It’s becoming clear that people who visit San Francisco’s wild areas like Mt. Davidson and McLaren Park are unaware of the coming destruction. Our outreach over the past several months to educate friends and neighbors about the expansion of the Natural Areas Program, a group within the San Francisco Rec & Park Dept., has been met with outrage. People are asking how they can help.  

So, we’re holding a friends program on Saturday, March 31 to provide information about the plan and talk about how you can help to stop NAP’s destruction and waste.

What’s at stake?

• 18,500+ healthy and beautiful trees will be killed because they are nonnative
• 10 miles of popular trails and 20 acres of dog play areas will be eliminated
• Fenced-off native gardens of mostly grass species will be planted where towering trees and thickets have stood for more than a century
•  Spraying of toxic herbicides will be steadily increased because native plants cannot be naturally sustained in these areas

Outreach to Neighbors & Friends

Our event will cover the parks that are affected and how we’re organizing against the plan that will be followed by a collaborative brainstorm for ideas for greater outreach to engage more people. Our petition to City officials has already been signed by more than 1,000. And we’re going to double that number in time to present the petition on National Arbor Day, April 27.

We’ll also talk about the City of San Francisco’s plan to float a new multimillion dollar bond measure for capital improvements in parks. If “improvement” means funding so NAP can render park features inaccessible and clear out wildlife habitat, we’re against it. We’ll talk about how we’re actively engaging with the City about bond priorities and how you can help.

If you’re able to join us, please register by sending an email with your full name, email address and phone number so we can contact you (the information will be kept private).

What: San Francisco Forest Alliance and Friends Rally

When: 1-4 pm, Saturday, March 31

Where: Miraloma Park Improvement Club, 350 O’Shaughnessy Blvd. (at Del Vale), San Francisco, CA 94127

RSVP: Send email to SFFORESTNEWS@gmail.com (include name and phone number)

This meeting should be a fun way to meet others who care deeply about the stewardship of our parks. The San Francisco Forest Alliance is a community group working to protect parks’ tree canopy and wildlife habitat, as well as recreation access. We advocate use of scarce city resources to keep parks safe and accessible, not create fenced-off native gardens by destroying a thriving ecosystem that supports hundreds of species in wild areas like Glen Canyon Park, Mt. Davidson, Mt. Sutro and McLaren Park.

San Francisco Forest Alliance