The June 2007 issue of Smithsonian magazine features an article by Tony Perrottet called “Jewel of the Tetons,” which describes the secretive mission of John D. Rockefeller, Jr. to purchase private properties at the base of the Tetons with the intent of donating the land to the government for permanent protection.

Despite philanthropic intentions, the campaign to purchase over 35,000 acres was mired in 20 years of anti-park controversy, distrust, and debate. It was not until 1950 when Rockefeller successfully donated 33,562 acres to the National Park Service, enlarging the Grand Teton National Park and protecting important wildlife corridors and the mountain grandeur from unsightly commercial development. The family retained the final 3,300 acres, the JY Ranch, as a Rockefeller family retreat until John D. Rockefeller Jr.’s son Laurance began gifting it to the park over several years. On May 26, 2001, Laurance S. Rockefeller donated the remaining 1,106-acre land (also known as the Laurance Spelman Rockefeller Preserve). The park service expects the formal transfer to be complete by later this summer and open to the public in September 2007. With this gift, “the entire JY property becomes part of America’s conservation heritage and marks another milestone in the Rockefeller legacy of stewardship and philanthropy,” writes the park service.

In the San Francisco Bay Area, the Haases are another one of the nation’s most philanthropic families. Julian Guthrie published an excellent article called “The Haas Legacy - How one family’s generosity and commitment to civic life are transforming the Bay Area.”

The descendants of Levi Strauss (Elise Haas was a great niece of Levi Strauss) and branches of the Haas family operate five independent foundations. The Evelyn and Walter Haas Jr. Fund, established in 1953, has the largest annual giving and was key to the restoration of the former military airfield Crissy Field, along San Francisco’s north shore (completed in 2001). Recently, I visited the tidal marsh and was in awe of the native coastal dune plants flourishing there and the numerous waterfowl and other marsh birds. I remember when the silver dune lupine, sand verbena, and coastal sagewort were new plantings. It was hard to envision the reemergence of the native coastal dune community that once thrived here in the time of the Ohlone. The scene there now is a drastic transformation from the toxic wasteland it once was.

In April, the Haas Jr. Fund made another major philanthropic gift to the Presidio in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA) to support the “Post to Park”conversion. This project involves the implementation of a comprehensive 24-mile pedestrian, hiking, and bicycle trail network at the Presidio and the revitalization of the Presidio’s Rob Hill Campground.

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Today from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Nature in the City, a project of the Earth Island Institute that promotes the stewardship and awareness of San Francisco’s natural heritage, is hosting an Earth Day event in San Francisco’s McLaren Park. The celebration is free. Events and activities include birding hikes, interactive artworks, habitat restoration projects, planting, puppetry, and storytelling.

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In 2005, two public entities and an ardent community group called “Friends of Tolay Lake” teamed up to preserve a little known scenic and culturally significant valley, 40 miles north of San Francisco. They prevailed after raising the funds from county, state, federal, and private sources. Tolay Lake Regional Park opened up to limited pubic access for the first time since the transfer in ownership to the regional open space district from a private owner.

Over a thousand prehistoric charmstones, culturally significant rock carvings, have been found since the lake was drained in the early 1900s. Some charmstones were sent to the Smithsonian Museum in the early 1900s. According to multiple historical accounts, long before the several-hundred-acre lake was drained, indigenous people performed healing rituals here, putting their ailments into stones that they threw into the water. The rocks, which came from locales across California, were discovered after an early settler dynamited one end of the lake in an effort to make the land suitable for growing potatoes.

The Cardoza family, owners of the property since the 1940s, grew pumpkins in the former lake bottom for an annual fall festival that brought thousands of visitors to the historic site for over 15 years. The Cardozas sold the land to Sonoma County, at a price below its market value, after park advocates successfully raised funds to purchase the 1,737-acre. Now an environmental review process is underway, and the public can visit the park by reserving a spot on a ranger-led hike.

The County of Sonoma’s Regional Parks Department is also consulting with Native American groups representing descendants of Miwok and Pomo tribes to study opportunities for cultural education. One project idea includes the cultivation and restoration of Purple Needle Grass, which was used by Native Californian basket weavers. In recent years, the state designated the rare drought-tolerant purple plant as California’s official state grass.

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