The East Bay Regional Park District (EBRPD) is preparing a new District Plan and is seeking public comment from Alameda and Contra Costa residents. Make your voices heard and stand up for birds and their habitat by completing the online survey by July 31, 2025.
The District Plan will be a high-level document,summarizing and mapping existing conditions, identifying trends, documenting staff and community input about the future of the Park District, and providing strategies and priorities to achieve the Park District’s vision. More information about the Plan and the EBRPD can be found on their website.
With over 126,000 acres of parklands and open space across 73 parks, representing all of our Bay Area ecosystems, these parks provide critical habitat for a huge range of plants and animals. There are many human uses of our park spaces that sometimes conflict with protecting this incredible biodiversity. It’s important that we all speak up for bird and wildlife habitat as we plan for the future of the regional parks.
You can consider these points when you complete the online survey. Note: your response will have more impact if you put them in your own words.
1. What is your vision for the future of regional parks in the East Bay?
In 2021, Golden Gate Bird Alliance and its allies successfully advocated to save the Alameda-Tesla property (Tesla Park) from off-road vehicle use. Now we need your help to convince the California State Parks Department to classify Tesla Park as a Reserve.
Classifying the 3,100 acre site as a Reserve will ensure the parks department prioritizes protecting wildlife, habitat, and cultural and spiritual indigenous resources, while still allowing lower impact activities like; hiking, wildlife viewing, birdwatching, and educational tours.
Tesla Park is home to 35 rare plant species, 7 sensitive vegetation communities and 50 special status wildlife species including the Golden Eagle, making it an important ecological site worth protecting.
Let’s make Tesla Park the first State Park Reserve in the region!
Take Action for Tesla Park Today
Contact California State Parks Department to let them know you want Tesla Park to be classified as a Reserve. Click the button to get an email template with messaging to help you start or see the sample text below!
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Berkeley Bird Festival 2022 – Darwin Mayhew
Welcome to Golden Gate Bird Alliance!
After months of deliberation and outreach, our new name was ratified by members on August 17 during an Annual Member Meeting at the David Brower Center in Berkeley.
Throughout our process to find a new name, we were reminded over and over again from our members and the community-at-large that we don’t do this conservation work alone. Rather, we do this work to protect birds and their habitat together. This is what it means to be an alliance.
Golden Gate Bird Alliance embodies our legacy, mission, and values.
— Golden Gate provides continuity with the past and honors our chapter’s geographic region and ecology. The strait connecting San Francisco Bay with the Pacific Ocean reminds us that our work at a local level has impacts far beyond our own backyard.
— Bird explicitly conveys our mission. For those unfamiliar with our work, know that we work to protect birds and their habitats.
— Alliance implies collaboration by a broad community of people working together on behalf of birds and wildlife. Not only are we a part of a larger network of bird conservation organizations across the country, we also work alongside other environmental organizations, partner with local chapters, and depend on our own membership to grow and diversify to successfully achieve our mission.
How did we choose our new name?
1. A New Name Committee was formed. The committee was comprised of 3 Golden Gate Bird Alliance staff (Clayton Anderson, Ryan Nakano, and Whitney Grover), 2 Board Members (Eric Schroeder and Tara McIntire), and 7 members solicited from the Golden Gate Bird Alliance new name emails sent out in March and April 2023. The committee represented a range of ages, racial and ethnic identities, and familiarity levels with the organization.
The committee met weekly from May 24, 2023 – July 26, 2023. Transparency was an important part of our process, you can read the committee’s full meeting minutes here. Our goal was to hear from the wide range of perspectives and voices across our region and beyond.
2. The committee built a framework for new names. Here is the framework.
3. Focus Group Feedback. With the assistance of a professional focus group moderator who offered her services pro bono, the New Name Committee created a list of questions to solicit feedback from 3 small focus groups.…
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Our Mission
To inspire people to protect Bay Area birds and our shared natural environment.
Our Vision
A world where birds, wildlife, and all people flourish together.
The Golden Gate Bird Alliance is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization. Our federal tax ID number is 94-6086896
Contact Us
Golden Gate Bird Alliance
2150 Allston Way Suite 210
Berkeley, California 94704