Saving SF Bay may mean filling parts of it in, agency says

An article in the San Francisco Chronicle today reported on the Bay Conservation and Development Commission's (BCDC) unanimous vote last Thursday to amend the Bay Plan to make it easier to fill in shallow portions of the Bay. This vote is part of a larger effort occurring around the Bay Area to create marshes and restore habitat to create a buffer against rising sea levels, and is the culmination of four years of study by BCDC. This amendment to the Bay Plan reflects a changing attitude towards filling the Bay, which the Bay Plan was created in 1969 partly to protect against. With the onset of rising sea levels, it is becoming clear that human intervention will be necessary to preserve coastal habitats and the built environment along the Bay shoreline.

“The goal in the 1960s was to leave alone what we hadn’t disturbed yet,” said Commissioner Barry Nelson. “But it’s become clear that if we’re going to keep up with sea level rise, we have to be an active partner with nature.”

Read the full article here.