All Articles (Newest First)
Read about parks, Bay Area wildlife, hiking, and other natural attractions near you. Take some time to browse through our recent articles or use the search function to find a specific topic or place. You can also use our interactive map to find articles by location.
Photo courtesy the Sempervirens Fund.
by Kris Vann
In just one conversation with Reed Holderman, it's easy to tell that he loves his job. And why shouldn't he? As executive director of the Sempervirens Fund, he gets to help save landscapes for generations to come. With two recent land deals, the fund has come a step closer to its goal of connecting all the major parks on the Santa Cruz coast.
Published February 02, 2010
Length:
Photo courtesy San Bruno Mountain Watch.
by Donna Whitmarsh
It's an old story. Another species that once flourished is being pushed to extinction by modern human encroachment. The callippe silverspot has been gradually pushed into a few remaining islands of habitat, including San Bruno Mountain south of San Francisco. Critics say a long-simmering development proposal threatens that habitat.
Published January 25, 2010
Length:
Photo by Paola Bouley.
by Donna Whitmarsh
The collapse of Central California Coast coho salmon population is imminent, according to a report by the National Marine Fisheries in late December 2009. Numbers of returning coho may be too low to support a viable population.
Published January 07, 2010
Length:
Photo by Donna Whitmarsh.
by Donna Whitmarsh
An ongoing controversy over the displacement of burrowing owls in Antioch brought out 40 local residents and others from across the Bay Area on Sunday for a march to protest the eviction and push for better protections for the owls across the state.
Published January 06, 2010
Length:
by Glen Martin
Fast, silent, and deadly, the great white shark has long evoked both fear and awe among those who live, work, and play along the California coast. Yet for all its press--both good and bad--we've known remarkably little about the life of this iconic creature. But recent scientific studies using pioneering tracking techniques are finally giving us a better look at the white shark's wide-ranging haunts and habits.
From the Jan-Mar 2010 issue
Published January 01, 2010
Length:
by John Hart
Fenced off in plain sight for decades, the Concord Naval Weapons Station is the largest piece of undeveloped, unprotected land in Contra Costa County. Now, after years of debate and planning, a large portion of the former base is poised to become a major new regional park, as well as a critical open space link and wildlife corridor stretching from the summit of Mount Diablo to the shores of Suisun Bay.
From the Jan-Mar 2010 issue
Published January 01, 2010
Length:
by Dan Rademacher
The hills above the Concord Naval Weapons Station are part of a property proposed for development by local builder Albert Seeno’s Discovery Builders. But local open space advocates are hoping to negotiate protections for this vital greenbelt between Concord and Pittsburg.
From the Jan-Mar 2010 issue
Published January 01, 2010
Length:
Photo by Todd Gilens.
Concept and photomontages by Todd Gilens
Might the streets we travel have once been migratory corridors for other species, now displaced and threatened by our urban ways? Did butterflies pass by this way, looking for mates, or did salmon swim up a creek long since buried? Could we once again share this landscape and these corridors with other species, if our own daily migrations became more communal--a few buses in place of a swarm of cars, a single train where SUVs now reign?
From the Jan-Mar 2010 issue
Published January 01, 2010
Length:
by Paul McHugh
The high ridges and sandstone outcrops at Castle Rock have fascinated adventurers from explorer George Vancouver to the pioneers of modern rock climbing. Prolific wildflowers, great views, and an 80-foot waterfall add to the allure.
From the Jan-Mar 2010 issue
Published January 01, 2010
Length:
by William Keener
Where can you stand on dry land and feel like you're on a Bay cruise? Try Cavallo Point at Fort Baker. The lodge here is pricey, but the hike is free. When the tide reaches full ebb, the whitewater rip currents will have you convinced you're on the deck of an eastbound boat.
From the Jan-Mar 2010 issue
Published January 01, 2010
Length:
Photo by Dan Hill.
by Ann Sieck
Whatever the old stadium's current name, the land it sits on remains Candlestick Point, a nice spot for birding, picnicking, or watching windsurfers...
From the Jan-Mar 2010 issue
Published January 01, 2010
Length:
by John Gallagher
Round Valley Regional Preserve is one of the East Bay Regional Park District's lesser-known jewels.
From the Jan-Mar 2010 issue
Published January 01, 2010
Length:
Photo by Rick Lewis.
by Joe Eaton
The great rafts of ducks on San Francisco and Tomales bays, mostly surf scoter, greater and lesser scaup, and canvasback, are a wintertime spectacle. Scoter flocks can range from many hundreds to a few thousand birds. Why do they form these aggregations?
From the Jan-Mar 2010 issue
Published January 01, 2010
Length:
Photo by Daniel McGlynn.
by Daniel McGlynn
At first glance the tan building blends into the rest of Petaluma's Casa Grande High School. It's nondescript from the outside, but it houses a rare kind of conservation organization, the United Anglers of Casa Grande. The high school student sin the club run their own hatchery, and learn more about salmon than most folks ever know...
From the Jan-Mar 2010 issue
Published January 01, 2010
Length:
by David Herlocker
A world awaits discovery under almost any humble log in winter, whether it’s in your backyard or deep in the woods. Lift that log and make some new discoveries. Just be sure to put that log back carefully...
From the Jan-Mar 2010 issue
Published January 01, 2010
Length:
by Michael Ellis
Can a pelican really hold a week’s worth of food in its bill?
From the Jan-Mar 2010 issue
Published January 01, 2010
Length:
by Jack Laws
Turns out this little songbird is a little fiercer than most: Loggerhead shrikes eat mostly grasshoppers and other insects in summer, but in winter they go after larger prey, including other birds. But they lack the sharp talons of raptors, so they use thorns or the barbs on barbed wire to finish the job.
From the Jan-Mar 2010 issue
Published January 01, 2010
Length:
Photo courtesy GGNRA.
by Aleta George
Restoration work along Marin County’s Redwood Creek is making this watershed more habitable for the state's southernmost run of coho salmon, while activists push for new protections in the Lagunitas watershed, home to California's largest remaining runs of these once-plentiful fish.
From the Jan-Mar 2010 issue
Published January 01, 2010
Length:
Photo by Helmina Kim.
by Aleta George
San Francisco’s first fully off-the-grid building comes to Bayview-Hunters Point, thanks to the nonprofit Literacy for Environmental Justice. The new EcoCenter is a working model of sustainability in a neighborhood that knows firsthand the costs of conventional waste management and power generation.
From the Jan-Mar 2010 issue
Published January 01, 2010
Length:
Photo by David Yearsley, Friends of the Petaluma River.
by Aleta George
River advocate David Yearsley continues his quest to connect people of all ages to the Petaluma River, now with a Petaluma River Heritage Center that focuses on boating, boatbuilding, and wetland restoration.
From the Jan-Mar 2010 issue
Published January 01, 2010
Length:
RSS Feed