The Upland Habitat Goals Project has two objectives:

1. Increase the acreage of protected lands by increasing public and private funding for habitat acquisition and restoration, and
2. Develop an increased awareness of key habitats among land management agencies and local jurisdictions charged with land use planning.

During a workshop held in June 2004, the following statement of purpose was developed by the participating land managers and scientists:

• The San Francisco Bay Area Upland Habitat Goals Project is a science-based process that will use existing and new data supplemented by expert opinion to recommend the types, amounts and distribution of upland habitats, linkages, compatible uses and the ecological processes needed to sustain diverse and healthy communities of plant, fish and wildlife resources in the nine-county Bay Area. The resulting GIS database and reference document are intended to be decision-support tools to inform voluntary, non-regulatory investments, protection strategies and management policies of public resource agencies, nonprofit conservation organizations, local government, legislators and private foundations seeking to preserve, enhance and restore the biological diversity of upland habitats before advancing development eliminates remaining opportunities.

The Bay Area will continue to grow dramatically into the foreseeable future. If we are to thoughtfully accommodate this growth, the region needs a comprehensive understanding of habitat values, and use this knowledge to guide acquisition, restoration and stewardship investments to maximize conservation of the region's biological diversity.

The Upland Goals Project will bring together scientists and resource managers representing all or the majority of the agencies and organizations responsible for protecting, restoring and enhancing Bay Area upland habitats to recommend habitat goals. Participants will use scientific data and expert opinion to identify the types, amounts and distribution of upland habitats, linkages, compatible uses and the ecological processes needed to sustain diverse and healthy communities of plant, fish and wildlife resources in the nine-county area.

The successful model of the San Francisco Baylands Ecosystem Goals, underscores the benefits of broad-based conservation planning. Completed in 1999 and focused on wetlands at the Bay's edge, that study has contributed to the protection of 36,000 acres of wetlands and attracted significant funding for implementation.

For more information, please contact Nancy Schaefer, Project Consultant, at <nschaefer1@comcast.net>.

• Please visit our NEW Web Mapping Interface!
  

• Compact version (for smaller screens)

Created by GreenInfo Network, ParkInfo's development is primarily supported by the following organizations:

• GreenInfo Network (site developer and data manager)
• Bay Area Open Space Council
• California Council of Land Trusts
• Southern California Open Space Council

The Council's implementation of ParkInfo.org features the Bay Area Protected Lands Database, which was jointly created by the Bay Area Open Space Council and GreenInfo Network. This GIS database covers the nine county San Francisco Bay Area, including lands protected primarily as open space by an ownership interest of a governmental agency or non-profit organization (fee or easement). The most current release of the database (May 2006) contains lands at all scales –from neighborhood tot lots to national parks.  Data may not be exactly current for any particular agency, depending on their responsiveness to our surveys.

In general, ParkInfo contains all lands whose use is primarily for open space and recreation, that are owned by a public agency or non-profit land trust, and that are fully open to the public or where use is allowed by acquiring a special permit from the owning agency or organization. ParkInfo does not necessarily include sites such as recreation buildings or other non-open space recreation sites. It also does not include private golf courses or other privately owned open space lands.

The statewide ParkInfo.org Web site can also be used for searches outside the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area.

Our Tenth Annual Open Space Conference on May 21st, 2008 was a great success!

Thank you all for making our conference such a great opportunity to connect with conservation colleagues!

Nature within reach is what makes the Bay Area so special, yet it also presents us with some of our most pressing challenges as the region continues to grow. Local agriculture, urban parks, water and air quality, climate change, wildlife corridors - there are many important reasons that the Bay Area needs to maintain and increase access to natural areas.

This year's Conference featured noted speakers and presentations that showcased regional planning efforts and demonstrated creative approaches to ensuring both cultural and biological diversity. Attendees learned about transformational leadership involving individuals and groups coming together to change the economic, environmental and social landscape of the region by rediscovering their communities' vision and developing new paths and unconventional alliances to get there.

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Agenda Highlights included:

Protecting Our Land, Our Food, and Our Economy Tom Stubbs, Owner, Stubbs Winery History of Land Protection in the Bay Area Paul Rogers, Reporter, San Jose Mercury News Next Generation Partnerships Beth Pardieck, Stewardship Manager, Muir Heritage Land Trust Rona Zollinger, Environmental Studies Academy, MUSD The Art of Watersheds Pamela Michael, Executive Director, River of Words

Conservation Planning: Upland Habitat and Beyond Regional Biodiversity and Local Applications Climate Change, Privilege and Consciousness Carolyn Finney, Assistant Professor and Geographer, UC Berkeley Fostering Thriving Communities Through Regional Planning Ken Kirkey, Planning Director, Association of Bay Area Governments Amy Hutzel, Bay Area Program Manager, Coastal Conservancy Vision and Voices Open Space Council Members and Partners

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Conference Materials:

Download conference presenter powerpoint presentations here.

Sponsors

The Bay Area Open Space Council would like to thank the following organizations for their generous support of the Tenth Annual Bay Area Open Space Conference. For information about becoming a sponsor, please contact Elizabeth Adam at elizabeth@openspacecouncil.org or 415.235.2756.

               

   

                             
               

  

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• Latest Announcements from the Bay Area Open Space Council
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• YourWetlands.org Podcast from the San Francisco Bay Joint Venture

• Watch for the BRIGHT ORANGE icon appearing on various RSS-enabled pages. Some additional information about RSS can also be found at Wikipedia.org and Mozilla.org.
• These feeds are supported in Firefox, Safari, NetNewsWire, and MSIE 7. See some example images of the Bay Area Open Space Council web site through Various NewsReaders and WebBrowsers.
  

Professional Associates are individuals, companies and corporations that provide services to park and open space agencies and organizations. Professional Associates come from a wide range of disciplines including resources biologists, land use attorneys, civil engineers, hydrologists, landscape architects, real estate appraisers, and more.

• Friend — $500

• Prominent listing in Professional Resources Database developed and maintained for Council Members.
• Networking opportunities with the Council and Professional Associate Members at Annual Conference and other meetings and events.
• Opportunity to support activities and programs that advance the acquisition, protection, preservation and education of Bay Area parks and open space areas.
• Obtain a complimentary Bay Area Protected Lands laminated poster.
• Receive regional news stories, job listings, and other electronic informational announcements and reports.
• Become known as a supporter of the Council, the region’s premier park and open space acquisition, restoration and land stewardship collective.



• Partner — $1,000

• All Friend Benefits plus Additional Benefits:
• Receive discounted exhibitor fee at Annual Open Space Conference.
• Receive recognition through prominent listing on Professional Associate Members section on Council website.
• Invitation to Annual Professional Associate Members Event.
• Complimentary copies of Council Reports and Studies.



• Sustainer — $2,500

• All Friend and Partner Benefits plus Additional Benefits:
• Opportunity to develop and participate in Working Groups of Professional Associate and Council Members.
• Opportunity to attend and make themed, relevant presentations at special Council Meetings.

For more information about the Professional Associate Membership Program, please contact Bettina Ring, Executive Director, at 415-460-1540 or <Bettina@OpenSpaceCouncil.org>.

The Bay Area Conservancy Program was established through State Legislation in 1997 and is administered by the California Coastal Conservancy. The Program received its first funding in July of 1999.

The reports below summarize how funds have been expended. Grants have been awarded in all nine Bay Area counties within the jurisdiction of the Program, and for the full range of Program responsibilities—regionally significant public parks, trails, natural habitat preservation and restoration, farmland protection, and environmental education. All acquisitions have been with willing sellers, and have involved both the purchase of fee title ownership and conservation easements. Grant recipients have included public agencies and nonprofit organizations. Despite the diversity of grant recipients and project purposes, all of the funded projects share several characteristics: They are regionally significant. Each achieves multiple goals. All are cooperative ventures bringing together many different agencies, organizations, and interests. They close institutional gaps and bring coherence and comprehensiveness to individual efforts. The Bay Area Open Space Council is excited about the progress that has been made by the Bay Area Conservancy Program, and is pleased to present these progress reports.

• Sixth Year Report (FY 2004/2005): January 2006
• Fifth Year Report (FY 2003/2004): November 2004
• Fourth Year Report (FY 2002/2003): October 2003
• Third Year Report (FY 2001/2002): March 2003
• Second Year Report (FY 2000/2001): March 2002
• First Year Report (FY 1999/2000): March 2001

Regional Needs Briefing Book

Prepared in 1999, the Regional Needs Briefing Book provides an overview of the preservation themes and needs of the nine-county region. The information contained in this publication is derived from adopted plans and policies, published reports, and discussions with key professionals.

• Regional Needs Briefing Book: July 1999

The Bay Area's Regional Open Space Vision

The State Coastal Conservancy and the Bay Area Open Space Council in late 2002 and early 2003 compiled information on park, habitat and agricultural resource areas in the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area which have been variously identified by public agencies and non-profit land trusts as worthy of permanent protection and sustainble stewardship. This information is displayed on the following two maps, which may be viewed on-line or downloaded. These maps should not be interpreted as indicating mandatory priorities or in any way constituting a Master Plan, but rather are intended to inform decisison-making for the Bay Area Conservancy Program and it's land conservation partners.

Open Space, Habitat, and Recreational Areas of Interest

Major landscape-scale habitats and recreation areas worthy of public investment, including current high priority projects for the Bay Area Conservancy Program.

• Regional Priorities: April 2003

Regional Priorities for Agricultural Preservation

High priority areas for agricultural protection, distinguishing areas of irrigated agriculture from important grazing lands.

• Farmland Priorities: April 2003