Vote Yes on Prop 4, the Climate Bond
By Maureen Lahiff
“A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability and beauty of the biotic community” — Aldo Leopold
The integrity, stability, and beauty of the biotic community in the San Francisco Bay, of which almost 8 million humans are an integral part, is threatened by climate change, including habitat loss and sea level rise. As generous and appreciative members who love this community and its birds, we can respond in a positive way this fall by supporting California Proposition 4, the Climate Bond. Even if you are not a California voter, you can express your support and encourage others to vote for this critical investment in our future.
When my birding colleague Linda Carloni and I started developing a class on shorebirds and waterbirds for Golden Gate Bird Alliance ten years ago, we considered it essential to include a unit on the importance of San Francisco Bay to birds, especially migrants and the shorebirds and waterbirds who spend the non-breeding season here.
As I prepare to teach this class again, I continue to be amazed at the number of species for which SF Bay is crucial habitat, either as a stopover or as a final destination on their off-season journeys from the Arctic, the Great Plains and the Great Basin, or, since migration is, after all, all about food, from Mexico and southern California. Every fall, SF Bay holds more migrating and wintering shorebirds than any other major wetland area on the Pacific Coast. This includes around 90% of the American Avocets, 80% of the Black-necked Stilts, 70% of the Willets, 70% of the Least Sandpipers, 60% of the Western Sandpipers, and 60% of the Black-bellied Plovers. There’s more, but that’s enough to give a vivid portrait. And that’s with only 10% of the Bay’s wetlands left.
Much of the waters and surrounding natural shorelines of San Francisco Bay and San Pablo Bay are designated as Important Bird Areas. One of the criteria for a shorebird IBA is that over 10,000 shorebirds can be observed on a single day (by several observers). I volunteer for the annual fall shorebird survey that collects these sorts of data. Holding ten or more sensitive species is another IBA criterion. SF Bay is designated of hemispheric importance by the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network (WHSRN) and is a Ramsar Convention Wetland of International Importance.
Over the years, I’ve always told the class that these fancy-sounding designations do not come with any funding. Now you can help change that.
$85 million from the Climate Bond is designated for habitat restoration in San Francisco Bay.
Wetlands not only provide crucial habitat for birds to roost, feed and nest, they filter contaminants from creeks and runoff water before they enter the Bay, and they are efficient at carbon sequestration. Wetlands habitat will continue to protect homes and infrastructure from increasingly high tides and storm surges.
Of course, that is just one part of what Proposition 4 will do to preserve and restore the integrity, stability, and beauty of the SF Bay and its inhabitants. Climate bond funds will support desperately needed infrastructure for safe drinking water and for nature-based solutions to prevent wildfires, which will lead to air quality improvements. If we act now, we can increase the health and resiliency of our precious community.
Learn why GGBA supports Prop 4 at goldengatebirdalliance.org/prop4.
For more information on the general Yes on Prop 4 campaign, visit yesonprop4ca.com
Master Birder Maureen Lahiff is chair of GGBA’s adult ed committee and a member of the Climate Committee. She is a certified California Naturalist, a Certified Interpretive Guide, and a California Climate Steward. Maureen serves as a Lake Merritt docent, leads field trips, especially shorebird and waterbird field trips and teaches the waterbirds and shorebirds class in the late fall.