San Francisco Bay is known around the world as an ecological treasure – the most important estuary on the Pacific Coast for fish, wildlife and migratory shorebirds, and beloved by the millions of residents of the region who connect with the Bay on a daily basis, through the Refuge and region-wide network of networks of parks, preserves and open spaces.
The protection of the Bay that we all enjoy is the result of a grassroots movement that began in the 1960’s and continues to this day, that includes many incredible volunteer leaders who mobilized their neighbors to attend City Council meetings, wrote their Congressmembers, organized voter initiatives, and sometimes even stood in front of bulldozers to protect Bay wetlands and baylands that were at imminent risk of development.
Citizens Committee to Complete the Refuge was formed to bring together many of these local volunteer leaders, specifically in the South San Francisco Bay, to work together to protect the Bay’s wetlands and baylands – knowing that the overall health of the Bay is dependent on people from cities all over the region to do their part to protect their section of the Bay.
Over the past 50 years, CCCR and our allies have protected thousands of acres of the South Bay shoreline, stopping development projects and successfully creating new parks and wetland preserves from Redwood City down to San Jose and over to San Leandro. Below is a highlight of successful efforts that CCCR and our local partners played an important role:
Acronyms
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Baylands Conservation Committee BCC
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California Department of Fish and Wildlife CDFW
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Citizens for Alameda’s Last Marshlands CALM
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Citizens for Open Space in Alvarado COSA
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Friends of Coyote Hills and Fremont FCHF
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Friends of Redwood City FORWC
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Green Foothills GF
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Hayward Area Shoreline Planning Agency HASPA
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Ohlone Audubon Society OAS
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Redwood City Neighbors United RCNU
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Save The Bay STB
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Tri-City Ecology Center TCEC
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U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service USFWS
