Loma Prieta Chapter eNewsletter: September, Volume 1
September 16, 2024
YOU Can Make a Difference; Read How in This eNewsletter
► Register for the Bay Alive Campaign's "It's Time to Speak Up!" webinar, to learn how to take action regarding the upcoming Regional Shoreline Adaptation Plan.
► Get ready to start bidding in our Guardians of Nature Benefit's silent auction starting September 22nd.
► Attend the Forest Protection Forum presented by Dr. Shaye Wolf on September 16th.
► Attention Veterans! Attend our Military Outdoors' Pole Walking events and Fitzgerald Marine Reserve Exploration.
► Read the Bay Alive Campaign's joint comment letter to the City of East Palo Alto regarding the Draft Ravenswood Business District Specific Plan Update.
► Take a hike! See the comprehensive list of Chapter activities available into early October.
It's Time to Speak Up!
Part Two: Reviewing the Regional Shoreline Adaptation Plan Draft
October 9th
7:00 - 8:30 pm
We depend on the Bay for our own resilience, but can the Bay depend on you? The public draft of the Regional Shoreline Adaptation Plan (RSAP) will be released September 16, and launch an unprecedented opportunity for the public to help set the standards for how the entire Bay Area plans for sea level rise!
Join the Bay Alive Campaign for the second webinar in our series about the RSAP, which will shape how the San Francisco Bay Area deals with sea level rise for decades to come. We’ll help you understand what’s in the draft, and learn how to deliver effective public comments to boost sea level rise resilience for both communities and nature. Be sure to watch the recording of our first webinar, so you are informed and ready to review the draft with us at 7pm on October 9. Learn more and register.
2024 Guardians of Nature Benefit and Silent Auction
Join us for the largest annual Loma Prieta Chapter community event, which honors remarkable individuals who dedicated themselves to safeguarding our local environment and brings together Chapter members, environmental leaders and advocates, and community supporters. This year, we are proud to honor Congresswoman Anna Eshoo, who is leaving a powerful environmental legacy as she retires. Don’t miss this exciting community celebration!
We also invite you to sneak peek at our annual online silent auction, which will begin on Sunday, September 22nd, and end on Sunday, October 6th, at noon.
Forest Protection Forum
Emerging biomass threats: BECCS, hydrogen, and wood pellet expansion in California
Monday, September 16th
4:00 pm
Presented by Dr. Shaye Wolf
Dr. Wolf's talk will cover emerging threats from Biomass Energy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS), gasification and pyrolysis, hydrogen from biomass, and expansion of the wood pellet industry. Register today.
Draft Subsequent Environmental Impact Report for the Draft Ravenswood Business District/Four Corners Specific Plan Update
Joint Comment Letter to the City of East Palo Alto
"We recognize the critical role that the Ravenswood Business District/4 Corners Specific Plan Update will play in shaping the future of East Palo Alto and its natural resources along the San Francisco Bay. We have participated in community meetings, engaged with local residents, community groups and City staff/consultants, and commented to the Planning Commission and City Council throughout the planning process.
In this letter, we will first address a few overarching points that apply to the overall DSEIR, followed by noting a few errors/omissions in the document that should be corrected in the final report. Then we will address our concerns regarding individual CEQA-related environmental factors." Read the full comment letter.
Our Letter to the Editor Writing Group's First Letter Published!
“Sea level rise is threatening our aging infrastructure, such as wastewater treatment plants, which are usually located on the shoreline. To combat this, we should invest in nature-based solutions that can be designed to further purify treated wastewater, build diverse bayshore habitats and mitigate flooding due to sea level rise, such as the Palo Alto Horizontal Levee Pilot Project. We need to invest in restoring our natural assets so that all creatures can continue to enjoy a healthy bay.”
This is the seventh of an awareness through artwork series, by our 16 year-old volunteer Aiden Chen, that we introduced in January.
The California Brown Pelican is a seabird that lives off the California Coast with a remarkable conservation history. Like the Bald Eagle, it too suffered from DDT pollution. However, it too made a massive comeback, eventually being removed from the Endangered species list while retaining monitoring and some protections. Although their populations are much healthier now, these pelicans still face dangers from other types of pollution and to the variability of fish populations they rely on. In addition, sensitivity to human activity means encroachment and development are once again threats that must be considered as well. The California Brown Pelican flips a fish when eating so that the spines don’t snag on its pouch as it gets swallowed. 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.
Can Our Bay Depend on You?
Watch the Bay Alive Campaign's video "Are You Ready for Groundwater Rise?", the newest video in its sea level rise series. Learn more about this hidden threat of sea level rise, then join our Bay Alive Campaign and take action!
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.
August 27 Santa Clara County and Sunnyvale Turf Ban Proposal Updates
On August 27, the Santa Clara County (SCC) Supervisors removed from their meeting Agenda, Item #10 Consider recommendations from the Office of the County Executive relating to the prohibition of new installation of artificial turf and synthetic grass on County property, while separately the Sunnyvale City Council pushed to a future date their decision on making a ban or moratorium on artificial turf. The County moved their decision to January 2025, after the November election, and Sunnyvale moved their decision until after the planned Sunnyvale Study Issue ESD 24-01 - Evaluate the Use of Artificial Turf versus Living Groundcovers. Read more.
Work Party at Lake Tahoe
Ludlow Hut Work Party
October 5-6, 2024
Join our ski touring section for this overnight service trip to the Sierra Club's backcountry ski hut off the west shore of Lake Tahoe at Richardson Lake. Help cut and stack firewood, clean the hut, and carry out minor repairs in preparation for the 2024-25 winter season. Experience using a chain saw or small hand tools would be valuable but is not required. Tools, food, and supplies (including an optional pre-trip Friday night at the Club's Clair Tappaan Lodge in Norden) are provided at no cost to volunteers. Advance sign-up is required. Learn more and register.
COMMENT LETTERS
Mitigated Negative Declaration for the Ren Fu Villa Residential Project and Its Associated Initial Study
"The project proposes a Zoning Map amendment (Z 22-03) to rezone the property to RH (Residential Hillside), consistent with the 2040 General Plan Hillside Residential land use designation, and a Tentative Map (TM 22-02) to subdivide the site into 54 lots. Future applications would be submitted to construct a single-family residence on each lot. The project would also include a private club house that would be located on the western side of the site. The project would construct new streets, utility lines, and parking for the proposed residences. The existing creek and pond located in the central portion of the site would be preserved in place. Our concerns focus on bird collision with windows, as well as lighting, setbacks from the creek and the pond, and the absence of specific requirements for pre-construction surveys for nesting birds."
Approve Action to Ban New Artificial Turf on County Property
"The Sierra Club Loma Prieta Chapter endorses the August 27, 2024 Agenda Item #10. Action b. Adopt Ordinance No. NS-300.988 (Version A) to ban new artificial turf on County property, including sports fields."
On Sunday, August 11th, the Loma Prieta Chapter Forest Protection Committee teamed up with the San Mateo County Resource Conservation district to lead a hike to view forest management techniques to foster forest resilience against wildfire, and to promote biodiversity. Lisa Barboza, Outings Chair, and Susan Lessin FPC member, along with David Cowman, District Forester, and Tim Federal, Program Manager for Forest Health & Resilience led the hike. Read more.
As the World Heats Up, So Does the Debate Around Artificial Turf
"Susan Hinton, a plastics pollution prevention advocate with the Loma Prieta Chapter of the Sierra Club, has taken up a habit of holding an infrared thermometer to artificial turf fields and residential lawns on hot days to test its temperature. Her community, in Santa Clara County, is one of many across California that are considering or currently implementing bans on the product following a 2023 bill allowing the move. Hinton has measured the turf at temperatures between 150 and 180 degrees on warm summer days, she said." - The New Lede Read the full article.
In the Community
Paint and BioBlitz (Sept. 20th), Coastal Cleanup (Sept. 21st), Weeding (Sept. 22nd) BioBlitz (Oct. 6th), and Trashy Tuesday (Oct. 12th) 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.
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.
Sept 10, 1933, FDR inaugurated as 32nd President
Sep 25th, 1890, Sequoia National Park established
2024.08.25: Thanks to Loma Prieta Pathfinders (formerly Singleaires) who joined Loma Prieta Chapter Director for a 10 mile hike along the Coastal Trail, from Half Moon Bay to Cañada Verde Creek and return.
“Hope is like a road in the country; there was never a road,
but when many people walk on it, the road comes into existence.”
Lin Yutang
