From the Open-Publishing Calendar
From the Open-Publishing Newswire
Indybay Feature
San Francisco’s Cloud Forest at Mount Sutro Under Threat
The beautiful CLOUD FOREST on Mount Sutro is UNDER THREAT; UCSF is planning to "thin" 14 acres by CUTTING DOWN upto 90% of the the trees and bushes - because the 100-year-old trees are eucalyptus.
A MAGICAL PLACE
There’s a 100-year-old forest in the heart of San Francisco, on the foggy slopes of Mount Sutro. It’s full of birdsong and the calls of the juncos and woodpeckers and – at night – the Great Horned Owls that live there. All summer long, the tall trees capture the fog, dripping the water into the forest floor, a thick sponge of duff and dense undergrowth. When the grasses of nearby Twin Peaks turn dry and golden, the forest is green and damp.
A FOREST IN DANGER.
(See http://www.savesutro.wordpress.com for details.)
It’s a civic treasure, and though most of it is owned by UCSF, it is open to the public. (The easiest approach is through the Aldea student housing area off Clarendon Avenue. Other trails into the forest start off Christopher Drive and down in Cole Valley.) UCSF has applied for a FEMA grant to cut down most of the trees on 14 acres of it, ostensibly to reduce fire danger. In fact, this damp, foggy forest has less fire-risk than most places. Even in the fall, between the foggy summer and the rainy winter, the forest barely dries out for a few days each year.
The real reason for the destruction, many people believe, is that the Native Plant interests have influenced UCSF into believing that the non-native eucalyptus must go. The non-native blackberry bushes, which provide cover and food to birds and small animals, must go. They must be replaced with native grasses and shrubs.
THE PLAN: THINNED, DRIED, POISONED
The plan includes removing up to 90% of the vegetation on 15 acres of the forest, and using gallons of Roundup Herbicide to prevent resprouting. Once the forest is thinned in this manner, it will become drier, more flammable, and more dangerous. Even the trees that are saved will be at greater risk, without the windbreak protection of the other trees. United they stand.
What we expect, once this project is implemented, is a thinner, drier, windier space. It will be a forest no longer – just an open park with a few surviving trees, in which poisonous herbicides will be used year after year (since eucalyptus can resprout for seven years afterward). If we want windy, open, hills we already have Twin Peaks.
IN THE HANDS OF THOSE WHO DESPISE IT
It is a tragedy that this amazing forest has fallen into the hands of those who despise the very trees and bushes that comprise it. Once it is gone, it will not return in my lifetime or yours. A hundred years of growth will end up as tinder on the mountain.
There’s a 100-year-old forest in the heart of San Francisco, on the foggy slopes of Mount Sutro. It’s full of birdsong and the calls of the juncos and woodpeckers and – at night – the Great Horned Owls that live there. All summer long, the tall trees capture the fog, dripping the water into the forest floor, a thick sponge of duff and dense undergrowth. When the grasses of nearby Twin Peaks turn dry and golden, the forest is green and damp.
A FOREST IN DANGER.
(See http://www.savesutro.wordpress.com for details.)
It’s a civic treasure, and though most of it is owned by UCSF, it is open to the public. (The easiest approach is through the Aldea student housing area off Clarendon Avenue. Other trails into the forest start off Christopher Drive and down in Cole Valley.) UCSF has applied for a FEMA grant to cut down most of the trees on 14 acres of it, ostensibly to reduce fire danger. In fact, this damp, foggy forest has less fire-risk than most places. Even in the fall, between the foggy summer and the rainy winter, the forest barely dries out for a few days each year.
The real reason for the destruction, many people believe, is that the Native Plant interests have influenced UCSF into believing that the non-native eucalyptus must go. The non-native blackberry bushes, which provide cover and food to birds and small animals, must go. They must be replaced with native grasses and shrubs.
THE PLAN: THINNED, DRIED, POISONED
The plan includes removing up to 90% of the vegetation on 15 acres of the forest, and using gallons of Roundup Herbicide to prevent resprouting. Once the forest is thinned in this manner, it will become drier, more flammable, and more dangerous. Even the trees that are saved will be at greater risk, without the windbreak protection of the other trees. United they stand.
What we expect, once this project is implemented, is a thinner, drier, windier space. It will be a forest no longer – just an open park with a few surviving trees, in which poisonous herbicides will be used year after year (since eucalyptus can resprout for seven years afterward). If we want windy, open, hills we already have Twin Peaks.
IN THE HANDS OF THOSE WHO DESPISE IT
It is a tragedy that this amazing forest has fallen into the hands of those who despise the very trees and bushes that comprise it. Once it is gone, it will not return in my lifetime or yours. A hundred years of growth will end up as tinder on the mountain.
For more information:
http://savesutro.wordpress.com
Add Your Comments
Latest Comments
Listed below are the latest comments about this post.
These comments are submitted anonymously by website visitors.
TITLE
AUTHOR
DATE
We're Scared!
Tue, Jul 28, 2009 12:07PM
Clearly needs more care?
Fri, Jul 24, 2009 4:30AM
It *is* a healthy forest.
Fri, Jul 24, 2009 4:27AM
Non-native grasses
Thu, Jul 23, 2009 9:15PM
Exciting a RIOT o push ones own agenda
Thu, Jul 23, 2009 9:14PM
Native plants won't work
Thu, Jul 23, 2009 9:07PM
Angel Island was a chaparral fire
Thu, Jul 23, 2009 8:58PM
Remember Angel Island?
Thu, Jul 23, 2009 7:13PM
Everyone out
Thu, Jul 23, 2009 4:54PM
Non-native grasses
Thu, Jul 23, 2009 1:39PM
We are 100% volunteer and depend on your participation to sustain our efforts!
Get Involved
If you'd like to help with maintaining or developing the website, contact us.
Publish
Publish your stories and upcoming events on Indybay.
Topics
More
Search Indybay's Archives
Advanced Search
►
▼
IMC Network