Founding of Save The Bay

Did you know that people almost completely destroyed the San Francisco Bay? In the 1960s, there were few legal environmental protections in California, and most of the Bay’s shoreline was privately owned. Over 70% of the Bay was less than 20ft deep, making it a desirable location for developers to turn the area into housing and businesses. However, this never came to fruition, largely due to the tireless efforts of the Save the San Francisco Bay Association, now called Save the Bay. Three women, Esther Gulick, Catherine Kerr, and Sylvia McLaughlin, founded this group after an article was published in the Oakland Tribune in 1961 detailing the development plans. They sent countless letters asking people to support their cause and funded their efforts through lobbying. In 1964, they helped elect representatives that were conscious of San Francisco Bay preservation and they convinced Senator Eugene McAteer to pass a bill studying the effects of Bay development. By 1969, a permanent commission had been implemented to control permits for Bay-filling projects. Today, Save the Bay continues its mission of protecting this incredible body of water by advocating for wetland protection, flood prevention, education, and current attempts to fill sections of the Bay along the shoreline.