Save the Bay

Save The Bay
Founded1961 (1961)[1][2]
FounderKay Kerr, Sylvia McLaughlin and Esther Gulick[1][2]
TypeNon-profit 501(c)(3)
FocusOpen space preservation, Natural habitat restoration, Environmental justice
Location
Area served
San Francisco Bay Area
Members
25,000[2]
Key people
Executive Director David Lewis[3]
Websitesavesfbay.org
Formerly called
Save San Francisco Bay Association

Save The Bay is a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving San Francisco Bay and related estuarine habitat areas. It was founded by Catherine Kerr, Sylvia McLaughlin, and Esther Gulick in 1961.

The organization aims to protect the bay from development and land reclamation by encouraging restoration to a natural state, allowing habitats such as salt flats to reform.[4]

The Bay

History

The organization was founded in 1961 as the Save San Francisco Bay Association by three women — Sylvia McLaughlin, Kay Kerr, and Esther Gulick — and originally began as a lobby group. In 1965, state legislation established the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission as a state agency, which the organization supported. The organization works to protect the wildlife of the Bay Area and quality of the large inland body of water.[1][5] Save The Bay worked to prevent the destruction of San Bruno Mountain to fill 27 miles (44km) of the San Mateo County shoreline.[1] This work has been noted as the first successful conservation effort in an urban area.[1]

The organization's work led to the creation of the Bay Conservation and Development Commission, which was later used as a blueprint for other government commissions such as the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, California Coastal Commission, and Delta Stewardship Council.[1]

Plastic bag bans

The organization has also pushed for plastic bag bans throughout the entire region. It includes strong support for strengthening the San Francisco plastic bag ban in 2011, which banned all retailers from giving out bags made out of non-biodegradable materials.[6] Save The Bay supported the 2012 San Jose, California, ban on plastic bags.[7]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Taugher, Mike (2011-11-05). "A pioneer remembers how she and friends saved the bay". Contra Costa Times. Archived from the original on 2011-12-09. Retrieved 2012-01-10.
  2. ^ a b c "Our History". Save The Bay. 2012. Archived from the original on 2012-01-25. Retrieved 2012-01-16.
  3. ^ Lewis, David; Russ Juskalian (2012). "Message from the Executive Director". Save The Bay. Archived from the original on 2012-01-26. Retrieved 2012-01-16.
  4. ^ "Our Impact – Save The Bay". savesfbay.org. Retrieved 2024-05-29.
  5. ^ Sylvia McLaughlin, Save the Bay founder, fights on, Peter Fimrite, San Francisco Chronicle, 31-10-2011, access date 10-01-2012
  6. ^ Let's make all S.F. retailers comply with bag ban, David Lewis, San Francisco Chronicle, 05-12-2011, access date 10-01-2012
  7. ^ Attention, shoppers: Get ready to BYOB (bring your own bag) in San Jose stores, Tracy Seipel, San Jose Mercury News, 25-12-2011, access date 08-01-2012

Further reading