Loma Prieta Chapter eNewsletter: February, Volume 1
February 17, 2026
YOU Can Make a Difference. Read How Here.
► It's Valentine's Day! Read stories of love found on the trail with Loma Prieta Outings.
► Learn about an ongoing threat to Coyote Valley, Heritage Oaks Cemetery.
► Join our new Cupertino City Team and identify issues impacting Cupertino residents.
► Read Sierra Club California's 2025 Legislative Scorecard.
► Take a hike! See the comprehensive list of Chapter activities available through February.
Loma Prieta Outings Love Connections
It's Valentine's Day and we can't resist sharing some stories of love found on the trail with Loma Prieta Outings.
Learn about Despina meeting Drew at Rancho Canada del Oro in 2013, Tina meeting Lynne at Garrapata State Park in 2000, and Johanna meeting Edward at Black Mountain in the mid-1990s. Read their stories and please share your story. Send to your Chapter Director (and outings leader) chapter.director@lomaprieta.sierraclub.org. Happy Valentine's Day to you all!
Heritage Oaks Cemetery: Why Coyote Valley’s Future Hangs in the Balance
Coyote Valley has become one of the Bay Area's most important conservation success stories, as a rare, open landscape that still connects the Santa Cruz Mountains and Diablo Range, supports mountain lions and bobcats, and provides flood protection and groundwater recharge for San José. But a long‑approved development is threatening to undermine that progress: the Heritage Oaks Memorial Park Cemetery Project. (Photo credit: Mike Thomas/USFWS, flickr)
We're excited to introduce our new effort to help better serve Cupertino Sierra Club Members. The Cupertino City Team will meet quarterly via Zoom to share the latest updates, and most importantly, hear from you, the Cupertino residents!
The first meeting will be held on February 26th at 7:30 pm to discuss:
Palo Alto Daily Post: "Council to wrestle with artificial turf issue"
"[...] Gita Dev from the Loma Prieta chapter of the Sierra Club said in an email that she wants the council to "roll up the old plastic grass carpet" and keep the material away from children.
We hope that you will do the right thing by our kids and not have them breathe plastics, be burned by plastic when they fall, and have a healthy childhood."
Sierra Club California Legislative Report Card 2025
Sierra Club California has officially released their 2025 Legislative Scorecard, tracking the key votes that shaped climate action, public health, and environmental accountability in Sacramento.
"The scorecard also reflects the Governor's mixed record: Gov. Newsom aligned with SCC on 6 of 9 priority decisions, but broke with us on every "Critical Harm" bill, including signing major CEQA rollbacks that weakened transparency and public participation. We're also celebrating champions like Assemblymembers Dawn
Addis, Tasha Boerner, and Damon Connolly, and naming difficult moments including Sen. Scott Wiener and Sen. Mike McGuire whose records show strong climate credentials, but fell short on the accountability votes that mattered most like on SB 131."
COMMENT LETTER: SAFER Bay Project Draft Environmental Impact Report
Joint letter to San Francisquito Creek Joint Powers Authority "Citizens Committee to Complete the Refuge is submitting this joint letter on behalf of ourselves, the Sierra Club Loma Prieta Chapter's Bay Alive Campaign, San Mateo County Bird Alliance and Green Foothills. We respectfully submit these comments regarding the Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) for the Strategy to Advance Flood protection, Ecosystems and Recreation (SAFER) Project (Project). We commend the San Francisquito Creek Joint Powers Authority (SFCJPA) for its efforts to provide sea level rise resiliency for our Bayside communities and ecosystems through this project and for its repeated outreach to impacted communities throughout the planning process. [...] Our organizations have been involved with this project throughout the planning process. We have attended public meetings, met with community groups, and submitted comments on previous planning documents. Based on our review of the DEIR, we submit the following comments on the Project, organized by overarching concerns that extend beyond a single reach or CEQA category, followed by comments related to specific CEQA categories. In addition, please see Exhibits A and B for memoranda prepared by our technical consultants."
Congratulations to everyone involved that reviewed this 1,300 page DEIR to produce an 82 page comment letter with attachments!
Join the Bay Alive Campaign
The Bay Alive Campaign is a three-chapter effort that promotes Bay wide collaboration addressing sea level rise (SLR) that threaten human and diverse ecosystems. We successfully influenced the development of the Bay Conservation and Development Commission's (BCDC) Regional Shoreline Adaptation Plan (RSAP) guidelines to instruct localities to use nature based solutions whenever possible to address flooding, to address toxins, and to emphasize environmental justice when planning for SLR.
Help us succeed in having a healthy bay and protected communities. Help us:
Gather volunteer experts to assess and guide local plans
Educate the public with pre-scripted presentations
Strengthen the Guidelines and make sure they're followed
If you ever wonder whether your voice can make a difference, San Francisco Bay's history has a clear answer: absolutely yes! The Bay we all depend on exists today because generations of residents refused to accept the idea that our shoreline was disposable. That same persistence is exactly what is reshaping how the Region responds to sea level rise.
Today, San Francisco Bay is undergoing one of the most important planning shifts since the creation of the Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC) in 1965. That transformation is happening because countless small acts of advocacy have built upon each other, year after year. Learn more about the power of advocacy for San Francisco Bay.
Sea Level Rise Webinar Series
Learn how nature can help fight sea level rise with cost-effective and sustainable solutions. Watch recordings of our webinar series with SF Bay experts and please share with your local elected officials.
Thank You to Everyone Who Voted in our Recent Chapter Elections
Thanks to you, our entire slate of nominated (endorsed) conservation candidates won. The margin of victory was substantial: almost 2 to 1. For our Chapter Executive Committee, our nominated candidates' vote totals are as follows: Sue Chow 1006, Shruti Chandrasekhar 976, Nicole Lee 935, and Robin Montoya 922.
Environmental Stewardship Program Grows with Insight and Inspiration
The Environmental Stewardship Program continues to thrive, with new members enthusiastically joining the now well-loved social dinner and meeting format. The relaxed setting fostered lively conversation, connection, and a shared sense of purpose, proof that learning together can be both meaningful and fun.
The focus of the evening was Soil and Regenerative Agriculture, a topic that resonated deeply with everyone in the room. Ankur Jain of SaveSoils.org offered a concise and compelling overview of why
it is very important to support legislation that funds regenerative agriculture. His remarks highlighted how smart public policy can accelerate practices that restore soil health while addressing climate change. Read more about the Environmental Stewardship Program.
"The Sierra Club Loma Prieta Chapter is concerned with the proposed ballot initiative, discussed by the City Council in October and November of 2025, to un-designate the O'Keefe Open Space Preserve and rezone it for multifamily housing development. Furthermore, we are alarmed at the City's intent to avoid the CEQA process in its October and November discussions. Los Altos Hills should provide affordable housing without sacrificing open spaces or avoiding CEQA. Los Altos Hills, rather than building on open space, should prioritize other parcels as it seeks to meet its housing goals."
"When cities partner with government agencies to agree that plastic grass is inappropriate for landscaping around private homes and public buildings, it must also be considered inappropriate for play surfaces, whether on sports fields, playgrounds, or dog parks. It is truly encouraging to see [you] partnering with the Valley Water District to replace water-intensive lawns with drought-tolerant plants and permeable hardscaping. This kind of collaboration sets an important example of responsible water stewardship. When California cities, agencies and government districts work together to solve serious environmental and public health concerns we are all better served."
Why is Housing in California so Expensive?
How did our regional housing supply get so out of balance and how does that impact our cities?
Biotech (high-tech, and AI) are quickly replacing more traditional industries which have historically supported lower-income jobs in the region's cities.
Many of the new biotech, high-tech and AI employees earn higher incomes. This puts upward pressure on home prices and rents by increasing the supply vs. demand imbalance. This enables regional housing developers
and owners to increase the prices they charge to either buy or rent housing because housing demand exceeds housing supply. It also increases competitive bidding for housing which allows higher-income families to outbid lower-income families. Read the full article.
Loma Prieta Chapter Organizational Chart
The Sierra Club has several layers, each with their own jurisdictions (National, Chapter, Group), but your Loma Prieta Chapter recognizes that the true source of our power is our Chapter members.
To accomplish our successful local work, we depend upon local members, local volunteers, local activists and local donors (who critically provide >80% of our funding)! Follow your passion to protect local nature and people by becoming a member, volunteer, activist and/or donor.
Now Available: Immersive “I Love Nature” Activity Books
Grab your crayons and colored pencils because the Open Space Authority's "I Love Nature" activity book is now available! Immerse yourself in whimsical illustrations of wildlife and brain-teasing puzzles and activities that will help you, or a young person in your life, forge a deeper connection with nature. Download a free copy of the activity book in English, Spanish, Vietnamese, and Traditional Chinese.
Join the Loma Prieta Chapter of the Sierra Club for our 2026 Basic Backpacking Course (April - May, 2026). The course is offered as a four-part online symposium followed by a day of outdoor instruction, demonstration, and hiking. You’ll learn the essentials of backcountry travel that make it safe and enjoyable for you, and sustainable for the places you visit. We will place special emphasis on the gear, skills, and planning required to be responsible stewards of our precious wilderness ecosystems. Learn more and register.
A massive threat looms over one of our most cherished natural treasures. San Bruno Mountain is not just any mountain, it is a sanctuary for endangered butterflies, a haven for rare plants, and a refuge of unparalleled ecological significance. The proposed project threatens to unravel the delicate balance of this natural treasure, and we urge you to take action to protect it.
The City of Brisbane is considering a plan to build a massive 1.3 million-square-foot warehouse, 100 feet tall, right in the heart of San Bruno Mountain, at the historic Guadalupe Quarry.
This industrial facility would bring hundreds of workers (1,500!) and an incredible amount of traffic through our city and into the heart of sensitive habitat. Sign the petition today.
In the Community
Cleanups (February 21st and March 1st) and Restoration (February 22nd), from our friends at Keep Coyote Creek Beautiful.
One of the best ways to safeguard a thriving and just future is by ensuring that your Loma Prieta Chapter remains a champion for the environment of Santa Clara, San Mateo, and San Benito Counties. Naming us as a beneficiary in your bequest will provide meaningful and enduring resources that will allow continued local and powerful environmental activism.
Please contact our Chapter Development Coordinator Justyna Guterman for the specific language for your estate planning and/or read more here. For additional information about planning a bequest please contact Julia Curtis, (800) 932-4270.
Photographers, see the great images in our Chapter Annual Summaries and help protect local nature with your images! Share with us your high-resolution photos of local nature, with or without people, to inspire local residents to support Loma Prieta Chapter work. Please contact Chapter Development Coordinator Justyna Guterman.
