Posts about Wild Equity and how you can be part of our movement.

The Sierra Club is honoring our late Chairperson Rose Braz with the 2017 Trailblazer Award, and we invite you to attend the ceremony and celebrate Rose’s life with us at the Sierra Club’s David Brower Dinner on October 7th, 5-8pm at the Delancey Town Hall.  You may purchase tickets to the dinner here.
Sierra Club National Executive Director Michael Brune will lead the call to action as keynote speaker, while legendary progressive leader Tom Ammiano will work the mike as master of ceremonies.  There will be a ten minute slideshow of Rose’s environmental work, during which Tom Ammiano will introduce and Wild Equity’s Brent Plater will discuss Rose’s incredible achievements and lasting legacy.

And thank you to everyone who celebrated Rose Braz’ life with us on July 30.  If you missed the celebration you can watch the Facebook livestream at wildequity.org.
If you would like to make a donation in Rose’s honor please visit the Rose Braz Memorial Fund at the Wild Equity Institute.

Sunday July 30, 2017
2-5 pm

In loving memory of Rose Braz
August 4, 1961 – May 3, 2017

Remembering Rose Braz

REMEMBERING ROSE BRAZ

SUNDAY, JULY 30, 2017

2:00 PM – 5:00 PM

Brava! for Women In the Arts

2781 24th Street, San Francisco, CA

Please RSVP using Evite: http://evite.me/TZXGP2YddY


Dear Friends,

As you know, Rose Braz passed away  on May 3rd, more than three years after she had been diagnosed with brain cancer.  We hope you will join us to celebrate Rose’s remarkable life on July 30.  There will be 2:30 pm program with reception to follow. Doors open at 2:00 pm.

Rose Braz, the Greatest Human We Ever Met

Before she died, Rose asked that any memorial donations on her behalf be given to Wild Equity. We also would like to share some background about the significance of  Wild Equity  in Rose’s life.

Wild Equity was founded in 2009 by Rose’s husband, Brent Plater, and Rose proudly served as chairwoman of Wild Equity’s board of directors. Wild Equity combined two central themes from Rose’s life—her commitment to social justice and to the protection of nature.

Specifically, our work focuses on projects that highlight and redress the inequitable relationships across our human communities while improving our relationship to the lands in which we live.

Wild Equity is perhaps best known for two campaigns in the San Francisco Bay Area. One campaign has involved challenging the large concentration of gas burning power plants near the Antioch Dunes. The pollution from these facilities directly threatens endangered butterfly and wildflowers species in the dunes and the diverse moderate-to-low-income communities nearby, as well contributing to global warming.  Another campaign opposes the harm to the rare coastal wildlife habitat in Sharp Park from a money-losing golfing facility, and Wild Equity has championed the protection and restoration of the area as a national park while reinvesting the money saved by closing the golf course into San Francisco’s community services.

Rose at a Rally to Restore Sharp Park

The fact that Rose asked that her friends direct their memorial donations to the Wild Equity Institute reflects her deep love for Brent and the work he does as Wild Equity’s executive director, and it is also a tribute to Rose’s unflagging commitment to social and environmental justice. If you would like to make a donation in Rose’s honor please visit the Rose Braz Memorial Fund at the Wild Equity Institute.

Thank you,

The Board of Directors, Wild Equity Institute

Rose on Kauai, 2015.

Rose on Kauai, 2015.


Rose Braz, Chairperson and co-founder of Wild Equity, died on May 3, 2017 after a 40-month fight with brain cancer.  

We have lost the most beloved person we have ever known.  But Rose taught us to be better advocates, nurtured us to become better people. Those lessons live on in us all, so as she told Governor Brown not long ago Rose Braz is not going away:



To continue Rose’s vision Wild Equity has established the Rose Braz Memorial Fund.  Please contribute today so we can advance Rose’s vision for a more just and sustainable world.  Read more about Rose’s incredible life below, and thank you for loving Rose!



The incomparable, beloved Rose Braz

Renowned and beloved San Francisco environmental and human liberation activist Rosemarie Braz died after a three-year battle with brain cancer. She was 55.

Rose’s wide circle of friends and colleagues grieve the loss of a woman who gave so generously of herself and embodied a kindness of heart that her community is deeply sad to lose.

Rose grew up in Concord, California with her brother Joe and parents Ray and Rosalie Braz.  She liked to joke about her first job at Taco Bell. Initially excited to work at her favorite childhood restaurant, it took all of one day for cranky customers and managers to send Rose racing for the exit door, never to return.

Rose with her family, including brother Joe (top left), mother Rosalie (on Rose’s left), and father Ray (on Rosalie’s left).

She graduated from Carondelet High School in Concord in 1979 and then went on to become the first of her working-class Portuguese-American family to attend college, earning a degree from UC Berkeley in 1983. Rose worked her way through college while also volunteering to counsel draft resisters and smashing patriarchy with the Women’s Liberation Front.

Rose with the UC Berkeley Women's Liberation Front

Rose with the UC Berkeley Women’s Liberation Front

After graduating, Rose was hired as a staffer for Speaker of the California Assembly, Willie Brown. She continued her involvement in campus organizing and was a leader of the Campaign against Apartheid, where she developed a reputation as a fiercely dedicated and gifted organizer and a persistent thorn in the side of the UC Regents. She participated in the blockading of a South African cargo ship in San Francisco and in the 1986 Shantytown protest outside the UC Chancellor’s office that led to the university’s total divestment from companies doing business in South Africa.

Rose at Sproul Shanty Town Protests

Rose in the middle of the UC Berkeley Shantytown Protest

In 1987, Rose travelled through Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and Zambia and then taught English at the Danhiko Project, a Zimbabwean secondary school and vocational training center serving disabled ex-combatants and refugees from South Africa, Mozambique, and Namibia. There, she also oversaw the creation of the school library and the publication of the school’s first magazine. Her dedication, patience and love are still remembered there and even twenty years later, copies of her magazine, “Progress,” were still on the counter in the library.

Rose with Danhiko Project students and friend Ross Hammond

While traveling in South Africa, Rose refused to ride the apartheid buses and caused a stir at a bus station when she insisted on boarding a “black bus” instead of the “whites only” bus that the driver insisted she take.

Upon returning to California in 1989, Rose enrolled in the UC Berkeley School of Law. At law school, she was a leader of a campaign to diversify the school’s largely white, male faculty. She interned at the East Bay Community Law Center and the United Nations Human Rights Commission in Geneva.

After graduating from law school in 1992, Rose worked for several years as a criminal defense attorney, defending political protestors, among others, and advocating for the release of political prisoners.

Rose & allies visit prisoners at Pelican Bay

Rose co-founded Critical Resistance, the movement that would become the first national organization dedicated to the abolition of the prison industrial complex. Rose was the organization’s first staff – hired in 1999 – and a key leader for 13 years, during which time the organization became a powerful force in fights against prison expansion and criminalization. Thanks to Rose’s vision, which Ruthie Wilson Gilmore characterized as “a restless, impatient, inspired political imagination,” Critical Resistance forged enduring alliances between anti-prison and environmental and social justice organizations including public sector labor unions.

Rose Braz at Critical Resistance Protest

Rose Braz at Critical Resistance protest

 In 2003, Rose co-founded the Coalition for Effective Public Safety and Californians United for a Responsible Budget (CURB) to combat the state’s ability to expand its prison system and to redirect resources from imprisonment toward life-affirming programs and services.

Rose and her dog, Charlotte, planning for a safer Oakland

Rose’s persistence, creativity and moral clarity helped the idea of abolishing the prison industrial complex take root across the country. Her unique ability to speak directly to people’s fears, while articulating the optimism of abolition helped move the idea of abolition from the realm of the inconceivable to the imaginable. The fact that so many people self-identify today as abolitionists is in no small part due to Rose’s efforts and vision.

Angela Davis said, “The international abolitionist movement owes a greater debt to Rose Braz than can ever be adequately acknowledged. Rose has always modeled the dedication, compassion, and humility that distinguish our very best social justice leaders. I consider myself one of the many who have been profoundly inspired by her example. Wherever there is struggle, resistance, and dreams of a better future, Rose’s spirit and legacy will be secure.”

In 2008, Rose married Brent Plater, an environmental attorney who founded the Wild Equity Institute, where she served as Chairperson of the Board of Directors. Rose and Brent took in and loved two rescue dogs, Charlotte and, later, Frosty, famous for their endearingly quirky personalities.  

From L-R: brother Joe, uncle Ed, Rose, husband Brent Plater, & father Ray.

Rose with her Dogs

Rose with Frosty (L) and Charlotte the Dog (R)

From 2009 until her death, Rose pursued her other great professional passion, environmental protection, as Climate Campaign Director for the Center for Biological Diversity. There, she founded the Center’s grassroots climate organizing program and launched several influential national climate and anti-fracking coalitions.

She ran the Clean Air Cities campaign, which spurred nearly 100 cities to pass resolutions in support of using the Clean Air Act to slash greenhouse pollution. In 2013, she co-founded Californians Against Fracking, a statewide coalition of more than 200 organizations working to ban fracking in California, and helped pass fracking bans in six California counties.

A tireless, fierce and deeply empathetic organizer, Rose coined the phrase “Climate Leaders Don’t Frack” and led the ongoing campaign to compel Gov. Jerry Brown to ban fracking in the Golden State. She worked constantly to build and strengthen ties between climate, environmental and social justice, labor and faith organizations.

Rose Braz in 2014.

“Rose Braz brought people and organizations together better than anyone I have ever known,” said Kassie Siegel, director of the Center for Biological Diversity’s Climate Law Institute.  “She believed that when we work together, we will win.  Those of us striving to ban fracking, keep fossil fuels in the ground, and solve the climate crisis will be forever guided and inspired by her example.”

Rose will be remembered by the San Francisco Bay Area activist community as a smart, gifted, compassionate and committed organizer who always put the cause ahead of personal ambition and ego and worked tirelessly behind the scenes and in the limelight. For her friends and family, she was a kind, funny, generous, supportive, loving, loyal and beautiful woman who loved hiking, birding, dancing, traveling, animals, chocolate, the Warriors, and the movie Dirty Dancing, which she’s rumored to have watched 20 times. 

Rose was the heart and soul of every liberation movement she joined, piercing the armor of the oppressors with her thorns and comforting those in pain with her soft petals. That was our Rose—freedom fighter, friend, sister, daughter, wife. She will be missed greatly and remembered and loved forever.

Rose is survived by her beloved husband, brother and father.

Donations in Rose’s honor can be made to the Rose Braz Memorial Fund at the Wild Equity Institute.

In February 2017, Wild Equity will appear before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, where the health of Antioch’s people and the continued existence of the Bay Area’s most imperiled butterfly will be on the line.  


Scientists believe we may have altered the nitrogen cycle even more than the carbon cycle, yet PG&E is attempting to operate four power plants ringing the Antioch Dunes National Wildlife Refuge.
Perhaps a few hundred Lange's Metalmark Butterfly exist in the wild.  Photo (c) Liam O'Brien

Can we find it in our hearts to protect Antioch’s communities
and the last of the Lange’s Metalmark Butterfly?


But the pollution from these power plants will disproportionately burden the largely minority, blue-collar communities in the area, while jeopardizing the continued existence of the Lange’s Metalmark Butterfly, the Antioch Dunes Evening Primrose, the Contra Costa Wallflower, and the entire Antioch Dunes National Wildlife Refuge.  

Wild Equity has led a campaign to bring community health organizations and lepidopterists together to fight this disproportionate burden.  In 2013 our work forced one of the power plants to make a choice: don’t build, or fund  a multi-million dollar trust benefitting local communities and endangered wildlife.

We can replicate this success, but we can’t do it alone.  When you join Wild Equity, you help ensure that Antioch’s people and wildlife are protected from pollution.

Imagine the world we will build together: a more equitable world for people and the plants and animals that accompany us on Earth. Thank you for supporting this vision and contributing to our work today!

Brent PlaterThank you so much!

Brent Plater



Brent Plater
Executive Director


Shop Wild Equity’s Online Store!

Wild Equity’s new online store is now live! So day or night you can get your hands on Nancy Morita’s beautifully heartbreaking ‘Wild in the City’ poster; or our famous “I ‘Bird’ SF” T-shirts; or one of our gorgeous, reusable, non-toxic, 100% recycled aluminum, made-in-the-USA water bottles.  

If you’re looking for something else, consider shopping at AmazonSmile and designate Wild Equity Institute as your charity of choice.  When you do,  Amazon.com will give a portion of the website’s profits to Wild Equity: at no extra charge to you!  Look for items with “Eligible for Amazon Smile donation” in the product description, and again, be sure to designate Wild Equity as your favorite charitable organization.  

Will San Francisco squander one of the last opportunities to help the endangered San Francisco Garter Snake?  

Unless you stand with us now, the City of St. Francis probably will.  

San Francisco Garter Snakes!

Is it too late for our namesake snake?

For years Wild Equity has been leading the fight against the money-losing, endangered species-killing Sharp Park Golf Course.  

In the first weeks of 2017 we will lead a challenge to a terrible plan to redevelop the golf course, a plan that the City just authorized a few weeks ago.

But we can’t do it alone.  When you join Wild Equity, you make sure San Francisco creates a more just and sustainable community for all: including North America’s most beautiful serpent.

Imagine the world we will build together: a more equitable world for people and the plants and animals that accompany us on Earth. Thank you for supporting this vision and contributing to our work today!

Brent PlaterThank you so much!

Brent Plater




Brent Plater
Executive Director



Wild Equity’s new online store is now live! So day or night you can get your hands on Nancy Morita’s beautifully heartbreaking ‘Wild in the City’ poster; or our famous “I ‘Bird’ SF” T-shirts; or one of our gorgeous, reusable, non-toxic, 100% recycled aluminum, made-in-the-USA water bottles.  

If you’re looking for something else, consider shopping at AmazonSmile and designate Wild Equity Institute as your charity of choice.  When you do,  Amazon.com will give a portion of the website’s profits to Wild Equity: at no extra charge to you!  Look for items with “Eligible for Amazon Smile donation” in the product description, and again, be sure to designate Wild Equity as your favorite charitable organization.  

Wild Equity InstituteDear Friend,

With the tectonic shift in national politics, our focus on local environmental and social issues may be our only hope. The victory at Standing Rock, in the backdrop of the incoming climate change-denying administration, shows how a local, grassroots movement can trounce billion-dollar corporate interests.

At this moment, I appreciate living in San Francisco more than ever. The Bay Area may be one of the few regions left where we have a chance to defend wildlife.

Poor froggie

But recently we lost a battle. Wild Equity spoke before the San Francisco Planning Commission to oppose the Sharp Park Golf Course redevelopment project that was surreptitiously inserted into the citywide Natural Areas Management Plan. The Sierra Club, state and local Audubon chapters, Surfrider, NPCA, & many other environmental groups stood with us. Although the Commission, ever the rubber-stamp, voted to approve the plan, the dissenting Commissioner cited the Sharp Park golf course redevelopment as the reason she voted no.

But the war is not lost: we now move on to the Board of Supervisors, where we have been more successful than any other contemporary conservation group. We have allies on the Board today, and while it won’t be easy, we have a template to win.

As always, we’ll employ our full suite of skills — public relations, lobbying, education, grassroots organizing, and litigation – to protect endangered species in San Francisco, Pacifica, Antioch, and beyond.

But we can’t do it without you: please make a tax-deductible contribution to the Wild Equity Institute today.

With your support we can demonstrate how local efforts can change the tide, from here to Standing Rock. Thank you for your support of a more equitable world for people and the plants and animals that accompany us on Earth!

With deepest gratitude,

Brent PlaterBrent Plater

Brent Plater, Director
Wild Equity Institute

 

 

PS —Check out the new Wild Equity online store and pick-up our new sky blue “I ‘Bird’ SF” shirts and Wild in the City posters!

 

 

 

I 'Bird' SF T-shirt, unisex, natural cotton color I "Bird" SF Shirt, Ladies Half-scoop, Sky Blue Color

Wild Equity Celeb SightingIf you know who this is, you NEED this bottle! (Contact us if you need a hint)

Wild in the City Poster by Nancy Morita Does any other poster demonstrate how inequitable we’ve been to these lands? Nope. That’s why you need one. 24 x 35 in.


Brent Plater, Executive Director, Wild Equity

Brent Plater, Executive Director, Wild Equity


Thursday, March 24, 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM
Brent Plater, executive director of the Wild Equity Institute, will give a presentation to the BAIA (Business Association Italy America) Bay Area Italian Executive Business Network. Mr. Plater will pull from his experience managing and working for local, small non-profits to describe how non-profit executives can address the challenge of acquiring resources to invest in their mission and transform market value into an expansion of non-profits values.

RSVP here: http://www.meetup.com/BAIA-Executives/events/227008819/

Thursday, March 31, 6:30 – 8:30 pm

On March 31, we’ll screen Werner Herzog’s Encounters at the End of the World. In this tremendous and unique documentary, Herzog travels to Antarctica, where he finds a desolate, beautiful landscape, largely untouched by human hands, and a group of truly unique people who risk their lives to study it. Centered at McMurdo Station, the United States’ largest Antarctic research center, Herzog explores the minds of the scientists willing to abandon civilization and endure volatile conditions to learn more about the continent’s wildlife and awe-inspiring natural wonders.

Join us for snacks, great company, and a fascinating documentary from one of the greatest filmmakers of our time!

Saturday, April 2, 11:00 am – 1:00 pm:

Join us on a beautiful coastal hike as we explore the history and ecology of the rare Franciscan Manzanita. We’ll also discuss and what the National Park Service and other conservationists are doing to protect this magnificent species. We’ll be joined by Michael Vasey and Tom Parker, co-authors of the Field Guide to Manzanitas.

Meet us at Baker Beach North Parking Lot off of Battery Chamberlin Road. From there, we will hike north along the Pacific bluffs and through the manzanita’s critical habitat. Once we reach the Golden Gate Bridge, we’ll pour some Manzanita drinks (apple juice and champagne) and make a toast to the survival of this wonderful species! In the spirit of resource conservation, please bring a reusable cup if you wish to participate!

We’ll also have books, t-shirt, and water bottles for sale.

RSVP here

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

More info on the Franciscan Manzanita:

Although there are over 100 species and subspecies of manzanita, until 2009, it was thought that San Francisco’s own manzanita, the Franciscan Manzanita, had gone extinct.

The Franciscan manzanita’s tragic history is filled with heroic acts by botanists striving to keep the species alive. In 1906, the specimens first used to identify the species were rescued from the California Academy of Sciences as fires driven by the San Francisco earthquake ravaged the Academy’s collections. In 1947 a famous botanist stood in front of earth-moving equipment to wrest the last known wild plants from a construction site. The plants were sent to a botanical garden, and no one found the plant in the wild again.

Fortunately, the Franciscan Manzanita was rediscovered in the wild in 2009, and has since been listed as an endangered species under the Endangered Species Act. The National Park Service reports there are now over 30 Franciscan Manzanita plantings alive on the Presidio Bluffs!

You can watch a short documentary about the recovery of the Franciscan Manzanita here.


Franciscan Manzanita


The Franciscan Manzanita on moving day!

Sunday, Feb. 28, 9:00am – 11:00am: Join the Wild Equity Institute for a leisurely walk along Ocean Beach to search for the threatened Western Snowy Plover. We’ll be meeting at 9 am—an early start should give us the best chance of spotting the Plover as well as other shorebirds.

The Snowy Plover is a small shorebird threatened by human activities and habitat degradation. Join us to see this adorable species in its native habitat and learn more about what the Park Service is doing to help save this little puffball of feathers.

BONUS: We’ll also be starting the morning with Andytown Coffee Roasters’ famous Snowy Plover coffee beverage!
Meet at the patch of grass at the intersection of Pacheco St. and the Great Highway.

Thursday, February 18, 2-6 pm:

Wild Equity’s Executive Director, Brent Plater, will be speaking next week at the Hastings International and Comparative Law Review’s Conference “Human Rights and Sustainable Development in an Era of Free Trade”

Panelists representing areas of environmental, trade, and human rights, will explore United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, and international free-trade agreements, such as the Trans Pacific Partnership.

Brent will be speaking on the second panel, at 3:30 pm, alongside Gwen Arnold (http://desp.ucdavis.edu/people/gwen-arnold) and Kevin Danaher (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Danaher_(activist)).

More info here: https://hiclrsymposium2016.wordpress.com/

Don’t miss it!

Saturday, January 23, 9:30 am – 12:30 pm:

The Wild Equity Institute is partnering with San Bruno Mountain Watch to restore ecologically important habitat for the beautiful mission blue and callippe silverspot butterflies at San Bruno Mountain! Join us as we work to save endangered species and build a stronger environmental movement!

San Bruno Mountain Watch will provide all of the necessary tools, gloves, water, (plants!), a scrumptious snack, and an interesting and educational interpretive talk to spark conversations about the life and history of the mountain.
Long pants, sturdy close-toe shoes, and a reusable water bottle are recommended!

The day begins by meeting at the San Bruno Mountain Watch office (44 Visitacion Avenue, Suite 206, Brisbane, CA 94005) at 9:15 am. We then carpool at 9:30am to the worksite on the mountain (not more than a 5-10 minute drive) and work there until 12:30pm.

Ecological restoration is crucial work and your contributions will go a long way toward protecting the earth’s amazing ecosystems 🙂


Mission Blue Butterfly


San Bruno Mountain

We wanted to pass along our thanks to everyone who came out to the hike at Muir Woods this past Sunday. We had a lot of fun and hope you did too!

We have some more events coming up that we would love to see you at, including Butterfly Habitat Restoration on January 23rd at San Bruno Mountain, and Nature Slideshow: Saving Endangered Wildlife Near You on February 17th at Wild Equity’s office at 474 Valencia Street.

Follow the links, join us on meetup, or check out our online event calendar to learn more and stay up to date with all of our upcoming events!

We hope to see you again soon!

Sunday, January 10, 11:00 am – 1 pm: You are invited to join the Wild Equity Institute for a hike at Muir Woods to see the threatened Coho Salmon, Central California Coast Evolutionary Significant Unit, and the Steelhead, Central California Coast Distinct Population Segment. Witness the semelparous spawning behavior of the Coho Salmon and take action to help save these imperiled species!

The hike is free, but you must pay an entrance fee to directly to the National Park Service when we enter Muir Woods.

Meet at Muir Woods National Monument Main Entrance Gate, Mill Valley, CA, 94941.

RSVP here or on our Meetup page

Check out the December 2015 edition of Save the Frogs! Magazine, featuring some exciting developments on their work, as well as an interview with Wild Equity’s Executive Director, Brent Plater!

Wednesday, December 16, 6:30pm – 8:30pm: Please join us for a screening of WALL·E, a fun and pertinent film about our planet’s ecological future. We hope that this will be an enjoyable way to reflect on our collective responsibility to protect our planet!

We will show the film at Wild Equity’s office in the Centro del Pueblo building at 474 Valencia St, Suite 295.

Join us for snacks, entertainment, and great company!
All ages are welcome.

RSVP on this page or look us up on Meetup

Saturday, January 23, 9:30 am – 12:30 pm:

The Wild Equity Institute is partnering with San Bruno Mountain Watch to restore ecologically important habitat for the beautiful mission blue and callippe silverspot butterflies at San Bruno Mountain! Join us as we work to save endangered species and build a stronger environmental movement!

San Bruno Mountain Watch will provide all of the necessary tools, gloves, water, (plants!), a scrumptious snack, and an interesting and educational interpretive talk to spark conversations about the life and history of the mountain.
Long pants, sturdy close-toe shoes, and a reusable water bottle are recommended!

The day begins by meeting at the San Bruno Mountain Watch office (44 Visitacion Avenue, Suite 206, Brisbane, CA 94005) at 9:15 am.
We then carpool at 9:30am to the worksite on the mountain (not more than a 5-10 minute drive) and work there until 12:30pm.

RSVP here or on our Meetup page


Saturday, December 12th, 1:00pm – 3:00 pm: Join Brent Plater of the Wild Equity Institute to search for two of the most imperiled vertebrate species on the San Francisco peninsula: the California Red-legged Frog and the San Francisco Garter Snake. This will be a leisurely walk to enjoy the restoration work being conducted at Mori Point and to learn about the bold steps being taken to save the frogs and the snakes from the brink of extinction.

Note: California’s winter rains usher in the Red-Legged Frog’s breeding season each December, potentially providing a unique nature-viewing opportunity. Accordingly, we encourage you to join us rain or shine!

Meet at the Mori Point Entrance Gate, at the intersection of Bradford Way and Mori Point Road, Pacifica, CA, 94044.

RSVP on this page — or look us up on Meetup!

Dear Reader,

Another year has passed, and yet our most challenging environmental and social problems remain. In fact, many seem to be getting worse: there is now more carbon in the atmosphere, more species on the brink of extinction, more inequity across our human communities.

This realization requires us all to pause and reflect on how we direct our efforts. Because neither we, nor the plants and animals that accompany us on Earth, can afford these trends to continue.


Our supporters count on us to rise to the challenge, not concede to them.

Some in the environmental movement have emerged from this reflection to urge that we concede: give up on our basic environmental objectives, and redefine success as whatever corporate and selfish human interests will permit. Rather than fighting for conservation goals that science demands, they suggest we accept whatever conservation goals corporations will permit.

Wild Equity believes something different. We believe that we can make the world more sustainable, more just, and more beautiful by defending our principles with every fiber of our being.

But effort alone isn’t going to be enough. We must direct our efforts wisely. We must be willing to match any particular problem with the strategy that is most appropriate for those circumstances. That’s why Wild Equity wields a variety of tools—education, public relations, litigation, & grassroots organizing and lobbying—to win campaigns and create a sustainable and just world. This approach has worked for countless other movements, none of which had to concede their demands.

And it can work for all of us too, but not without you: now more than ever we need you to support our work with a tax-deductible contribution to the Wild Equity Institute today.


Even this Tropical Kingbird is taking a stand against Sharp Park Golf Course.

Your support has already helped Wild Equity to make great strides towards a more just and sustainable community for all:

You helped us win long-term permit conditions on the endangered species-killing Sharp Park Golf Course. In 2015 our work resulted in the Coastal Commission imposing an important condition on the golf course’s long term operations: all infrastructure at Sharp Park must be removed when threatened by coastal storm surges. These conditions will be put to the test as early as this winter, when the predicted El Nino brings a deluge to our parched state.

You helped us build our power against power plants polluting the Antioch Dunes National Wildlife Refuge. Wild Equity brought new administrative and legal challenges against polluting Antioch power plants this year, to help restore the Dunes ecosystem and rectify the threats the power plants pose to this remarkable place and the communities that live nearby.

These victories are exceptional; with your support we can accomplish even more in 2016:

Your contribution will create a better public park at Sharp Park. In November 2015 eight of San Francisco’s leading conservation groups stood with us and informed the City that they will oppose a Sharp Park Golf Course redevelopment project that was cynically inserted into the environmental review process for San Francisco’s Natural Areas Plan. With your support we can ensure this coalition ensures that the Golf Course plan is removed or the plan is halted in 2016, when the decision comes to a head.

Your contribution will fund new legal challenges to the power plants that are polluting our communities and poisoning the Antioch Dunes National Wildlife Refuge. This investment will protect endangered species and our most vulnerable communities.

We are poised to make these goals a reality, as we’ve added two new members to our staff: Roman Berenshteyn is our new Communications Coordinator, and Riley Flynn is our new Development Associate. Come see us at an upcoming event and say hi!

Imagine the world we will build together: a more equitable world for people and the plants and animals that accompany us on Earth. Thank you for supporting this vision and contributing to our work today!

With deepest gratitude,


Brent Plater, Director
Wild Equity Institute

PS —Don’t forget to buy an “I ‘Bird’ SF” shirt or a Wild Equity water bottle for you and everyone you love! Purchase at wildequity.org!

Saturday, December 12th, 1:00pm – 3:00 pm: Join Brent Plater of the Wild Equity Institute to search for two of the most imperiled vertebrate species on the San Francisco peninsula: the California Red-legged Frog and the San Francisco Garter Snake. This will be a leisurely walk to enjoy the restoration work being conducted at Mori Point and to learn about the bold steps being taken to save the frogs and the snakes from the brink of extinction.

Note: California’s winter rains usher in the Red-Legged Frog’s breeding season each December, potentially providing a unique nature-viewing opportunity. Accordingly, we encourage you to join us rain or shine!

Meet at the Mori Point Entrance Gate, at the intersection of Bradford Way and Mori Point Road, Pacifica, CA, 94044.

RSVP on this page — or look us up on Meetup!

Have a passion for conservation? The 2015 Wildlife Conservation Exposition will be taking place at the Mission Bay Conference Center at UCSF this Saturday, October 10th, from 10am to 6:30pm. The event will feature fifty organizations and nineteen speakers dedicated to the protection of wildlife. Click here to learn more about the event!

Wild Equity will be tabling at the Expo, and we are looking for volunteers to help us out for the day. At given points throughout the day, volunteers will be able to access the rest of the Expo, including the live afternoon panel with Dr. Jane Goodall! For more information, contact Roman Berenshteyn at rberenshteyn@wildequity.org.

We hope to see you on Saturday!

Thursday, June 18th, 7:00pm – 9:30pm: Wild Equity screens the second part of Saving the Bay, a four-part PBS primetime special about the rich history of the precious San Francisco Bay. We will be showing episodes 3 and 4, which will explore the history of California’s earliest water infrastructure projects, the effects of World War II, and the blossoming of the environmental movement.

Join us for snacks, entertainment, great company, and stimulating discussion!

Check out the Saving the Bay website here .

RSVP on this page — or check us out on Meetup!

Sunday, June 14th, 12:00am-3:00pm: Join the Wild Equity Institute for a fun-filled and colorful day at Sunday Streets. Visit our table and learn about our efforts to unite the grassroots conservation and environmental justice movements in campaigns that redress inequity, both across our human communities and towards the lands in which we live. We are working on campaigns that will improve San Francisco’s public parks and save endangered and threatened species such as the San Francisco Garter Snake and the threatened California Red-Legged Frog.

There will be fun activities!

Sunday Streets Great Highway Route : JFK Drive, Middle Drive, MLK Drive, Great Highway between MLK and Sloat.

Click here for a more detailed map and more info about Sunday Streets.

Our Vision

  • Restore parkland at the site of a failing municipal golf course to provide a healthy home for unique local wildlife such as the California Red-legged Frog and the San Francisco Garter Snake. These species are currently at risk of extinction, and restoring Sharp Park will help them survive for future generations.
  • Protect the natural wetlands that exist in the park to help the City of Pacifica adapt to sea level rise. The alternative of armoring a seawall will cost taxpayers millions.
  • Bring jobs and tourist dollars to the area, as well as recreation that is accessible to everyone.
  • Close Sharp Park Golf Course to save the City of San Francisco millions. in new infrastructure, improvements, maintenance, legal fees, and mitigation measures.

Tell the Mayor to Restore Sharp Park!

Sharp Park in Pacifica, San Mateo County, was once home to a rare and beautiful lagoon and wetlands. Now it is at a crossroads: it can be restored to wetlands as a National Park or continue as a failing golf course, ignoring the growing challenges of climate change and sea level rise. Our Restore Sharp Park campaign unites concerned citizens and Wild Equity’s conservation and social justice partners to transform San Francisco’s budget-busting Sharp Park Golf Course into a thriving National Park.

Create a National Park to provide improved economic, recreational, and educational opportunities.
Restore the wetlands to help endangered wildlife thrive.
Adapt land use to protect communities from flooding and storms caused by climate change and sea level rise.

Sharp Park National Park

Establishing a new National Park isn’t easy — National Parks have a history of facing initial opposition. We believe, however, that a good thing is worth fighting for. Bay Area legends like Amy Meyer and Ed Wayburn, and Congress members like Clem Miller and Phillip Burton worked hard to create the National Park system we have today.

We’re continuing their fight to create National Parks that are accessible to everyone.

The site of our restoration vision is Sharp Park Golf Course, located in Pacifica, CA, but owned and operated by the City of San Francisco. The golf course routinely suffers heavy financial losses that have drained the San Francisco and Pacifica communities for too long. Creating a National Park at Sharp Park will level the playing field and allow communities — human and wild — to benefit from Sharp Park’s wetlands. We cannot allow short sighted opposition to the National Park to stand in the way of helping our coastal community prepare for the future.

Sharp Park National Park will provide Bay Area residents with improved recreation and educational opportunities in rare coastal wetland ecosystem that are home to endangered wildlife. As a National Park, Sharp Park will become a resource that everyone can enjoy. The creation of a National Park at Sharp Park is also a proactive response to the changing future of California’s coast. It is an opportunity to return balance to the human and natural communities, while creating a park that benefits wildlife, surrounding communities, and the local economy. Join Wild Equity in urging the City of San Francisco to transform Sharp Park into Sharp Park National Park.

For Wildlife

The restored wetlands will provide a healthy home for unique local wildlife such as the California Red-legged Frog and the San Francisco Garter Snake. These species are currently at risk of extinction. Restoring Sharp Park will help them survive for future generations.

At present, the day-to-day operations of Sharp Park Golf Course threaten the safety of the animals in the park. Lawnmowers can and have killed highly imperiled San Francisco Garter Snakes, and the regular draining of the Sharp Park wetland is known to destroy the egg masses of the California Red-legged Frog.

For Communities

San Francisco

The New National Park will meet San Francisco residents’ most pressing recreational needs. A recent survey by the Neighborhood Parks Council shows that San Franciscans rank hiking and biking trails as their #1 recreational priority.

Affordable golf, neighborhood parks, and social services will improve. San Francisco can reinvest the funds it loses at Sharp Park Golf Course within the city limits. Other city-owned golf courses, parks, and recreation programs will benefit.

Pacifica and San Mateo County

Restoring coastal wetlands helps adapt to sea level rise. At Sharp Park, allowing the beach to naturally retreat inland while helping native wetlands thrive will provide a natural buffer between Pacifica neighborhoods and floods and ocean storms. The alternative of armoring sea walls is not only costly, it can cause beaches to disappear. Maintaining the Golf Course as sea level rises will require millions of dollars to armor the coast with sea walls – expensive projects that only exacerbate problems in the long run.

A new National Park will bring jobs and tourist dollars to the city. Pacifica’s economy is struggling, and after decades of trying, the Golf Course has failed to create jobs or bring in revenue. National Parks, on the other hand, are tried and tested drivers of economic benefits wherever they are located.

Children will enjoy vital environmental education. Sharp Park National Park will provide Pacifica and San Mateo County residents with recreation that everyone can enjoy.

For the Economy

Sharp Park Golf Course has lost over $1 million of San Francisco city funds over the past 8 fiscal years.

Pacifica sees no proven economic benefit from the Golf Course.

Take Action Today!

  1. Contact the Mayor Today! The Board of Supervisors passed legislation to begin restoration planning at Sharp Park, but Mayor Ed Lee sided with lobbyists for golf purists and coastal developers and vetoed the bill! Call Mayor Ed Lee now at 415-554-6141 and tell him to reverse the veto: because restoring Sharp Park is good government and common sense.
  2. Volunteer with the Wild Equity Institute! You can help us pass this legislation by encouraging your neighbors to contact their Supervisors to support a new National Park at Sharp Park. Join us at fun events to help pass out our Sharp Park Factsheet and our Save Sharp Park Beach Flyer, and show support by attending critical public hearings with the Wild Equity team! Sign-up by calling ‪(415) 494-7524‬ or sending a message to info@wildequity.org.
  3. Donate to the Wild Equity Institute! Become a member of the Wild Equity Institute, or better yet, become a monthly donor and provide sustained support for our work!
  4. Endorse the campaign! Join our growing list of campaign partners. Click here to read a sample letter of support, then e-mail us at info@wildequity.org or call ‪(415) 494-7524‬ to let us know that your organization wants to endorse the legislation to restore Sharp Park!
  5. Click here to download the Sharp Park restoration booklet and learn more about the restoration vision.
  6. Keep Up-to-date with Wild Equity. Like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, and Join our Cause on Facebook!

Need more info? Click for FAQs or Contact Us.

Equity (ěk’wĭ-tē) n. 1. The state, quality, or ideal of being just, impartial, and fair.

The Wild Equity Institute is a San Francisco-based non-profit organization that builds a more sustainable and just world, both for people and the plants and animals that accompany us on Earth. Our work protects local endangered species and defends underserved communities through innovative education programs, science-based administrative petitions, and vigorous enforcement of environmental laws.


Wild Equity Institute Executive Director Brent Plater describes why he founded the organization and what he hopes to accomplish with the group.

Wild Equity was founded in 2009 after several years of community organizing to link the grassroots conservation movement and the environmental justice movement through the movements’ shared moral foundation: equity, the desire for a more just and fair world.

The environmental justice movement’s focus on the inequitable distribution of environmental hazards—and increasingly, its focus on the inequitable access provided to environmental goods like open space and parks—is clearly an example of a movement working towards a more equitable society. Similarly, the grassroots conservation movement works to remedy an inequitable relationship: between our human communities and the non-human world. As we consume a greater share of the world’s finite resources, less remains for the plants and animals around us, driving thousands of species to the brink of extinction. While the moral consideration we owe to each other may be different in kind and scope to what we owe to other forms of life, in both cases the gap between what our moral foundation suggests we should do and how we actually act leaves us with a culturally isolated and biologically impoverished world.

The Wild Equity Institute’s purpose is to unite these two occasionally disparate environmental movements into a powerful force that creates a healthy and sustainable global community for all. We accomplish this by working on projects that highlight and redress the inequitable relationships across our human communities while improving our relationship to the lands in which we live.


Hear what program officers from around the Bay Area think about our work.

The Wild Equity Institute is a California non-profit corporation and is registered as a 501(c)(3) public charity with the Internal Revenue Service. We are supported by the Rose Foundation for Communities & the Environment, the Fund for Wild Nature, the California Wildlands Grassroots Fund, the Firedoll Foundation, the Jeff & Connie Woodman Foundation, the Foundation for Youth Investment, the JiJi Foundation, TogetherGreen (a collaboration between National Audubon Society and Toyota), the Society for Community Work, the Foundation for Ecology & Culture, REI’s San Francisco store, the Sports Basement, the NITA Foundation, Patagonia San Francisco, and hundreds of community members just like you. Join us: become a member of the Wild Equity Institute today.

Board of Directors

Dr. Douglas Bevington
Rose Braz – Chairperson
Neal Desai
Ken Masters – Treasurer
Brent Plater – President & Executive Director
Anna Sylvester – Secretary

Privacy Policy & Terms of Service for wildequity.org.


Saturday, May 30th, 4:00pm – 5:30pm: Join the San Francisco Green Film Festival, May 28 – June 3 at the Roxie Theater, 3117 16th St., San Francisco, for a week of films and events that spotlight the world’s most urgent environmental issues and most innovative solutions. Check out their fantastic line-up of new & inspiring environmental films. Wild Equity will be there on May 30th at 4:00pm in support of Bay Area filmmaker Gail Mallimson, and her latest documentary, The Edge of the Wild.

Get more info and buy tickets here!
Watch the trailer below.

The Edge of the Wild
(Gail Mallimson, USA, 2015, 60 min)

World Premiere. A life-long resident of Brisbane, CA, is determined to save the last population of rare butterflies (including our friend the Mission Blue!) from the luxury housing planned for San Bruno mountain. Bay Area filmmaker Gail Mallimson brings us this epic battle between private property rights and the survival of a species, with implications for national environmental policy.

Followed by discussion with: Gail Mallimson, director

For more info: www.greenfilmfest.org or (415) 552-5580 or info@greenfilmfest.org.

Website: www.theedgeofthewild.com

Facebook: The Edge of the Wild SF Green FilmFest

Twitter: @greenfilmfest @GMallimson

Thursday, May 21st, 8:30am – 4:00pm: Wild Equity will be helping to conduct the 2015 plant survey of the endangered Antioch Dunes Evening Primrose at the Antioch Dunes National Wildlife Refuge in Contra Costa County.  It’s a great opportunity to visit a special place that is not always open to the public. There are plenty of wildflowers and butterflies to enjoy, and you’ll be helping to gather data that will used to keep this species alive and safe from extinction. This is a rare opportunity to work with an endangered species that is endemic to a very small local area. Join us and experience and service this unique and imperiled ecosystem. Training will be done on-site that day.

Wear: long pants (there can be scratchy plants and stickers), layered clothing, and sturdy walking shoes. Bring: lunch and water bottle, sunhat, sunscreen, sunglasses, and gaitors if you like to use them to keep plant parts out of your socks  Raingear is optional (you never know). Morning temperatures can be chilly. We will walk all day (with several breaks) on mixed, sometimes hilly terrain, with some plants/trees to step over, under and around. That means good exercise, fresh air, wildlife and wildflowers to see and enjoy.

This survey will be held at the Sardis Unit at 1551 Wilbur Avenue in Antioch, 94509. Follow this link for directions.

This is not the only opportunity to volunteer for this project! There will be four different counting parties, two of which will actually be for the Contra Costa Wallflower. Wild Equity will only be in attendance at the last, but the folks over at the Antioch Dunes National Wildlife Refuge could certainly use your help at the others, too!

For more info, check out the flyer below:

********We are sorry to say that this event has been canceled. Check back soon for the new date of this movie screening. Our apologies for any inconvenience.********

Thursday, May 14th, 7:00pm – 9:30pm: Wild Equity screens the second part of Saving the Bay, a four-part PBS primetime special about the rich history of the precious San Francisco Bay. We will be showing episodes 3 and 4, which will explore the history of California’s earliest water infrastructure projects, the effects of World War II, and the blossoming of the environmental movement.

Join us for snacks, entertainment, great company, and stimulating discussion!

Check out the Saving the Bay website here .

RSVP on this page — or check us out on Meetup!

Sunday, May 10th, 11:00am-4:00pm: Join the Wild Equity Institute for a fun-filled and colorful day at Sunday Streets. Visit our table and learn about our efforts to unite the grassroots conservation and environmental justice movements in campaigns that redress inequity, both across our human communities and towards the lands in which we live. We are working on campaigns that will improve San Francisco’s public parks and save endangered and threatened species such as the San Francisco Garter Snake and the threatened California Red-Legged Frog.

There will be fun activities!

Sunday Streets Mission Route : Valencia Street (Between Duboce Avenue & 24th Street) and 24th Street (Between Valencia Street & Hampshire Street).

Click here for a more detailed map and more info about Sunday Streets.

In a world where every inch has been impacted—directly or indirectly—by industrial society, what does it mean to “preserve nature”? How does the idea of adaptation shape our responses to extinction, climate chaos, and nature? How does our sense of “history” shape our ideas about nature, evolution, and conservation? How should we understand and value natural processes, wildness, and human technologies? With Peter S. Alagona, Annalee Newitz, and Noah Greenwald. Co-hosted by Wild Equity Institute and Shaping San Francisco.

For more events in this series, click here.

RSVP on this page — or check us out on Meetup!

Saturday, April 4th, 11:00pm – 1:00 pm: Join Brent Plater of the Wild Equity Institute to search for two of the most imperiled vertebrate species on the San Francisco peninsula: the California Red-legged Frog and the San Francisco Garter Snake. This will be a leisurely walk to enjoy the restoration work being conducted at Mori Point and to learn about the bold steps being taken to save the frogs and the snakes from the brink of extinction. This event is rain or shine.

Meet at the Mori Point Entrance Gate, at the intersection of Bradford Way and Mori Point Road, Pacifica, CA, 94044.

RSVP on this page — or look us up on Meetup!

You are invited to join Brent Plater of the Wild Equity Institute on a 5-mile hike along the edge of the North American continent. We will explore San Francisco’s beautiful habitats and learn about the endangered species that call the area home. During the hike, we will search for Marbled Murrelet, Western Snowy Plover, San Francisco Lessingia, Humpback Whale, and Southern Sea Otter.

Meet at the Baker Beach North Parking Lot. Bring snacks and water. Please see above to RSVP – or check us out on Meetup!

Sunday, April 26th, 9:30am-10:30am: San Francisco has 32 pockets of undeveloped land set aside for the preservation of the natural world. These pockets hold the last remnants of wildness once found across the lands where we now live, but do we have room in our parks and our hearts for nature in this city?

Brent Plater, executive director of the Wild Equity Institute, offers a photographic exploration of the remaining wild areas in San Francisco. Brent went on a three day quest to see each of these natural areas for himself, understand what’s proposed for these lands, and identify a plan to save these areas from the City’s mismanagement. Join Brent for a slideshow of his quest, add your thoughts to the conversation, and discover how we can help these areas thrive.

RSVP on this page — or check us out on Meetup!

Wednesday, April 22nd, 7:30pm – 9:30: Bricks give literal structure to a history of place. Bricks were a fire proof building material in early years of a city often engulfed by fire. Archeology work at the Presidio reveals plant time capsules embedded in recovered bricks that help us understand pre-settler ecology. And brick throwing increasingly confronts our current landscape of evictions and displacement. Featuring Ruth Askevold, Leslie Dreyer, and Lew Stringer. Co-hosted by Wild Equity Institute and Shaping San Francisco.

For more events in this series, click here.

RSVP on this page — or check us out on Meetup!

Saturday, April 18th, 9:00am – 12:00pm: This year for Earth Day, Wild Equity is heading out to the East Bay! We’ll be working to clean up some of the valuable bird habitat around Lake Merritt in Oakland. Join us!

Lake Merritt is an urban birding hotspot with a fascinating history. In fact, Lake Merritt Wild Duck Refuge was the first official wildlife refuge designated in the United States! Established in 1870, the lake’s refuge has provided protected habitat for numerous birds of all shapes and sizes — as well as the very occasional river otter — for generations. Lake Merritt is an urban ecological jewel that provides healthful opportunities for getting in touch with the wildlife that is interwoven with our human communities. Remarkably, the biodiversity of the lake flourishes despite being right in the thick of so much human detritus. It’s for this reason that Wild Equity is proud to spend Earth Day 2015 giving back to this vital place by taking the time to clean up its water and its shores. We hope you can join us as we observe this increasingly important holiday by serving and stewarding this valuable community.

We will meet outside Rotary Nature Center by the intersection of Perkins & Bellevue. If you’re late or have trouble finding us, call Michael at (310) 963-0090. See you there!


This is event is part of the City of Oakland’s city-wide Earth Day cleanup effort. Learn more here.

Sunday, April 12th, 11:00am-4:00pm: Join the Wild Equity Institute for a fun-filled and colorful day at Sunday Streets. Visit our table and learn about our efforts to unite the grassroots conservation and environmental justice movements in campaigns that redress inequity, both across our human communities and towards the lands in which we live. We are working on campaigns that will improve San Francisco’s public parks and save endangered and threatened species such as the San Francisco Garter Snake and the threatened California Red-Legged Frog.

There will be fun activities!

Sunday Streets Bayview/Dogpatch/Potrero Route : This route runs along 3rd Street, San Francisco.

Click here for a more detailed map and more info about Sunday Streets.

Saturday, April 11th, 10:00a.m.: Wild Equity is teaming up with San Bruno Mountain Watch to bring you along on a breath-taking hike high above the urban sprawl of San Francisco. We’ll be exploring just part of this 2,750 acre park, where we will not only be privy to spectacular vistas of the city, but also to some of our most precious native San Francisco wildlife. Join us on this expedition to search for endangered butterflies – including the extraordinary Mission Blue – in one of the peninsula’s most picturesque parks.

We will meet at the San Bruno Mountain Watch office at 44 Visitacion in Brisbane (2nd floor) and then carpool to the trailhead together. Bring water, a hat, and sunscreen. This will be a moderately difficult hike.

Thursday, April 9th, 7:00pm – 9:30pm: Wild Equity screens the first part of Saving the Bay, a four-part PBS primetime special about the rich history of the precious San Francisco Bay. We will be showing episodes 1 and 2, which will explore the geologic creation of the Bay, the history of the Native peoples who lived here, arrival of the Gold Rush, and the establishment of early commercial fisheries.

Join us for snacks, entertainment, great company, and stimulating discussion!

Check out the Saving the Bay website here .

RSVP on this page — or look us up on Meetup!

Saturday, April 4th, 1:00pm – 3:00 pm: Join Brent Plater of the Wild Equity Institute to search for two of the most imperiled vertebrate species on the San Francisco peninsula: the California Red-legged Frog and the San Francisco Garter Snake. This will be a leisurely walk to enjoy the restoration work being conducted at Mori Point and to learn about the bold steps being taken to save the frogs and the snakes from the brink of extinction. This event is rain or shine.

Meet at the Mori Point Entrance Gate, at the intersection of Bradford Way and Mori Point Road, Pacifica, CA, 94044.

RSVP on this page — or look us up on Meetup!

On November 6th, 6pm, at the Eric Quezada Center for Culture and Politics Wild Equity will be proudly celebrating our five year anniversary! That’s right, it’s already been Five Years Fighting, and we’ve decided to throw you, the people who’ve made Wild Equity possible, a party!


Featuring live music by singer/songwriter Kristin Plater.

Please join us for food, drinks, games, goodies, and most importantly good company! There will be live music, an outdoor gear raffle, and vintage endangered species artwork up for auction at this celebratory end-of-year fundraiser. We’ll also showcase what we’ve accomplished to date, and, of course, show how we intend to keep Wild Equity’s momentum growing!


Don’t miss your chance to win one of these environmentally conscious Alpine Climbing Down Sweaters or this 45L Black Hole Duffel Bag courtesy of our friends at Patagonia!

Tickets are on sale now for only $15! Space is limited, so reserve yours today!
(No one turned away for lack of funds.)

We can’t wait to see you!

Wednesday, March 18th, 7:00pm – 9:00pm: Wild Equity screens Power Paths, a rousing documentary about the struggles faced by Native American communities at the hands of environmentally devastating energy production.

Power Paths zeroes in on the successful closure of one of Nevada’s most polluting coal-powered plants, as well as the efforts of indigenous Americans to develop clean energy resources on their lands. The movie shows us that “traditional values toward conservation and the earth are also solutions for the rest of America’s energy dilemma.”


Check out the Power Paths website here.

As always, our screening will feature a discussion, and this time we are fortunate enough to be joined by noted activist Wahleah Johns! Wahleah Johns is featured in the film, and had agreed to answer audience questions at our event!

Wahleah Johns is a member of the Navajo (Dine) tribe and the community of Forest Lake, which is one of several communities atop Black Mesa, Arizona. Wahleah’s work with the Black Mesa Water Coalition and Navajo Green Economy Coalition has led to groundbreaking legislative victories for groundwater protection, green jobs and environmental justice. As the Black Mesa Solar Project Coordinator, Wahleah is helping to bring utility scale solar to local communities of Black Mesa region on the Navajo reservation. Wahleah currently lives Oakland, CA with her husband Billy Parish and their two daughters Tohaana and Alowaan.

Join us for a compellingly good time! — There will be snacks!!

RSVP on this page — or check us out on Meetup!

Wild Equity has participated in Sunday Streets regularly for years — and after a short break, this month we’ve made a comeback! It was a beautiful day out on the Embarcadero Route, and Wild Equity had lots of fun celebrating recreation, community, and physical activity in the streets of San Francisco. The live band by our table was particularly enlivening!

Visit our table at Sunday Streets events to learn about our work uniting the grassroots conservation and environmental justice movements in campaigns that redress inequity — both across our human communities and towards the lands in which we live. We’d love the chance to say, “Hi!”

We are scheduled to be present at all upcoming Sunday Streets events. You can come check us out on 4/12 at Bayview/Dogpatch, or on 5/10 in the Mission, or on 6/14 at the Sunset on the Great Highway… Take your pick!

So be sure to join the fun! If you’d like to volunteer with us at Sunday Streets — or at any of our events — contact jcrofton@wildequity.org to get started.

Wild Equity is excited to announce that we will be joined by featured activist Wahleah Johns for our upcoming screening of Power Paths!

On Wednesday, March 18th at 7:00pm Wild Equity will screen the film Power Paths, a rousing documentary about the struggles faced by Native American communities at the hands of environmentally devastating energy production.

Featured in the film is noted noted activist Wahleah Johns. Wahleah Johns is featured in the film, and has agreed to answer audience questions at our event!

Power Paths zeroes in on the successful closure of one of Nevada’s most polluting coal-powered plants, as well as the efforts of indigenous Americans to develop clean energy resources on their lands. The movie shows us that “traditional values toward conservation and the earth are also solutions for the rest of America’s energy dilemma.”

Wahleah Johns is a member of the Navajo (Dine) tribe and the community of Forest Lake, which is one of several communities atop Black Mesa, Arizona. Wahleah’s work with the Black Mesa Water Coalition and Navajo Green Economy Coalition has led to groundbreaking legislative victories for groundwater protection, green jobs and environmental justice. As the Black Mesa Solar Project Coordinator, Wahleah is helping to bring utility scale solar to local communities of Black Mesa region on the Navajo reservation. Wahleah currently lives Oakland, CA with her husband Billy Parish and their two daughters Tohaana and Alowaan.

The movie will be screened at the Wild Equity Office in El Centro del Pueblo – right by 16th Street BART! The address is 474 Valencia St, Suite 295, San Francisco, CA 94103. There will be snacks! See you there!!

RSVP here or check us out on Meetup!

Sunday, March 8th, 2015, 11:00am-4:00pm: Join the Wild Equity Institute for a fun-filled and colorful day at Sunday Streets. Visit our table and learn about our efforts to unite the grassroots conservation and environmental justice movements in campaigns that redress inequity, both across our human communities and towards the lands in which we live. We are working on campaigns that will improve San Francisco’s public parks and save endangered and threatened species such as the San Francisco Garter Snake and the threatened California Red-Legged Frog.

There will be fun activities!

Sunday Streets Embarcadero Route : Northbound lanes of Embarcadero from Powell St to King St, King St to 3rd St, 3rd St to Terry Francois Blvd, and Terry Francois from 3rd St to Mission Bay Blvd North.

Click here for a more detailed map and more info about Sunday Streets.

Saturday, March 7th, 9:00am-1:30pm: Join Wild Equity and the folks at Antioch Dunes Wildlife Refuge Sardis Unit for this chance to reinvigorate endangered wildlife populations! We’ll be meeting up at the refuge to plant seedlings of endangered Antioch Dunes Evening Primrose and Contra Costa Wallflower — and of Naked‐stemmed Buckwheat, the host plant of the endangered Lange’s Metalmark Butterfly.

This is an opportunity to visit a unique area normally closed to the public. This dune system is an extremely rare and imperiled habitat, and we need your help implementing its restoration. We look forward to seeing you there, and working alongside you!

Meet at the Antioch Dunes National Wildlife Refuge Sardis Unit at 1551 Wilbur Avenue in Antioch, CA 94509. Wear sturdy shoes, long pants, and layered clothing. Bring raingear (you never know), lunch and water, a sunhat, sunscreen, sunglasses, and knee pads if you like to use them. Tools, gloves and snacks will be provided.

RSVP on this page — or check us out on Meetup!

Saturday, May 18, 9:00am – 1:30pm: The Wild Equity Institute is joining our friends from the California Native Plant Society to search for San Francisco’s rare plant populations. Search groups will be meeting at Fort Funston, Bayview Park, and Heron’s Head Park.

Groups will meet at the three separate parks to look for and document rare plants, then convene for an optional lunch at Pasquale’s Pizzeria in the Inner Sunset to share photos, our new rare plant knowledge, and of course, pizza.

To RSVP or for more information, please contact dslakey@cnps.org by May 16th.

Or check out our Meetup!

In 1849 San Francisco was surrounded by wild animals and a flourishing sea and bay, from which most early food was taken. But what is our “wild menu” now? How do foraging, fishing, hunting, and gathering fit into modern life? What role does conservation and ecology play in a contemporary and future wild menu? With Mark Heath, Kirk Lombard, and Chris Carlsson. Co-hosted by Wild Equity Institute, Shaping San Francisco, and Nature in the City.

For more events in this series, click here.

2014 has been a challenging year. On December 20, 2013, Rose Braz—Wild Equity’s Chairperson, my wife, and the person I call “the greatest human I’ve ever met” without reservation—had a seizure. That Christmas Eve she was diagnosed with an invasive and aggressive form of brain cancer called glioblastoma.

It was the scariest moment we’ve ever faced.


Too many days were spent like this in 2014.

Our lives have been transformed. Rose has since had two brain surgeries and endured radiation and chemotherapy treatments. Much of my time has been dedicated to Rose’s care, and searching the literature for treatments that may fight this disease.

This time last year we knew next to nothing about brain cancer. Since then we’ve learned that many researchers now believe there will not be a “silver bullet” cure for glioblastoma. It is much more likely that a cure will be forged from several different treatments, each fighting a different aspect of the disease.

We transformed what we learned into a treatment “cocktail” that seems to be working. Rose’s latest scans are clear, and she’s still fighting fracking throughout California.


Rose rallying thousands just days after treatment.

What is most striking about this seemingly insurmountable challenge is that our struggles and insights parallel Wild Equity’s theory of change.

Wild Equity believes that no one strategy or technique will solve our systemic problems, so we wield a variety of tools—education, public relations, litigation, & grassroots organizing and lobbying—to win campaigns and create a sustainable and just world.

More so than any other Bay Area organization, Wild Equity has the suite of skills needed to wield each of these tools successfully, and we’ve demonstrated our effectiveness in wielding them time and again.

Now more than ever we need you to reinvest in our work: please renew your membership and/or make a tax-deductible contribution to the Wild Equity Institute today.

Even during this exacting year, your support has helped Wild Equity make great strides towards a more just and sustainable community for all:

  • You helped us bring another lawsuit against the endangered species-killing Sharp Park Golf Course. With Save the Frogs! & Sequoia Audubon, Wild Equity is challenging Sharp Park Golf Course’s new attempt to drain critical wetlands for endangered species. With each successful claim we not only help wildlife, we increase the odds that San Francisco will stop wasting funds on this wildlife-killing golf course, and redirect them to San Francisco’s most impoverished neighborhood parks.


Photo © Liam O’Brien

These victories are exceptional; with your support we can accomplish even more in 2015:

Imagine the world we will build together: a more equitable world for people and the plants and animals that accompany us on Earth. Thank you for supporting this vision and contributing to our work today!

With deepest gratitude,

Brent Plater, Executive Director

Rose Braz, Chairperson

PS — Don’t forget to buy an “I ‘Bird’ SF” shirt for you and everyone you love! All sizes are currently in stock. Thank you!

You are invited to join the Wild Equity Institute for a hike at Muir Woods to see the threatened Coho Salmon, Central California Coast Evolutionary Significant Unit, and the Steelhead, Central California Coast Distinct Population Segment. Witness the semelparous spawning behavior of the Coho Salmon and take action to help save these imperiled species. The hike is free, but you must pay an entrance fee to directly to the National Park Service when we enter Muir Woods.

Meet at Muir Woods National Monument Main Entrance Gate, Mill Valley, CA, 94941.

As you know, 2014 was Wild Equity’s fifth year of building equity around the Bay Area, and last month you, our supporters, came forth to join us in celebration. Happily, the party was a huge success! We enjoyed live music and prizes, there were all kinds of merry-making, and the crowd was rife with animated and insightful conversation.

It was truly poignant to witness so many people converging over the essential principle of equity. It’s the principle that ties each of us to both people and planet, and we believe it’s a cause worth reveling in. It’s affirming to know that you all believe so, too.

Here at Wild Equity, we are eager to be inspired by the people who make our organization possible. Well, this time you’ve gone above and beyond in your passion, and we’re keen to take your enthusiasm and channel it into the work that you love to support.

We are so proud to have such a strong and vibrant community behind us as we push on into 2015, and into our sixth year of fighting. There are many more victories to be had just around the corner, and we can’t wait to celebrate those with you, too!

Thanks so much to all of you, and see you next time!

Sunday, November 9, 9:30am – 12:30pm: You are invited to join the staff of the Wild Equity Institute on a bike ride through some of San Francisco’s last wildlife habitats. We will search for and learn how to save the endangered species living within the Golden Gate National Parks. We will have the opportunity to see the Gowen Cypress, Raven’s Manzanita, Humpback Whale, San Francisco Lessingia, the Western Snowy Plover, and if we are very lucky, the Steller Sea Lion, the Marbled Murrelet, and the Southern Sea Otter!

We will start and end at the Bazaar Cafe, 5927 California Street, San Francisco, CA 94121. Bring water and snacks. Rain cancels.

If you don’t want to ride your bike to the meeting point, the 1 California bus will drop you off directly in front of the cafe. The bike racks on the bus are easy to operate. Visit 511.org to plan your route.

On November 6th we will be proudly celebrating our five year anniversary! That’s right, it’s already been Five Years Fighting, and we’ve decided to throw you, the people who’ve made Wild Equity possible, a party! Please join us for drinks, live music, games, an outdoor gear raffle, and an art enthusiast’s silent auction at our celebratory end-of-year fundraiser. We’ll also showcase what we’ve accomplished to date, and, of course, show how we intend to keep Wild Equity’s momentum growing.


And that’s how we roll.

More details to follow, but tickets are available for sale now for just $15 (no one turned away for lack of funds). We can’t wait to see you!

Tonight’s the night: Wild Equity’s five year anniversary celebration!  A limited number of tickets have been reserved for sale at the door for only $15, so come on by! 

Thursday November 6th, 6pm,

at the Eric Quezada Center for Culture and Politics 

Thank you from all of us at Wild Equity!



Wild Equity Party

These are not actors: it’s an actual scene from Wild Equity’s most recent bash!!

Buy Your Ticket Now!



 

On November 6th, 6pm, at the Eric Quezada Center for Culture and Politics Wild Equity will be proudly celebrating our five year anniversary! That’s right, it’s already been Five Years Fighting, and we’ve decided to throw you, the people who’ve made Wild Equity possible, a party!

Please join us for food, drinks, games, goodies, and most importantly good company! We’ll have live music by singer/songwriter Kristin Plater, as well as an outdoor gear raffle and vintage endangered species artwork up for auction at this celebratory end-of-year fundraiser. We’ll also showcase what we’ve accomplished to date, and, of course, show how we intend to keep Wild Equity’s momentum growing!

Tickets are on sale now for only $15! Space is limited, so reserve yours today!
(No one turned away for lack of funds.)

We can’t wait to see you!

Thursday, October 23, 7:00pm – 9:00pm: This edition of the Modern Times State of the City panel welcomes Brent Plater, Executive Director of the Wild Equity Institute; Richard A. Walker, author of The Atlas of California; and Diane Serafini, bicycle activist to discuss the issues concerning citizens living in a rapidly changing San Francisco.

Open since 1971, Modern Times Bookstore Collective is one of San Francisco’s oldest bookstores. Modern Times is committed to the “literate and lively exchange of ideas and ideals.”

Thursday, 23 October, 12:00pm: The Oakland Zoo’s staff and supporters are welcome to join Wild Equity’s Brent Plater for a photographic exploration of the Bay Area’s best chance to save two wondrous and imperiled animals: the California red-legged frog and the San Francisco garter snake. Wild Equity has identified an opportunity to help these species recover by transforming a money-losing, endangered species-killing golf course into a new public park everyone can enjoy. Join Brent to learn about this proposal, discover what you can do to implement it, and see how Wild Equity is working with partners around the Bay Area to create a more equitable world for all—including the plants and animals that accompany us on Earth.


North America’s Most Beautiful Serpent: the San Francisco Garter Snake


Twain’s Frog: the California Red-legged Frog

Sunday, October 19, 10:00am – 12:00pm: Join the Wild Equity Institute for a leisurely walk along Ocean Beach to search for the threatened Western Snowy Plover. This small shorebird is threatened by human activities and habitat degradation. Join us to see this adorable species in its native habitat and learn ways that you can help this little puffball of feathers, before it is too late.

Meet at the patch of grass at the intersection of Taraval and the Great Highway – 2400 Great Highway. The L Taraval Muni train stops two blocks from the meeting point.

Saturday, October 18, 6:00pm: Please join Wild Equity and four local authors for the InVisibly Green reading at Lit Crawl 2014. Reconsider the definition of what constitutes nature writing, examine the dominate narrative of the environmental movement, and rethink our relationship with nature.

Authors:

Carolyn Finney – reading from her book Black Faces, White Spaces: Reimagining the Relationship of African Americans to the Great Outdoors

Kim Shuck – reading from her book Rabbit Stories

Nellie Wong – reading a selection of poems

Al Young – reading a selection of poems

Author Bios:

Carolyn Finney, assistant professor of environmental science at U.C. Berkeley, researches the significance of identity, representation, and struggle in shaping strategies for negotiating daily life.

Kim Shuck, recipient of the Native Writers of the America’s First Book Award, lectures on the subjects of math, art, and Native American issues.

Nellie Wong, one of the founding members of the writing collective Unbound Feet, her poetry confronts social problems such as racism, sexism, and labor issues.

Al Young, poet, novelist, essayist, screenwriter, professor, and former Poet Laureate of California, lectures internationally on American and African American literature and culture.

This event is part of Lit Crawl 2014, an evening filled with readings of poetry, fiction, non-fiction, and more in bookstores, bars, art galleries, restaurants, stores, cafés, laundromats, and community spaces in San Francisco’s Mission District.

Wild Equity is an exhibitor at the upcoming Wildlife Conservation Expo. Come by and say hi! buy tickets now, or discover more about the expo.

The 2014 Wildlife Conservation Expo is almost here! And we have big news. Dr. Iain Douglas-Hamilton, one of the leading elephant experts in the world, will be coming to the Expo. Dr. Douglas-Hamilton will join nineteen other inspiring conservationists from all over the world. Hear their stories of working in remote lands, surrounded by wild animals. Learn how they create innovative solutions and work closely with local people to create big impacts for wildlife. The Expo is your chance to join the conservationists’ world, even if only for a day. Join us on October 11 in San Francisco for a truly wild day.

Come visit Wild Equity during Nightlife at California Academy of Sciences!
Nightlife is a 21+ event


Our Nightlife Station!

Monday, September 1, 11:00am – 2:00pm: The Wild Equity Institute is going to be at the California Academy of Sciences for their Endangered Species Spotlight.

Come find us in the Swamp! Take a closer look at endangered species and explore interactive programs to learn ways that we can protect and conserve species.

See you there!

Oakland Zoo
9777 Golf links Road
Oakland, CA 94605
General Information number: (510) 632-9525.

Directions:

To arrive via public transit plan your trip using the 511 Trip Planner.

Thursday, August 21, 6:30pm: Please join the Wild Equity staff for the screening of the inspiring film Rebels with a Cause. The film follows the story of the people who took on developers to save open space and create two national treasures: Point Reyes National Seashore and the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.

View the trailer by clicking here

We are honored to be joined by Amy Meyer, a leading activist in this amazing campaign and Wild Equity supporter, and the film’s writer/director, Nancy Kelly for a post film discussion.

Please RSVP above or on our Meetup group page.

Wild Equity is an exhibitor at the upcoming Wildlife Conservation Expo. Come by and say hi.

Sunday, December 14, 11:00am – 1:00pm: You are invited to join the Wild Equity Institute for a hike at Muir Woods to see the threatened Coho Salmon, Central California Coast Evolutionary Significant Unit, and the Steelhead, Central California Coast Distinct Population Segment. Witness the semelparous spawning behavior of the Coho Salmon and take action to help save these imperiled species.

Meet at Muir Woods National Monument, Mill Valley, CA, 94941. $7 entrance into the park. Entrance is free for visitors aged 15 yrs and under.

Monday, July 28, 7:00pm: Please join us for a slideshow and discussion about saving endangered wildlife near you and protecting coastal communities from sea level rise. Learn how you can see and save two federally protected species, the California Red-legged Frog and the San Francisco Garter Snake.

Sunday, July 20, 9:00am: Laura Horton, Wild Equity Institute staff attorney, will discuss how the Fish and Wildlife Service’s Bush-era bird nest policy encourages the destruction of nests. Learn how Wild Equity is fighting to change this disastrous policy and what needs to be done to protect to migratory birds.

This is a great event to wear your I “bird” SF t-shirt.

Saturday, July 19, 11:00am: Ever wonder what surfers and California Red-legged Frogs have in common? Get the answer at the surfer edition of our popular Mori Point hike. We are stoked (surfer lingo) to be heading out on this adventure with the folks from the San Francisco Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation.

Enjoy a leisurely stroll through Mori Point in search of two of the most imperiled species on the San Francisco Peninsula: the San Francisco Garter Snake and the California Red-legged Frog. Learn about the ongoing habitat restoration at Mori Point and the efforts being taken to save the snakes and the frogs from extinction.

Pack your binoculars because Mori Point is wonderful place to see birds and other wildlife. We will have binoculars to share too.

This is a great outing for kids!

Meet at the Mori Point Entrance Gate, at the intersection of Bradford Way and Mori Point Road, Pacifica, CA, 94044.

This event is rain or shine.

Please RSVP above or on our Meetup group page.

Thursday, July 10, 7:30pm: San Francisco has 32 pockets of undeveloped land set aside for the preservation of the natural world. These pockets hold the last remnants of wildness once found across the lands where we now live, but do we have room in our parks and our hearts for nature in this city?

The San Francisco Natural History Lecture Series hosted by the San Francisco Naturalist Society welcomes Brent Plater, executive director of the Wild Equity Institute, for a photographic exploration of the remaining wild areas in San Francisco. Brent went on a three day quest to see each of these natural areas for himself, understand what’s proposed for these lands, and identify a plan to save these areas from the City’s mismanagement. Join Brent for a slideshow of his quest, add your thoughts to the conversation, and discover how we can help these areas thrive.

Please RSVP above or on our Meetup group page.


Lakeview/Ashton Mini Park Natural Area.

Thursday, June 26, 6:30pm: Please join Wild Equity for the anime epic Princess Mononoke.

The story follows a warrior’s involvement in the struggle between the supernatural guardians of a forest and the humans who consume its resources.

Leonard Klady of Variety said “…is not only more sharply drawn, it has an extremely complex and adult script” and the film “has the soul of a romantic epic, and its lush tones, elegant score by Joe Hisaishi and full-blooded characterizations give it the sweep of cinema’s most grand canvases.”

We will have freshly popped popcorn.

The screening is free, but donations are welcome.

Please RSVP above or on our Meetup group page.

Staff Attorney Position

Position Summary.

Wild Equity is hiring a Staff Attorney to manage and prosecute environmental cases in state and federal courts. This full-time position is based in Wild Equity’s San Francisco office, and offers an extraordinary opportunity to join a growing organization and shape its future.

To apply for this position, please submit a resume, two recent samples of your own writing, list of references, law school transcript, and a cover letter describing your interest in our work to info@wildequity.org. The position will start on August 1, 2014.

Major Responsibilities.

Under the direction of the Executive Director and in collaboration with outside counsel, the Staff Attorney will:

  • Evaluate new cases and identify administrative and litigation opportunities.
  • Conduct legal research and writing.
  • Prepare court filings and represent Wild Equity at oral argument.

In addition to these responsibilities, the Staff Attorney will also support partner organizations participating in our campaigns, represent Wild Equity at public meetings and in the media, write summaries of our cases for public distribution, and help with administrative and fundraising tasks.

Desired Qualifications.

  • Juris Doctor degree.
  • Admission to the California Bar or commitment to pass the California Bar.
  • Excellent writing, research, and oral advocacy skills.
  • Familiarity with key environmental laws such as NEPA, CEQA, ESA, and CAA.
  • Demonstrated commitment to environmental and social justice.
  • Strong work ethic with a keen attention to detail.
  • Entrepreneurial spirit that desires responsibility.
  • Advanced skills in basic computer programs such as Word, PowerPoint, Excel.

Salary and Benefits.

Salary will be commensurate with experience and litigation caseload. The total compensation package will be comparable to similarly sized non-profits. Wild Equity’s benefit package includes a flexible work environment, generous vacation time, medical insurance and commuter subsidies.

About Wild Equity.

The Wild Equity Institute unites the grassroots conservation and environmental justice movements in campaigns that build a healthy and sustainable global community for people and the plants and animals that accompany us on Earth. We accomplish this by working on projects that highlight and redress the inequitable relationships across our human communities while improving our relationship to the lands in which we live.

Representative projects include transforming an endangered species killing, money losing golf course into a new public park everyone can enjoy; working with conservation, environmental justice, and social service organizations to reduce emissions from power plants in Antioch, CA; and helping to build a more sustainable relationship between our communities and urban parks in the greater San Francisco Bay Area. To find out more, go to https://www.wildequity.org.

Saturday, June 14, 10:00am – 1:00pm: Please join the Wild Equity Institute and the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy for wetland restoration at Mori Point. Mori Point is important habitat for two federally protected animals, the California Red-legged Frog and the San Francisco Garter Snake.

The Parks Conservancy requires all volunteers to bring a completed volunteer form, available here. Please disregard the expiration date in the corner of the form. This form has not expired.

This event is rain or shine. Wear clothes that can get dirty. Long pants and closed-toe shoes are required. Bring layers for changing weather and rain gear if necessary. Bring a personal water bottle and sunscreen. No experience is necessary and tools will be provided.

Wednesday, April 30, 6:30pm – 8:30pm: San Francisco has 32 pockets of undeveloped land set aside for the preservation of the natural world. These pockets hold the last remnants of wildness once found across the lands where we now live, but do we have room in our parks and our hearts for nature in this city?

Brent Plater, Wild Equity’s executive director, went on a three day quest to see each of these natural areas for himself, understand what’s proposed for these lands, and identify a plan to save these areas from the City’s mismanagement. Join Brent for a slideshow of his quest, add your thoughts to the conversation, and discover how we can help these areas thrive.

Please RSVP above or on our Meetup group.


Lakeview/Ashton Mini Park Natural Area.

Saturday, March 29, 9:00am – 4:00pm: Visit the Wild Equity, booth #10, in the Exhibitors Tent at BioBlitz 2014. Come by to say hi and help some lost wildlife find their way home. The event is rain or shine. The day will be filled with activities and music. This is a fantastic event for kids and adults!

Thursday, March 20,6:30pm – 8:30pm: Please join us for a wonderful film and an informative discussion with the film’s director.

Award winning documentary, San Francisco—Still Wild At Heart, is a virtual case study of the arrival of coyotes in our urban communities. This film has been described as “uplifting, lyrical, moving” and “an absolute treasure of a film.”

Unfolding first in San Francisco, the film follows the story of the coyote across the national canvas—to New York City’s Central Park; to Chicago, where more than 2,000 coyotes live today; and to rural California, where sheep ranchers find promise in innovative non-lethal predator control methods to protect their livestock.

View the trailer at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNeBBfStBRE

Freshly popped popcorn and beverages will be available.

About the filmmaker: Melissa Peabody’s credits include Turner Broadcasting (Dolphins In Danger) and an Animal Planet 13-part series (Wyland’s Ocean World), as well as many other documentaries for international TV broadcast. She is the executive producer and owner of Living World Films LLC.

Please RSVP above or on our Meetup group to ensure we pop enough popcorn.

Sunday, March 16, 11:00 am – 1:00 pm: Join Brent Plater of the Wild Equity Institute to search for two of the most imperiled vertebrate species on the San Francisco peninsula: the California Red-legged Frog and the San Francisco Garter Snake. This will be a leisurely walk to enjoy the restoration work being conducted at Mori Point and to learn about the bold steps being taken to save the frogs and the snakes from the brink of extinction. This event is rain or shine.

Meet at the Mori Point Entrance Gate, at the intersection of Bradford Way and Mori Point Road, Pacifica, CA, 94044.

To RSVP, please see above or visit our Meetup group San Francisco Wildlife Enthusiasts.

The California Least Tern is one of three least tern subspecies in North America, all of which are listed as endangered species under the Federal Endangered Species Act.
Found in California only during the breeding season—April to September—the California Least Tern spends the remaining parts of the year in southern latitudes. Although only here for half the year, these little birds put on quite a show.

The California Least Tern has an elaborate courtship display that is a necessary precursor to nesting. It begins with a male flying and calling with a fish in its beak. These males are then chased by a receptive female, undoubtedly impressed by the male’s fishing prowess. The chase is stupendous: spirited and swift, the terns weave high into the air and then hurtle towards the ground in unison. Back on the ground, the male will approach the female with the fish, strutting and dancing to impress. If the female accepts the advance, she’ll join in the dance. The female will eventually lay 1-3 cryptically colored eggs in a small depression: no nests are built, as the species relies on cryptic coloration and cooperation among colony members to help ward off potential predators. All the while, the male California Least Tern will feed the female while she incubates their eggs.

Unfortunately for the California Least Tern, the very areas it needs to nest are also highly sought-after by humans for development and recreation. The species needs expansive stretches of shoreline near abundant supplies of prey—primarily small, nearshore fish—to survive and flourish. Historically, these areas were abundant, and the species could be found in great numbers from Moss Landing, Monterey County, California to San Jose del Cabo, southern Baja California, Mexico. But growing development and recreational pressures have destroyed habitat, disturbed birds, and increased predation by introduced and native species. The construction of the Pacific Coast Highway brought all these threats to much of California’s coast, and by the 1940s, terns were gone from most beaches of Orange and Los Angeles counties and were considered rare elsewhere.

To avoid humans, some tern colonies nest at more inland mudflat and dredge fill sites, which appears to make them more susceptible to predation by foxes, raccoons, cats and dogs. Indeed, some biologists believe that the Bay Area’s sole nesting population—which is outside the historic range noted for the species—was created by forced expansion of birds from the south that were pressured out of their original habitats.

Come see and save the California Red Legged Frog!

With the ongoing draught they need all the help they can get to restore their habitat. We will be meeting at the Main Gate to Mori Point. then we will go on a small hike and talk about our history trying to save the California Red Legged Frog. We will end our time together restoring Mori Point!

The Endangered Species Act is arguably the most powerful conservation law ever enacted by any nation. It is also one of the most beautiful: not because of its eloquent prose, but because it is a shining example of our Nation’s democratic principles, our humility, and our compassion for those that are least like us.

Enacted by Congress in 1973 and signed into law by President Richard Nixon—a Republican who is perhaps our country’s greatest environmental president—the Endangered Species Act was the country’s response to a disturbing body of scientific evidence calculating the rate of species extinctions around the globe.


Click the image above to read the full Endangered Species Act

Extinction, of course, is a natural phenomenon that is intertwined with evolution the way death is intertwined with life. The extinction of a single species therefore is normally not cause for panic, let alone federal legislation.

However, as Congress recognized in passing the Endangered Species Act, the rate of extinction had become wholly unnatural. Between ten and one-hundred species are estimated to go extinct every day: the natural “background” rate of extinction, in contrast, is approximately one species per century. Scientists now estimate that approximately 20% of all birds, 25% of all primates, and 33% of all amphibians are in danger of extinction.

The cause of this high rate of extinction is a single species: Homo sapiens. The exponential growth of our population and economy has too often come at the expense of our environment, and today habitat destruction, the purposeful and accidental spread of invasive species, the overuse of resources, pollution, and global climate change have made us the primary agent of a mass extinction event.

We are not the only species capable of causing extinction on the planet. But we have the capacity to understand concepts like death and extinction that other forms of life do not. Our capacity for humility and selflessness, the very things that make us human, are what create our responsibility to preserve those things that are least like us. The Endangered Species Act is our nation’s attempt to capture these ideals and make them law.

The Endangered Species Act Works

The Endangered Species Act is America’s safety net for plants and animals on the brink of extinction. Today it protects over 1,200 species and the habitats upon which they depend within the United States and its territories.

The Endangered Species Act works. The Bald Eagle, the Gray Whale, and the Peregrine Falcon are some of the Act’s most well known conservation successes, but literally hundreds of other species have benefited as well. The California Brown Pelican, theSouthern Sea Otter, the Least Bell’s Vireo, and many other species have seen their populations increase thanks to the Endangered Species Act.

Indeed scientists now know that over 98% of the species ever protected by the Endangered Species Act have had their extinction prevented. Scientists also estimate that extinctions in the United States would have been an order of magnitude greater than they have been but for the Endangered Species Act.

The Endangered Species Act works because it requires decisions about a species’ status to be based on the best available science, not politics or popularity. It works because it makes the preservation of endangered species a higher priority than the primary missions of government bureaucracies. And the Endangered Species Act works because Congress explained, and the Supreme Court has found, that the web of life that sustains us is of incalculable value, and therefore we must preserve it whatever the cost to developers and corporations.


The ESA helped save the Brown Pelican, which was declared recovered and delisted in 2009.

But most importantly, the Endangered Species Act works because at its core it is a democratic statute. The Act empowers the citizenry to initiate conservation actions for imperiled species, and does not rely on government bureaucracies alone to be nimble enough to save endangered species in every instance. As the race against extinction is ultimately a race against time, Congress’ decision to allow any person to present scientific data to the government and get timely responses regarding the protection of endangered species is perhaps the most important aspect of the Endangered Species Act.

The Endangered Species Act and the Bay Area

The Bay Area is renowned for its open space and connection with nature. However, this was not always the case: rampant development in San Francisco destroyed between 95-97% of its indigenous habitats. One of the casualties of this development was a species called the Xerces Blue Butterfly.

The Xerces Blue Butterfly was indigenous to the coastal sand dunes of what is now the Sunset District of San Francisco. As the Sunset District was developed, the habitat upon which the Xerces Blue depended was destroyed, and the butterfly could no longer survive. The last Xerces Blue Butterfly was seen in the early 1940s. It is the first American butterfly to become extinct as a result of habitat destruction caused by development.

Since the Endangered Species Act was passed in 1973, the possibility of another Xerces Blue Butterfly has been greatly diminished. Millions of acres of Bay Area land have been protected thanks to the Endangered Species Act, preserving open space for future generations to enjoy. From San Bruno Mountain to open spaces in the East and North Bay, the Endangered Species Act has helped us move towards a more sustainable future.

This is our old donation page. If you got here, it’s because you’ve followed an out-of-date link. We’re sorry about that.

Instead, please go to our new donation page. Thank you very much!

Saturday, February 1, 9:00am – 12:00pm: You are invited to join the Wild Equity Institute and the Golden Gate Audubon Society at Pier 94 to restore habitat for the endangered California seablite.

In the 1960’s, the California seablite population was so small the plant could only be found in Morro Bay. Today, seablite has been successfully reintroduced at Pier 94 in San Francisco and parts of the East Bay. We need your help to keep these populations growing.

We will be weeding and planting (and looking for birds). Please wear sturdy close-toed shoes, weather appropriate clothes, hat and/or sunscreen. Bring a water bottle and a snack. The Golden Gate Audubon Society will provide instructions, gloves, and tools. To RSVP, please see the instructions above or visit our Meetup site – San Francisco Wildlife Enthusiasts

You are invited to attend a public forum on the Golden Gate National Recreation Area’s draft Dog Management Plan on Thursday, January 30, 8:30am – 10:00am.

This is your chance to voice your concerns regarding recreation and wildlife in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area directly to GGNRA representatives and Congressperson Speier.

We need everyone to attend, and this is the perfect occasion to wear your I “bird” SF t-shirt!!!

When: Thursday, January 30, 8:30 am – 10:00 am

Where: Stern Grove Trocadero Clubhouse, 2750 19th Avenue, San Francisco (Shuttles from 19th Ave will be available)

Speakers:

  • Congresswoman Jackie Speier
  • GGNRA Superintendent Frank Dean
  • SF Supervisor Scott Wiener
  • Howard Levitt, National Park Service
  • Marlene Finley, Director of San Mateo County Parks
  • Phil Ginsburg, General Manager of San Francisco Recreation and Parks
  • Neal Desai, Field Director of National Parks Conservation Association
  • Mike Lynes, Golden Gate Audubon Society
  • Bob Planthold, Disability Access Advocate
  • Martha Walters, Crissy Field Dog Group

Get the facts about off-leash dogs in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area by clicking here.

1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place
San Francisco, CA 94102

City Hall is close to Muni and BART. Plan your trip at 511.org

Saturday, January 4, 9:00am – 12:00pm: You are invited to join the Wild Equity Institute and the Golden Gate Audubon Society at Pier 94 to restore habitat for the endangered California seablite.

In the 1960’s, the California seablite population was so small the plant could only be found in Morro Bay. Today, seablite has been successfully reintroduced at Pier 94 in San Francisco and parts of the East Bay. We need your help to keep these populations growing.

We will be weeding and planting (and looking for birds). Please wear sturdy close-toed shoes, weather appropriate clothes, hat and/or sunscreen. Bring a water bottle and a snack. The Golden Gate Audubon Society will provide instructions, gloves, and tools. To RSVP, please see the instructions above or visit our Meetup site – San Francisco Wildlife Enthusiasts

For Immediate Release, November 6, 2013

Contacts:
Laura Horton, Wild Equity Institute, lhorton@wildequity.org, (415) 235-0492
Agatha Szczepaniak, Audubon, aszczepaniak@audubon.org, (212) 979-3197

LAURA HORTON RECEIVES
AUDUBON TOYOTA TOGETHERGREEN FELLOWSHIP

Prestigious National Award and $10,000 Grant
Furthers Efforts of Local Environmental Leader

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.— Toyota and the National Audubon Society today announced that a Toyota TogetherGreen Fellowship will be awarded to a San Francisco-based environmental attorney. After a competitive nationwide selection process, Wild Equity’s Laura Horton was selected for the year-long fellowship program and a $10,000 grant.

Audubon and Toyota select 40 high-potential conservation leaders to receive Toyota TogetherGreen Fellowships each year. With their $10,000 grants, Toyota TogetherGreen Fellows conduct community projects to engage diverse audiences in habitat, water or energy conservation. In addition to receiving support to help launch their conservation initiatives, Toyota TogetherGreen Fellows also benefit from specialized training and membership in a diverse national network of conservation professionals.

Horton will launch a project to engage high school students in the protection of local endangered species at the Antioch Dunes National Wildlife Refuge through education and restoration in collaboration with the Fish and Wildlife Service, Antioch High School, and past TTG fellows.

“This project will bring together students, teachers, refuge specialists, and activists in an effort toprotect the environment,” said Horton. “Wildlife and public health in Antioch are at risk and we will all work collaboratively to build a healthier and more sustainable community.”

The Toyota TogetherGreen Fellowship Program invests in conservation leaders of all backgrounds, providing them with resources, visibility and a growing peer network to help them lead communities nationwide to a healthier environmental future. Since 2008, 240 conservation leaders from across the country have been awarded Toyota TogetherGreen Fellowships. They have engaged nearly 150,000 people in a wide variety of conservation efforts nationwide.

“Toyota TogetherGreen Fellows help people engage with nature. They look like America: diverse, passionate and patriotic,” said Audubon President and CEO David Yarnold (@david_yarnold). “They are environmental heroes and we’re excited to give them a chance to invent the future.”

A complete list of 2013 Toyota TogetherGreen Fellows and details about their conservation projects can be found at www.togethergreen.org/fellows.

About Wild Equity Institute
The Wild Equity Institute unites the grassroots conservation and environmental justice movements in campaigns that build a healthy and sustainable global community for people and the plants and animals that accompany us on Earth. Our team of experts in law, management, design, and education accelerates the transition to this more equitable world through innovative, education programs, nature-inspired design, science-based petitions, and vigorous enforcement of environmental laws.

About Toyota TogetherGreen
Toyota and the National Audubon Society launched the Toyota TogetherGreen initiative in 2008 to foster diverse environmental leadership and invest in innovative conservation ideas. Toyota
TogetherGreen funding recipients have improved more than 30,000 acres of habitat, mobilized 420,000 individuals, conserved 15 million gallons of water and leveraged $10.5 million in volunteer hours. For more information, visit www.togethergreen.org.

The Wild Equity Institute is building a healthy and sustainable global community for people
and the plants and animals that accompany us on Earth.


https://www.wildequity.org/

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Sunday, December 15, 11:00 am – 1:30 pm: You are invited to join Brent Plater of the Wild Equity Institute at Muir Woods to see the threatened Coho Salmon, Central California Coast Evolutionary Significant Unit, and the Steelhead, Central California Coast Distinct Population Segment. Witness the semelparous spawning behavior of the Coho Salmon.

Meet at Muir Woods National Monument Entrance Gate, Mill Valley, CA, 94941.
Please note, everyone pays their own $7 entrance into the park.

This event is rain or shine.

To RSVP, please see above or visit our Meetup page – San Francisco Wildlife Enthusiasts.

Wild Equity’s web store is now live. Take a peak at our current offers below, and check the Wild Equity web store frequently for new items.

I “Bird” SF T-shirt, Only $20 + Shipping!

Share your love of San Francisco’s wildlife everywhere you go with Wild Equity’s exclusive “I ‘Bird’ SF” T-shirt! Made in the U.S.A. out of 100% organic cotton, the shirt features a silhouette of our City’s favorite puffball of feathers, the Western Snowy Plover. Wild Equity logo on the left sleeve too: to show your pride in our work! Comes in S, M, L, and XL in Unisex and Ladies Half-scoop designs. Specify your design and size choices by clicking on the corresponding buttons below.

Small Ladies Half-scoop:

Medium Ladies Half-scoop:

Large Ladies Half-scoop:

XL Ladies Half-scoop:

Small Unisex:

Medium Unisex:

Large Unisex:

XL Unisex:

Wild Equity 100% Recycled Aluminum Bottle, Only $15 + Shipping!

These gorgeous Wild Equity-branded reusable bottles are made in the U.S.A. out of 100% recycled aluminum, and are lined with a BPA-free, non-toxic, food-grade coating to keep your drinks fresh and the bottle easy to clean. Comes in green or white: specify your color by clicking the corresponding button below.

White Wild Equity Reusable Bottle:

Green Wild Equity Reusable Bottle:

“What do you get out of it? Why do you keep trying?”

The reporter’s questions caught me off-guard. I had been expecting to discuss Wild Equity’s role protecting the Franciscan Manzanita—a gorgeous plant presumed extinct in the wild for decades, but now on the verge of reintroduction throughout the City. I hadn’t anticipated the need to defend my life’s purpose.

As my mind considered the questions, I realized that only my heart could answer them. “I get a chance to make the world more equitable, more beautiful,” I replied. “I know the odds are long, but thousands of people have trusted in our ability to make this vision reality. When I’m toiling away late at night, pouring over thousands of pages of government documents or pounding away at another legal brief, I reflect on how grateful I am for their support, and it makes all the sacrifices worthwhile.”

When the SF Weekly article finally came out, it emphasized Wild Equity’s work protecting this miracle plant, and noted that we’ve won “a number of other high-profile lawsuits in the name of conservation, including this summer’s triumph over Sharp Park Golf Course for killing endangered red-legged frogs and garter snakes.”

But it failed to note that these conservation victories aren’t ours alone. Your contributions—your commitment to our vision, your trust in our staff, your donations to our programs—make each victory possible.

Now we are asking you to reinvest in our work: please make a tax-deductible contribution to the Wild Equity Institute today.

As the SF Weekly recognized, we’ve had a remarkable year making a difference against incredible odds:

These victories are remarkable: with your support we can accomplish even more in 2014:

  • Your contribution will create a better public park at Sharp Park, funding advocates who will fight for what you believe in at City Hall and in neighborhoods around the Bay Area.
  • Your contribution can halt other power plants that are polluting our communities and poisoning the Antioch Dunes National Wildlife Refuge, retaining experts that will tell the butterfly’s story, before it is too late.
  • Your Contribution will help us run our successful education project, the Endangered Species Big Year, and support our two new Big Year staff: Clay Anderson and Marcela Maldonado, as they build new park advocates people throughout the Bay Area.

Imagine the world we will build together: a more equitable world for people and the plants and animals that accompany us on Earth. Thank you for supporting this vision and contributing to our work today!

Thank you from all of us at the Wild Equity Institute,

Brent Plater, Executive Director

with, from left to right:

Amy Zehring, Community Organizer

Marcela Maldonado, Project Coordinator

Clay Anderson, Project Coordinator

Laura Horton, Staff Attorney

P.S.—Consider becoming a monthly donor. For as little as $5 a month, you’ll help us spend less time raising funds and more time wining campaigns for people and the plants and animals that accompany us on Earth! You can do this online at the Wild Equity Institute’s website. Thank you!

Despite the cold weather, a group of 20 Wild Equity volunteers enjoyed a morning of planting and weeding with Jonathan Barber from Golden Gate Audubon on Saturday at Pier 94. Pier 94 is home to the endangered California Seablite. This rare plant was reintroduced to the area after it was discovered the plant, once abundant, was found only in Morro Bay.


Intently listening to planting instructions.

We pulled weeds of invasive species and transferred a total of 500 young Yarrow, Red Fescue, and Western Blue-Eyed Grass plants into the ground. The volunteers included several high school students earning community service hours for graduation.

When the restoration of Pier 94 began over ten years ago, volunteers were hauling away old tires and scrap metal. Today, volunteers enjoy a much different experience. On Saturday, volunteers paused to see pelicans, sandpipers, and avocets. The students were especially excited to come across an earthworm. This presented a wonderful opportunity to discuss the importance of worms to soil health. When we volunteer at Pier 94 we are doing more than restoring habitat, we are building community.

Please support Wild Equity’s commitment to building stronger communities by becoming a member today! And check the calendar for the next restoration day at Pier 94.

Monday, Dec 09, 8:00am – 12:30pm: The staff of the Wild Equity Institute will be attending the “Meeting the Challenges of Sea Level Rise in San Mateo County” conference to hear from federal, state, and local experts about the impact of sea level rise on San Mateo County. Please join us!!! This is a great opportunity to participate in the dialogue about how communities will address the challenges brought on by sea level rise. The conference is free and open to the public, but you do need to register. Please visit http://sanmateosealeverise.wordpress.com/ for more information or to register.

Agenda
Keynote Speaker – John Englander, nationally acclaimed author of “High Tide on Main Street
Projected impact of sea level rise on San Mateo County – Will Travis, Former BCDC Executive Director
Challenges and Options in San Mateo County and the Bay Area
Local Initiatives & Action
Policy Developments at the Federal, State and Local levels

Saturday, Dec 8, 9:00am – 12:00pm: You are invited to join the Wild Equity Institute and the Golden Gate Audubon Society at Pier 94 to restore habitat for the endangered California seablite.

In the 1960’s, the California seablite population was so small the plant could only be found in Morro Bay. Today, seablite has been successfully reintroduced at Pier 94 in San Francisco and parts of the East Bay. We need your help to keep these populations growing.

We will be weeding and planting (and looking for birds). Please wear sturdy close-toed shoes, weather appropriate clothes, hat and/or sunscreen. Bring garden gloves, a water bottle, and a snack. The Golden Gate Audubon Society will provide instructions, gloves, and tools. To RSVP, please see the instructions above or visit our Meetup site – San Francisco Wildlife Enthusiasts


Skip the gym and join us at Pier 94 for your Saturday workout!

Maryrose Wampler’s Portrait of the
Antioch Dunes Evening Primrose, circa 1979.

Wild Equity always recommends shopping locally and supporting businesses in your community. But sometimes that isn’t possible: for example, where else will you find an original portrait of the Antioch Dunes Evening Primrose?

When you do shop at amazon.com, now you can simultaneously donate to Wild Equity: at no extra charge! All you need to do is shop through AmazonSmile using your existing amazon.com account, and a portion of your sale will automatically be donated to Wild Equity. It’s as simple as that!

If you join Wild Equity on an adventure to see and save wildlife, you are likely to overhear at least one conversation about binoculars. We are always happy to share ours, but if you are thinking of getting your first pair of binoculars or looking to upgrade, you may find the 2014 Audubon Guide to Binoculars helpful. The article, along with recommendations, is attached in two parts. Part 1, Part 2


2012 Sea Watch at Fort Funston

Thursday, November 14, 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm: Please join us for an evening of thought provoking conversation. Brent Plater, Executive Director of the Wild Equity Institute, will discuss Wild Equity’s theory of change and contrast it to some of the ideas put forward by Peter Kareiva, Chief Scientist of The Nature Conservancy, and Emma Marris, journalist.

To RSVP, please see above or visit our Meetup page – San Francisco Wildlife Enthusiasts.

Sunday, November 03, 11:00 am – 1:00 pm:Wild Equity and Save the Frogs are joining forces to look for the California Red-legged Frog at Mori Point. We are actually crossing our fingers for rain in hopes of finding some egg masses. Bring your rain gear because we are heading out on this adventure rain or shine.

Meet at the Mori Point Entrance Gate, at the intersection of Bradford Way and Mori Point Road, Pacifica, CA, 94044.

To RSVP, please see above or visit our Meetup page – San Francisco Wildlife Enthusiasts.


Partially exposed California Red-legged Frog egg mass

The wild Coho Salmon population found in Marin is about to vanish. In order to prevent this amazing fish from going extinct, we must restore riparian habitat and prevent destructive development. On Oct 29, the Marin Board of Supervisors ignored the plight of the salmon and passed an ordinance that will end a building ban in the San Geronimo Valley. Read more about this “unusual hearing” in the the Marin Independent Journal.

Join Wild Equity, our partners at SPAWN and 28 conservation and fishing organizations to demand stronger protections for Marin’s endangered Coho salmon.

Thursday, October 24, 2013, 6:30pm – 8:30pm: Please join the Wild Equity Institute for the screening of three fantastic short films: Return Flight, Achieving Balance, and Returning Home. A discussion with writer, producer, director, and co-founder of Filmmakers Collaborative, SF, Kevin White will follow the screening.

Return Flight: Follow the journey of the bald eagle’s recovery from DDT contamination, overhunting, and egg collecting.

Achieving Balance: Narrated by John Cleese, this film chronicles the efforts of state and federal resource managers to remove rats from Anacapa Island.

Returning Home: Over the span of ten years, dedicated scientists worked with local schools and government agencies to restore the Common Murre to their ancestral home off the coast of San Francisco.

To RSVP, please see above or visit our Meetup page – San Francisco Wildlife Enthusiasts.