Thoughts on the San Francisco Bay Bioregion

Biohabitats’ Leaf Litter
Vol. 6 Number 5
http://www.biohabitats.com/ndg_newsite/newsletter/2008winter/

The San Francisco Bay Bioregion, which encompasses the entire San Francisco Bay Area and Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, is known throughout the world as a region of beauty, culture and geographic diversity. Its glorious coastlines, wine producing vineyards, majestic redwoods, and iconic Golden Gate Bridge are legendary.

Despite – and perhaps because of – its popularity, the San Francisco Bay Bioregion has a long list of ecological enemies. Industrial pollution, sea level rise, habitat loss and fragmentation, invasive species, water diversions and loss of wetlands are just some of the region’s mounting threats.

Are the region’s ecosystems as valued as its recreational sites, agricultural products and cultural icons? What is being done to help the San Francisco Bay Bioregion combat these threats? Join us as we head west and try to find out.

We’ll begin by interviewing two experts on the Bioregion. First we chat with Dr. Matt Kondolf, a professor of environmental planning at UC Berkeley and a world-renowned fluvial geomorphologist. Dr. Kondolf shares some insight – and alarming facts – about the dynamics of the Bioregion’s river systems. We also talk with Mr. Rick Rayburn, chief of natural resources for California State Parks. Mr. Rayburn tells us about the San Francisco Bay Bioregion’s rich biodiversity, and efforts to sustain that biodiversity in the face of climate change.

In your responses to our reader survey, 90% of you agree on what you consider to be the number one threat to biodiversity in the San Francisco Bay Bioregion. Find out what that is, and take a look at some of your other thoughts and questions about the San Francisco Bay Bioregion.

In her article What’s In A Leaf, landscape architect Allegra Bukojemsky, officially unveils – and draws a personal connection to – the leaf that will adorn the logo of the Biohabitats San Francisco Bay Bioregion office she leads.

For those of you who want to explore the San Francisco Bay Bioregion in more detail, we’ve provided lots of helpful links in the resources section of Leaf Litter. Finally, catch up on the latest at Biohabitats.

As always, we want to know what you think. Share your thoughts on Leaf Litter by contacting our editor