CHAPTER SIXTEEN: The Northern Pacific Coast

An important element of its regional character is the North Pacific Coast's relative isolation from the rest of America. Less than 3 percent of the American population lives there. Populated sections of the region are separated from the other principal population centers by substantial distances of arid or mountainous terrain. Residents of the region often view this isolation as positive, a geographic buffer against the rest of the world. Economically, however, it has been a hindrance. High transportation costs inflate the price of Pacific Northwest products in distant eastern markets and discourage some manufacturers from locating in the region.

THE PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT
The North Pacific Coast is defined primarily on the basis of its physical environment. Stated very simply, it is a region strongly subject to maritime influence and rugged terrain. Precipitation is high, and vegetation associated with heavy moisture is located near the coast but with marked variation over short distances because of the influence of surrounding mountains on the region's climate.

PATTERNS OF HUMAN OCCUPATION
No other coastline, except for the polar areas, was explored by Europeans as late as was the North Pacific Coast. Vitus Bering had claimed the Alaska coast for Russia by 1740, but it was not until 1778 that Captain James Cook sailed the coast from Oregon to southeastern Alaska. By the time explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark worked their way across the Cascades to the mouth of the Columbia River in 1805, Philadelphia and New York City, each with about 75,000 people, were vying for the title of the country's largest city. By the mid-1840s, when American settlers began traveling the Oregon Trail to the Willamette Valley, New York's population was fast approaching 500,000.

The pre-European population of the region was relatively large. The moderate environment provided a plentiful supply of food throughout the year. Deer, berries, roots, shellfish, and especially salmon represented a natural bonanza of food that seemed without limit. The American Indians responded to this with a hunting and gathering economy, and no food crop cultivation. Concentrated along the coast, they were divided into many distinct ethnic groups, each occupying their own, often small, coastal valley.

SAN FRANCISCO TOMORROW

SFT has worked since 1970 to cultivate the city a physical environment in harmony with its natural setting and the needs of its inhabitants, to foster the orderly development of the City as a fit place to work and live and to educate the public and our elected officials as to the urgency of preserving the fragile environment which places San Francisco among the great cities of the earth.

SFT was founded in 1970 by neighborhood activists who joined together to fight the neighborhood zoning battles of the 1960s. A city-wide urban environmental organization, SFT is dedicated to promoting environmental quality, neighborhood livability and good government in San Francisco.
SFT concentrates on environmental issues because they believe a good environment is the necessary foundation upon which to build a good society. Their interests range from sewers to skylines, encompassing such varied issues as:

• Care and acquisition of open space
• Downtown growth
• Sensible neighborhood planning policies
• Wise use of our waterfront
• Better transit systems
• Toxics issues.

SFT participates actively in the City's political scene, endorse candidates and issues, draft initiatives for the ballot, and lend their support, when they can, to those individuals and groups who share the same concerns. SFT is a volunteer effort, operating solely on the talent and hard work of our individual members. Most work is done by committees, with our Board of Directors meeting once a month to set policy and approve action. Our expenses are paid for from membership dues, contributions and fundraising events.