Environmentalists Rally, Tell San Francisco to Stop "Wasting Money" on Sharp Park Golf Course

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 .

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  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  against San Francisco over alleged Environmental Protection Act violations. Initial hearings in that lawsuit are .

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.