One of the biggest threats to California’s coast and shorelines happens out of sight along San Francisco Bay’s floor, where private companies have been mining sand for over a century. The mining companies then sell the sand for profit, mostly to be turned into concrete and asphalt.
The California State Lands Commission is authorizing companies to mine the equivalent of 5,350 Olympic swimming pools’ worth of Bay sand over the next ten years. This will harm native wildlife that live on or depend on a healthy Bay floor, including endangered fish like White Sturgeon and Green Sturgeon, plus species like Dungeness crab, and bottom feeders like Gray whales.
Plus, new studies show that the Bay’s sand is a nonrenewable resource, so more sand removed from the Bay means less sand available to shore up areas like San Francisco’s Ocean Beach and other shorelines along the coast. Diminished coastal areas lead to critical habitat reduction and increased vulnerability to sea level rise.
Ironically, due to a lack of natural sand, San Francisco is spending millions of dollars to import sand to replenish its beaches.
The bottom line is that the level of sand mining in the Bay is unsustainable and harmful. Fortunately, the Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC) has expressed serious concerns with the mining authorized by the Commission. BCDC also has the authority to limit the amount of sand that can be legally mined from the Bay.
And that’s where you come in. Help us urge BCDC to reduce sand mining in the Bay!
