Where is Sausal Creek?

Before Europeans came to the Oakland area, Sausal Creek provided water, food and habitat to a vast amount of local species. The Ohlone people not only relied on the creek’s abundant fresh water, but also for countless plant, fish and animal resources. However, as colonizers and settlers arrived throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, the creek lost much of its biodiversity. Settlers cut down redwoods for lumber, planted orchards in the fertile soil near the creek and built large estates. Before long, the pastoral area had transformed into a flourishing city.

With the increase of vehicle use and development on the Sausal Creek floodplain in the 20th century, the creek became a nuisance because of its degraded state from pollutants as well as frequent flooding. This led developers to culvert and bury the creek to prevent it from hindering above-ground development. As a consequence, the creek cannot support life on the scale it once did; many plant and animal species have either disappeared or seen drastic reductions in population.