Greetings Sign Hill Stewards, 

The dry summer winds have blown across Sign Hill carrying off the spring wildflower seeds and leaving a wave of clarkia (Clarkia rubicunda) in their wake. Our local variety of clarkia, aptly named “farewell to spring,” appears as a dense blanket of fuchsia that shines exuberantly over spring's drying remains. 

The wildflowers are not the only species that have been fruitful. Sign Hill has also become home to three coyote pups and a red-tailed hawk fledgling! The juvenile red-tailed hawk was spotted at several of our volunteer events and guided tours, its mottled brown feathers distinguishing it from its parents with whom it nests in a eucalyptus near the base of Seubert Trail. On the other side of the park, our camera trapping study captured three coyote pups in some late-night rough-housing on the hillside overlooking the amber glow of Paradise Valley (check out the video!)

This summer has brought many noteworthy developments to the Sign Hill Restoration Project. We were excited to welcome our new Natural Resource Aide, Luis Reyes! Learn more about the background and experience that Luis brings in his bio below. Additionally, Julian Lampe joined our efforts from June-August through SSF’s Youth Summer Internship Program (YSIP). He did an excellent job bolstering our efforts on Sign Hill as well as going on ride-alongs with Park Maintenance Workers and “learning the ropes” with the Trees Team. 

We also kick-started some new initiatives to promote environmental education and awareness about Sign Hill in the community. We increased our focus on children through our Young Naturalist Club, taking kids from SSF’s Summer Camp on guided Sign Hill excursions. There were also opportunities for people of all ages to learn about the ecology in the park during the two Sign Hill Nature Hike! events that were held in July.

Last but not least, we invited the community to join us in developing a Sign Hill Master Plan. This will be a document that will help to guide the future of Sign Hill including habitat preservation, trail improvements, fuel load management, and amenities like interpretive signage and seating. We began the process early this year, and this summer concluded our community insight studies with a town hall meeting and second round of surveys. Thank you to all who took the time to share your thoughts!

Candace LaCroix

Natural Resource Specialist

Leading the Sign Hill Habitat Restoration Project

San Bruno Mountain Watch Board Vice-President

Howdy folks!

My name is Luis Reyes and I am the recently appointed Natural Resources Aide for South San Francisco Parks & Rec.. I will be assisting Candace with all things Sign Hill such as wildlife monitoring, invasive species removal, volunteer days & many other awesome projects.

A bit about me: I am currently attending San Francisco State University and pursuing a degree in Environmental Studies - Natural Resource Management & Conservation; if all goes as planned, I will graduate this December 2023 and pursue a Masters degree in Integrated Biology! I’ve had both personal and professional experience within this field of work including first hand traditional ecological knowledge that was passed down to me from my grandparents. At SF State, I’ve used this experience to aid in my position as the Sol Patch Garden Coordinator for the Environmental Resource Center program that focused on educating the campus community about food literacy & the importance of our natural spaces. Throughout my studies, I have taken a variety of courses that center around California botany, conservation, restoration, land management, climate, and environmental justice for underrepresented communities.

I am stoked to be part of this team & look forward to meeting fellow Sign Hill enthusiasts along the way!

Luis Reyes

Natural Resource Aide

This summer at SSF Parks was all about getting people to Sign Hill to enjoy SSF's largest natural open space and learn about the local ecology. 

We kick-started a new initiative called Young Naturalist Club to increase awareness and access to Sign Hill for children. SSF summer campers from kindergarten through fifth grade were invited to guided tours of the park each week. The kids had the chance to observe wildlife, learn about local plants, and explore topics of environmental stewardship. It was such a pleasure to hear all of the children's curiosities and insights about the natural environment!

We also wanted to invite people of all ages to experience all the wonder that Sign Hill has to offer, so we planned two Sign Hill Nature Hike! events in July. We had 15 participants, and for many it was their first time on Sign Hill. Several folks mentioned that they would like to hike Sign Hill more, but they felt safer hiking in a group. How wonderful that the events encouraged them to get out to the park! Some participants from the hikes even joined us for the following Sign Hill Stewards volunteer events!

SSF Parks' Sign Hill camera trapping program caught a rare glimpse of three coyote pups frolicking and playing on the hillside overlooking the amber glow of Paradise Valley. 

It is amazing to see how preserving open spaces like Sign Hill has allowed wildlife to thrive even in a mostly urban landscape. You can do your part to maintain this harmonious balance by keeping dogs on leash, cats indoors, and never feeding wildlife. 

If you happen to encounter a coyote in the wild, clap and shout to scare it away. It is safest for people and coyotes when we each maintain a safe distance! 

This year has been a year of abundance for rainfall and vegetation of all kinds on Sign Hill. The ample rainfall produced the most impressive wildflower bloom that Sign Hill has seen in years, meanwhile it provided a huge boost to invasive grasses and weeds that presented unique challenges to fuels management in the park. 

Even with a wet winter, the threat of wildfire is never far from our minds and maintaining firebreaks and reducing fuel loads in the park remains an important part of our regular maintenance activities. Mowing generally begins in early summer when native perennial grasses have dropped their seeds and annual grasses have begun to dry up. This helps to create firebreaks and opens up the dense thatch that can impede some native plants.

This year, our earlier attempts to mow down the remarkably tall annual grasses and weeds were met with vigorous regrowth powered by the abundance of soil moisture. As a result, mowing was pushed to late summer and we have been working at a feverish pace to ensure fire resilience for the park and its neighbors.

We have been able to greatly amplify our efforts through use of the Green Climber. Nearby residents may have heard the machine’s mighty roar making its way through the park near their homes. This powerful remote-controlled slope mower allows us to mow some of the hardest to reach parts of the park.

Volunteers have also continued to play a critical role in Sign Hill's vegetation management. Sign Hill Stewards have reduced fuels in the park by helping prevent regrowth of recently removed invasive trees using a chemical-free approach that involves applying landscape fabric and mulch over the stumps.

As ever, Sign Hill Stewards have continued to focus on the timely management of invasive weeds. This summer our main targets have been Italian thistle (Carduus pycnocephalus) and sweet fennel (Foeniculum vulgare), two of the park's most wide-spread weeds.

Botta’s pocket gophers (Thomomys bottae) are commonly found from the midwest all the way to the coast. They’re a medium sized gopher with the males consistently being larger than the females. Botta’s pocket gophers also can be found in a variety of colors, however an individual’s color may change as they molt throughout the year. These different colorations and geological differences have allowed for the description of around 195 subspecies. There have also been reported cases of albino and melanistic individuals.

Botta’s pocket gopher is highly adaptable to its environment thanks to its larger teeth that it uses for digging in contrast to other gophers that dig with their claws. Their large teeth also feature a thicker enamel that allows them to dig in many different types of soils, from loose sands to tightly packed clays. They use these large teeth to create burrows that include multiple chambers for different things such as storing food, nesting, and defecation. Botta’s Pocket gopher is a strictly herbivorous animal whose diets include shoots and grasses, and during the winter season roots, tubers, and bulbs.

Julian Lampe

YSIP Summer Intern

The photo and video above, taken by Andrey Friedman, feature a Botta's pocket gopher who joined our Sign Hill Stewards workday to pull invasive weeds!

Local high school student, Daniel Musser, joined a Sign Hill Stewards workday early this year when we were sowing native seeds.

Daniel later created a presentation about habitat restoration to share with his class. The poster provides great information about the mission blue butterfly and what is being done to restore their habitat on Sign Hill.

Nice work Daniel, this is a fantastic example of how young people can promote environmental conservation among their peers!

June 20, 2023

Dense patches of bright pink Clarkia rubicunda cover north-facing slopes.

June 23, 2023

Dudleya farinosa begin to bloom on rocky outcrops across the park. This and other dudleya species are protected in California by AB 223. Learn more about AB 223 and what is being done to protect these species here.

The mostly brown grasslands are brightened by the occasional coyote mint (Monardella villosa)

Skunkweed (Navarreta squarrosa), a native grassland species previously not known to occur on Sign Hill, is discovered! An exciting testament to Sign Hill's resilient native seed bank.

July 11, 2023

Focused plant survey is conducted for Scouler's catchfly (Silene souleri spp. scouleri). It has a California Rare Plant Rank of 2B.2, making it the rarest plant in the park.

July 13, 2023

Acmon blue blutterflies, spotted on one of their host plants coast buckwheat (Erigonium latifolium) that can be seen blooming all over the park, including areas that burned in the 2020 Diamond Fire.

A California alligator lizard uses its unique camouflage to blend in with surroundings.

August 21, 2023

A white-lined sphinx, a large hummingbird-like moth, is roused from hiding by Green Climber activities.

September 6, 2023

An anise swallowtail caterpillar is eye-catching against the dry grass stalks.

September 11, 2023

An intact gopher snake skin reveals the entrance to a snake's underground tunnel.

When: Every other Friday from 9am-12pm and the second Saturday of each month from 9am-12pm. Only cancelled for heavy rains.

Where: Volunteers will park at the Sign Hill Parking Lot nearby 964 Ridgeview Ct, South San Francisco, CA and hike with staff to the restoration site.

Registration: Registration is required. Volunteers under the age of 18 must have a youth waiver signed by a parent/guardian. Youth under the age of 15 are welcome and must be accompanied by an adult. Click the link below to RSVP.

What to bring: To prepare for working outdoors, please bring work gloves, plenty of water, sturdy shoes, long pants and long sleeves, a hat/sunscreen, and a completed waiver for each volunteer. Volunteers should expect some hiking on steep terrain.