Apr-Jun 2007
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A Working Pond for a Working Ranch
April 01, 2007 by Aleta George
Walnut grower Craig McNamara often gets asked about his father, Robert McNamara, former U.S. secretary of defense (1961—68) and World …
Issue Content
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April Fooling!
April 01, 2007 by Alan Kaplan
Would you believe a twig is watching you? That some leaves can walk? And that if you brush against a …
Farallon Island Fur Seals
April 01, 2007 by Aleta George
Two hundred years ago, the captain of a 280-ton whaling vessel reported seeing a bounty of fur seals on the …
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Forrest Deaner Native Plant Garden
April 01, 2007 by Aleta George
The newly fledged Forrest Deaner Native Plant Garden in the Benicia State Recreation Area has the distinction of being the …
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Heron and Egret Atlas for the Bay Area
April 01, 2007 by Aleta George
No matter where you live in the Bay Area, you’ve likely noticed the sinewy, graceful forms of great blue herons …
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Native Plant Garden Tours
April 01, 2007 by Aleta George
It’s no longer a secret to readers of this magazine that native plant gardens can look as beautiful as those …
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Russian River Coho Salmon Captive Broodstock Program
April 01, 2007 by Aleta George
From November to February this past winter, biologists scoured lower Russian River tributaries in search of spawning coho salmon. The …
Is it OK to catch crawdads?
April 01, 2007 by Michael Ellis
Q: A group of families goes out every year, catching up to 300 crawdads for a big feast, releasing those …
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Islands in a Sea of Grass
April 01, 2007 by Kathleen M. Wong
The East Bay hills are dotted with hundreds of ponds, many of which offer welcome habitat and shelter to native wildlife, from threatened California red-legged frogs and tiger salamanders to toxic newts, voracious water bugs, and migrating waterfowl. Just about any pond, from a verdant clear blue pool to the merest muddy puddle, has something interesting going on beneath the surface. But perhaps the most remarkable fact about these ponds is that nearly all of them were created as watering holes for livestock. Today, the East Bay Regional Park District is working to understand the complex relationships between native species, grazing cattle, and artificial ponds.
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Letter from the Publisher
April 01, 2007 by David Loeb
About 15 years ago, I took a solo backpack trip in the Carson-Iceberg Wilderness near Ebbets Pass in the Sierra. …
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Ring Mountain Rocks!
April 01, 2007 by Horst Rademacher
Perched 600 feet above San Francisco Bay, Ring Mountain has spectacular views of the surrounding ridgelines, Bay, and urban areas. But you can also find much deeper views into the earth preserved in the remarkable rocks strewn about this wild and open landscape.
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The Simple Life of a Sailor
April 01, 2007 by Michael Stocker
Usually around late April, following spring storms, Northern California beaches are littered with something that looks like gobs of purple-tinted slimy cellophane.
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Tracking Richmond’s Bay Trail
April 01, 2007 by Dale Mead
On an overcast day this winter, seven of us met for a bike ride through Richmond on the Bay Trail. …
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Whispers in the Water
April 01, 2007 by Geoffrey Coffey
By a quiet picnic area in the Presidio, water gurgles out of the hillside, spills over brick walls, and disappears underground on its way north to Crissy Field and the Bay. This is El Polin Springs, celebrated by the Ohlone and the Spanish for bringing fertility to anyone who drank of it. Ambitious plans to uncover the watershed’s stream channels are peeling back interwoven layers of human and natural history to reveal a complete urban watershed.
