Crissy Marsh Monitoring

In 2003 and 2004, the Trust, the National Park Service, and the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy completed the Crissy Field Marsh Expansion Study, which considered the volume of water flowing in and out of the marsh and its ongoing function, with the goal of understanding what is required to keep the marsh inlet open. The fifth year of a stewardship and monitoring program focusing on the restored tidal marsh and dunes at Crissy Field is underway. The restored tidal marsh provides habitat for wildlife and plants that have not existed on the Presidio in over a century. It supports at least 70 invertebrate taxa and numerous migrating and wintering water and shorebirds. It is also provides foraging, nursery and/or spawning habitat for at least 19 fish taxa. Data on marsh water levels and geomorphologic change has been critical to understanding the mechanisms leading to tidal inlet closure. Water quality, and plant and soil data have improved understanding of the physical and biological responses to tidal inlet closure.

Mountain Lake Enhancement

The Presidio Trust, the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, the National Park Service, and community stewards are enhancing Mountain Lake and making it an even more appealing destination for visitors. Over the past several years, native plants have been reestablished, invasive eucalyptus has been removed, and benches and a south shore overlook have been installed. In 2005, more than 2,000 volunteer hours were spent removing non-native plants, clearing weedy underbrush from the willows around the lake, and planting nearly 500 plants on the south shore. Trails on the south and east shores were re-surfaced to improve the visitor experience.

Dragonfly Creek

This Creek is located in the Fort Scott area near the Presidio Native Plant Nursery. The creek supports a remarkable diversity of native plants and animals, but is largely overwhelmed by eucalyptus trees and other non-native plants. To revitalize this creek habitat, approximately 30 eucalyptus trees were removed in 2005 and 2006.

Lobos Creek Valley

Since 2002, the Trust has been working with the City and County of San Francisco and the National Park Service to improve and protect the water quality of Lobos Creek.  Lobos Creek provides most of the potable water for the Presidio, and creates valuable riparian habitat for Presidio wildlife. Ongoing monitoring of water quality indicates significant improvements in quality compared with earlier years.  Much of the improvement can be attributed to the City’s efforts at rehabilitating or sealing old sewage lines into Lobos Creek. The Trust will continue to work with the City and National Park Service to protect the water quality of Lobos Creek.

Inspiration Point

In 2001, the Inspiration Point transformation began with the restoration of the famous bay view, creation of an impressive stone scenic overlook, and planting of serpentine grassland habitat on the summit slopes. In 2004, 16,000 native grasses and wildflowers were added. Since then, an additional 8,000 plants were planted below Inspiration Point, 6,700 grasses and wildflowers in the grassland, and 1,300 native shrubs, grasses, and wildflowers in the Inspiration Point Overlook landscaped area. Invasive species removal is ongoing. In 2006 a small number of storm damaged trees were removed to enhance this rare California habitat.

Presidio Park Stewards Volunteer Program

Since 1994, Presidio Park Stewards have been monitoring rare plants and supporting the conservation of the park’s natural heritage. In 2005, volunteers invested more than 21,000 hours weeding, planting, collecting seed, and propagating plants. This ever-expanding community of volunteers includes staff, interns, AmeriCorps members, corporate and school groups, Presidio residents, and people from San Francisco neighborhoods and beyond. In the past year, this diverse group participated in hundreds of stewardship and education programs. As new natural restoration projects are implemented, the acreage needing long-term stewardship increases, and the role of park stewards becomes increasingly vital to the Presidio’s living natural history.

Presidio Native Plant Nursery

Staffed by Parks Conservancy horticulturalists and dedicated volunteers, and funded by the Presidio Trust, the Presidio Native Plant Nursery delivers up to 60,000 plants that are planted at restoration projects around the park each year. In 2005, more than 150 plant species were grown from seeds, bulbs, and other plant material gathered by hand from remnant natural areas of the Presidio. The nursery continues to play a key role in habitat restoration activities throughout the park, and provides both volunteer and educational opportunities to the public.

Rare Plant Monitoring

The Presidio is home to 16 rare plant species, four of which have federal status as threatened or endangered. Each year, volunteers and staff with the Presidio Park Stewards program conduct field monitoring of the more critical populations of these rare plants. Most of them are wildflowers that live for one or two years. Some are showy, such as dune gilia (Gilia capitata ssp. chamissonis) or San Francisco wallflower (Erysimum franciscanum). Others, such as the Marin dwarf flax (Hesperolinon congestum), are diminutive yet important components of the Presidio’s ecology.

Populations of wildflowers naturally fluctuate year to year, depending on environmental factors such as abundance and timing of rainfall. Although this should hold true for the Presidio’s rare plants, monitoring results during the past 12 years have shown an overall upward trend. This suggests that the restoration efforts of the Presidio natural resources program have provided the right conditions for expansion of rare plants and the habitats with which they are associated.

One example is the endangered Presidio clarkia (Clarkia franciscana), which grows in the unique serpentine grassland habitat at Inspiration Point. Its pink blooms dot the golden grassy hills each May and June, just as many other wildflowers have traded their petals for seeds. Since the first formal monitoring of Presidio clarkia in 1994, total numbers for the species have increased four-fold. It was more abundant in 2005 than at any other time in its recorded history. Just as important as total numbers, the total area inhabited by Presidio clarkia has also steadily increased.