The Upland Habitat Goals Project has two objectives:

1. Increase the acreage of protected lands by increasing public and private funding for habitat acquisition and restoration, and
2. Develop an increased awareness of key habitats among land management agencies and local jurisdictions charged with land use planning.

During a workshop held in June 2004, the following statement of purpose was developed by the participating land managers and scientists:

• The San Francisco Bay Area Upland Habitat Goals Project is a science-based process that will use existing and new data supplemented by expert opinion to recommend the types, amounts and distribution of upland habitats, linkages, compatible uses and the ecological processes needed to sustain diverse and healthy communities of plant, fish and wildlife resources in the nine-county Bay Area. The resulting GIS database and reference document are intended to be decision-support tools to inform voluntary, non-regulatory investments, protection strategies and management policies of public resource agencies, nonprofit conservation organizations, local government, legislators and private foundations seeking to preserve, enhance and restore the biological diversity of upland habitats before advancing development eliminates remaining opportunities.

The Bay Area will continue to grow dramatically into the foreseeable future. If we are to thoughtfully accommodate this growth, the region needs a comprehensive understanding of habitat values, and use this knowledge to guide acquisition, restoration and stewardship investments to maximize conservation of the region's biological diversity.

The Upland Goals Project will bring together scientists and resource managers representing all or the majority of the agencies and organizations responsible for protecting, restoring and enhancing Bay Area upland habitats to recommend habitat goals. Participants will use scientific data and expert opinion to identify the types, amounts and distribution of upland habitats, linkages, compatible uses and the ecological processes needed to sustain diverse and healthy communities of plant, fish and wildlife resources in the nine-county area.

The successful model of the San Francisco Baylands Ecosystem Goals, underscores the benefits of broad-based conservation planning. Completed in 1999 and focused on wetlands at the Bay's edge, that study has contributed to the protection of 36,000 acres of wetlands and attracted significant funding for implementation.

For more information, please contact Nancy Schaefer, Project Consultant, at <nschaefer1@comcast.net>.