Successes
Many of the most needed improvements will require considerable effort. But Bay Area residents have won important environmental victories in the past, and we can improve current negative trends. Indeed, the Bay Area has always been a leader in environmental protection. For example, over the past several decades:

• We have created remarkable open space preserves. The Bay Area encompasses more protected open space than any other metropolitan area in the country. That includes the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, the East Bay Regional Parks District, the Don Edwards National Wildlife Refuge, and the Monte Bello Open Space Preserve, to name just a few.



• We have reduced bay fill. In the 1960s, construction was filling the bay at a rate of more than 2,000 acres every year. At that time, experts estimated that by 2010, the bay would be reduced to one-third its original size -- making it little more than a polluted river. Bay Area citizens reversed the trend by creating the first regional agency strictly focused on regulating bay fill.



• We have reduced garbage and sewage in the bay. In the 1960s, there were more than 40 garbage dumps on the shores of San Francisco Bay, burning garbage and polluting the air. Today, nearly all of these dumps are closed. In the past, untreated sewage seeped into the bay, killing fish and polluting water. Although urban runoff remains a serious problem, construction of sewage treatment plants has dramatically reduced contamination from traditional household sewage.



• We have seen numbers of endangered species rebound. The gray whale and California brown pelican were once critically endangered species. But with the end of whaling and the ban on DDT use, populations of these animals have been restored to healthy numbers. More recently, the fragile (and still endangered) South Bay population of California clapper rails has rebounded dramatically since 1991, thanks to controls on non-native species.

These accomplishments are important victories for the environment; they are also proof that with concerted action Bay Area residents can overcome the significant environmental challenges that remain.

Status Unknown
In a few areas, it is difficult to judge the Bay Area's environmental progress because too little data have been gathered. For example:

• Some water utilities are failing to provide clear and complete information about drinking water quality.



• Data about pesticide use also are incomplete: they do not incorporate the use of pesticides by unlicensed users, including households.



• Even though the bay is a major industrial port and oil spills are a constant threat, no Bay Area-specific oil-spill data are available.