to eat. This appears to be a second round of chemical use up there as the other signs were for Nov…”

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