View source for Bay Area Open Space Council

The '''Bay Area Open Space Council''' was a network of 65 nonprofits and public agencies [[San Francisco Bay Area]] founded in 1990 by a group of land [[Conservation movement|conservation]] practitioners to provide information, tools, and connections for its members.<ref name="burke">{{Cite news |last=Burke |first=Annie |title=Bay Nature Magazine: The Future of the Bay Area Open Space Council |language=en-US |url=https://baynature.org/article/on-the-future-of-the-bay-area-open-space-council/ |access-date=2022-12-08}}</ref> Though the Open Space Council's office was located in [[Berkeley, California]], member organizations represented all nine counties of the [[San Francisco Bay Area]] plus [[Santa Cruz County, California|Santa Cruz County]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://openspacecouncil.org/about/members/|title=Members}}</ref>

In March 2020, a group of member organizations of the Open Space Council launched Together Bay Area to replace the former organization.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-03-27|title=Founding and Keystone Member of TOGETHER Bay Area|url=https://urbanbird.org/founding-and-keystone-member-of-together-bay-area/|access-date=2021-09-21|website=Urban Bird Foundation {{!}} Birds. People. Communities.|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Burke|first=Annie|title=Op-Ed {{!}} A New Regional Open Space Coalition - Bay Nature Magazine|url=https://baynature.org/article/organizing-for-resilience/|access-date=2021-09-21|website=Bay Nature|language=en-US}}</ref>

== Programs ==

=== Conservation Lands Network ===
One of the Open Space Council's projects was the Conservation Lands Network, a vision for the region's efforts to preserve [[biodiversity]].  Part of a five-year science-based study by over 125 organizations and individuals, the project was tasked to identify the most essential lands needed to sustain the natural infrastructure of the region. The Conservation Land Network studied over {{convert|4.3|e6acre|km2}} and over 1,000 variables, such as [[redwood]] forests and [[California Red-legged Frog|California red legged frog]] habitats. Along with the [http://www.sfbaysubtidal.org/ Subtidal Habitat Goals Project] and the [http://www.sfei.org/node/2123 Baylands Ecosystem Goals Project], this project is part of a science-based, regional approach to protecting biodiversity of the Bay Area.<ref>http://www.bayarealands.org</ref>

=== Protected Areas Database ===
The Council collaborated with Greeninfo Network to develop a GIS database of protected areas in the nine county San Francisco Bay Area called the Bay Area Protected Lands Database (BPAD).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.bayarealands.org/upload/page.php?pageid=6|title=Bay Area Lands|last=|first=|date=|website=|publisher=|access-date=|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160707232650/http://www.bayarealands.org/upload/page.php?pageid=6|archive-date=2016-07-07|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2010, Santa Cruz County was included for the first time, adding a tenth county to the nine Bay Area counties.

=== Native American Partnerships ===
The film ''Here and Now],'' produced by the Open Space Council with help from the Christensen Fund, [[Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District]], and [[The Trust for Public Land]], is a short film that combines social justice, land conservation, human history, and scientific knowledge to tell the story of four partnerships between Native Americans and land conservation organizations.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://vimeo.com/139467688|title=Here and Now - FILM|website=Vimeo|access-date=2016-06-01}}</ref>

=== Outdoor Voice ===
The Open Space Council is building a constituency for land conservation by engaging Bay Area park users in ways to get involved. The program Outdoor Voice is regional throughout all ten Bay Area counties, focusing on action, targeting Bay Area park users, and leveraging social media.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://openspacecouncil.org/programs/people/|title=Bay Area Open Space Council • A regional coalition for what makes the Bay Area great.|website=openspacecouncil.org|access-date=2016-05-31}}</ref>
 
== External links ==
{{Portal|San Francisco Bay Area}}
* [https://togetherbayarea.org/ Together Bay Area]


== References ==
<references>[[File:C1bfG-og 400x400.jpg|thumb|The Bay Area Open Space Council logo.]]
</references>

[[Category:Parks in the San Francisco Bay Area]]
[[Category:Organizations based in the San Francisco Bay Area]]