The Lungs of the City
75 Years and Counting for East Bay Parks

by Richard A. Walker

In 1934, local voters created the East Bay Regional Park District, the nation's largest regional park district. Today, as the district celebrates its 75th anniversary, challenges abound: Sea level rise threatens shoreline parks, the recession and budget crises affect park operations, and a growing human population puts increasing pressure on open space. Nevertheless, the district continues to thrive, with strong public support for land purchases and an unsurpassed combination of diverse wildlife habitats and accessible parks that attract millions of visitors every year.

From the Oct-Dec 2009 issue
Published October 01, 2009
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Forged by Fire
Lightning and Landscape at Big Sur

by Lester Rowntree

We know that wildfire is a key part of the ecology of the Bay Area and has played a major role in shaping our landscapes. Yet it's simply not possible to let fires burn naturally in an urban region such as ours. But just to the south, the 240,000-acre Ventana Wilderness near Big Sur is large and remote enough to allow for the return of a natural fire regime. That's what has happened over the past 30 years as a series of lightning-ignited wildfires has helped shape both a living laboratory of fire ecology and an increasingly diverse landscape.

From the Oct-Dec 2009 issue
Published October 01, 2009
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Just Add Water
A Marsh is Born at Point Reyes

by Carolyn Longstreth

Just a year after the levees were breached, wildlife is thriving at Giacomini Wetland at the south end of Tomales Bay.

From the Oct-Dec 2009 issue
Published October 01, 2009
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Apay Way/Bayview Salt Pond Loop

by Ann Sieck

Hike along salt ponds, past a quarry, to the marsh at Coyote Hills in Fremont.

From the Oct-Dec 2009 issue
Published October 01, 2009
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Bothe-Napa Valley State Park

by Ayesha Ercelawn

If you're wine-country bound but want to fit in a hike, Bothe-Napa Valley State Park, between St. Helena and Calistoga, might be just the place.

From the Oct-Dec 2009 issue
Published October 01, 2009
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Picchetti Ranch Open Space Preserve

by Rob Lehman

Visit the historic Picchetti Winery for leisurely hiking through the Picchetti Ranch Open Space Preserve in the foothills of Cupertino.

From the Oct-Dec 2009 issue
Published October 01, 2009
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Cattails: A Wetlands Supermarket

by Aleta George

Cattails are hard to miss, yet often dismissed. Whether in solitary clumps in a ditch or spread out in marshy fields, the burnt umber rockets hovering above dark-green blades add texture and familiarity to the landscape. They also turn out to be quite useful, with pollen that can be used as flour and roots that might help wetlands cope with sea level rise.

From the Oct-Dec 2009 issue
Published October 01, 2009
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Coe's Fire Followers

by Daniel McGlynn

The 2007 Lick Fire was a firestorm that consumed 47,000 acres, most of it in Henry W. Coe State Park, east of Gilroy. Just days after the fire, park volunteers were on the scene. Two years later the "fire followers" of Coe Park are still at it, and even in the face of park budget cuts, they hope to keep their research going for years to come.

From the Oct-Dec 2009 issue
Published October 01, 2009
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Trial by Fire for Condors
Interview with Joe Burnett

by Dan Rademacher

In June 2008, when the Basin Fire burned through the Big Sur coast, California condors, and the biologists who monitor them, faced wildlfire for the first time in living memory. After a heroic rescue of juvenile birds, the scientists and the flock came out well. Now they face more insidious threats: lead shot in carcasses and deadly trash along roadways.

From the Oct-Dec 2009 issue
Published October 01, 2009
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Fire on the Mountain

by Jack Laws

A year after fire burned through two canyons on San Bruno Mountain, artist Jack Laws visited to see how different fire intensities left their mark on the plants of Buckeye and Owl canyons.

From the Oct-Dec 2009 issue
Published October 01, 2009
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Top Billing for Shorebirds

by Alan Kaplan

As summer turns to fall, thousands of shorebirds return to the shoreline and mudflats of San Francisco Bay, either for a pit stop on their way south or to stay for the winter. Sometimes many different kinds gather in one place. How can you tell them apart?

From the Oct-Dec 2009 issue
Published October 01, 2009
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Ear to the Ground
News from the conservation community and the natural world

by Aleta George

Changes in the ocean are confusing scientists and devastating bird populations. Meanwhile the Ridge and Bay Trails take a few steps closer to completing the grand Carquinez Loop trail, and an upcoming art show features new work of Mount Diablo. But land trusts face tough times int he wake of California's bond freeze.

From the Oct-Dec 2009 issue

What is quicksand?

by Michael Ellis

The quicksand won't get you, but the quakes might.

From the Oct-Dec 2009 issue
Published October 01, 2009
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Letter from the Publisher

by David Loeb

Let's celebrate 75 years of East Bay parks by keeping up the pressure on the state to fund our state parks.

From the Oct-Dec 2009 issue
Published October 01, 2009
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Letters from our Readers

Nona Dennis fills in a missing piece in the story of Samuel P. Taylor State Park, and Gary Austin worries that low summer flow on the Russian river, even if it might be good for fish, would devastate the local tourism economy.

From the Oct-Dec 2009 issue