Now a neglected huddle of aged eucalyptus trees and occasional dumping ground, a swath of Glen Canyon Park near O’Shaughnessy Boulevard is planned to grow into an oak-shaded riparian corridor, with work already under way.
The changes began last March when crews with the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission removed 11 trees on each side of O’Shaughnessy just north of the Bosworth Street spur that turns into the canyon. Though the agency sent notice of the work to nearby neighbors, some were caught unaware and worried about the future of the open space.
SFPUC Natural Resources and Land Manager Damon Spigelman laid those fears to rest in a tour of the area on July 5.
“We’re not selling the land, we’re not building infrastructure here,” said Spigelman. “We’re turning it back to a native habitat.”
Spigelman’s work is focused on less than four acres of the 70-acre park—the portion behind the houses on the Bosworth spur. Many of the park’s eucalyptus trees were planted more than 100 years ago by Adolph Sutro and have lived past their healthy lifespan, he said. Timelines are subject to change, but Spigelman hopes to remove the remaining eucalyptus globulas and Monterey pine trees before bird-nesting season begins in late February 2025.
Meantime, a forest of baby coast live oak trees and woody shrubbery like royal willow is growing at the agency’s Sunol nursery. Spigelman hopes to start planting those 18- to 22-inch tall trees along with low-lying native vegetation in time for this year’s rainy season.
The goal is to extend the riparian corridor around Islais Creek in the canyon, using native plants to create a fire break that also nurtures local fauna. The land already hosts some coast live oaks, but most have remained small in the shadow of the eucalyptus and pine trees, he said.
The agency also plans to install a bollard chain gate between the sidewalk and the land behind the homes to prevent dumping and deter graffiti. Already taggers have sprayed the neighbors’ fences. Land Management staff will be following up weekly to address any trash accumulation, said SFPUC spokeswoman Shalon Rogers.
Neighbors John Scott and Lucy Pozzoni welcomed the news. The couple moved to the Bosworth spur in 1993, and the trees have long been a source of privacy and joy. Their eldest child dubbed one of the eucalyptus trees “the talking tree,” communing with it from a perch on a low branch.
But they also recognized the falling and fire hazards of the trees, and there seemed to be no maintenance plan for the area.
“There had been little active stewardship of the land in the past,” said Scott. “We were worried the city was coming in, cutting the trees down and leaving for another 20 years.”
Part of the issue lies in the land management. The stretch of canyon running along both sides of O’Shaughnessy from Portola down to Elk is actually the responsibility of three agencies: San Francisco Public Works manages the center swath of the park, and the Recreation and Parks Department manages the portion of the park with hiking trails. (See map above.)
SFPUC manages a segment that includes 3.3 acres behind the Bosworth spur but falls mostly on the other side of O’Shaughnessy Boulevard, having once eyed the spot for a reservoir. The reservoir was never built, but the ownership of the land did not change
That division left Scott scratching his head.
“It seems like the division of the land between three agencies leads to a fractured approach to land stewardship,” he said.
After hearing from Spigelman, he and Pozzoli felt reassured.
“They’re going to be true neighbors,” he said of the SFPUC.
Historically, replacing the towering eucalyptus in Glen Canyon Park has been a fraught process. A heated community meeting in 2012 preceded a round of work that removed about 60 trees and replaced them with non-invasive plants to increase the biodiversity of the park as part of the renovation of the Glen Park Recreation Center. The entire $5.8 million plan was delayed three months when a Miraloma Park resident appealed the center’s building permit, citing the loss of trees.
An even larger portion of the park has been replanted and maintained according to the principles of the Recreation and Parks Department’s Natural Area Resources Plan. Volunteers meet every third Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to noon to restore and maintain the Glen Canyon habitat. Sign up on the Glen Park Association blog, on the sidebar beneath the heading “Important Upcoming Dates.”