The SCVAS Silent Art Auction is being held in conjunction with our 2023 Environmental Action Campaign. The art auction items were donated to SCVAS and all proceeds will go toward SCVAS's advocacy operations.
SCVAS Art Auction
September 2023 Conservation Corner
North Coyote Valley: Matthew Dodder
Dark Sky: Sign a petition (3 minutes)
Aidan Chen, a Saratoga high school student, is asking all of us to sign his petition in support of AB38, the State’s Dark Sky Bill. This bill requires the California government to reduce light pollution in state owned buildings. SCVAS initiated this bill last year, and we are currently one of the sponsors of the bill. Last year, the bill passed the California Assembly and Senate, but was then vetoed by Governor Newsome. We need everyone to sign it and let the governor know that birds, and people, rely on dark nights!
Protect Coyote Valley: Participate in a virtual meeting (1-2 hours)
On Monday, August 28 at 6:00 p.m., planners from the City of San Jose will conduct a community meeting to gather feedback on potential future development all along Monterey Road in Coyote Valley. Please attend by Zoom to ask San Jose not to roll back the protection of Coyote Valley!
Monterey Road landowners are asking for many types of inappropriate development to be allowed, from restaurants, beer gardens and event centers to massive suburban sprawl. Development like this could be devastating for wildlife. It’s critical for city staff to hear from community members, not just the landowners, about the future of Coyote Valley.
Coyote Creek runs along the back of the Monterey Road parcels, and is a critical wildlife habitat area and movement corridor. The creek is the spine of animal movement in the valley, and is critical for wildlife movement. The bobcats, deer, raptors and other wildlife that depend on Coyote Creek’s riparian forest would be significantly harmed by development that exacerbates traffic, and increases nighttime lighting and other impacts from development.
The Monterey Road landowners claim that they deserve to have a special zoning district just for them because Monterey Road is a high-traffic area. But that traffic also makes Monterey Road a roadkill hotspot. More animals are struck and killed on this road than anywhere else in Coyote Valley, including Highway 101. Increased development here would mean more traffic and more animal deaths.
Please tell the planners not to block wildlife movement in coyote valley and along Coyote Creek by new physical barriers or by land uses that create light and pollution, or increase traffic
Become a Bay Advocate
Our friends at the Sierra Club Bay Alive Campaign are offering a free 8-week Bay Advocate Training Program (Thursday evenings 7:00 - 8:30 pm, starting on September 21, 2023) for people who want.
Do you want to protect the San Francisco Bay shoreline but don’t know how to begin? Wish you knew more about the challenges that sea level rise presents to the Bay and the resilience of our communities? Wonder how to promote coordinated regional solutions? The Bay Advocate Training Program will offer insights, camaraderie and support. Learn more about this unique course.
Santa Clara County Parks: Respond to a short survey (5 minutes)
The Santa Clara County Park Department’s Everybody Belongs at Parks Initiative is asking the public to respond to a short survey.
Santa Clara County has 28 wonderful Parks open to all. What are the barriers that prevent residents of all races, incomes, abilities and areas from enjoying the parks? How can the park be improved to accommodate everyone?
Please take this survey and share it with your families and friends. In your response, consider asking for: dark sky, no insecticides, more habitat for birds and wildlife, access by shuttles and public transportation, information in multiple languages, and reducing conflicts between user groups?
For more information, visit the project website.
Environmental Action Campaign 2023
You give us strength
The recent State of the Birds Report documents more than half of our nation’s bird species are in decline. This is shocking news. The trend is reflected in nearly all major habitats except one—wetlands. It is easy to feel helpless when reading such stories... But the facts show that more than 40 years of investment in the protection of crucial wetland habitat has made a difference in Waterfowl populations as well as other birds that utilize that habitat. Investment and advocacy can and do make a difference!
Our Environmental Action Committee (EAC), led by long-time Environmental Advocate, Shani Kleinhaus, and Chair, Annie Yang, has a track record of getting positive results. From the decades-long effort to protect Coyote Valley, to working with city planners to preserve green spaces that include bird friendly habitat, or inspiring corporate campuses to make use of bird-safe design, our voice for the environment is heard loud and clear. Because of our work, local municipalities are even adopting dark sky ordinances which protect migrating birds. These local issues have national and even global impact because the Bay Area is an Important Bird Area (IBA) providing signature habitats for more than 400 bird species.
Support the SCVAS Environmental Action Committee and help our birds.
We need your financial support to keep this difficult work going and make our voice heard as stress on the environment intensifies. Your contribution helps us respond quickly and efficiently to pressing local issues involving potential habitat loss. It provides us with the resources we need to research relevant laws, consult with legal council, and file effective documents with city councils and their offices. Your financial support has real impact and ensures our local habitats and the birds that depend on it will have have a place in our county. I urge you to pledge your support now.
Read about what the EAC is working on
Make an online donation today:
Mountain View Parks Strategic Plan
Mountain View Alert: People, birds, and butterflies ALL belong in parks!
Dear Mountain View Friends,
The City of Mountain View is initiating a new Parks and Recreation Strategic Plan to direct the future of parks and recreation in the City. The Strategic Plan Will create a roadmap and a shared vision for the future of parks, recreation and community services, shaped by community values, unmet needs and evolving demographics and trends.
We will show you how to participate in this process to help the city imagine a future where people have equitable access to parks and program offerings citywide, and where nature is integrated into parks and recreation activities. Together, let's imagine a future where native trees, flowers, birds and pollinators add beauty and song to every park, where rare species are accommodated, and where people are healthy and happy!
Background:
The City of Mountain View is just over 12 square miles. It is home to over 83,500 residents, and thousands more are expected to call Mountain View home in the near future. The City has 44 parks (with one to two new parks anticipated each year). These parks include the 750-acre Shoreline at Mountain View Regional Park, nine acres of trails, and various community and culture centers and facilities. As the population of Mountain View grows and densifies, community needs for parks and recreation are likely to increase and change to provide adequate green streets and green space within walking distance from all neighborhoods.
Let's ensure that Shoreline Park continues to provide sanctuary to special species such as Black Skimmers and Burrowing Owls, that existing and future parks in North Bayshore protect and enhance nature in wetlands and at the egret colony, and that new parks include native plantings and access to nature. Let every child see a swallowtail butterfly, a monarch butterfly, an egret, a bluebird, a lizard, and maybe even a Burrowing Owl!
How can you help?
Help us advocate for parks and programs that highlight nature. Participate in the public process and tell the City what you love about Mountain View parks and recreation. Here are a few thoughts you can share:
What are your favorite parks, trails and places? Who do you visit parks with? Where do you go birding and what are your favorite native plants, birds, mammals, reptiles, butterflies and bumble bees? Do you participate in bird walks and bioblitz events? Do you help restore habitat and plant native plants and if so - where? Do you want to see species protected and their habitat restored and expanded?
Participate in one of the upcoming community meeting on Aug 21 or Aug 22:
IN PERSON: August 21 or August 22 6-7 p.m. Mountain View Community Center, 201 S. Rengstorff Ave. Light refreshments and childcare will be provided. Interpretation services in Spanish, Mandarin, and Russian will also be available.
OR
VIRTUAL: August 21 or August 22 7:30 - 8:30pm. Register to participate. Interpretation services in Spanish, Mandarin, and Russian will be available along with closed caption services.Interpretation services in Spanish, Mandarin, and Russian will be available along with closed caption services.
Email neelay.bhatt@benextpractice.com or kristine.crosby@mountainview.gov and tell them what you love about parks and recreation facilities in Mountain View, and what you’d like to see in the future! (Please bcc Advocate@scvas.org)
Sign up for updates to participate in future meetings and respond to surveys