From the Field

Legislating for nature
Connecting with: Assemblymember Nancy Skinner

Interview by Beth Slatkin

Berkeley Assemblymember Nancy Skinner muses about an early internship gathering park data, how local governments are leading the world on environmental issues, and why she wants to make reflective roofs as popular as recycling.

Published February 03, 2012
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Web Special

Presidio's forest resists the sands of time

By Kelly Hackett

The Presidio in San Francisco is a forested oasis, home to around 300 bird species. But once upon a time, the park was coastal dunes with nutrient-poor, shifting soils. Just how the Presidio was transformed is a story of one man's grand ambitions that are still playing out today, as stewards of the Presidio struggle to maintain a forest as an historic landmark.

Published February 02, 2012
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Web Special

EMS for injured wildlife

By Rachel Gulbraa

Stunned bobcats, entangled geese, sea-foamed birds – sound like the makings of a horror film? These are just a few of the creatures given a new chance at life by WildRescue, a Bay Area organization that delivers wildlife in distress to animal health clinics.

Published January 31, 2012
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Point Reyes Trails Special

Let It Rain: Two Short Strolls

by Jules Evens

Now that the winter rains have finally found us here along the central California coast, my attention focuses on finding weather windows for walks in the wild. During a gentle shower, or a just after a stormy squall, the forests and fields are freshened and it's a fine time to take to the trail.

Published January 30, 2012
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From the Field

Images of activism

Interview by Paul Epstein

Petaluma photographer Scott Hess never shied from a debate about conservation. He's hiked, admittedly illicitly, around Lafferty Ranch to reveal the property's hidden beauty, and once snapped pinups of "ecobabes" for a calendar on climate change. In this Q&A, Hess explains how his activism and photography intersect, and the pitfalls of doing what you love most.

Published January 27, 2012
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For Jay Holcomb, Every Bird Matters
Connecting with the Director Emeritus of International Bird Rescue

interview by Bay Nature staff

The Director Emeritus of International Bird Rescue reflects on 40 years of helping oiled and injured birds and wildlife.

Published January 25, 2012
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Web Special

A tale of two species, and a lagoon

By Paul Hagey

Sharp Park is at the center of a controversy over whether golfing can coexist with endangered species. The Pacifica course, which overlooks the ocean, is a unique coastal freshwater ecosystem with a lagoon that's great for the California red-legged frog and San Francisco garter snake. But if you want to keep the fairways open to business, much of that water has to be pumped away.

Published January 24, 2012
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Ear to the Ground

Taking Care of Baby Salmon
New Project Tests Fallow Fields as Salmon Nurseries

by Aleta George

Proponents of the Yolo Bypass Floodplain Fishery Enhancement Project are starting small but thinking big. During the first year of the pilot project, scientists will test whether raising juvenile chinook salmon on flooded rice fields in the Yolo Bypass will help the fish get stronger and bigger before being flushed down to San Francisco Bay and out to the Pacific.

From the Jan-Mar 2012 issue
Published January 23, 2012
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Exploring the Bay Area's "Islands of Wildness"
Connecting with LandPaths ED Craig Anderson

interview by Beth Slatkin

A seasoned climber, hiker, outdoorsman, and lifelong world traveler, Craig Anderson could have remained an "itinerant geographer and outdoor guide". Instead, he moved to Sonoma County fifteen years ago, signed up to work for a brand-new nonprofit called LandPaths, and stayed.

Published January 20, 2012
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Web Special

Elephant seals occupy area beaches

By Rachel Gulbraa

Thousands of elephant seals have colonized beaches to partake in annual, combative mating rituals. The mass of beached blubber is not just a tourist spectacle. It also draws the attention of non-human species that come to dine off the rare bump in food supply. About 10 percent of the pups born are casualties of the fighting males.

Published January 19, 2012
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Families Afield

A Nature Quest on Corona Heights

by Robin Meadows

Next time you and your kids head outdoors, you can combine fun, games, and learning to make that hike into a kid-centric adventure! We give it a try in San Francisco.

From the Jan-Mar 2012 issue
Published January 18, 2012
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Web Special

Benicia wants to run state park on California's dime

By Alison Hawkes

The cash-strapped city of Benicia has come up with a novel way to keep its local state recreation area open and off the list of California park closures: get the state to foot the bill. The city says it can operate the 500-acre park at less than half the state's budget.

Published January 17, 2012
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Point Reyes Trails Special

A Bobcat Day in Bear Valley

by Jules Evens

The Bear Valley trail, heading southwest from Park Headquarters to the coast, is one of the emblematic walks, and the most traveled trail, on the Point Reyes Peninsula. Jules covers about 10 miles and encounters a bobcat, an alligator lizard, early-blooming milkmaids, and very late-blooming Indian paintbrush.

Published January 16, 2012
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Web Special

Scouting For Preservation Opportunities

interview by Beth Slatkin

From a boy scout catching frogs to a nationally-respected leader in open space conservation, the Sonoma Land Trust's Ralph Benson has been taking calculated risks -- and realizing considerable success.

Published January 13, 2012
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Climate Change: Distpatches from the Home Front

Taking the Measure of Climate Change At Corte Madera Marsh

by Ariel Rubissow Okamoto

To launch our new series on climate change in the Bay Area, we follow a group of researchers as they scan the bottom, poke the mud, and gauge the tides at Marin's Corte Madera Marsh, in the first comprehensive, interdisciplinary effort to understand how the Bay Area's tidal wetlands will respond to rising sea levels.

From the Jan-Mar 2012 issue
Published January 12, 2012
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Ear to the Ground

Deadline Looms for Solano’s Rockville Trails

by Aleta George

With the clock ticking toward a February deadline, the nonprofit Solano Land Trust is working to purchase 1,500 acres of land known as Rockville Trails in Solano County. Recently, a lawsuit put a stop to development plans and allowed the land trust to buy 330 acres of the property, with an option to purchase the remaining 1,170 acres for $15.5 million by February 28, 2012.

From the Jan-Mar 2012 issue
Published January 10, 2012
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Web Special

East Palo Alto turns trash into treasure

By Liz Proctor

A toxic waste dump may seem an unlikely place to stroll around and enjoy the San Francisco Bay. But East Palo Alto is restoring and capping such a site in order to give the public access to the water for the first time. The restoration project will also restore marshlands for struggling species like the clapper rail and salt mouse harvest mouse.

Published January 09, 2012
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East Bay Parks Feature

From the Inside Out
Digging the Geology of the East Bay Hills

by Horst Rademacher

Workers digging the new fourth bore of the Caldecott Tunnel are getting a once-in-a-lifetime view of one of the defining features of the East Bay: the range of hills that runs from San Pablo Bay south to Fremont. By visiting just a few accessible sites aboveground, you can find clues that tell the story of how these hills rose from their humble origins as deep ocean sediments and volcanic flows to the iconic fault-riddled hillsides of today.

From the Jan-Mar 2012 issue
Published January 06, 2012
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Web Special

Great year to view monarch butterflies

By Alison Hawkes

Monarchs may be the most celebrated and regal of the Lepidoptera, and they're hitting record highs in the Bay Area. Ardenwood Historic Farm in Fremont is estimating their numbers at 4,200, which is 10 times the normal count. Grab your binoculars.

Published January 05, 2012
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Bay Nature Magazine Honors 2012 Local Environmental Heroes

Each year, Bay Nature Institute honors several individuals who are making outstanding contributions to the understanding and stewardship of the natural world of the Bay Area. Here are this year's winners.

Published January 05, 2012
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