San Francisco Urban
Resources Partnership
Final Report
Project Title: Muwekma Ohlone Pocket Park- Master Planning
Phase
Grant Recipient:
Muwekma Ohlone Pocket Park
Fiscal Agent: Renaissance
Parents of Success (http://www.islaiscreek.org/parentsofsuccess.html
)
SF-URP Grant Amount:
$30,000
Date of Report: March
6, 2002
1. ACTIVITIES/ACCOMPLISHMENTS:
Project objectives were to assess, plan, and initiate the
preservation of this existing wildlife refuge for the benefit of the local
environment and community, to become an asset to the Bay Trail Project, and to
become an increasingly important role in the pocket parks of our urban
area. The following activities and
accomplishments are some of the ways these objectives were met.
· 3/20/01
Muwekma Ohlone Park history completed by historian (www.islaiscreek.org/ohlonehistorybackground.html
)
· (
www.islaiscreek.org/ohlonehistcultfedrecog.html
).
· 4/07/01
A Park stewardship day was supported by Youth in Action (YIA), part of the San
Francisco Conservation Corps Park, RMC Concrete employees (providing labor and
lunch), Hanson Aggregates employees, and the City of San Francisco Department
of Recreation and Parks (providing labor and mulch).
(http://www.islaiscreek.org/photosofvolunteerscomunity.html
)
· 4/21/01
Another Park stewardship day was attended by YIA, and the Department of
Recreation and Parks.
(http://www.islaiscreek.org/cleanupdayapril21.html
)
· 5/19/01
The Muwekma Ohlone Pocket Park, the Native American Cultural Center, and the
Neighborhood Parks Council collaborated to host the documentary film festival,
“Weaving Our Roots: Native Art in the Parks” on-site.
(http://www.islaiscreek.org/nativeartsfilmfestival.html
)
(http://www.islaiscreek.org/nativeartsintheparks.html
)
6/26/01 Bik Wah
International completed topographical, habitat, and plant community surveys and
map of upland and intertidal zone areas from Third Street to eastern end of
Park. (Hardcopies or e-mail CADD files available )
· 7/09/01:
YIA assisted with trash abatement, weeding, and planting indigenous seedlings
donated by the Natural Areas Program of the Department of Recreation and Parks.
(http://www.monkeyview.net/zabudam@pacbell.net/islais_creek_cleanupday_july_9/index.vhtml
)
· 7/12/01
“Education, Restoration, and Recreation at the Muwekma Ohlone Pocket
Park,” a plan for integrating the natural area into the community, was
completed. Consultants conducted a
preliminary biological inventory and assessed the needs and resources of
interested organizations and individuals.
Their report proposed potential partnerships and appropriate educational
programming, as well as some habitat restoration and recreational uses of the
Park.
(http://www.islaiscreek.org/IslaisCreekHabitatStudies.html
)
· 7/14/01
San Francisco Sierra Club “Ballpark to Ballpark” hike brought 35
hikers to the Park along their nine mile route, as the hikers learned about
significant natural, recreational, historical and developing areas between Pac
Bell Park in Mission Bay and 3-Com Ballpark at South Basin.
(http://www.islaiscreek.org/sierraclubatislaiscreek.html
)
· 8/04/01 The Park hosted a community meeting to
present and discuss the impact of the Illinois Street InterModel Bridge Project
on the Park and the local community.
Attendees included representatives from the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe, the
Living Art Community of Illinois Street at Islais Creek, the USDA Urban
Resources Partnership Grant Program, the Wildlife Habitat Council, the EPA, the
California Academy of Sciences, the Port of San Francisco, the Neighborhood
Parks Council, and the Supervisor for San Francisco District 10.
(http://www.islaiscreek.org/islaismagicaugust42001.html )
· 10/11/01
Representatives from the Education Department and the Department of
Invertebrate Zoology from the California Academy of Sciences visited the Park
to explore possible future relationships with their educational programming and
with their SF Bay:2K research project, documenting the biodiversity of benthic
fauna of the San Francisco Bay.
(http://www.islaiscreek.org/academyofsciencesatislais.html
)
· 10/20/01
Ridge Trail Education Group assisted with trash abatement and planting of
indigenous plants donated by Natural Areas Program.
(http://www.monkeyview.net/zabudam@pacbell.net/ridgetrailvisit/index.vhtml
)
· 8/01-11/01
San Francisco League of Urban Gardeners provided fennel eradication over three
visits.
(http://www.monkeyview.net/zabudam@pacbell.net/islaiscreekslug/index.vhtml
)
· 11/01/01
E.R. Taylor Elementary School provided trash abatement and planted native
seedlings donated by the Natural Areas Program.
(http://www.monkeyview.net/zabudam@pacbell.net/ertaylor/index.vhtml
)
· Historical
Photos and History of Islais Creek and Local Community
(http://www.islaiscreek.org/webphotos.html
)
(http://www.islaiscreek.org/islaiscreekhistory.html
)
(http://www.islaiscreek.org/firstatomicbombinsanfran.html
)
(http://www.islaiscreek.org/oldphotosofhunterspoint.html
)
· 2/23/02
The Park hosted students from YIA in their efforts to produce a documentary
film on environmental injustices in the area.
(http://www.monkeyview.net/zabudam@pacbell.net/youthinaction/index.vhtml
)
2. CHANGE IN WORK PLAN/ TIME FRAME:
Please provide a comparison of actual activities to those
described in your work plan.
Explain any differences in planned versus actual activities.
In the original work plan, it was anticipated that a
naturalist, hydrologist, ornithologist, landscape architect, and marine
biologist would be needed in order to conduct a preliminary comprehensive study
and ongoing monitoring. This plan
was revised such that a biological inventory was included in the master plan,
“Education, Restoration, and Recreation at the Muwekma Ohlone Pocket
Park.” (http://www.islaiscreek.org/IslaisCreekHabitatStudies.html
)
Through
repeated visits, organisms found from the upland area to the low tide zone and
birds in the general vicinity were identified and listed. Additionally, the California Academy of
Sciences generously offered their complete database of archival biological
information about Islais Creek, included in the same report. It was also assumed in the original
plan that permits would be acquired by March 2001. However, the Port of San Francisco said the permits would
not be needed, since the Park was conducting habitat enhancement rather than
building and construction.
3. OBSTACLES ENCOUNTERED:
What problems or difficulties did you encounter that
impacted the progress of this project?
How did you address them?
One of the original objectives of the Park’s SF URP
project was to become an asset to the Bay Trail Project. This goal could not be realized, as the
Park was declined for funding as a destination of the Bay Trail. (http://www.islaiscreek.org/ABAGdocumentsubmitted.html
)
A significant
concern of Park stewards and community members is the specter of the proposed
new Illinois Street bridge for rail and truck traffic across Islais Creek. (http://www.islaiscreek.org/illinoisbridgeallstuff/illinoisbridgeatislais.html
)
(http://www.islaiscreek.org/illinoisbridgeallstuff/IllinoisBridgeGuestbook/messages.html
)
In December
2001, the drilling resulted in collateral damage to the Park, when a sewer
carrying secondary effluent was ruptured, causing sewage to bubble up through
the ground. (http://www.islaiscreek.org/sewerpipecollapseatislais.html
)
The Park and
its stewards have provided a meeting place for concerned community members to
get information and mobilize in response to the proposed bridge and recent
damage.
4. BUDGET SUMMARY:
Attach a copy of your last Reimbursement Request Summary
page if submitted separately from this report- (Attached as separate document)
Did
you complete your work plan and associated expenditures on schedule? Yes
Was
your estimated budget accurate for the scope of work for your project? Yes
5. PROJECT MATCH (CASH& IN-KIND CONTRIBUTIONS):
Include a summary of your project match if submitted
separately from this report.
Were
you able to accrue your matching contribution on schedule? Yes. Matching contributions exceeded grant amount.
Was
obtaining your matching contribution requirement difficult? No
6. NEW PARTNERSHIPS:
Have any additional partners been involved in the
project? Please describe their
role.
Partners
that have participated in the project, other than those listed in the July 2000
proposal, include the San Francisco League of Urban Gardeners (offering
maintenance, irrigation, planting and consultation), the California Academy of
Sciences (offering archival biological information), the Youth in Action program
of the San Francisco Conservation Corps (offering labor for restoration
activities), and the San Francisco Department of Recreation and Parks (offering
materials, supplies, and labor for restoration activities). Additionally, a main goal of “Education, Restoration, and
Recreation at the Muwekma Ohlone Pocket Park,” was to identify new
partnerships that will be pursued in the future.
7. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FROM SF-URP:
Sara
McKay (SLUG) and Lisa Hockholt (NRCS) helped with understanding forms, documents,
and grant expectations.
8. FUTURE PLANS:
How do you plan to
maintain the project? Have you
been able to obtain additional funding to continue your project? If so, how much?
The Park was recently awarded a $10,000 Five Star
Restoration Grant from the Wildlife Habitat Council (http://www.wildlifehc.org/managementtools/fivestar3.cfm
)
and a $65,000
CDBG Habitat and Restoration grant through the San Francisco Mayor’s
Office. (http://www.islaiscreek.org/CDBGgrantaward.html
)
The Park is seeking further funding to continue current
efforts, and to hire a part-time coordinator to implement the educational and
restoration plan developed by the consultants.
Have the following been shared with SF-URP?
Photos of the project Yes
News articles or tapes of media coverage Yes-
(see URLs above )
Samples of any products developed N/A
Total volunteer hours: Estimated: 1000 to 1500 hours
Project representative
affirms that the following have been completed and attached to this report:
Project representative further affirms that, as of the date
of this report: 1) all project documents and records are in order; and 2) that
SLUG has advised project to retain all project documents for a three to five
year period.
Authorized Project Representative
David Erickson, Project Facilitator
(print name and title)