San Francisco Bay Restoration Program

The Problem
The ecological health of the San Francisco Bay is being threatened.

San Francisco Bay is the single most important estuary on the west coast of the Americas. Hundreds of years ago, the bay was a biological marvel of incredible diversity, supporting more than 750 species of fish, birds, and other animals. Today, San Francisco Bay is greatly altered. 150 years of population growth and development have greatly reduced the bay’s bio-productivity. Unless these problems are addressed, the estuary, its fish/shellfish populations, and other marine wildlife dependent on the bay’s resources will be destroyed (to learn more about Threats to the Bay, click here).

The Solution
Through outreach efforts and hands-on restoration projects, we can confront and reduce these threats to create a healthier more productive bay for future generations. Find out how:

• Community involvement. IFR, in cooperation with the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration’s Restoration Center, is launched a fisheries habitat restoration program, called the San Francisco Bay Restoration Program, to combat the degradation of the bay. Beginning in 2003, this partnership program granted funds to several on-the-ground restoration efforts in the San Francisco Bay Area.

• Scientific research. Staff and scientists from IFR, the University of California-Davis, and San Francisco State University agree that the health of the San Francisco Bay and its inhabitants is in serious decline. However, more data pertaining to the Bay’s current state must be collected before design and implementation of an effective and lasting restoration program can begin. For this reason, IFR collaborates with several scientists, analyzing research and restoration efforts on the Bay.

• Media alerts. IFR is committed to stimulating advocacy and public activism in regard to resource protection in the Bay Area. We engage in a myriad of advocacy activities, including media outreach (e.g. letters to the editor, op-ed pieces, TV and radio interviews), economic studies; research and publication, action alert bulletins, petitions concerning agency regulations, and our weekly electronic newsletter, SUBLEGALS. By alerting the general public to the need for restoration, we can more effectively make that goal a reality.

The Future of the San Francisco Bay

The IFR/NOAA partnership fostered four hands-on restoration projects in the Bay Area. IFR’s efforts can be leveraged to increase scope-of-work and dollar amounts allotted to restoration projects. IFR plans to leverage its initial successes to achieve several additional goals, including:

• Advocating for the protection of the bay

• Educating the public about the bay and the on-going efforts to save it

• Exploring new ways to systemize the inclusion of scientist’s and fishermen’s knowledge and participation in the restoration effort

• Fostering strategic partnerships with other conservation and fishery groups to combine our energies for the most effective restoration efforts

If you would like to learn more about how you can support IFR and the San Francisco Bay Restoration Program, please click here to visit Support IFR, or TAKE ACTION!.

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