The City of San Francisco owns the Sharp Park golf course, located in the City of Pacifica. The area is home to the California red-legged frog and the San Francisco garter snake, two endangered species. The City’s Parks and Recreation Department has proposed millions of dollars of improvements to the golf course, including a new seawall to release a deteriorating levee.
A substantial part of the golf course is actually below sea level and kept dry by a levee/seawall that is in bad shape. Saltwater incursion has been documented within the course in Laguna Salada and Horse Stable Pond. Without major work on the levee, the entire western end of Sharp Park will revert to saltwater marsh – as it once was and should be again.
The California Coast Resilient Habitats Campaign supports an alternative proposal from the Wild Equity Institute and the Sierra Club San Francisco Bay Chapter. The proposal began as a peer review scientific study to protect the endangered species, protects the beach which would be eroded by a seawall. The plan would also cost tax payers considerably less than the current plan and includes recreational opportunities that cause much less negative environmental impacts than golf course upkeep. San Francisco supports five other public golf courses, so restoring Sharp Park’s natural luster is a viable option for the city.
Read the Alternative Restoration Plan
Read the Resilient Habitat Campaign Support Letter
If you would like to get involved with Sharp Park restoration and other conservation efforts, or have questions, please contact Conservation Organizer Michelle Myers at michelle.meyers@sierraclub.org or (510) 848-0800.
For donations and inquiries, please contact California Coast Resilient Habitats Campaign Organizer Amanda Wallner at Amanda.Wallner@sierraclub.org or (916) 557-1100x106 at the Sierra Club California 801 K Street, Suite 2700 Sacramento, CA 95814
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