The Newspaper of the San Francisco Bay Chapter
January - February 2008
TABLE OF CONTENTS
| CONSERVATION NEWS |
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Big year for Bay Area wildlife
Join an exciting campaign to reconnect with the plants and animals of the Bay Area's great urban national parks: the 2008 Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA) Endangered Species Big Year.
The GGNRA contains more federally protected endangered species than any other unit of the National Park System in continental North America: more than Yosemite, Yellowstone, Kings Canyon, and Sequoia National Parks combined.
This astounding array of imperiled biodiversity - in the midst of the Bay Area's vibrant civilization - is certainly a cause for celebration, but also for concern: why must these wonderful plants and animals be endangered here in our own local GGNRA?
The Endangered Species Big Year is a race against time to see and save each of the 33 listed species found in the GGNRA. The Big Year provides opportunities to see each species, through both individual exploration and guided expeditions. But it doesn't stop there: the Endangered Species Big Year also empowers individual competitors to take 33 conservation actions to aid species recovery, reconnecting us with the preservationist values of this urban national-park experiment. These actions range from habitat restoration for the San Francisco Lessingia to contacting Congress to strengthen Endangered Species Act protections for plants.
Over two dozen guided field trips are planned throughout 2008 to see the parks' endangered and threatened species like the San Francisco garter snake, southern sea otter, mission-blue butterfly, Presidio Clarkia, California red-legged frog, and even the humpback whale. All participants will be encouraged to take part in conservation actions.
The Endangered Species Big Year will begin with a kick-off party at the San Francisco Zoo on the afternoon of Sun., Jan. 6. Anyone may participate in the Big Year: come out for one trip or one conservation action, or try and do it all over the course of 2008. Every participant will receive a complimentary participant prize, and there will also be prizes for those who complete the most actions and see the most species by the end of 2008.
You can sign-up for the 2008 GGNRA Endangered Species Big Year here
For more information, contact Brent Plater at bplater -at- ggnrabigyear.org or call (415) 572-6989.
The Big Year is co-sponsored by numerous environmental organizations including the Sierra Club's San Francisco Group and national Wildlife and Endangered Species Committee.
© 2008 San Francisco Sierra Club Yodeler