San Francisco Baykeeper

San Francisco Baykeepers ("Baykeeper") mission is to defend San Francisco Bay from the biggest threats and hold polluters accountable. Baykeepers field investigators and scientists patrol the Bay to identify polluters and uncover threats. Our lawyers and policy advocates hold polluters accountable and require government agencies to strengthen laws.Baykeeper: Investigates pollution: Baykeeper is the only organization that patrols San Francisco Bay to investigate and stop pollution. We regularly patrol the Bay on the Baykeeper boat, and by plane, kayak, and with our drone. Our scientists identify threats to the Bay and gather evidence of pollution and investigate tips from the public to our pollution hotline. And when we find pollution, our advocates and lawyers take action to hold the polluters accountable and stop them from harming the Bay and the people of the Bay Area. Stops polluters: Baykeeper holds polluters accountable by enforcing the Clean Water Act and other laws that protect the Bay and its people. We require polluters to comply with the law, and we make sure they fix their pollution problems to stop harming the Bay. Strengthens laws: Baykeeper advocates for government agencies to adopt stronger, enforceable policies that will create real protections for the Bay. Fights for healthy communities: Baykeeper's scientists, lawyers, and policy advocates have worked in coalition with neighborhood organizations to stop polluters in every region of the Bay, including Bayview Hunters Point, Richmond, Oakland, the South Bay, and Delta. Baykeeper has won over 200 Clean Water Act lawsuits that protect the Bay and the Bay Area from industrial pollution. Since its inception, Baykeeper has generated hundreds of millions of dollars to improve the quality of life in Bay shoreline communities, and to support the work of organizations within communities disproportionately affected by pollution. Defends wildlife and prepares for climate change: Baykeeper uses science, advocacy, and the law to protect the Bay's shoreline and vibrant wetlands, ensure that there is a healthy level of sand and sediment on the Bay floor, and make sure that enough freshwater flows into the Bay to keep it from getting too salty to support life. By defending the Bay's natural ecological balance, Baykeeper makes sure that residents of the Bay Area both human and animal will thrive for generations to come.Baykeeper has won critical victories at the national, regional and local level for San Francisco Bay. Since 1989, we have: Secured 280 legal wins to stop polluters; Conducted over 15,000 hours of boat patrols to investigate pollution; Required 10 cities to reduce sewage spills by 75%; Got 14 new state laws passed to stop oil spills; Generated $100 million to restore San Francisco Bay; and Mapped 300 miles of shoreline to plan for sea level rise in the Bay.We have a staff of thirteen with scientific and legal expertise,a board of directors with a breadth of experience with the Bay,an expert advisory board,a team of volunteer boat skippers and the only pollution patrol boat regularly monitoring and investigating polluters in the Bay.Baykeeper incorporated as a nonprofit, public benefit corporation in California on January 23, 1987, as the San Francisco Bay-Delta Preservation Association, and became Baykeeper in May 1989, the fourth Waterkeeper organization in the country.For 35 years, standing up to constant threats and major polluters, Baykeeper has been a fierce champion for San Francisco Bay. For more information, please visit us online at baykeeper.org.