YOU Can Make a Difference; Read How in This eNewsletter
► Read San Mateo Daily Journal's "Regional Plan to Fight Sea-level Rise Underway" featuring the Bay Alive Campaign.
► Veterans, attend our Military Outdoors Pole Walking and Hiking Training sessions.
► Register for the Bay Alive Campaign's Letter to the Editor Writing Workshop on August 7th.
► Purchase your 2024 Guardians of Nature Benefit tickets today at Early Bird rates.
► Register for our Forest Management Educational Hike on August 11th.
► Sign the Bay Alive Campaign petition letter to BCDC Commissioners.
► Take a hike! See the comprehensive list of Chapter activities available through mid-August.
Loma Prieta Chapter Took to the Water!
Last week Loma Prieta Chapter took to the water on Santa Clara County's Salt Marsh Tour at Alviso Marino County Park. It was a beautiful, cloudless day, perfect to gently coast along and learn about salt pond reclamation and the importance of salt marshes in the face of climate change and sea level rise. Learn more about the Bay Alive Campaign and our work in preparation of sea level rise.
Thanks to everyone that joined us on the boat tour, and to Loma Prieta Pride (previously Loma Prieta Gay and Lesbian Sierrans) for organizing the outing!
Reserve Your Spot Today!
We are thrilled to announce that you can now reserve your spot for our 2024 Guardians of Nature Benefit. Early Bird tickets are available for a limited time, so be sure to take advantage of the special pricing. Our annual fundraiser brings together a fantastic crowd of Sierrans, environmental activists, and community leaders for a joyful celebration. Secure your ticket today to join us in celebrating our 2024 Guardians of Nature Honoree, Congresswoman Anna Eshoo, for her decades of environmental leadership, and the remarkable work of your fellow Sierrans. We look forward to celebrating with you!
Cesar Chavez and Loma Prieta Chapter: Surprising History Uncovered
Recently, Jati Wibisono, San Jose State University student and Loma Prieta volunteer, interviewed Les Kishler, Loma Prieta Executive Committee Member, Conservation Committee Chair, and Guadalupe Regional Group Chair in the 1980s, to capture some of the important history of the chapter.
Bay Alive Campaign is featured in this San Mateo Daily Journal article! Our own Jennifer Hetterly, Bay Alive Campaign Coordinator, is quoted, along with San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC) and Save the Bay.
“What one jurisdiction chooses to do can have negative impacts or constrain the options that are available to other communities, in terms of protecting their shorelines and their communities,” she said. “That’s the biggest problem — we want to make sure that these guidelines go as far as they can to avoid those unintended impacts.” Read the full article.
Letter to the Editor Writing Workshop
Wednesday, August 7th
7:00 - 8:00 pm
Are you looking for ways to get involved with the Bay Alive campaign, but not a fan of public speaking? Join our new Letter to the Editor writing workshop where you will be trained and equipped with all the resources you need to use your words to influence the future of sea level rise planning around the Bay.
Sea Level Rise Webinar Series
How can local cities and residents use nature-basedadaptations to sea level rise? Watch recordings of our webinar series with SF Bay experts and please share with your local elected officials.
California Least Terns at Risk
This is the fifth of an awareness through artwork series, by our 16 year-old volunteer Aiden Chen, that we introduced in January.
The California Least Terns are an endangered migratory seabird species that nest in colonies on the ground along parts of the coast of California. They rely heavily on open, sandy dune habitats both for nesting and for the anchovies and smelt in nearby waters for food. Increasing human disturbances, like development and beachgoers, along with other sources of habitat loss, like sea level rise, forces the terns to nest in urban environments and in concentrated areas so that access to food would be preserved. This, in turn, makes them very vulnerable to predation by threats ranging from feral cats to crows to raccoons. An example would be the tarmac at the closed Alameda Naval Air Station, which supports a successful colony but must be managed annually by the USFWS and its volunteers to limit urban predators. To conserve and save these birds, Sierra Club's Bay Alive and 30x30 campaigns promote the use of nature based solutions to protect the San Francisco Bay wetlands, associated habitats, and human communities from sea level rise. The 30x30 campaign works to conserve 30% of California’s lands and waters by 2030. Learn more.
Sign Our Petition Letter to BCDC Commissioners
Time is racing towards a final decision at the end of this year for Bay Conservation and Development Commission's (BCDC's) Regional Shoreline Adaptation Plan (RSAP). We're intensifying our efforts to build public awareness and engagement.
Sea level rise poses an undeniable threat to the Bay Area. The RSAP presents a crucial opportunity for coordinated regional action to bolster the resilience of our communities and ecological assets against climate change.
San Francisco Bay’s shoreline habitats are invaluable public assets. Beyond mitigating flood and storm surges, these ecosystems sequester carbon, filter pollution, and moderate temperatures, services that are vital for our region’s health, safety, and ecological balance. As climate change worsens, they will become even more indispensable as our first, and arguably most cost-effective, defense against sea level rise.
2023 Chapter Summary
We are delighted to share with you the Loma Prieta Chapter’s 2023 Summary, where you can read how you have helped us to positively impacted our region. All the successful advocacy and education we undertake are possible because of individual donations, which provide 70% of our annual budget, and the thousands of volunteer hours that leverage our Chapter staff's work. We thank you for your continuing partnership.
Military Outdoors
POLE Walking for Exercise & Maintaining Mobility Saturday, August 10th | 9:30 am - 12:30 pm
Sierra Club Military Outdoors special program provides free training for Veterans and their family members. Join us to learn skills and techniques to help improve balance, endurance, spine function, walking gait and posture.
POLE Hiking Training Monday, August 26th | 9:00 am - 12:30 pm
This session is for HIKERS. If you have mobility challenges of any kind, please consider the POLE Walking for Maintaining Mobility class as a better way to start with poles.
COMMENT LETTERS
Ravenswood Business District/4 Corners Specific Plan Update
"We commend the diligent efforts of the City Council, City staff, and the consultant team in developing a thoughtful plan for the future development of the RBD/4 Corners area. We are particularly pleased that the DSPU reflects a strong commitment to conserving tidal marshes, tidal flats, and their vital habitats. The proposed inland levee alignment and shoreline transition zones preserve important opportunities for long-term resilience. We also applaud the DSPU’s innovative community benefits framework, which ties development entitlements directly to specific, community-identified priorities, increases financial transparency, and enables the City to comparatively evaluate proposed community benefits.
We remain concerned that Scenario 2, including more than 3.3 million square feet of new office/R&D space, will overwhelm East Palo Alto with impacts that irreversibly alter the character and resilience of the community. Nevertheless, we offer comments below to strengthen the efficacy of the Plan across all scenarios."
Support for Water Resources Protection Zone Ordinance
Join our Outings Team and Forest Protection Committee for a unique joint hike in Wunderlich County Park. Co-led by our docents David Cowman, Forest Ecologist, and Kellyx Nelson, Director of the San Mateo Resource Conservation District. Learn about forest health and fire resiliency along our SC 1A hike along the Skyline Trail.
Our chapter is looking for people who can contribute to our chapter’s highest governing board. Our ExCom, ensures that our finances are in good condition, discusses and votes on important issues, engages in policymaking, appoints committee chairs, and writes bylaws as well as standing rules. ExCom members are elected each November for two-year terms starting in January, and can serve for a maximum of three consecutive two-year terms, after which they are eligible to run again after a one-year hiatus. If interested, please contact Sue at sue2042@gmail.com. The application deadline is July 20, 2024.
Former Loma Prieta Executive Committee Member Les Kishler attended a very special event in Yosemite on May 15th, 2024, and was gracious to report on it.
"The Yosemite Valley dogwoods were in full bloom and the waterfalls were roaring. A ceremony was held to issue 16 new Ansel Adams commemorative stamps. Adams was one of the most influential Sierra Club members in its history. He served on the Sierra Club national board and inspired a significant increase in Sierra Club membership by taking a strong public stand in protection of the environment and wilderness during the 1980's." Read more.
Palo Alto Environmental Stewardship Team
We are organizing an Environmental Stewardship Team in Palo Alto. This will be a pilot program that will serve as a template for teams in other cities in our chapter. If you live in Palo Alto, we invite you to join us in our environmental advocacy activities. You can do as much as you would like, depending on your time and inclination. You can limit your involvement to just making public comments at official meetings a few times a year. Or, you can participate in our regular meetings, meet fellow activists, join socials and hikes, write op-eds and articles, and more.
Cleanup (Aug. 3rd, 13th, 17th), Weeding (Aug. 18th), BioBlitz (Aug. 25th), and Naturalist Training (Aug. 28th) from our friends at Keep Coyote Creek Beautiful.
One of the best ways to safeguard a thriving and just future is by ensuring that your Loma Prieta Chapter remains a champion for the environment of Santa Clara, San Mateo, and San Benito Counties. Naming us as a beneficiary in your bequest will provide meaningful and enduring resources that will allow continued local and powerful environmental activism.
Please contact our Chapter Development Coordinator Justyna Guterman for the specific language for your estate planning and/or read more here. For additional information about planning a bequest please contact Julia Curtis, (800) 932-4270.
Your connection: Local environmental protection needs you; the Loma Prieta Chapter's Plastics Pollution Prevention Team is one of many opportunities.
Photographers, see the great images in our Chapter Annual Summaries and help protect local nature with your images! Share with us your high-resolution photos of local nature, with or without people, to inspire local residents to support Loma Prieta Chapter work. Please contact Chapter Development Coordinator Justyna Guterman.
Aug 2nd: 100th Anniversary of the birth of James Baldwin
2024.06.29: Thanks to outings leader Irene for helping your chapter director scout for a June 30 hike that he led for Sierra Pathfinders in Bear Creek Redwoods Open Space Preserve.
“My experience with liberals, they have attitudes, and they have all the proper attitudes. But they have no real convictions, and when the chips are down and you expect them to deliver and what you thought they felt they somehow are not there.” James Baldwin
