Environmental Action Campaign

Despite the pandemic, city planning projects have not slowed. The full calendar of council meetings and environmental issues under debate have made our advocacy work even more urgent for birds and their habitats. With your help, SCVAS can remain deeply involved with the welfare of our wildlife and work with local city councils to make our voices heard. Here is a small sample of our recent work:

Bird-safe Design and Dark Sky

We are leading advocacy for bird-safe design guidelines and standards for Santa Clara Valley cities. Substantial progress has been made in San Jose, Cupertino, Mountain View, Palo Alto, and Campbell.
We are promoting Dark Sky ordinances in Cupertino and Sunnyvale, and actively opposing the proliferation of electronic billboards in San Jose.

Creek Corridors

We are working to protect and improve creek corridors—supporting projects that restore creek ecosystems along Permanente Creek and the Sunnyvale West Channel, and opposing projects that choke the creeks, particularly along the Guadalupe River.

Open Space

Our current engagement with the Moffett Park Specific Plan in Sunnyvale is already bearing fruit as the Vision and Guiding Principles show ecologically focused urban design. We continue to advocate for the protection and expansion of protected open space and wetlands by the bay.
Decades of advocacy culminated in the historic campaign to protect Coyote Valley, which resulted in the preservation of 937 acres of prime bird habitat and a key wildlife corridor in San Jose. We are excited about the preservation of freshwater wetlands and habitat for Burrowing Owls and Tricolored Blackbirds.

Animals

In Mountain View, we motivated the city to remove the spiked barriers that prevent Swallows from nesting on structures at Shoreline. We are now advocating for an expanded buffer zone around the island of the Sailing Lake to protect Black Skimmer and Forster’s Tern nests.
We are working to reduce roadkill and improve wildlife crossing for amphibians and other small animals to and from water features, including at Lexington Reservoir and Valley Water infrastructure.

The increasing threats

Relentless development pressure continues in Santa Clara County, affecting all our important bird habitats: hills and valleys, creeks and wetlands, and remaining open space along the bay. You can help stop the fragmentation of irreplaceable habitat and the proliferation of structures that are dangerous to birds.

An urgent need

What we need most are financial resources to effectively resist the onslaught of destructive development proposals. These activities take time and perseverance. We need increased financial resources to fund the crucial research and presentations to city councils and other governing bodies that are necessary to promote and protect our birds and environment.

Please consider giving to our Environmental Action campaign today. By contributing, you will be helping protect our birds. You can make Audubon's voice be heard.

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Thank you for your continued support!

Laguna Seca OSP in North Coyote Valley. Photo by Matthew Dodder