Loma Prieta Chapter eNewsletter: November, Volume 2
November 25, 2024
YOU Can Make a Difference; Read How in This eNewsletter
► Sign our petition telling the Bay Conservation and Development Commission to not weaken the sea level rise plan.
► Attend our next Forest Protection Forum, "Why Forest Thinning Proposals are Misguided" on November 25th.
► Donate your hiking and/or camping equipment and we'll share them with those in need.
► Join us for our Environmental Stewardship Program Holiday Social on December 6th.
► Attend our first Plastic Pollution Prevention Committee meeting on December 9th.
► Take a hike! See the comprehensive list of Chapter activities available through mid-December.
Tell BCDC, Don't Weaken the RSAP!
Please sign our petitionto add your voice to the call for a strong and effective, regionally coordinated response to sea level rise.
This is our last chance to solidify a strong, regional approach to sea level rise for the San Francisco Bay, and ensure a thriving and resilient future for decades to come! The latest draft Regional Shoreline Adaptation Plan (RSAP) reflects our strong advocacy efforts and demonstrates the Bay Conservation and Development Commission’s (BCDC)’s commitment to regional coordination. But now they are being asked to weaken the RSAP’s requirements, which would severely undermine regional coordination and accountability. Please tell BCDC that to safeguard a sustainable future for Bay ecosystems and communities, alike, the RSAP must be strengthened, not watered down. The Bay Area needs a strong RSAP that prioritizes equity, natural and nature-based solutions (NNBS), and safety from contamination threats.
Although California state government is funding forest thinning to protect residents from wildfire, many scientists find it ineffective. Instead many recommend people protect the exterior of their homes by making them impervious to fire. This process is called home hardening. George Wuerthner has studied and the observed what works for many years – and will discuss his findings.
Donate Your Hiking and/or Camping Equipment
Do you have hiking and/or camping equipment in good condition that you're ready to share with others? Donate them to the Loma Prieta Chapter! We have multiple channels to share them with those in need. Tents, sleeping bags, child carriers, and emergency equipment are especially needed.
We are excited to announce the launch of our popular Environmental Stewardship Program (ESP), designed to foster local environmental activism through a series of educational webinars, collaborative projects, and legislative action. Our program will run for six sessions, from January ’25 to June ’25, and will be held on the second Thursday of every month at 7:00 pm.
Please join us for a Holiday Social on December 6th at 6:30 pm to kickoff the program! This is a great opportunity to socialize with other environmental advocates, meet some of our Chapter leaders, and learn all about the ESP program and how you can get involved in our current campaigns. Register for both the Program and Social.
San Benito County Voters Approve Measure A to Control Sprawl
The Sierra Club Loma Prieta Chapter endorsed the San Benito County Measure A (Empower Voters to Make Land Use Decisions) that was approved by the county’s voters, 55% yes vs. 45% no. Going forward, changes to General Plan land use designations for land designated as Agriculture, Rural, and Rangeland will require a vote of the people.
The Sierra Club Loma Prieta Chapter supports the local organizations in San Benito County in their ongoing efforts to preserve the rural, agricultural character of the County in the face of increasing sprawl development. Read the full article.
Joint Statement Urging BCDC to not Weaken the RSAP
We, along with dozens of like-minded organizations, have submitted a joint statement to the Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC), urging them to strengthen the Regional Shoreline Adaptation Plan (RSAP), not water it down. Recent calls to dilute the RSAP’s standards in favor of more shoreline development have raised significant concern. Together we strongly oppose downgrading the RSAP’s standards from requirements to recommendations, cautioning that such a shift could allow private development interests to overshadow the pressing need for coordinated regional adaptation to climate impacts.
Big Win: Disastrous Three-mile-long Off-shore Barrier Proposal Dropped!
Thanks to forceful advocacy by the Bay Alive Campaign, Citizens Committee to Complete the Refuge, and others, San Mateo County’s flood protection district, OneShoreline, has abandoned a proposal to build a 2.7 to 3.3 mile long flood barrier in the Bay, offshore of Millbrae and Burlingame. That radical plan threatened severe impacts on water quality and ecosystem health. They’ve also created a more robust outreach and public engagement process for considering three new on- or near-shore alternatives and proposed evaluation criteria that include impacts on habitat and water quality. Now’s the time to make sure these new alternatives will protect and enhance the Bay’s shoreline ecosystems as sea level rises. Please register for OneShoreline’s upcoming walking tour and/or in-person workshopsin Millbrae and Burlingame to hear about the alternatives and speak for sea level rise resilience that maintains a healthy Bay. Learn about this project and more on our Bay Alive website.
Climate Summit for San Mateo County
The Bay Alive Campaign was connecting and envisioning a better future with our community on October 8th at the San Mateo Climate Summit sponsored by Sierra Club Loma Prieta. The event, hosted by Climate Resilient Communities, featured several panels of local climate leaders discussing how we can better mobilize and involve all corners of our community to build a resilient future for the Bay. Panels covered topics such as youth involvement, the role of religious organizations, and the Regional Shoreline Adaptation Plan (RSAP). The event even featured several breakout sessions in Spanish to increase accessibility. Bay Alive was able to table and share our work on the RSAP as well as promote our educational short video series.
Sea Level Rise Webinar Series
Learn how nature can help us fight sea level rise with cost-effective and sustainable solutions. Watch recordings of our webinar series with SF Bay experts and please share with your local elected officials.
Enjoy a taste of Italy! All current LPPS members are welcome to join the annual holiday get together. Bocce Ball, traditional Tuscan food, gift exchange, and outing leaders and volunteers recognition.
Plastic Pollution Prevention Committee Meeting and a Win!
WIN!
Sunnyvale residents near Lakewood Park will continue to access grass fields now that, on Nov. 19th, the Sunnyvale City Council approved a Staff plan for grass athletic fields at the park. This is the culmination of a two-year effort to keep Lakewood Park free from plastic turf.
COMMENT LETTERS
Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration for Electronic Signs on San Jose City-Owned Property
"We have been advocating for a reduction of light pollution in the region, and have advocated against electronic billboards and the proliferation of light pollution in San Jose and in other Bay Area cities for many years. We submit the following comments on the Initial Study / Mitigated Negative Declaration (IS/MND) for the installation and operation of six programmable electronic signs on five City-owned parcels in the downtown San José area (Project). We believe that the preparation of an Environmental Impact Report should be required for this Project."
Design Level Geotechnical Investigations for the Pacheco Reservoir Expansion Project Notice of Preparation of a Draft Environmental Impact Report
"The Sierra Club appreciates the opportunity to provide scoping comments in response to the Notice of Preparation of a Draft Environmental Impact Report for Design Level Geotechnical Investigations for the Pacheco Reservoir Expansion Project. Our comments are detailed below. These comments reference the Design Level Geotechnical Investigations for the Pacheco Reservoir Expansion Project Draft - Initial Study and Mitigated Negative Declaration (MND), published in June 2024."
"We would like to extend our sincere gratitude for your decision to require that all light sources be fully shielded and maintain a correlated color temperature of 2700K. This is a significant commitment to minimizing light pollution and protecting the natural night environment, and it will greatly benefit both our community and the surrounding ecosystems. We have two major recommendations to improve the draft ordinance, which we hope you will consider: 1) Reinstate applicability to include new luminaires (light fixtures) and replacement lighting, and 2) Prohibit light trespass entirely rather than establishing a threshold (which may be difficult to enforce and allow nuisance lighting)."
Bay Area Sierra Club Members and Supporters Appeared in Force for a Healthy Bay
You did it! We urged you to comment on the Bay Conservation and Development Commission’s (BCDC) plan for sea level rise resilience and boy did you deliver. BCDC Commissioners received an unprecendented number of written comments on the Regional Shoreline Adaptation Plan (RSAP) guidelines draft and 90 percent of them came from Sierra Club members and supporters like you!
Congratulations and thank you!
We’re not done yet. Recently, there have been calls to weaken the RSAP’s required Standards. Now is our one opportunity to strengthen, not water down, the RSAP. You’ll be hearing more from us soon with more ways for you to speak up. Still, we’d like to take this moment to again say thank you very much for all you do!
Outdoor Leadership Training for Outing Leaders
Outdoor Leadership Training for Outing Leaders
Wednesday, December 11th
6:30 - 9:00 pm
Do you love nature, and want to share it, and lead your friends to new and amazing wonders of nature? If you want to hone your leadership skills, then this is the class for you!
Highly experienced outings leaders will share their decades of experience in leading outdoor trips. This training is mandatory for new Sierra Club leaders who wish to lead any Sierra Club sanctioned Outing. Existing leaders must review the training every four years.
It's time again for you to choose your local conservation representatives, the next members of the Loma Prieta Chapter Executive Committee (ie, the local Board of Directors) and Group Executive Committees. Your vote is simple but powerful to say thank you to the volunteers that annually dedicate thousands of hours for your priorities.
Sierra Club, the nation’s largest and oldest grassroots environmental organization, is proudly democratic and member-driven. The at-large delegates which you elect will direct the work of our Chapter, along with the local Group delegates that represent geographic regions. Those elected will start their terms in January, 2025.
This year, five individuals have been nominated to run for the five at-large Chapter seats. Visit here to see voting instructions and candidate statements. Paper ballots should be received by all eligible members by November 15th; alternatively you may cast your ballot online! If you haven't received your paper ballot by November 15th and would like one, call 650-390-8411. Voting extends until December 15th; paper ballots must be received at our office by then.
California Coastal Commission’s California King Tides Project
What are King Tides? They are predictable high tides that occur annually. King Tides form naturally from the alignment of the sun, moon and earth's gravitational forces. The King Tides Project is a visual representation (your photos) of what SLR may look like for the Bay Area. It helps determine which areas may have the greatest impact from SLR and allows decision makers to be informed with planning and adaptation. See our King Tides Project webinar recording for more information. King Tides will occur: December 13 - 15, 2024. Learn how you can participate in the project.
The Loma Prieta Chapter rents its office space in the Peninsula Conservation Center (PCC). We are thrilled to share that PCC received a $48,000 rebate check from the City of Palo Alto for their six new electric vehicle (EV) chargers. This check paid for two-thirds of the cost of the charges and installation.
We are proud to rent our office space from, and have our Chapter Director sit on the Board of, such a progressive facility that not only invests in infrastructure for electric vehicles, but is the first building in Palo Alto to fully electrify the entire building.
In the Community
Cleanup (Dec. 1st and 14th), BioBlitz (Dec. 8th) and Naturalist Training (Dec. 11th), and Planting (Dec. 15th) 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.
2024.10.10, Chapter Director joined Loma Prieta's Sierra Path Finders hike from Hidden Villa to Black Mountain: 10 miles, 2800 ft elevation gain.
“This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; the being thoroughly worn out before you are thrown on the scrap heap; the being a force of Nature instead of a feverish selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy.
I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the community, and as long as I live, it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can. I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work, the more I live. Life is no ‘brief candle’ to me. It ia a sort of splendid torch which I have got hold of for a moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to the future generations.” George Bernard Shaw
Director's Note: regarding "a force of Nature", see local forces of nature in (1) our Guardians of Nature Honorees and (2) our all-volunteer teams that lead our chapter and which you can join to explore, enjoy and protect the planet, see What We Do and Who We Are , or contact your Chapter Director.
