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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.

Botanical sleuths scour Mount Tamalpais

Photo by Rachel Gulbraa.

Botanical sleuths scour Mount Tamalpais

By Rachel Gumbraa

Working off historical records of rare plant locations, plant "hunters" on Mount Tamalpais are scouring the mountain in search of the illusive Mason’s ceanothus shrub and other botanical novelties. The goal: update the location and numbers of California rare plants in the California Natural Diversity Database.

Published May 16, 2012
Length: moderately-short

Bat Rays in San Francisco Bay

© 2012 Roger Hall, InkArt.com.

Bat Rays in San Francisco Bay

by Joe Eaton

What’s the cutest fish in the sea? To some biologists, it’s the bat ray, which cruises along the floor of local bays and estuaries, chomping on clams and other creatures. Maybe it’s time to make bottom-feeder a term of endearment! Springtime is breeding time for these friendly fish.

From the Apr-Jun 2012 issue
Published May 15, 2012
Length: moderately-short

Paddling to the sea

Paddling to the sea
An interview with the paddle-a-thon's director

Interview by Paul Epstein

Jessie Raeder was an energetic high school student when a bitter dispute erupted over the use of chemicals to eradicate pike in Lake Davis in favor of native trout. Nowadays she's director of Paddle to the Sea, a month long "paddle-a-thon" that begins in June and runs the 241-mile length the Tuolumne River from the Sierras to the San Francisco Bay. The goal: raise awareness and money for the river's benefactor, the Tuolumne River Trust.

Published May 14, 2012
Length: moderately-short

For the love of mom

Photo by Rainey Shuler.

For the love of mom

By Alison Hawkes

Humans may be the only animals who celebrate Mother's Day. But there's no doubt that babies of other species are just as attached to their mamas, at least until they grow up. I like to think they also get a warm, fuzzy feeling when they think of the female who risked life and limb to bring them into the world and raise them fit enough to prosper. Happy Mother's Day to California mamas of all feathers and fur, fins and ... yes, even those with exoskeletons.

Published May 11, 2012
Length: moderately-short

Owls, their owlet and the Berkeley masses

Mother keeps tabs on trail users. Photo by Jen Joynt.

Owls, their owlet and the Berkeley masses

By Jen Joynt

Over the course of two short months, great horned owls hatched and raised an owlet on a trail in Claremont Canyon in Berkeley. A "bird's eye" view of the nest made it possible for passersby to get an intimate look at the owlet's transformation from hatchling to fledgling. But as the popularity of the nesting owls grew, so did the ethical questions. How can so many people enjoy nature without doing it harm?

Published May 10, 2012
Length: moderately-short

All Hail Hulet Hornbeck

Photo courtesy East Bay Regional Park District.

All Hail Hulet Hornbeck

by Aleta George

The Bay Area lost a giant of park-building with the passing of Hulet Hornbeck, who presided over the creation of 49,000 acres of parkland at the East Bay Regional Park District.

From the Apr-Jun 2012 issue
Published May 09, 2012
Length: moderately-short

Parade of Flowers at Armstrong Redwoods/Austin Creek

Photo by Kevin O'Connor, Stewards of the Coast and Redwoods.

Parade of Flowers at Armstrong Redwoods/Austin Creek

by Michele Luna and Joyce Bacci

Looking for something out of the way, but with great wildflowers? Head to Armstrong Redwoods and Austin Creek state parks just north of the Russian River.

From the Apr-Jun 2012 issue
Published May 08, 2012
Length: moderately-short

How Sausal Creek made Oakland

Photo by Kelly Hackett.

How Sausal Creek made Oakland

By Kelly Hackett

How do you develop a booming Oakland when there’s a big creek in your way? Bury it underground, cement it over, channel it with culverts, and turn it into a gravel quarry. Sounds like a plan, right? Sausal Creek has undoubtedly taken a lot of abuse. But one thing must be said: Oakland owes much of its economy to the roughly 3-mile creek that meanders from its headwaters in the Oakland Hills to the San Francisco Bay.

Published May 07, 2012
Length: moderately-short

Wanted: Sand for Endangered Butterfly

Photo by US Fish and Wildlife Service.

Wanted: Sand for Endangered Butterfly

by Aleta George

The imperiled Lange’s metalmark butterfly lives only on a small stretch of remnant dunes near Antioch. Managers of the Antioch Dunes National Wildlife Refuge hope to create precious new habitat, while a captive-breeding program keeps the butterflies just short of extinction.

From the Apr-Jun 2012 issue
Published May 03, 2012
Length: moderately-short

Occupiers restart debate on future of Gill Tract

Photo by Alison Hawkes

Occupiers restart debate on future of Gill Tract

By Alison Hawkes

On a typical spring day in early May at the Gill Tract, UC Berkeley agriculture researchers would be busy preparing for the summer research season. But this year, in a fenced-off field that usually grows experimental crops, a temporary encampment has sprung up. A group of students and others associated with the Occupy movement have rototilled the soil and planted their own vision of the future of farming.

Published May 02, 2012
Length: moderately-short

First to the finish line: Jack London State Park

Photo by Joan Hamilton.

First to the finish line: Jack London State Park
Sonoma County locals decide to run their own state park

By Joan Hamilton

For the past 35 years, Valley of the Moon Natural History Association has been helping greet and educate visitors at the Jack London State Historic Park in Sonoma County. As of May 1, however, it’s taken charge of the whole park: 1,400 acres, 10,000 artifacts, and more than a dozen historic buildings. It’s an unusual situation, born of California’s budget woes. The state says it no longer has the money to keep Jack London open, but the surrounding community sees the park as a vital public asset. So locals are investing their own time and money to create something new -- what Valley of the Moon board president Greg Hayes calls “a community-operated state park.”

Published May 02, 2012
Length: moderately-short

Safe Fishing with Kids for the Bay

Photo by Melati Kaye.

Safe Fishing with Kids for the Bay

by Melati Kaye

Thanks to the nonprofit Kids for the Bay, each year a few thousand kids learn firsthand why those “Drains to Bay” stencils on storm grates are so important -- and why eating fish from San Francisco Bay may not always be a good idea.

From the Apr-Jun 2012 issue
Published May 01, 2012
Length: moderately-short

A Cheap Permit Means Great Trails at Briones Reservoir

Photo by Dan Hill.

A Cheap Permit Means Great Trails at Briones Reservoir

by Ann Sieck

Tired of crowded trails? Get a permit from the East Bay Municipal Utility District and you’ll get access to miles and miles of little-used trails. We feature a hike around Briones Reservoir that’s especially delightful.

From the Apr-Jun 2012 issue
Published April 30, 2012
Length: moderately-short

Depicting conservation success stories

Brown pelican by Jain Martin. 

Depicting conservation success stories

By Alison Hawkes

It’s easy to get depressed about the loss of biodiversity when every day, it seems, some new species pops up on a watch list like a death toll. But there are success stories that offer rays of hope in a world beset by climate change and habitat destruction. A new art exhibit opening on May 1 at the Tilden environmental education center in Berkeley showcases species that have made it back from the brink of extinction.

Published April 27, 2012
Length: moderately-short

Imaginations from the sky

Imaginations from the sky
Robyn Hodess paints aerial landscapes

Interview by Paul Epstein

Originally working in packaged design, Robyn Hodess became a landscape painter after a cross country plane ride sparked her imagination. Her landscapes look like they exist, somewhere, but are actually all from her head. She's come to see nature differently: "Before, I was looking at it very closely, 'Oh, look at the bud.' ... Now I'm saying, 'What are the textures in the world? What are the colors in the world?'"

Published April 26, 2012
Length: moderately-short

Despite promise of developer funds, Candlestick Point will close

Photo by Christine Sculati.

Despite promise of developer funds, Candlestick Point will close

By Christine Sculati

Candlestick Point State Recreation Area in southeast San Francisco is California's first urban state park, and offers city-dwellers a slice of nature along the Bay. State budget cuts landed it on the list of park closures, even though a massive redevelopment project next door promises to deliver $50 million to Candlestick.

Published April 25, 2012
Length: moderately-short

The Grass Really Is Greener

© Kathleen Goodwin, kathleengoodwin.net.

The Grass Really Is Greener
Storing Carbon in Rangeland Soils

by Jacoba Charles

A project in West Marin shows how ranchers, and a whole lot of compost, can help mitigate climate change.

From the Apr-Jun 2012 issue
Published April 24, 2012
Length: moderately-short

Conservatives attack Franciscan manzanita

Photo by Michael Chasse / National Park Service.

Conservatives attack Franciscan manzanita
Endangered plant causes a stir, once again

By Alison Hawkes

The last remaining specimen of Franciscan manzanita is happily basking in the sun in an undisclosed location in the Presidio, apparently unaware that conservative talk radio has it out for its survival. Fanning the flames on government spending, shock-jocks are calling its 2010 rescue the "untold story of the year."

Published April 20, 2012
Length: moderately-short

Angel Island gets TLC for Earth Day

Photo by Chris Torres

Angel Island gets TLC for Earth Day

By Chris Torres

Over 150 volunteers crammed onto a ferry that set sail from Tiburon in honor of upcoming Earth Day this Sunday. Their destination? The hiker’s paradise of Angel Island. With a backdrop of clear skies and a light breeze, the crew on Saturday joined the California State Parks Foundation’s (CSPF) effort to clean up and restore 17 of the state’s neglected parks.

Published April 19, 2012
Length: moderately-short

Rural Refuge in the Redwoods

Photo by Ed Callaert.

Rural Refuge in the Redwoods
Hendy Woods State Park

by Joan Hamilton

For residents and businesses in the Anderson Valley, 845-acre Hendy Woods State Park has an importance far beyond its size. It’s one of few public open spaces in this mostly rural region, and now residents are doing their best to make a plan to keep the park open.

From the Apr-Jun 2012 issue
Published April 19, 2012
Length: moderately-short