Trees

The baseball complex was designed in 2021 and given to an arborist to determine which trees must be removed. The arborist determined that 128 trees must be removed for the project.

The trees of Crocker Amazon Park are already established in this photo from the 1930s

The trees were preserved when the park served as a naval hospital and housing from 1944-1960

This aerial photo from 1965 shows the trees getting larger

The drawings of the future park indicate that most of the remaining trees will be cut down

The plans indication that all of these trees will be cut down

This baseball field is within the project area

In addition to birds, mammals and insects, conversion of the lawns to plastic grass and removal of the trees will affect bats

Protecting at least the 70 Monterey Cypress rare trees at Crocker Amazon that are in Moderate to Excellent condition would help California meet its nature-based solutions climate targets in the category of Conservation: Protect existing urban tree cover. It would also help San Francisco meet its Climate Action Plan through avoided emissions and ongoing carbon removal.

Climate Champions: Trees are the original carbon removal technology. Large trees both store the most carbon and remove the most carbon per year. By keeping the Monterey Cypress trees in Crocker Amazon standing, San Francisco and California would receive a double climate benefit: 1) avoided emissions and 2) ongoing carbon removal of any residual emissions. Cutting these trees down would deliver a double climate negative: 1) carbon emissions from the tree removal and 2) the loss of future carbon removal forever.

The longer a tree lives, the more carbon it stores and removes per year. It is an exponential growth curve. Height might level off, but biomass and carbon continue to grow exponentially. This was shown by the US Geological Survey study of over 673,000 trees representing 403 tree species in forests around the world. The trees that add the most carbon per year are the biggest ones across the board.

Trees provide both Climate Mitigation and Adaptation, the latter through urban cooling and more. Tree planting is helpful for fighting climate change. Equally important for safe weather in the future is conserving and protecting the healthy mature trees that a city already has.

Rare, Threatened California Native Plants: Crocker Amazon contains many rare, threatened California native conifer trees that are providing significant urban canopy cover in San Francisco such as the Monterey Cypress and Monterey Pine. Specifically, 55% of the mature trees at Crocker Amazon are rare, threatened California native plants: 77 Monterey Cypress and 18 Monterey Pine trees.

The Monterey Cypress trees are Critically Imperiled and are under increasing extinction pressure in Pebble Beach and nearby towns as developments by hedge fund billionaires from New York continue to decimate these iconic rare trees.

Healthy Trees: 91% of the Monterey Cypress at the Crocker Amazon Park Athletic Fields are in Moderate – Excellent condition per the Hortscience arborist report dated December 2021. Overall, these conifer trees are a healthy urban forest in San Francisco.

Per the International Society of Arboriculture, Fair is the most common rating in any healthy forest. It means that a tree has moderate vigor and should be retained, monitored and properly pruned if needed. We note that Hortscience always uses a rating system for San Francisco that is biased against the trees by double stacking the Poor category.

Significant Trees: 91% of the Monterey Cypress trees in Crocker Amazon are also Significant trees in that they have a diameter at breast height of 12 – 82 inches. 100% of the Monterey Pine are Significant trees because they have a diameter at breast height of 12 – 65 inches.

Long Tree Lifespan: In terms of lifespan, the Monterey Cypress can live 200 - 400 years per the Point Lobos Foundation and the U.S. Forest Service.

It is odd that the Hortscience arborist report states that thirty-six of the Monterey Cypress trees are “over-mature specimens” because they have trunk diameters of 36 – 82 inches. This is misinformed. The trees in McLaren Park were planted in the 1930s or later. The trees are approximately 100 years old. They can live for another 100 years at least. If a Monterey Cypress tree were 400+ years old, it might be “over-mature.” However, the Monterey Cypress trees at Crocker Amazon are only 100 years old, mostly healthy and in their prime of life, providing significant benefits to both people and nature.

Error in Report: The arborist report contains a significant error on page 4 where it says that 47% of the trees are in poor condition (27% + 20%). In reality, only 27% of the trees are in alleged poor condition as shown on page 2.

The trees in Crocker Amazon were assessed by Hortscience in October 2021. This was during the drought of 2020 – 2021. Per the lead forester of the Presidio, crown dieback is a tree survival strategy during a drought. Once the rain begins to fall, the crowns fill back in. Therefore, it is inadequate to use a tree assessment done during a drought as many of the trees labeled poor in 2021 are healthier now.

Fire Resilience: The Monterey Cypress is a fire-resistant tree with a high moisture content that increases the wildfire resilience of San Francisco. The Monterey Cypress trees with the largest trunks and highest canopies are the most fire-resistant of all.

Improving Public Health: The evergreen Monterey Cypress trees are improving public health in the southern part of San Francisco known for higher temperatures and higher air pollution. The trees purify the air, provide oxygen to breathe, lower surface temperatures, give people shade and sun protection, deliver important windbreaks, absorb stormwater, stop erosion, prevent flooding and landslides, lower violence, calm traffic, mitigate noise pollution, and improve people’s physical and mental health.

Habitat for Nature: Monterey Cypress trees and Monterey Cypress Woodlands provide a significant home for nature in San Francisco including Great-Horned Owls, red-shouldered hawks, red-tailed hawks, monarch butterflies, hummingbirds, woodpeckers, Western red bats (a Species of Special Concern) and more. The Monterey Cypress trees are the nesting habitat for many birds of local concern. These rare, threatened California native trees are biodiversity themselves, and they provide habitat for biodiversity and local nature.

California Nature-Based Solutions Climate Targets

Tell the SF Rec & Park Commission and your Supervisor about the kind of park you want.