Influencers are blamed for ruining Bay Area wildflower park by trampling on blossoms to take selfies - with new sign erected begging them not to geotag their photos

A sign has been erected at a Bay Area wildflower park begging visitors not to trample on the native plants to take selfies or geotag their location on social media.

By mid-March each year, hundreds of thousands of colorful superblooms and orange poppies blossom in the Shell Ridge area, a prime location where many locals and keen photographers gather to take family photos, engagement pictures, and selfies.

But a sign warning people to not share their location - to not encourage others to come and spoil the wildlife - was erected this week, according to online reports. 

It was placed at one of the entrances to Shell Ridge Open Space in Walnut Creek. The sign reads: 'Don't Location Tag on Social Media. Protect this place. Use generic tags like Bay Area.' 

It is an open-air park visited by many - especially when wildflower season blooms. Posts online show men, women and children kneeling down with their pets among the flowers, tagging and hashtagging 'Shell Ridge Open Space.'  

A sign has been erected at a Bay Area wildflower park begging visitors not to trample on the native plants to take selfies or geotag their location on social media

Locals flock to the wildflowers each year to take pictures and post them on social media

Influencers and keen wildlife photographers make their way to the site each year

Retired landscaper and resident Phil Johnson previously told SFGate that by 'the end of the month, the wildflower park is like a jungle.'

Johnson, who is also a team leader with the Walnut Creek Open Space Foundation, told the news outlet that he has no idea where the sign came from, but when he found it propped up against a fence near the entrance about a year ago, he moved it to its current location.

He surmised that a disgruntled resident who may have been having a problem parking in their driveway because of the hordes of people driving into the parking lot put it there. 

The superbloom is an exciting event that usually occurs after a wet-weather year that follows several dry years. The last major superbloom in California was in 2019.

This picture-worthy spectacle appears to be more in common in Southern California, due to its dry, granitic soil.

Wildflower seeds accumulate and remain dormant in the soil, waiting for conditions to be just right until they can germinate. 

If enough of them survive, they’ll flower all at once, blanketing fields and hillsides in vibrant displays of color.

The superbloom is an exciting event that usually occurs after a wet-weather year that follows several dry years. The last major superbloom in California was in 2019

It is an open-air park visited by many - especially when wildflower season blooms. Posts online show men, women, kids, and their dogs kneeling down among the flowers, tagging and hashtagging 'Shell Ridge Open Space'

Retired landscaper and resident Phil Johnson previously told SFGate that by 'the end of the month, the wildflower park is like a jungle'

Families often take advantage of the beautiful flowers each year - but locals have begged them to stop posting their location as to not encourage others to flock

This picture-worthy spectacle appears to be more in common in Southern California, due to its dry, granitic soil

Johnson said: 'There were thousands of people coming here, at least hundreds showing up every day on the weekends.

'We get a lot of people out here looking for a superbloom, and we don’t have one here.'

But, many of the visitors posing in front of the colorful flowers have caused quite an uproar, specifically on the social platform, Reddit.

One person wrote: 'Instagram and its consequences have been a disaster for the human race.'

Another commentator wrote: 'If people don't understand this from the picture. The sign is in-front of a protected off trail wildflower bloom spot that has had issues over the past few years of folks trampling through to do full on photoshoots. 

'There are also signs there saying its protected and do not go off trail.' 

They added: 'The purpose is to stop stupid influencers from destroying the ecosystem there not to hide it from folks trying to enjoy it.'

Yoseline Angel, postdoctoral researcher at Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, told SFGATE last April commented about the superblooms across certain areas in Central and Southern California. 

'We are seeing a crazy amount of flowers, but not necessarily all over California,' 'There are certain, specific places where you'll be able to see these superblooms,' she said.

'Those include the Antelope Valley California Poppy State Natural Reserve outside of Lancaster, Carrizo Plain National Monument west of Bakersfield and Walker Canyon at Lake Elsinore.