WILDLIFE HABITAT

UNIQUE ECOSYSTEMS TO SAVE

The Bay Area is a rare ecological gem: It is one of the six most important biodiversity hot spots in the nation, according to The Nature Conservancy. With only 5% of California’s land, the Bay Area supports 33% of the state’s natural communities. Preserving and restoring this extraordinary environment is both an ecological imperative and in our self-interest.

A network of healthy habitats contributes to:

Coping with Climate Change
Intact, functional habitats provide environmental resilience. Forests remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere, wetlands buffer rising tides, and wildlife corridors allow animals to migrate to adjust to climate changes.

Economic Competitiveness
Healthy fisheries fuel California’s commercial and sportfishing industries. Open spaces rich with native plants and animals attract tourists and a talented workforce
that values nearby nature.

California’s Enduring Appeal
Walking through towering redwood forests, watching shorebirds swoop into tidal flats,
spotting hawks on family camping trips—experiences like these are why people love California.

Project Puts Biodiversity on the Map

The San Francisco Bay Area Upland Habitat Goals Project, led by the Bay Area Open
Space Council, is bringing scientists and land managers together to identify lands vital to maintaining the Bay Area’s biodiversity.

Mountain by mountain, valley by valley, the project is mapping the habitats—and the connections between them—that are needed to sustain healthy plant, fish, bird, and other wildlife communities. With this information in hand, public agencies, conservation nonprofits, and others can develop scientifically grounded conservation and restoration strategies. (For more information, see www.uplandhabitatgoals.org.)