Environmentalists Rally, Tell San Francisco to Stop "Wasting Money" on Sharp Park Golf Course
According to organizer, over 100 protesters gathered on San Francisco City Hall steps Friday, "Save the Frogs Day".
Photos
Videos
Environmentalists and San Francisco community organizations staged a protest on San Francisco City Hall's front steps Friday afternoon as part of their continuing efforts to stop golf at Sharp Park.
According to Brent Plater, executive director of the Wild Equity Institute, the regional environmental group that organized the rally, over 100 people attended the event on "Save the Frogs Day", which was scheduled just days after a fundraiser to keep golf at Sharp Park Golf Course hosted by local golfing groups.
Several organizations were represented at Friday's rally, including the Sierra Club, Center for Biological Diversity, an Arizona-based environment advocacy organization and H.O.M.E.Y., a San Francisco-based underprivileged youth advocacy group.
Although the protesters had a united message--that San Francisco should shut down the golf course and turn the land over the federal government for conversion into parkland--justifications for the move were mixed.
Some protesters want the golf course shut down because they believe course operations are harming threatened populations of snakes and frogs, both of which are protected by the Environmental Protection Agency.
Others believe San Francisco, which owns and operates the golf course, is wasting money on a course that is not and cannot be profitable without monetary investment beyond the cash-strapped city's means.
A group of environmental organizations led by the Wild Equity Institute have recently filed a lawsuit against San Francisco over alleged Environmental Protection Act violations. Initial hearings in that lawsuit are scheduled for June.
San Francisco Supervisor John Avalos has recently announced that he will submit legislation that would close the golf course and convey Sharp Park to the National Parks Service. The supervisor cites the lack of profitability of the course as the motivation behind the legislation.
Watch the video for more on the rally.
John R. Rauch
10:28 pm on Monday, May 2, 2011
The Sharp Park Golf Course is a valuable asset to San Francisco and the Bay Area. It provides recreation for adults, the elderly, and children and it makes a profit despite the lies of the Center for Biological Diversity. San Francisco Recreation and Park Department conducted a study with biologists recommended by the Environmental Protection Agency and they recommended that the golf course be preserved and accommodations made for the frogs and snakes. Sharp Park land was donated to the city of San Francisco for recreational purposes and not to have it locked up behind a chain link fence for the benefit of a radical environmental group that never saw a piece of land they did not covet.
Tomasita Medál
12:21 am on Tuesday, May 3, 2011
GOLF COURSES ARE A FORM OF PRIVATIZATION OF CITY PARKS BECAUSE THEY ARE FENCED OFF TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC AND ONE HAS TO PAY TO BE ON THEM. THEY ARE A DRAIN ON PUBLIC FUNDS BECAUSE THEY ARE HIGH MAINTENANCE. ALSO, THEY ARE ARTIFICIAL LANDSCAPES THAT MAINTAIN THEIR LOOKS AT GREAT HUMAN SERVICE COSTS AS WELL AS THE USE OF HERBICIDES AND PESTICIDES; POISONS, IN OTHER WORDS. SHARP PARK SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO RETURN TO ITS NATURAL STATE. SAN FRANCISCO HAS TOO MUCH PUBLIC PARK SPACE DEDICATED TO GOLFERS ONLY. SOME OF THOSE GOLF COURSES COULD ACCOMMODATE MANY MORE PEOPLE PICNICKING OR PLAYING SOCCER OR BASEBALL. WHETHER POOR PEOPLE PLAY IT OR NOT, GOLF TAKES LARGE SWATHS OF PUBLIC LAND AND BARS THE MAJORITY OF PEOPLE FROM ENJOYING THEM.
Scotty
8:15 am on Tuesday, May 3, 2011
These people are such hypocrites. First, they complain that the course loses money. Then, they complain that people are willing to pay to use the course, unlike other parks. By that logic, we should also be closing our national parks.
MAKE UP YOUR MIND AND SEE IF YOU CAN FIND THE CAPS LOCK KEY ON YOUR KEYBOARD.
Steve Sinai
5:57 pm on Tuesday, May 3, 2011
I can't get into all kinds of SF-owned places in Golden Gate Park unless I pay.
Also, Mike Wallach took some pictures of the rally at city hall. You could see the whole group, and there are only about 40 people there. The pictures are on Fix Pacifica under the heading of - The "Destroy Sharp Park and Give it to the Feds" Rally .
Lois Rogan
7:10 am on Tuesday, May 3, 2011
What insanity from the environmental radicals.
ian butler
1:13 pm on Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Norman,
Holes 3, 4, 6, 7 and 8 were relocated to the east of the highway when the seawall was built, and holes 12 and 16 were altered. One other hole was lost when the freeway was built. So all told, 11 of the 18 holes are still in their original MacKenzie arrangement, although they no longer have an ocean view since the construction of the seawall.
There are no SF Garter snakes anywhere near Pebble Beach, the farthest south they have ever been found is Ano Nuevo.
mw
7:10 am on Thursday, May 19, 2011
Hey Camden. You were there, as was I:
http://eatarf242.blogspot.com/search/label/Destroy%20Sharp%20Park%20Rally
You clearly have journalistic ambitions with this site. So I ask you: Is this claim - "According to organizer, over 100 protesters gathered on San Francisco City Hall steps Friday, "Save the Frogs Day". " - a credible claim?
Or is this a journalistic cop out?
[thanks for the editing tip]
Rebecca Lorenz
8:27 pm on Friday, May 20, 2011
Would those people close their small parks (like Dolores) due to snakes and frogs? Would they close their soccer fields and bike paths because of snakes and frogs? Would they abandon their home if snakes and frogs moved in? I like snakes, they're interesting. Frogs are okay. But wake up. Snakes and frogs are all over the quarry, I've seen and heard them. One little golf course is not going to destroy them forever. How about the Sierra Club buys the quarry? And if they want to destroy the berm so that no one, especially handicapped people, can't use it anymore, then that would be mean. Just plain mean.
Bob Thompson
10:28 pm on Friday, May 18, 2012
Tomasita Medál,
Really, is that a cut and paste?