Take action NOW to Save San Francisco’s Native Biodiversity Heritage
Take action NOW to Save San Francisco’s Native Biodiversity Heritage
The Issue
Take action NOW to Save San Francisco’s Native Biodiversity Heritage
12/12/2025 Update:
Thanks for your support for native biodiversity.
As you may know, plans are afoot to increase housing density along transportation corridors. The PUC is currently replacing old potable water pipes along Geary Blvd. but has no plan to install Emergency Firefighting Water System pipes there or throughout the Richmond District. (There is an EFWS pipeline along Fulton.) There is an unfunded plan to expand the EFWS throughout the Sunset District, but it seems no one is advocating for funding it. Please see, sign and share my Wildfire Prevention and Preparedness Petition at https://chng.it/8fgV5pdHhX to insist that City officials get serious about fire prevention and preparedness.
We are at risk of both wildfire and a post-quake conflagration. Give yourself the gift of time to take action. Sign my petition if you haven't already done so. Share it widely if you haven't already done so. Anyone and everyone can sign, no matter where they live.
Happy Holidays!
Summary:
We need to save our unique plant and wildlife species in SF because they are found only here and no other place in the world. SF is unique in climate and habitats. If we lose these species, they'll be gone forever, including native bees, butterflies and birds. Sign this petition to insist that our officials protect and enhance native habitats in open spaces. City Supervisor Myrna Melgar is interested in taking action.
However, City officials are failing us when it comes to fire prevention and preparedness. See, sign and share my petition titled “Take action NOW to prevent San Francisco from Becoming the next Catastrophic Wildfire” at
Biodiversity message to City Officials:
San Francisco is an important part of the biodiversity hotspot that is California. This means we are blessed with an abundance of species, many of which we have brought to the brink of extinction. We have taken over the habitats of indigenous plants and wildlife, but we can restore habitat in open spaces to support declining populations of native bees, butterflies and birds.
We, the undersigned, demand that the City of San Francisco take immediate and corrective action to create a Citywide Vegetation Management Plan requiring that open spaces be restored with indigenous plants. Specifically, we call for:
● Nurseries: Propagate indigenous plants in City-owned nurseries for outplanting a majority of indigenous plants.
● Education: Educate landscapers, gardeners and the general public about the need to support native biodiversity with indigenous plants on public and private property. Work with City College of SF to ensure their Horticulture Department teaches students about the need to support native biodiversity with indigenous plants. Educate the general public about ways to avoid and mitigate harmful environmental impacts.
● Protecting and restoring habitat: Plant a majority of indigenous plants to enhance and re-create native habitats. Protect existing grassland, chaparral, woodland, wetland, riparian, dune and aquatic habitats. Immediately remove the City’s barriers to implementation of the Bay Delta Water Quality Control Plan, in order to support imperiled fish species and ecosystems along headwaters and in the San Francisco Bay Delta. Improve the quality of the City’s effluent flowing into the Pacific Ocean and Bay Delta.
● Best Management Practices (BMPs): Remove and avoid planting invasive plants. Use Integrated Pest Management.
● Legislation: Ban the planting of invasive plants and the use of rodenticides. Include landscaping predominantly with indigenous plants in Planning for construction projects. Treat Coast Live Oaks, Quercus agrifolia, as Landmark Trees for their ecological significance.
● Collaboration: Collaborate with nonprofit organizations, including the GGNRA, the Presidio Trust, the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, the California Native Plant Society, Nature in the City, Sutro Stewards and other like organizations. Encourage and acknowledge volunteerism.
● Reporting: Report annually to the mayor, the Board of Supervisors and the general public on the state of the City’s native habitats and vegetation and related plans, programs and practices.
This message will be sent to:
San Francisco Mayor Dan Lurie
San Francisco Board of Supervisors
San Francisco Public Utilities Commission and Department
San Francisco Recreation and Parks Commission
San Francisco Recreation and Park Department
San Francisco Public Works Commission
San Francisco Public Works Department
San Francisco Environment Commission
San Francisco Environment Department
San Francisco Urban Forestry Council
San Francisco Bureau of Urban Forestry
[Read about the City’s 2017 Biodiversity Resolution at https://sfbos.org/sites/default/files/r0107-18.pdf
[The photo: Fiesta flower, Pholistoma auritum, used to occur in the wild of San Francisco proper. Now it occurs in the wild of Yerba Buena Island and in the refugia of private SF gardens. For indigenous wildflower seeds for your garden, see https://cnps-yerbabuena.org/]
7/17/25 update:
Great news. The California Native Plant Society, Yerba Buena Chapter (of SF) posted my two petitions in their email blast. In case you missed the Wildfire Prevention and Preparedness Petition, it's at https://chng.it/8fgV5pdHhX
"Why these two petitions?" one might ask. The simplest answer is that dead/dying/dangerous trees should be replaced with plants indigenous to SF in support of rapidly declining populations of native bees, butterflies and birds. Please see, sign and share this: https://chng.it/8fgV5pdHhX.
7/19/25 Update:
There are dead, dying, dangerous eucalyptus trees along O'Shaughnessy Blvd., where there are NO FIRE HYDRANTS. City officials met me there, along with Cal Fire representatives. The SFPUC has removed eucalyptus from their parcel of Glen Canyon Park to "reduce fuel". However, other City officials intend to leave their trees as they are. These trees occur in the Significant Natural Resource Area and the recreation area of Glen Canyon Park and should be replaced with indigenous plants. Tell your contacts to sign this petition in addition to the wildfire petition at https://chng.it/8fgV5pdHhX
7/20/25 Update:
My photo shows what you'd miss while driving along O'Shaughnessy Blvd. at 35 mph. Neighbors and I are particularly worried about the potential for a fire that throws off burning embers in strong winds, as eucalyptus are known to do. These trees don't get a lot of fog drip, because they're in a canyon. Sixteen acres of these Glen Canyon eucalyptus are stressed by extreme August, September and October temperatures. Then the Diablo winds arrive every fall. So if you haven't already signed the Wildfire petition, see it again at https://chng.it/8fgV5pdHhX
7/27/25 Update:
For more inspiration to sign and share my wildfire prevention and preparedness petition at https://chng.it/8fgV5pdHhX, see
https://thevoicesf.org/could-wildfires-happen-in-san-francisco/.
The first article is an op-ed from Jake Sigg and me. A SFFD firefighter with extensive wildland experience comments this is an excellent article.
The second article is titled "Could wildfires happen in San Francisco? Yes...." It was written by a fire instructor who is also a former wildland firefighter.
8/13/25 Update:
Unfortunately, we cannot rely on SFFD to identify fire hazards other than dry grass, in spite of State regulations obligating them to do better. They rely on Cal Fire. But we cannot rely on Cal Fire, either. For example, “The forestry board…missed a January 2023 deadline to approve regulations to put Zone Zero into force–and the rules remained in limbo when LA burned….More than six months after the LA catastrophe, officials have yet to complete regulations as wildfires burn across the state.” Remember, fires can erupt around the City after a massive earthquake, too, not just after a vegetative fire that sends burning embers flying everywhere. Zone Zero refers to a 5’ combustibles-free perimeter around buildings.
8/21/25 Update:
In the next big earthquake, gas pipes will break. Fires will break out. Sign my petition to insist that City officials take fire prevention and preparedness seriously. The USGS says we have a 20% chance of a magnitude 7.5 or higher earthquake, a 51% chance of a magnitude 7 quake, and a 72% chance of a 6.7 or higher quake–all by 2043!*
For comparison, the 1989 Loma Prieta quake was a magnitude 6.9. The 1906 magnitude 7.9 quake released 32X the amount of energy of the 1989 quake!
Sign my Wildfire Prevention and Preparedness petition at: https://chng.it/8fgV5pdHhX
* https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2025/06/07/next-big-california-earthquake/83903857007/
11/14/2025 Update:
Thanks for your support for native biodiversity. Thanks for signing and sharing my petition. Thanks for your monetary contributions.
Happy Holidays!
471
The Issue
Take action NOW to Save San Francisco’s Native Biodiversity Heritage
12/12/2025 Update:
Thanks for your support for native biodiversity.
As you may know, plans are afoot to increase housing density along transportation corridors. The PUC is currently replacing old potable water pipes along Geary Blvd. but has no plan to install Emergency Firefighting Water System pipes there or throughout the Richmond District. (There is an EFWS pipeline along Fulton.) There is an unfunded plan to expand the EFWS throughout the Sunset District, but it seems no one is advocating for funding it. Please see, sign and share my Wildfire Prevention and Preparedness Petition at https://chng.it/8fgV5pdHhX to insist that City officials get serious about fire prevention and preparedness.
We are at risk of both wildfire and a post-quake conflagration. Give yourself the gift of time to take action. Sign my petition if you haven't already done so. Share it widely if you haven't already done so. Anyone and everyone can sign, no matter where they live.
Happy Holidays!
Summary:
We need to save our unique plant and wildlife species in SF because they are found only here and no other place in the world. SF is unique in climate and habitats. If we lose these species, they'll be gone forever, including native bees, butterflies and birds. Sign this petition to insist that our officials protect and enhance native habitats in open spaces. City Supervisor Myrna Melgar is interested in taking action.
However, City officials are failing us when it comes to fire prevention and preparedness. See, sign and share my petition titled “Take action NOW to prevent San Francisco from Becoming the next Catastrophic Wildfire” at
Biodiversity message to City Officials:
San Francisco is an important part of the biodiversity hotspot that is California. This means we are blessed with an abundance of species, many of which we have brought to the brink of extinction. We have taken over the habitats of indigenous plants and wildlife, but we can restore habitat in open spaces to support declining populations of native bees, butterflies and birds.
We, the undersigned, demand that the City of San Francisco take immediate and corrective action to create a Citywide Vegetation Management Plan requiring that open spaces be restored with indigenous plants. Specifically, we call for:
● Nurseries: Propagate indigenous plants in City-owned nurseries for outplanting a majority of indigenous plants.
● Education: Educate landscapers, gardeners and the general public about the need to support native biodiversity with indigenous plants on public and private property. Work with City College of SF to ensure their Horticulture Department teaches students about the need to support native biodiversity with indigenous plants. Educate the general public about ways to avoid and mitigate harmful environmental impacts.
● Protecting and restoring habitat: Plant a majority of indigenous plants to enhance and re-create native habitats. Protect existing grassland, chaparral, woodland, wetland, riparian, dune and aquatic habitats. Immediately remove the City’s barriers to implementation of the Bay Delta Water Quality Control Plan, in order to support imperiled fish species and ecosystems along headwaters and in the San Francisco Bay Delta. Improve the quality of the City’s effluent flowing into the Pacific Ocean and Bay Delta.
● Best Management Practices (BMPs): Remove and avoid planting invasive plants. Use Integrated Pest Management.
● Legislation: Ban the planting of invasive plants and the use of rodenticides. Include landscaping predominantly with indigenous plants in Planning for construction projects. Treat Coast Live Oaks, Quercus agrifolia, as Landmark Trees for their ecological significance.
● Collaboration: Collaborate with nonprofit organizations, including the GGNRA, the Presidio Trust, the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, the California Native Plant Society, Nature in the City, Sutro Stewards and other like organizations. Encourage and acknowledge volunteerism.
● Reporting: Report annually to the mayor, the Board of Supervisors and the general public on the state of the City’s native habitats and vegetation and related plans, programs and practices.
This message will be sent to:
San Francisco Mayor Dan Lurie
San Francisco Board of Supervisors
San Francisco Public Utilities Commission and Department
San Francisco Recreation and Parks Commission
San Francisco Recreation and Park Department
San Francisco Public Works Commission
San Francisco Public Works Department
San Francisco Environment Commission
San Francisco Environment Department
San Francisco Urban Forestry Council
San Francisco Bureau of Urban Forestry
[Read about the City’s 2017 Biodiversity Resolution at https://sfbos.org/sites/default/files/r0107-18.pdf
[The photo: Fiesta flower, Pholistoma auritum, used to occur in the wild of San Francisco proper. Now it occurs in the wild of Yerba Buena Island and in the refugia of private SF gardens. For indigenous wildflower seeds for your garden, see https://cnps-yerbabuena.org/]
7/17/25 update:
Great news. The California Native Plant Society, Yerba Buena Chapter (of SF) posted my two petitions in their email blast. In case you missed the Wildfire Prevention and Preparedness Petition, it's at https://chng.it/8fgV5pdHhX
"Why these two petitions?" one might ask. The simplest answer is that dead/dying/dangerous trees should be replaced with plants indigenous to SF in support of rapidly declining populations of native bees, butterflies and birds. Please see, sign and share this: https://chng.it/8fgV5pdHhX.
7/19/25 Update:
There are dead, dying, dangerous eucalyptus trees along O'Shaughnessy Blvd., where there are NO FIRE HYDRANTS. City officials met me there, along with Cal Fire representatives. The SFPUC has removed eucalyptus from their parcel of Glen Canyon Park to "reduce fuel". However, other City officials intend to leave their trees as they are. These trees occur in the Significant Natural Resource Area and the recreation area of Glen Canyon Park and should be replaced with indigenous plants. Tell your contacts to sign this petition in addition to the wildfire petition at https://chng.it/8fgV5pdHhX
7/20/25 Update:
My photo shows what you'd miss while driving along O'Shaughnessy Blvd. at 35 mph. Neighbors and I are particularly worried about the potential for a fire that throws off burning embers in strong winds, as eucalyptus are known to do. These trees don't get a lot of fog drip, because they're in a canyon. Sixteen acres of these Glen Canyon eucalyptus are stressed by extreme August, September and October temperatures. Then the Diablo winds arrive every fall. So if you haven't already signed the Wildfire petition, see it again at https://chng.it/8fgV5pdHhX
7/27/25 Update:
For more inspiration to sign and share my wildfire prevention and preparedness petition at https://chng.it/8fgV5pdHhX, see
https://thevoicesf.org/could-wildfires-happen-in-san-francisco/.
The first article is an op-ed from Jake Sigg and me. A SFFD firefighter with extensive wildland experience comments this is an excellent article.
The second article is titled "Could wildfires happen in San Francisco? Yes...." It was written by a fire instructor who is also a former wildland firefighter.
8/13/25 Update:
Unfortunately, we cannot rely on SFFD to identify fire hazards other than dry grass, in spite of State regulations obligating them to do better. They rely on Cal Fire. But we cannot rely on Cal Fire, either. For example, “The forestry board…missed a January 2023 deadline to approve regulations to put Zone Zero into force–and the rules remained in limbo when LA burned….More than six months after the LA catastrophe, officials have yet to complete regulations as wildfires burn across the state.” Remember, fires can erupt around the City after a massive earthquake, too, not just after a vegetative fire that sends burning embers flying everywhere. Zone Zero refers to a 5’ combustibles-free perimeter around buildings.
8/21/25 Update:
In the next big earthquake, gas pipes will break. Fires will break out. Sign my petition to insist that City officials take fire prevention and preparedness seriously. The USGS says we have a 20% chance of a magnitude 7.5 or higher earthquake, a 51% chance of a magnitude 7 quake, and a 72% chance of a 6.7 or higher quake–all by 2043!*
For comparison, the 1989 Loma Prieta quake was a magnitude 6.9. The 1906 magnitude 7.9 quake released 32X the amount of energy of the 1989 quake!
Sign my Wildfire Prevention and Preparedness petition at: https://chng.it/8fgV5pdHhX
* https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2025/06/07/next-big-california-earthquake/83903857007/
11/14/2025 Update:
Thanks for your support for native biodiversity. Thanks for signing and sharing my petition. Thanks for your monetary contributions.
Happy Holidays!
471
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Petition created on July 11, 2025