When I mention sand mining to people, they usually imagine it happening in far-off places where environmental laws are weak or ignored. They’re often surprised to learn it’s happening right here in San Francisco Bay.
We first started following this issue in 2011. One of our scientists came back from an agency hearing deeply concerned: California’s State Lands Commission was preparing to double the amount of Bay sand it was selling to private companies (sand mining areas in yellow, below).
So we started digging (in the way of lawyers and scientists). What we found was shocking. The state had been selling off millions of tons of Bay sand for decades to make concrete and asphalt.
Let that sink in: the Bay’s sand, removed forever, for a profit.
But sand isn’t just sand. It’s important habitat for species like Dungeness Crab and White Sturgeon, and it supports the Bay’s food web, including the benthic species and fish that draw harbor porpoises and whales into the Bay. It also holds our shorelines together and helps protect our communities from rising seas.
And under the public trust doctrine—a bit of legal jargon that, when applied properly, can provide meaningful environmental protections—that sand belongs to all of us. The state’s job is to protect it, not sell it off for private companies to profit.
Today, the stakes are even clearer. New science shows that much of the Bay’s sand is ancient and irreplaceable. As it’s mined and taken away, the Bay floor is being physically pockmarked and lowered across the mining area.
We’ve fought this before—and won! A panel of judges rejected the state’s claim that selling off the Bay’s sand serves the public. But the mining was allowed to continue.
That’s why we’re going back to court.
Because now we know the sand is finite. We have stronger evidence of the harm. And we have hundreds of you speaking up (thank you!).
If you haven’t already, please sign our sand mining action alert and urge local agencies to step in. Together, we can stop the damage, protect the Bay’s natural defenses, and preserve its shorelines for the next generation.
Warmly,
Sejal Choksi-Chugh
Headshot of Sejal by Gail Odom. Pictured, above, in yellow: the location of sand mining areas in San Francisco Bay (from the State Lands Commission Staff Report 73, February 9, 2026. Shading and city names added by Baykeeper).