Latest Articles

Marine vomit threatens Drakes Estero

November 26, 2012 by Heather Mack

“Marine vomit” can be as vile as it sounds. The invasive marine invertebrate is fueling the debate about the future of Drakes Estero in time for this week’s ruling on oyster farming.

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Keeping wild turkeys in check

November 21, 2012 by Courtney Quirin

It’s a wild turkey world out there, as the growing population of Meleagris gallopavo shows. California is trying to tamp down the size of this gobbling, introduced species.

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Signs of the Season: From crab pot to stovetop, Dungeness crabs arrive

November 21, 2012 by Jackson Karlenzig

Thanksgiving time marks the start of one of the most exciting sustainable, local food events of the year: Dungeness crab season.

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Levees or wetlands? Planning for sea level rise

November 19, 2012 by Claire Schoen

The Bay Area has important choices to make about how it will adapt to the reality of sea level rise. VIDEO.

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New details discovered about Bay Area’s 750-legged millipede

November 15, 2012 by Alison Hawkes

Scientists report new findings on how a 750-legged millipede from the Bay Area – the leggiest animal on Earth — may have evolved all those legs to thrive in its unique niche under sandstone rocks in moist oak woodlands.

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Will this year’s good ocean conditions last?

November 15, 2012 by Aleta George

The first thing we heard was the exhalation of the animal,” says marine ecologist Kirsten Lindquist about the blue whale

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Bob Berner, Protecting Marin Farms for 28 Years

November 13, 2012 by Aleta George

Bob Berner, the founding director of the Marin Agricultural Land Trust, is retiring at the end of 2012, but not before protecting fully half of West Marin’s farmland.

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In unpoliced oceans, marine mammal shootings go unsolved

November 13, 2012 by Courtney Quirin

The Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito has treated six gunshot victims so far this year, including Whirlybird, a sea lion. Which raises the disturbing question. Who is shooting marine mammals and why?

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Rising seas reclaiming San Francisco’s waterfront

November 12, 2012 by Claire Schoen

Climate disruption is causing higher tides and storm surges. The result: more and more flooding for cities like San Francisco.

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Deciding the Fate of Searsville Dam

November 07, 2012 by Aleta George

San Franciscans voted in a landslide against an effort to study the removal of Hetch Hetchy. A few dozen miles south, at Stanford, another campaign aims to remove the much smaller Searsville Dam, which blocks steelhead spawning while also creating wetland habitat.

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Keeping the peace with urban coyotes

November 07, 2012 by Courtney Quirin

When a pet goes missing, urban coyotes can quickly develop a bad rap. But many wildlife experts say it’s not the coyotes who need better management — it’s us.

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Hetch Hetchy measure questions SF’s water system

November 01, 2012 by Heather Mack

On the eve of the 100-year anniversary, the decision to drain Hetch Hetchy Valley to build a reservoir for San Francisco is still actively debated, even as the city’s dependence on the Sierra water has deepened.

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Signs of the Season: Pumpkin spiders on the move

October 31, 2012 by Alison Hawkes

It’s Halloween, and you’ve probably noticed spiders everywhere. And not just the ones in costume. Perhaps the most seasonal of Bay Area spiders is the “pumpkin spider,” which gets it name from its bulbous, rust-colored thorax.

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Will park groups accept the state’s apology?

October 30, 2012 by Joan Hamilton

The California parks department is figuring out how to disperse $10 million to groups that kept their local state parks from closing this year. But some parks fans wonder how they’ll get out from the shadow of a parks department in scandal.

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