The science behind the Sharp Park decision.

The full video stream of Ross Mirkarimi's Government Audit and Oversight Committee meeting on 12-16-09 is available online at SF Gov TV. For anyone willing to devote almost four hours of their life to this epic, you will find all of your favorites from the Sharp Park Golf War among the cast of characters (friend and foe alike). Personally, I find this as compelling as a World Wrestling Federation Pay-per-View Steel Cage Match, but for those of you who have a life, I've begun excerpting somewhat more digestible clips.

IMHO, the most important clip of all, is this 14 minute excerpt of Biologist Karen Swaim's presentation.

Before viewing, it is important to have an appreciation of who Karen Swaim is. I've included her introducing her credentials at the beginning of the clip.

Here is what you need to know: She has been studying the Ca. red leg frog and SF garter snake at Sharp Park/Mori Point/SFO for over 20 years. She has been called on as an expert on these critters and this habitat by the GGNRA as well as the Department of Fish and Wildlife, before being called on again for this purpose on the SF Rec and Park report. She helped design the frog pond habitat at Mori Point for the GGNRA.

She is not a golfer, and does not give a rat's ass about golfers, Alister McKenzie, or the Sharp Park golf course. Her scientific work is the basis for the recommendation to keep the 18 hole course to protect the habitat. This is why:

Her prez speaks for itself, but here are a few of her choice quotes:

"Our goal is to provide the science about the biology of what is best for the San Francisco garter snake..."

"Golf is not what is responsible for the decline of the San Francisco garter snake."

"This is a photograph from 1928. There is no golf here. The land surrounding Laguna Salada to the East, to the South, to the North, everywhere except the ocean, was agricultural fields. It is not pristine upland coastal prairie that would've been high quality upland for the San Francisco garter snake. You can see that there is a major channel up here [points to Laguna Salada] that illustrates there was connection to the ocean."

"1946 is the very first year the San Francisco garter snake and the California red-legged frog were documented... there are 46 [garter snakes] he gets over two years, and golf has already been here for 16 years."

"In 1978 Sean Berry did his studies and he observed 37 San Francisco garter snakes along this area... and again golf has been in place for 46 years"

"1989 - This [photo] is not long after the the El Nino storms and the big storms of the eighties that resulted in a lot of sea water intrusion into the lagoon. By now, the sea wall is mostly constructed... From 1986 to 1988 some studies were done and no San Francisco garter snakes were found in this area after all the salt water intrusion. That was to a large part because the red legged frog was wiped out by the salt water."

"We're back to present day conditions... the frogs are prolific west of highway one, they are not in any trouble at all west of highway one. San Francisco garter snakes are concentrating again at Mori Point pond and horse stable pond."

"You need to protect the sea wall. You need to have a fresh water managed habitat currently for this species to recover it, and that is all there is to it."

What she said.

cross-posted from MW mobile blog.