Apr-Jun 2010
In this issue, we introduce you to the secretive mountain lions that live in the Bay Area, to the past and present ecology of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta and some of the possibilities for its future, to western pond turtles (the only native turtles on the Pacific Coast of North America), to the ruggedly beautiful Palisades of Napa County, and to an extinct plant that was rediscovered living alongside a busy San Francisco freeway. Cover image by John Grow/Cheryl Gray-SLP Photography, slpstudios.com, for Felidae Conservation Fund.
Issue Contents
Not all print articles and images appear online immediately.
Feature
by Joan Hamilton
Odds are you'll never see a puma. But if you spend enough time outside in local open space, there's a good chance a puma will see you. We know surprisingly little about how these secretive top predators persist alongside millions of people in the Bay Area, but they're certainly here. And learning more will help us figure out how to better accommodate this icon of wildness in our midst.
From the Apr-Jun 2010 issue
Published April 01, 2010
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Photo by Sarah Anne Bettelheim.
Feature
by Matthew Bettelheim
The Pacific Coast of North America has only one species of native turtle: the western pond turtle. Just 80 years ago, a naturalist found more than 100 of these creatures thriving along an unremarkable stretch of a local creek. Today, a similar survey turns up a fraction of that, as natives compete with plentiful escaped pet turtles and other exotics. But a new conservation plan could tip that balance, and public awareness, back in the western pond turtle's favor.
From the Apr-Jun 2010 issue
Published April 01, 2010
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Photo by Dale Kolke, CA Dept of Water Resources.
About the only thing people agree on about the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta--the subject of countless white papers, editorials, and political debates--is that it's in a heap of trouble. But this 1,000-square-mile patchwork of islands, sloughs, wetlands, and farmlands is also a rich and complex--if highly altered--ecosystem at the core of the San Francisco Estuary. Here we take a look behind today's news to understand what the Delta once was, how it has been changed, and what it might become . . . with a lot of help from its friends.
Special Section
in the Apr-Jun 2010 issue
Published April 01, 2010
Photo by Ian Creelman.
On the Trail
by Gregory Hayes
Napa's Palisades are rugged, beautiful, and about as wild as it gets in the Bay Area. And with the wildflowers in bloom, spring is high season for a great hike above the vineyards.
From the Apr-Jun 2010 issue
Published April 01, 2010
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Photo by Stella Yang
On the Trail
by Stella Yang
Discover a little-known wildflower mecca near Gilroy.
From the Apr-Jun 2010 issue
Published April 01, 2010
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Photo by Margo Bors
On the Trail
by Ann Sieck
Take the bus to a bit of wildness, and some wildflowers, right in San Francisco.
From the Apr-Jun 2010 issue
Published April 01, 2010
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On the Trail
by John Gallagher
This park in sight of Walnut Creek boasts a couple of newly discovered wildflower species, along with great views and many of our more common spring blooms as well.
From the Apr-Jun 2010 issue
Published April 01, 2010
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Signs of the Season
by David Herlocker
Imagine raising your kids on a precarious bunch of sticks on a tree branch. Some birds had the same thought: Yikes! These cavity-nesters take shelter by excavating nest holes in trees, or by using existing holes--in trees, cliffs, buildings, bridges, tractors...
From the Apr-Jun 2010 issue
Published April 01, 2010
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Photo by Michael Chasse / National Park Service.
Conservation in Action
by Sue Rosenthal
A construction site along one of San Francisco’s busiest thoroughfares hardly seems like a good spot to find one of our region’s rarest plants. But that’s just where a passing biologist saw a manzanita thought extinct for decades. And now a whole lot of people are trying to make sure this lone survivor isn’t the last Franciscan manzanita.
From the Apr-Jun 2010 issue
Published April 01, 2010
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Photo by Kathy Korbholz.
Families Afield
by Sue Rosenthal
Next time you sneeze, think of it as an homage to pollen, the key to the reproduction of plants all over the world. Look a little closer, and this stuff turns out to be well worth a few sneezes now and then!
From the Apr-Jun 2010 issue
Published April 01, 2010
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Ask the Naturalist
by Jack Laws
In spring, not every hummingbird you see in the Bay Area is the same. But they’re all gorgeous. Jack helps us tell the difference between the Allen’s, the rufous, and the Anna’s.
From the Apr-Jun 2010 issue
Published January 04, 2010
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Ask the Naturalist
by Michael Ellis
From the Apr-Jun 2010 issue
Published April 01, 2010
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Photo by Paul Johnson.
by Aleta George
Spring is in the air, and people getting out to count butterflies, tour native gardens, defend the native grasses of Richmond's Point Molate, and celebrate the 20th birthday of the Bay Area Open Space Council...
From the Apr-Jun 2010 issue
Photo by David Wimpfheimer.
Letter from the Publisher
by David Loeb
Telling the story of the Delta, beyond farmers vs. fish.
From the Apr-Jun 2010 issue
Published January 04, 2010
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