Establishing a Legacy
Seventy-five years ago, during the depths of the Great Depression in 1934, voters in the 7 cities of El Cerrito, Albany, Berkeley, Oakland, Piedmont, Alameda, and San Leandro created the East Bay Regional Park District by an overwhelming 71% majority.  They reached deeply into their pockets to tax themselves a very substantial 5 cents per $100 of assessed property value to fund the Park District.  From its very beginning, the Park District was determined to acquire and protect the natural wilderness areas on the eastern side of San Francisco Bay before they were lost to development forever.

Conserving the Wilderness by Building Scenic Lanes
The newly formed Park District immediately embraced the advice of Frederick Law Olmsted, the famous landscape architect and designer of New York’s Central Park and many other great parks.  Years earlier, Olmsted had recommended building scenic lanes through the wilderness of the East Bay hillsides in order to conserve them.  Within 2 years, the Park District had acquired land rights to 3,220 acres (about 5 square miles) for its first 4 regional parks: Tilden Park (formerly Upper Wildcat Canyon); Temescal Regional Recreation Area; Sibley Volcanic Preserve (formerly Round Top); and Redwood Regional Park.  The Park District then secured millions of federal dollars for the East Bay community and assistance from the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC).
The Park District’s first concern was to build scenic lanes and boulevards.  Under the Park District’s direction, the WPA surgically carved Skyline Boulevard (including a portion of Grizzly Peak Boulevard) into the natural hillsides and forestlands to provide the public with a scenic drive from Tilden to Sibley (Round Top) and Redwood.

Building and Blending With the Natural Environment
The Park District’s WPA and CCC projects preserved the wilderness while carefully clearing hiking trails, equestrian paths and fire breaks.  They also built campgrounds, restrooms, and park buildings purposely designed to blend into their natural environment.  These Park District projects created over 1,300 full-time-equivalent jobs and income to boost the morale, self respect and dignity of men and women at a time when they needed it the most.

Stewardship of the Natural Environment
The Park District maintains its core values of preservation and environmental stewardship for future generations while providing healthy and sustainable recreation throughout the East Bay region (Alameda and Contra Costa counties).  The founders’ original goal – to maintain a balance between wilderness and recreational use, continues to this day: 90 percent of Park District land is undeveloped, providing open space and natural areas for hikers and outdoor enthusiasts.  An environmental ethic continues to guide all that the Park District does.
Sustainable Environmental Protection of the East Bay

As East Bay cities and counties developed and populations grew, the Park District increased the regional park and trail opportunities in balance with the increasing development and population.  Throughout the decades, the Park District has sustainably grown to currently include more than 98,000 acres of parkland (over 150 square miles!) with 65 regional parks and over 1,100 miles of regional trails.  The Park District provides regional park and trail opportunities within 20 minutes to all of the current 2.5 million residents throughout Alameda and Contra Costa counties.

What About Economic Benefits?
A comprehensive economic study commissioned by the Park District in 2000 shows that the regional parks and trails provide tremendous economic benefits to the East Bay.  Properties adjacent to the regional parks derive between 10-to-30% of their value from the Park District facilities.  If they were to be purchased today, the Park District lands would have a replacement value of close to $1 billion.  And the Park District facilities provide quality of life benefits to virtually all East Bay residents.

What About Social Equity and Environmental Justice?
The Park District has a long tradition of providing equal opportunity and access to all of its constituents.  The Park District has developed regional parks, such as Point Pinole Regional Shoreline in Richmond, and Bay Point Regional Shoreline in unincorporated Contra Costa County, near census tracts with the lowest incomes and highest concentrations of minorities.  And for more than 25 years, the Park District has offered its Parks Express low-cost bus program to make all regional parks accessible to students from schools with reduced-rate lunch programs, seniors, and people with disabilities.  Parks Express provides more than 15,000 riders a year with safe, economical and effective access to regional parks and trails.

So What Do Customers Think About the Park District?
Our customers, the 14 million annual regional park and trail visitors, and the East Bay voters, especially those with a high propensity to regularly vote, have continued to be passionately loyal to the Park District.  Park visitor surveys show that high quality regional parks and trails are vital components to maintaining the quality of life in the East Bay.  And ‘knowledge-based’ businesses and workers have shown a strong attraction to communities with a high quality of life.  The regional parks and trails are immensely popular with East Bay citizens.  And regional park visitors are extremely satisfied with the regional parks and trails.

And What Have You Done For Me Lately?
Similar to 1934, in November 2008, the East Bay voters again delivered a huge vote of confidence to the Park District by passing Measure WW, a $500 million park bond extension!  Again, by an overwhelming 71% majority, the voters reached deeply into their pockets to tax themselves up to $10 per year per $100,000 of assessed property value.  While it is proportionately less than the 5 cents per $100 (equivalent to $50 per $100,000) tax rate approved in 1934, it is still a significant amount during these very difficult economic times.

During the next 20 years, Measure WW will provide $125 million in local grants directly to East Bay cities, county service areas, and local park and recreation districts for local park projects, while $375 million will fund regional park projects.  The first Measure WW bond issuance for at least $50 million is being processed in 2009.  About $28 million will fund local park projects.  The local park projects include a sports center in Oakland, a water spray park in Concord, soccer fields in Pittsburg and Dublin, and park sea wall improvements in Newark.  And about $22 million will fund regional park projects, like Delta Science Center improvements at Big Break Regional Shoreline in Oakley, and Breuner Marsh wetland restoration at Point Pinole Regional Shoreline in Richmond.  With careful financial planning, the Park District hopes that the $50 million in initial Measure WW funds can be leveraged at a 2 for 1 ratio to effectively double its economic benefit to the East Bay community.

And the Next 75 Years?
As the Park District moves forward into the next 75 years of protecting the East Bay environment, it will continue to seek partnerships with other agencies (many of whom share the same constituents with the Park District) and a huge array of Park District stakeholders.  The Park District will stay true to its core values, such as balancing preservation with recreation for future generations, minimizing climate change with trees, plants, and grasslands that naturally reduce carbon dioxide, increasing green transportation opportunities with regional trail improvements, and provide safe and healthful recreation opportunities.  The Park District Master Plan Map (2007) provides a blueprint for existing and potential regional parks and trails in balance with the increasing development and populations in Alameda and Contra Costa counties.

The Park District invites you to join us and begin your journey into the East Bay regional parks and trails through the Park District’s comprehensive and easy to use website at www.ebparks.org.  So get out, explore the East Bay regional parks and trails, and help support and protect the East Bay environment for the next 75 years!

Jerry Kent, former EBRPD Assistant General Manager, and Brenda Montano, EBRPD Secretary, provided vital background information to this article.

The AEP event “ Taking on Weeds as Part of Environmental Protection and Restoration – the story of invasive Spartina in the San Francisco estuary” brought together a mix of biologists and engineers for an evening of presentations from The Spartina Project’s Director Peggy Olofson, and Monitoring Manager Ingrid Hogle.
The Spartina Project addresses problems resulting from the increasing plant hybrids between the invasive cordgrass Spartina alterniflora, and the native version, Spartina folisoa occurring in the Bay ecosystem.  These hybrids spread aggressively into open mud, displacing native species, hindering flood control, navigation, and other uses of this habitat type.
Peggy Olofson, the Director of the Project, provided some great background information as to the importance of hybrid eradication for the biological diversity of the Bay ecosystem, and how she has managed to cobble together sufficient funding to ensure the Project continues in these dark economic times.  An amazing feat, and the AEP takes its hat off to her! Ingrid Hogle, the Monitoring Program Manager, discussed the streamlining of the GPS to GIS workflows for the inventory and mapping of the invasive plants in all marshes and mudflats in the Bay Area. The Spartina team monitors the presence of the invasive plants in the marsh by caneo, helicopter and by foot, certainly an exciting job for any environmental professional.  I encourage you to check out their website for more information as to what the Project is up to and how you can help them to reclaim the San Francisco Bay from the clutches of the hybrid. http://www.spartina.org/
Many thanks to Barry Pearl who kindly organized for us to hold the event in the PUC building in down town San Francisco.

On Thursday November 19, 2009, more than 40 planners gathered at the Santa Clara Valley Water District in San Jose to be enlightened on the new SB 375 legislation. Panelists Bill Yeates, Ted Droettboom, and Doug Johnson impressed the crowd with their knowledge and passion on this important topic. Attendees showed interest in the new concept of tiering traffic analyses off the Sustainable Community Strategy (SCS) or Alternative Community Strategy (ACS), now a required part of Regional Transportation Plans. Audience questions also brought up some major issues, such as the nexus of schools, crime, and health care within urban cores, and how SB 375 will interact with other regulations such as the California Coastal Act.

The event was made possible by a generous monetary donation by HMH Engineers and the Water District’s excellent venue. The even was co-produced with the APACAN South Bay Regional Advisory Committee (RAC). AEP occasionally teams with APA to present events of mutual interest to both organizations.

This site will be home to articles and other publications by, for, and of interest to environmental professionals in the San Francisco Bay Area. To learn more about the AEP Bay Area chapter visit: sfbayaep.org.