Proposed by: Woodside-Atherton Garden Club, Zone XII

San Francisco Bay is the largest estuary in western North America, covering 1,600 square miles, abutting nine counties and many municipalities. By the late 1950s, landfill had destroyed 90% of the tidal marsh, crucial habitat for migrating birds and sea life. In 1961, determined to protect it from landfill and pollution, three women formed Save The Bay. They mobilized citizens, local business owners, politicians, and concerned residents to protect the Bay. They successfully lobbied for a moratorium that stopped the filling in of the Bay, worked to prohibit the release of raw sewage, and sped the closure of 30 city garbage dumps along the shoreline. Save The Bay won tough regulations against storm water pollution and plastic bag bans to reduce Bay trash and led a successful regional vote to raise $500 million for Bay wetlands restoration. Hundreds of miles of trails and parks have been created along the shoreline, and thousands of volunteers are helping replant crucial habitat. Balancing the needs of the environment with desires and demands of the 7,000,000 residents of the Bay Area, for 57 years Save The Bay has given San Francisco Bay a voice.