San Francisco Group
Join Team Sierra Club to restore El Polin Springs in the Presidio's Tennessee Hollow
Saturday, November 22 - time and location will be provided upon registration.
At 270 acres Tennessee Hollow is the Presidio's largest watershed. Its spring-fed tributaries once provided a year-round fresh water source for native people and colonial settlers. Though mainly hidden today beneath roadways, storm drains, toxic landfills, ballfields, parking lots, and invasive species, the flow of the creek persists in some areas, providing valuable riparian habitat for wildlife.
Although the Presidio Trust has not yet committed to full restoration of the watershed, earlier this year it did take a huge step in the right direction with the approval of the Tennessee Hollow Upper Watershed Revitalization Project.
Some restoration has already taken place in Lower Tennessee Hollow - most dramatically at a former landfill site located off Lincoln Boulevard near Halleck Street on the Main Post. In 2005 as part of the Presidio Trust's environmental-remediation program, 77,000 tons of debris were removed, and a portion of the creek was "daylighted" through the restored valley. More than 35,000 seedlings from the Presidio Nursery were planted to create wildlife habitat.
Restoration is now continuing higher up in the watershed in the wetland area surrounding El Polin Springs, located on the central tributary, at the end of what is now MacArthur Street. As a first phase, 60 non-native eucalyptus, cypress, and pine trees are being removed from around El Polin Loop to reduce the shading and leaf litter that can be harmful to native plants. Habitat will then be restored through the planting of a rich diversity of native species including coast live oak, California buckeye, wax myrtle, toyon, willows, and native grasses.
Reserve your spot at the Nov. 22 planting day now, by contacting the Presidio Trust at (415) 561-5357 or by email to volunteer -at- presidiotrust.gov
Then please send an e-mail to so that we'll know you've registered and that you'll be joining the Sierra Club team.
To learn more about Tennessee Hollow, join a monthly docent-led tour of the watershed sponsored by the National Park Service (this is not a Sierra Club-sponsored hike); for information, call the Presidio Visitor Center at (415) 561-4323.