Habitat restoration at El Polin Springs

by Ryder W. Miller

The next phase of the long anticipated habitat restoration project at Tennessee Hollow in the Presidio has begun, drawing more than 100 volunteers for the inaugural volunteer kick-off on Nov. 22.

"It is popular with the public," said Jacob Sigg, conservation chair for the Yuerba Buena Chapter of the California Native Plant Society.

He said the group is 100 percent behind the project. The Tennessee Hollow Restoration Plan involves removing non-native vegetation, planting native plants and day-lighting underground springs to restore the historic watershed that existed in the area before the Presidio was built over it. Planners at the Presidio Trust, which will be working in conjunction with the National Park Service, expect the project may take as long as 15 years.

Results will be seen at El Polin Springs over the next few year and in other parts of the Presidio after that.

"The emphasis will be on riparian plants, of which there are very little in the City," Sigg said.

The California Native Plant Society will be helping with the pulling of weeds to help some of the native plants that have survived in the area for centuries. So far, more than 60 non-native trees (eucalyptus, cypress and pine) were removed from the area around El Polin Springs. The trees created litter that clogged waterways and suppressed native plants. They were replaced by indigenous live oak, California buckeye, wax myrtle, toyon, willows and native grasses.

Over the last few months, volunteers have planted thousands of native seedlings at El Polin Springs in the heart of the watershed.

The Tennessee Hollow watershed encompasses one-fifth of the park. Work at El Polin Springs will also involve creating visitor amenities to enhance the interpretation of the nearby historic site, once the home of a pioneering local business woman named Juana Briones, who is believed to have lived in a colonial adobe residence nearly 200 years ago.

Some have argued that El Polin Springs, a historic fresh water spring, is where San Francisco began.

Jody Sanford, public affairs specialist with the Presidio Trust, said plans include a boardwalk, picnic area, public rest rooms and botanical garden. She said the goal is to make it a more comfortable experience for visitors.

The Trust wants to better highlight the visitor's interpretive experience. The goal is to create interpretive gardens and archaeological displays that will allow visitors to understand what daily life was like for the Presidio's earliest residents, as well as the role fresh water played in the development of the Presidio. The vision is to restore an entire watershed, from spring to creek to San Francisco Bay, within an afternoon hike.

Similar opportunities are available in other parts of the GGNRA, but when finished at the Presidio visitors will be able to travel the whole watershed within city limits. Further restoration will also increase the size of the Nature Trail at the Presidio.

Presently, the trail is not a long walk. In the sociological landscape, there is a battle between those who want to preserve native plant species and those who want to preserve non-native plants and trees. There are also those who want to let wildlife, like coyotes, coexist in the park and those who want to remove animals deemed a threat to people or other animals.

El Polin Springs, because of its restoration, will become an even better place to observe birdlife, according to experts. Matthew Zlatunich, a member of the Audubon Conservation Committee, said the El Polin Springs area is a "really rich area for birdlife." The fresh water at El Polin Springs attracts birds and is one of the "best places in the world" to view the Alen's Hummingbird.

The area also attracts migrants and vagrant species, like the Indigo Bunting, Clark's Nutcracker, Black Throated Sparrow and the Summer Tanager.

Volunteer days are scheduled for the fourth Saturday of each month for those wishing to help with El Polin Spring's restoration.

For more information, call (415) 561-5333 or go to the Web site at www.presidio.gov.