Save The Bay
 |
|
| Founded | 1961 |
|---|---|
| Founder | Kay Kerr, Sylvia McLaughlin and Esther Gulick |
| Type | Non-profit 501(c)3 |
| Focus | Open space preservation, Natural habitat restoration, Environmental justice |
| Location | |
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Area served
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San Francisco Bay Area |
|
Members
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25,000 |
|
Key people
|
Executive Director David Lewis |
| Slogan | San Francisco Bay's leading champion since 1961 |
| Website | www.savesfbay.org |
|
Formerly called
|
Save San Francisco Bay Association |
Save The Bay is a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving San Francisco Bay and its related estuarine habitat areas. Founded by Catherine Kerr, Sylvia McLaughlin, and Esther Gulick in 1961, the organization grew into a body that not only achieved its namesake but inspired analogous organizations dedicated to other environmental and other political causes. The organization continues to fight to protect the bay from development and landfill and to oppose redevelopment of salt flats, instead encouraging restoration to a natural state.
The organization helped to spark the environmental movement in the United States. The women were successful in saving the bay. They lobbied the state government until state legislation in 1965 established the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission as a state agency. The commission drew up a master plan for San Francisco Bay which provided for orderly development as well as preservation. This was the first such agency in California and later inspired the creation of the California Coastal Commission.
The organization continues today working to protect the wildlife of the Bay Area and water quality of this uniquely large inland body of water. But, when it was founded it was the first successful regional grassroots campaign to achieve this sort of goal. Save The Bay prevented the destruction of San Bruno Mountain to be used to fill 27 miles (44 km) of the San Mateo County shoreline. The founders' main goal was to preserve the natural beauty of the bay. Their efforts have also been noted as the first successful conservation efforts in an urban area. The women's efforts led to the creation of the Bay Conservation and Development Commission which was later used as the blueprint and inspiration for other government commissions such as the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, California Coastal Commission, and Delta Stewardship Council.
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Wikipedia