| McLaughlin Eastshore State Park | |
|---|---|
 McLaughlin Eastshore State Park, December 2023 | |
 Interactive map of McLaughlin Eastshore State Park | |
| Location | San Francisco Bay Area (Alameda County, California) |
| Area | 1854 acres |
| Operated by | East Bay Regional Park District |
McLaughlin Eastshore State Park is a state park and wildlife refuge along theSan Francisco Bay shoreline of theEast Bay between the cities ofRichmond,Albany,Berkeley,Emeryville, andOakland. It encompassesremnant naturalwetlands, restored wetlands, as well as landfill west of theEastshore Freeway. The specific parts of the park arePoint Isabel,Albany Beach and the bird preserve (not includingAlbany Bulb), the North Basin Strip, Berkeley Meadow, Brickyard Cove Staging Area, and theEmeryville Crescent.[1] Its shoreline is 8.5 miles (13.7 km) long, and its total area is 1,854 acres (750 ha), which includes both tidelands and uplands.[2] Originally named justEastshore State Park, it was renamed in October 2012 to honor the lateSave the Bay founderSylvia McLaughlin,[3] who, along with the late Dwight Steele of Citizens for Eastshore Park (now Citizens for East Shore Parks), drove the establishment of the park. Prior to 2013, it was jointly managed by theCalifornia State Parks andEast Bay Regional Park District (EBRPD). The state agency and EBRPD executed a 30-year agreement for EBRPD to manage the park.[4]
During the 1960s, it became obvious that the East Shore of theSan Francisco Bay was suffering from rapid commercial development and the accumulation of trash. In particular, a 72-acre (29 ha) tract north of theBay Bridge that extended between the cities of Emeryville and Richmond attracted the attention of commercial developers and environmental activists alike, though for different reasons. The waterfront property, primarily owned byCatellus Development Corporation—a subsidiary of theAtchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway (Santa Fe for short)—was already worth many millions of dollars, and would be worth far more if developed with shopping centers and high-rise hotels.[5]
Sylvia McLaughlin, a local housewife turned environmental activist, was alarmed enough by the situation to recruit friends and associates to form the non-profit Save San Francisco Bay Association, later renamed asSave the Bay. The newly formed association leaped into action, forming a shoreline park committee that began discussing how to raise funds for a small park in Berkeley in 1963. However, Save the Bay leaders soon realized that halting the dumping of material into the bay was a more urgent problem. In 1969 the state's Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC) went from being an interim agency to a permanent state planning and regulatory entity. BCDC backed the idea that the state park system should buy the land. However California State Parks, which had little experience managing urban land and little interest in the complicated challenges of this particular polluted parcel, showed no interest in taking on the property. EBRPD, which was already operating eight urban shoreline parks, thought Cal Parks should be the lead agency. Furthermore, Santa Fe's owners felt certain that their property would become much more valuable if it remained in their hands.[5]
Santa Fe had a temporary setback in 1972, when the Berkeley City Council voted against allowing a proposed regional shopping center to be built atop alandfill. Santa Fe sued the city but lost the case in 1980, when theSupreme Court of California rejected the planned construction. A second setback had already occurred when the BCDC rejected Santa Fe's plan to build several high-rise buildings over wetlands in Emeryville. The Emeryville project became known by local people as "stilt city".[5] Soon after the Supreme Court ruling, the California State Park and Recreation Commission put the shoreline park on its list of priority projects to fund and issued an official East Bay Shoreline Report recommending establishment of an East Bay shoreline park and identified key lands for inclusion. Further progress on the park stopped when RepublicanGeorge Deukmejian was elected Governor in 1983.[5]
Santa Fe continued its strategy of promoting large-scale development projects along the shorelines of Emeryville, Berkeley, and Albany. Its real estate subsidiary, Catellus Development Company, lost more court battles in the three cities before giving up in 1990. In 1998, with the state's finances recovering, voters approved two bond issues, one state and one regional, raising $40 million for purchasing land for the new Eastshore park. Also, a 1998 act in theCalifornia State Legislature authorized EBRPD to act for the state and use state funds to buy land for and operate the new Eastshore park.[5]
EBRPD had bought properties known as the Emeryville Crescent, Albany Mudflats, and part of Hoffman Marsh by 1992. By 1998 it had also purchased the Berkeley Meadow, Brickyard Cove, and the North Basin Strip (together considered of greater value than the narrow shoreline parcels). Catellus wanted $80 million for the former Santa Fe tract, but ultimately settled for $27.5 million after EBRPD threatened to employeminent domain to acquire the property.[5]
In addition to the complicated process of buying parcels of land and landfill that would become the future state park, how areas were to be used was and remains controversial. The City of Berkeley was to have contributed its former landfill to become one of the larger areas of "upland" (dry land) for the park but held it back, apparently out of concerns that recreation would be overly restricted. (That 90 acres or so of capped landfill is now Cesar Chavez Park.) Albany's former landfill, the Albany Bulb, was hotly disputed—on one end of the spectrum, some wanted it to be entirely a conservation area that did not allow people; on the other, park users wanted continued access and recreation—and set aside to be transferred at some later point into the state park. (As of 2020, that has not happened.) North Point Isabel, a toxic landfill that was remediated and capped in the mid-1980s, had been popular for recreation, including off-leash dog walking. Sierra Club, Citizens for East Shore Parks, Golden Gate Audubon Society and others worked to restrict recreation on that spit of land and require dogs to be on-leash-only. In response to tremendous public support, state park planners authorized the continued use of North Point Isabel for off-leash recreation. Sierra Club opposed that.
In March 2016, EBRPD announced that it would spend $2 million to extend theSan Francisco Bay Trail, remove debris, toxic soil and invasive plants from two sections of the park, and remove the 53 foot (16 m) high dirt pile that has been considered an eyesore for more than ten years. The height of the pile will be lowered 15 feet (4.6 m) by grading, using the dirt to create small hills that would act as a buffer between the park and the adjacent freeway. The hills are to be seeded with native grasses, adding or improving habitat for shorebirds and other wildlife. A second contract will simultaneously complete the previously approved restoration of Albany Beach, which includes "... beach and dune enhancements, a non-motorized boat launch, restroom, parking and about a mile of the Bay Trail west of Golden Gate Fields."[2]
McLaughlin Eastshore State Park is situated within the greater Easy Bay warm-summer-Mediterranean climate, or classification “csb,” under the Koppen-Geiger climate zone classification from the period 1991-2020.[6]This type of mediterranean climate exhibits temperate winters and summers. Winters are characterized by rainy weather, while summer is characterized by warm, but not extremely hot temperatures.[7][8]
The park stretch consists of tidal marshes, sub tidal areas, and mudflats. These habitats' existence are made possible byfill placement which has harmed the species (native and invasive) that inhabit the land through the ecological destruction of the natural wetlands of the area.[9] The point where the freshwater of streams met the saltwater of the San Francisco Bay was nutrient rich and created a habitat for many organisms.[10] The marshes have been home to crustaceans such as shrimp, clams, and oysters that are important food sources for shorebirds and waterfowl.[10] As birds migrated, bay shorelines would be a pivotal stop.[10] However, human alteration of the shore has fragmented or completely destroyed some of these marshlands.[10] A majority of the species highly impacted by human intervention are the native species near the park.[9] The goal of the park is to conserve the natural resources while providing a place for humans to enjoy recreational activities.[9]
A few of the native species prominent to the park are the commoncoyote brush (Baccharis pilularis),California sagebrush (Artemisia californica),local salt grass (Distichlis spicata),California sea lavender (Limonium californicum), andPacific cordgrass (Spartina foliosa). A few of the invasive/nonnative species of the park includeChasmanthe (floribunda Chasmanthe),Bullthistle (Cirsium vulgare),Cape ivy (Delairea odorata), andWild teasel (Dipsacus fullonum). The goal of the park is to conserve the natural resources while providing a place for humans to enjoy recreational activities.
In a study examining urbanization’s impact on the bird communities in San Francisco's East Bay ecosystem, the Eastshore State Park (out of 3 areas surveyed) had the most diverse bird population.[11] The park has both inland and seabirds with a total of 46 species identified across survey locations.[11] During the study period (June to August) the species with notable abundance were theAmerican White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos),American Coot (Fulica americana),American Crow (Corus brachyrhynchos),House Finch (Haemouhous mexicanus), andRock Pigeon (Columba livia).[11] Despite its relative naturalness, the bird community composition and species abundance can fluctuate seasonally and are influenced by factors like habitat complexity and human activity.[11]
Parts of the state park are included as part of the East Bay Operational Landscape Unit (OLU) by theSan Francisco Estuary Institute (SFEI).[12] The SFEI categorizes the shoreline of the bay as OLUs based on groupings of physical characteristics, including both natural and man-made aspects.[13] The areas included McLaughlin Eastshore State Park are mostly either mudflats or marshland.[13] In a summary analysis of the East Bay shoreline’s ability to resist erosion, the SFEI identified some parts of the state park as notable areas where shoreline management would be important for curtailing erosion.[13]
The Albany Mudflats that are a part of the Albany Beach are important for curtailing marsh erosion and used by shorebirds to look for food.[13] The SFEI recommended projects for implementing eelgrass and reefs in this part of the shoreline in order to conserve and contribute to the mudflats.[13]
Berkeley Meadow was noted by the SFEI as a fragmented marshland.[13] The space provides potential for greater “habitat connectivity” through filling in the marsh fragments, since marshland is a significant site for shorebird migration.[13]
The mudflats and tidal marshes of Emeryville Crescent are valuable for the preservation of infrastructure. Noted as a “living shoreline” because of reefs and eelgrass, the Emeryville Crescent decreases the severity of shoreline erosion.[13] Located near theI-80 freeway, the SFEI identified the crescent as an area where conserving and manually adding shoreline could be important for overall shoreline retainment.[13] Emeryville Crescent was also identified as a “horizontal levee opportunity” location because of its value in stopping floodwater erosion.[13]
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