North Lake Will Return to Former Glory, South Lake Work Delayed

By Ryder W. Miller

Though South Lake in Golden Gate Park will be left alone due to budget constraints, plans are still underway to rehabilitate North Lake - to make it once again one of the premier places to observe birds in the City.

North Lake has deteriorated over the years with leakage that lowers its water level, allowing the sun to penetrate all the way to its bottom, resulting in too much algae growth.

Atrophic and deoxygenated, the waters are also polluted and its fish parasite-ridden. The plants surrounding the lake are also not optimum for local wildlife, with many of them being hazardous.

Consultants involved in the project note that the Golden Gate Park lakes are leaking half-a-million gallons a day, so efforts are underway to re-line them.

The Golden Gate Park Lakes Restoration Project for North Lake includes the draining and excavation of the lake so that it will be deeper (up to 8 feet) and healthier with better water quality. New clay lake liners are going to be constructed and invasive terrestrial and aquatic weeds are going to be removed.

Reforestation will also take place, as well as reconstruction of the naturalistic lake edges. There will be new park benches, stairs, a path around the lake and better wheel chair accessibility.

Plans to remove the tules later in the year are being delayed so as not to interfere with birds that use them, primarily the Red-winged Blackbird, Virginia Rail and Green Heron.

"Right now we are monitoring nesting birds there. We will let Rec. and Park know when the birds are done nesting so they can work on the area," said Alan Hopkins, Sunset District resident and former president of the Golden Gate Audubon Society.

Kevin Barteaux, project director for the SF Recreation and Park Department, said some of the local animals and fish will be moved to other lakes in the park and elsewhere. He said South Lake will not be worked on due to budget restraints and because it is in better shape.

"We have to prioritize where the remaining funds will go," said Barteaux. Some of the money will go to utility projects and construction instead.

"We have had pretty good support from the community with plenty of interested community members," Barteaux said. "We have had no opposition."

Doug Nelson, lead designer for Royston-Hanamoto-Alley-Abey Landscape Architects, said there have been three public meetings and plans have been approved by the public. Groups involved include Action for Animals, Wildlife Rescue & Rehabilitation, American Turtle & Tortoise Rescue, California Fish & Game, SF Audubon and the California Academy of Sciences.

"The lake definitely needs work. We are in favor of it," Hopkins said of the plan. "It should be really beneficial in the long run. It is going to be traumatic but something needs to be done. It is presently failing us as an ecosystem."

Good wildlife habitat plants are also planned to be planted in areas surrounding the lake.

Though initially harmful to fish in the lake, the actions will be beneficial to the Western Pond Turtle, which may be stocked at North Lake.

The Steinhart Aquarium was not interested in taking the native fish to include in its collection.

"The likelihood of cross contamination is too great," said Bob Jenkins, director at the Steinhart Aquarium. "We must protect the animals in our collection."

The non-native and parasite-riddled fish at North Lake will be killed and used for something, according to Michele Bellows, vice president of The Duffy Company, which is overseeing the legal environmental implications for Landscape Architects.

The lakes "weren't designed to have the fish population they have," said Bellows. "The native species will be saved and put in other lakes."

The California Department of Fish & Game is overseeing the removal of the fish at North Lake.

Another part of the rehabilitation plan is to improve water aeration at the lake. The work is necessary because the lake is gradually deteriorating.

"North Lake is in terrible condition," said Bellows. "At South Lake, the water is not great but it is better than North Lake. Things will degrade to the point where you need to do a reconstruction."

Nelson said there were attempts to improve the lake in the 1980's, which, for various reasons, were unsuccessful.

"It use to be a premier birding spot in San Francisco," Nelson said. "Maybe the best."

Though Golden Gate Park is filled with non-native vegetation which was planted atop the local native sand dunes, the variety of ornamental plants attracted a diversity of birdlife.

Nelson and colleges have been studying historic pictures of the site to provide guidance on how to proceed with the North Lake restoration.

"The goal is to maintain the historic design," said Nelson. "The landscape around the lake will be restored."

Nelson said that, within a few years, the lake will look as it did 30 years ago.

The lake will be off limits as renovations are made.

"It will take time for plants to grow in. It will be fenced in for 12 months, which will allow plants to grow without being trampled," Nelson said.

Nelson and Barteaux hope rehabilitation plans begin in the Fall.