Wetlands Aside, San Francisco Is Saving Plenty

A telephonic search for the Save the Wetlands group in San Francisco drew a blank the other day.

Pat Moore, who handles press relations for the state Department of Fish and Game in Long Beach, had suggested that I contact the wetlands group for additional information about our state’s diminishing wetlands, or marshlands, both coastal and inland.

I was aware of the successes of two of our county’s conservation groups--the Friends of Upper Newport Bay and Amigos de Bolsa Chica--in saving two of our important coastal wetlands, but I didn’t know anything about the statewide picture.

Early this month, the importance of our dwindling wetlands had stimulated the state Fish and Game Commission to establish a working group to study the problem and come up with solutions as to how to halt development of wetlands and possibly increase their acreages. The group has until June to file a report.

The best Moore could do for me was to find out that there are 24,221 acres of state-owned coastal wetlands, and 7,291 acres of interior wetlands owned by the state.

It sounds like a sizeable amount of acreage, until you relate it to its historical perspective. Historically, which means going back in time no later than about a hundred years ago, there were, Moore estimated, 90% more wetlands acreage in the state. So this must mean we have left only about 10% of our valuable wetlands.

Urban development has obviously resulted in nearly all of the wetlands being filled in and built upon, or dredged and used for harbors and marinas.

I know these estuarine environments are terribly important as refuges for birds and baby fishes. If it weren’t for the nurturing coastal wetlands we’d have an awful lot less grown-up halibut, croakers and basses, for instance, swimming in the big ocean. Here my knowledge about wetlands dries up.

That’s why I was anxious to talk to the people of the Save the Wetlands in San Francisco. Apparently, they were so busy out saving the wetlands they’d overlooked having a telephone installed.

However, my effort to locate the wetlands people did pay off in dividends of a sort. I was able to chat with some nice people at the Save the Redwoods office. I was relieved to learn that the redwoods had been pretty well saved, except that the lumbering interests hadn’t yet abandoned efforts to chop down as many of them as they could. Alas, the redwood people didn’t know anything about the Save the Wetlands people, but they suggested I ring up the Save San Francisco Bay Assn.

I phoned the number they gave me and a piano answered. The piano played a lovely rendition of “Tenderly” with lots of exciting arpeggios for about half a minute. Than a human voice came over and ordered me to leave a message, including the date I called. I hung up.

Obviously San Francisco Bay was not in imminent danger, not that day anyway. I decided not to ring up the Save the Cable Cars people, figuring they were land people, and hilly ones at that, so their interest didn’t run to mucky marshes.

It was educational, though, to find that the San Francisco phone book listed more altruistic save something people than any other California city I later investigated. Los Angeles listed only two groups that seemed to fall into the altruistic conservation category. They were Save-More on Salvage Groceries and Save a Heart Foundation. San Diego didn’t seem to want to save anything in that category. Riverside listed only Save A Pet, a humane organization.

It was then I thought to look in the Sacramento phone book. Surely, I thought, with all of the special interest lobby groups there would be lots of altruistic save-something organizations listed. There were none. Well, I guess that’s the state capital for you. Nobody’s interested in saving the people anything.

The Orange County phone book had no altruistic conservation groups under “save.” There was one, however, that came close. It was Save Your Hide Leatherwerkes in Newport Beach. My interest piqued, I phoned up and talked to John Durkin, the owner. He told me he specialized in perfected processes to restore expensive leather in exotic cars and furniture.

Durkin’s enterprise being the best our county’s phone book could offer, I think I can say that it kind of qualifies as altruistic conservation. At any rate, I’m sure lots of animals would form a John Durkin fan club if they knew about him.

As for wetlands, I’ll get back to you the minute I learn more about them. Meanwhile, keep your feet dry.