View of the Bay Bridge and the City of San Francisco (photo: Darcie Luce)
History And Achievements
Friends of the San Francisco Estuary grew out of the broad multi-stakeholder process of establishing the San Francisco Estuary as one of 28 National Estuary Programs under the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The National Estuary Program is a non-regulatory program established by Congress under Section 320 of the Clean Water Act (CWA) in 1987 to pioneer a broad and innovative approach to respond to threats to estuaries.
This process led to the establishment of the San Francisco Estuary Partnership and the development of a master plan for recovery of the Estuary: the Estuary Blueprint (also known as the Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan or CCMP). As the affiliated non-profit of the San Francisco Estuary Partnership, Friends champions Estuary Blueprint implementation and public involvement and outreach.
Over the past 30 years, we have made the most impact in educating and mobilizing residents--from youth to elected officials-–on topics pertinent to estuarine health and resilience, resulting in improvements to creeks and watersheds and influencing key regulatory documents that manage the San Francisco Estuary ecosystem.
This process led to the establishment of the San Francisco Estuary Partnership and the development of a master plan for recovery of the Estuary: the Estuary Blueprint (also known as the Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan or CCMP). As the affiliated non-profit of the San Francisco Estuary Partnership, Friends champions Estuary Blueprint implementation and public involvement and outreach.
Over the past 30 years, we have made the most impact in educating and mobilizing residents--from youth to elected officials-–on topics pertinent to estuarine health and resilience, resulting in improvements to creeks and watersheds and influencing key regulatory documents that manage the San Francisco Estuary ecosystem.
Delta fishermen show their support for the Estuary at a State Water Resources Control Board meeting
(photo: Darcie Luce).
Highlights include:
We also celebrate the work of the many partners working around the Estuary to make this region a healthier place to live, work, and play for wildlife and people through our awards program recognizing essential restoration efforts, innovative environmental programs, and environmental art at the biennial State of the San Francisco Estuary Conference.
- Providing catalyst funding to the Estuary Partnership to uplift marginalized voices and support innovative ideas and initiatives, including the Estuary Youth Council, an innovative and boundary-pushing collaboration between government, community-based organizations, and young leaders from frontline communities.
- Contributing to a new State of the Estuary Conference scholarship fund.
- Advocating for greater awareness of the importance of freshwater flows in the San Francisco Estuary through the Freshwater Flows Program, resulting in resolutions passed in eight counties, two cities, and two water districts and stronger protective language in key regulatory documents.
- Organizing the “Bay+Delta+Water: Better Together” conference on freshwater flows attended by over 200 elected officials, agency leaders and community advocates from the San Francisco Bay & Delta regions.
- Partnering with the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board to produce two award-winning videos and present workshops on preventing erosion from construction projects.
- Educating and providing job training to K-12 students from underserved communities in San Pablo and Richmond through the Creek Keepers Environmental Justice Program.
- Developing an Estuary Restoration Group program that resulted in small-scale, community-based enhancement and restoration projects in partnership with businesses, resource agencies, local governments, teachers, students, and community groups.
- Establishing the Watershed Assistance Resource Center, providing technical assistance to community-based watershed groups in volunteer management, capacity building, and monitoring training.
- Coordinating educational events for Bay Area elected officials such as tours of the Delta by boat and trips to Sacramento.
We also celebrate the work of the many partners working around the Estuary to make this region a healthier place to live, work, and play for wildlife and people through our awards program recognizing essential restoration efforts, innovative environmental programs, and environmental art at the biennial State of the San Francisco Estuary Conference.
