The greater Strawberry Creek ecosystem provides important habitat for plants and wildlife in the largely urban San Francisco metropolitan area. The ecosystem includes the Strawberry Creek watershed, contiguous East Bay regional park property and neighboring watersheds, and tidal mudflats and salt marsh at the outfall. As a source of nutrients and fresh water, Strawberry Creek supports the fisheries of the San Francisco Bay, and continued pollution prevention and restoration in the watershed contribute to the health of the fisheries.

Wildlife corridors between watersheds allow animals to range through a large system of undeveloped parkland in the East Bay. While many large mammals, such as grizzly bears and elk, were exterminated from the area long ago, the Strawberry Canyon wildlands still provide habitat for other large mammals such as deer, fox and mountain lions. Several endangered or threatened plant and animal species, such as the Alameda whipsnake are known to inhabit the greater Strawberry Creek ecosystem. The corridor from the UC Berkeley campus to the Bay is largely culverted and restricts access to most organisms, which to date has prevented invasion by some exotic species, such as the Asian mitten crab.

Historically, Strawberry Creek provided habitat for a seasonal salmon run and many other aquatic organisms. Urban development in the watershed, particularly the diversion of creek water for domestic use, is believed to have exterminated the fisheries by the end of the 19th century. Implementation of the Strawberry Creek Management Plan (SCMP) beginning in 1987 has led to a steady recover of many of the historic biological residents of the ecosystem.

This page presents reports on the biological resources of the greater Strawberry Creek ecosystem. We hope to update it continually with historical and new plant and animal survey data. Reports and data on organisms are presented categorized by the five living kingdoms.