Deskside with David: 50 Years of Making Waves

All year, Save The Bay has been celebrating our 50th Anniversary, the organization’s dynamic founders, remarkable accomplishments, and ambitious goals for the future. More than 500 people celebrated last month at our sold-out gala event “Splash, 50 Years of Making Waves,” re-dedicating all of us to protect and restore the Bay.

Participating in these anniversary activities has underscored just how much the story of the Bay’s transformation is truly our own story as Bay Area residents. We have made this history — we all share ownership of the Bay and its rescue from destruction. We all feel deep pride in what we have accomplished together as a community.

As Senator Dianne Feinstein emphasized, the three heroic women whose courage and tenacity started the Save The Bay movement gave us all the opportunity and privilege of being part of it. We’ve stopped rampant Bay fill and pollution, created public access to the shoreline, and restored thousands of acres of vital wetlands, preserving a great natural treasure for everyone.

The Bay still gives the Bay Area its identity – makes this the place people want to live and work. And the Bay we brought back to life will soon host the world’s premier sailing race, the America’s Cup.

Well, we’re not done, yet. The Bay still faces threats from pollution, inappropriate development and climate change, so we are rededicating ourselves to protecting and restoring the Bay, as Ron Blatman’s film shows.

When I am asked, “Isn’t the Bay already saved?” My response is what our co-founder Kay Kerr always said: “The Bay is never saved. It is, instead, always in the process of being saved. That is why our successors will be involved far into the future.”

With our help, the Bay has triumphed over a great deal of adversity, yet it still faces serious threats and challenges. To overcome these threats, San Francisco Bay needs an even larger, informed and engaged community of residents fighting for it – day after day. That’s what we need to ensure our grassroots effort will continue to be effective for generations to come. The Bay needs all of us, and we are the Bay’s greatest asset.

- David Lewis, Executive Director