Wetlands & Creeks

Pacific Chorus Frogs on cattail. (J. McKissock, 2009)Freshwater wetlands and creekside riparian habitat throughout the Bay Area, and particularly on the San Francisco Peninsula, have been drastically reduced due to urbanization. The habitat along the remaining perennial and seasonal creeks on San Bruno Mountain support a wide variety of native wetland plant species, including significant Willow Riparian Forests that support a diverse bird fauna. This plant community is important in providing crucial habitat for migrating birds, in particular neo-tropical migrants moving up and down the Pacific flyway. The wetlands of San Bruno Mountain still support the rare San Francisco Forktail Damselfly (Ischnura gemina) and the more common Pacific Tree Frog (Pseudacris regilla). The mountain’s wetlands once supported the threatened California Red-legged Frog (Rana draytonii) and the endangered San Francisco Garter Snake (Thamnophis sirtalis tetrataenia) and it is our hope and expectation that they will once again.