July Bay Nature Preview

Gray foxes are among many mesopredators, from common raccoons to elusive badgers, that live in nearby wildlands and even in our backyards. This fox drinks from a pond where photographer Bruce Finocchio had set up a photo blind. Photo by Bruce Finocchio, dreamcatcherimages.net. Read about how he captured this remarkably intimate image.

by Dan Rademacher — published June 13, 2011

We're just a few weeks away from releasing our July-September 2011 print issue!

In this installment, come paddling with us on the growing Bay Water Trail. Along the way, there's a pretty good chance well see some harbor porpoises right inside the Bay. After 65 years of absence, they're back and thriving. And perhaps most remarkable of all is that Bill Keener and other researchers have found that the Golden Gate Bridge is a fantastic place to watch for them.

But there's more to the Bay Area than the Bay, of course.

We chat with Doris Sloan, the winner of our first annual Local Hero award for environmental education. For decades, Doris has shared her love of geology with thousands of people -- she even wrote the book on it! And in a place as geologically active and complex as our is, we're glad Sloan has been here to show us the way.

And while you're reading that interview one summer evening, you might hear the rattle of a garbage can lid or some other noise of wildlife right outside your door. There's a decent chance it's a raccoon or opossum. Veteran reporter Glen Martin takes us into the world of mesopredators -- those medium-size critters, from raccoons to weasels, that are doing pretty well alongside us humans.

Some wildlife are so tiny or hidden that we don't give them a second thought. David Lukas awakens us to the slow-changing world of the turret spiders, who move so little that their genes can map geologic change. And Sue Rosenthal reminds us that there's life not just on the beach but in the beach too!

Subscriber copies are in the mail! Not a subscriber? Come back to our site after July 1 to order a single copy or see the stories online.