Revitalized Crissy Field Draws People, Wildlife
Renovation restores wetlands and history to recreational site
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIF.—The successful restoration of Crissy Field from a decaying World War I air base to a popular urban recreation site in Golden Gate National Recreation Area is proving that private partnerships are becoming a viable method for improving America's national parks. The $32-million project, which has included hiking trails, picnic areas, and the restoration of native wetland habitat for wildlife, was mostly funded through private donations.
When the project began in 1998, the site was covered with asphalt and overgrown with nonnative vegetation. Today the area includes a 20-acre tidal marsh, the 1.3-mile Promenade along San Francisco Bay, dedicated bike lanes, and a 28-acre grass airfield to be used for large public events or daily recreation.
"It's a tremendous victory for the national park," said Brian Huse, NPCA's Pacific regional director. "We've gone from acres of asphalt and concrete to a restored historic airfield, a reclaimed wetland habitat, and a front yard for the Presidio."
The Crissy Field restoration is part of a larger plan for the former Presidio military base, which was taken over by the Park Service in 1994 after federal budget cuts forced its closure. The area has served as a military post as far back as the 1770s when Spain established a permanent outpost there to protect its California settlements.
In the following years, it was held by Mexico and the United States and became the only U.S. Army air coastal defense station in the Pacific during World War I. To interpret the site's military history, a local group hopes to create an aviation history museum that will house several early 20th century military airplanes.
The Park Service also plans to interpret aspects of the Ohlone people, American Indians who inhabited land that extended from modern day San Francisco to Monterey, California, before the Spanish arrived.
Descendants still live in the area, and the Park Service consulted with them when construction teams unearthed a native "processing" site that contained a few artifacts and many animal, bird, and fish bones. It was likely the place where food was gathered and processed, said Paul Scolari, the American Indian liaison for the Park Service. At the request of the descendants, the site was reburied, but the park will have interpretive displays to educate visitors about the culture.
Some of the cultural interpretation will be held at the new Crissy Field Center, which will host educational programs, activities, and workshops for the community.
One of the main goals of the project has been to recreate the native wetlands that were filled in for various reasons since the early 20th century. To that end, nearly 70 acres of asphalt were removed to reestablish a portion of the tidal marsh, and the material was used as the foundation for the bike path along the water. Volunteers have also planted 65,000 native plants from the park's nursery and are expected to plant a total of 100,000 over the next few years.
Greg Moore, executive director of the Golden Gate National Parks Association, which raised the money for the project, said that planting the native vegetation has already provided benefits. "Since the tidal marsh opened, we've seen birds returning to the area that we haven't seen for years." More than 120 species of birds have been seen in the park, including great blue herons, peregrine falcons, and red-tailed hawks. Some of the birds are attracted by prey species such as bay shrimp and dungeness crab that have also returned. "It's a natural ecosystem being reformed," he said.
The Golden Gate National Parks Association has collected $31.5 million so far—including a $16 million donation from the Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr., and Colleen and Robert Haas funds, which launched the project. More than 90 percent of the 2,400 private donations received to help fund the project were $100 or less.
Golden Gate is the largest urban national park in the world and hosts 20 million visitors each year.
