Life in a Burn Scar
Five years after the Dixie Fire, a writer takes stock of her community and the forest around it.
Mapping All the Trees in California
Astonishingly detailed new LiDAR maps are meant to help us prepare for wildfires.
Fall 2026 Almanac: Phase Change
Life in fall shifts, as wildlife moves and rains arrive.
Ohlone Fire Returns to the East Bay Hills
The founders of Cafe Ohlone are reviving Indigenous stewardship on ancestral lands.
Bay Nature Events
LATEST STORIES
The Light and Dark of Bioluminescence in the San Francisco Bay Area
Paddling amid the sparkling blue glow of dinoflagellates
Smoke Aside, the Angel Island Fire Was a Win for the Island’s Wild Landscapes
The island needs fire. It’s also a nearly impossible place to burn safely.
EPA Touts $82M for SF Bay Water Grants, While Trump Administration Proposes Scuttling the Program
But Congress funds the program directly, so Congress will have the final say.
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The Endangered Endangered Species Act
How five proposed Trump Administration changes threaten protections for struggling species in the San Francisco Bay Area.
COMMUNITY VOICES
Articles written by our readers from the San Francisco Bay nature community.
In Memory of Jake Sigg, a California Conservationist
Jake Sigg, one of California’s best-known advocates for protecting native biodiversity, died on June 10, one week after his 99th birthday.
IN SEASON IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
Where to Watch Birds Migrate in the North Bay This Fall
Longtime birder David Wimpfheimer has intel for us.
Where There’s Good Fire, There’s Good Smoke
To prevent megafires, we need more fire. But that also means learning more about smoke.
Naturalist’s Notebook: How Pelicans and Humpbacks Stretch For Their Food
Pelicans don’t, as you may have heard, stick their spines out of their mouths. They do, however, do some pretty crazy yawn-stretching. From John Muir Laws.
Staff picks
Dorothea Lange, Water Prophet
New performances of Last West: Roadsongs for Dorothea Lange in fall of 2026.
Why Do Ants Enter My House When It’s Warm or Raining?
Why do ants do what they do, and what makes them leave? Naturalist Michael Ellis explains.
A Better Way to Forage Matsutake Mushrooms
“Xayviish has far more personality than any grocery-store mushroom,” writes Sara Calvosa Olson, a Karuk tribal member. “It’s a meaty but delicate time machine, whisking your spirit back to your gathering place.”
An Enduring Oak Mystery: Synchronized Acorn Booms
How do the trees synchronize their reproductive efforts? Oaks, the dominant tree genus throughout much of low- and mid-elevation, temperate California, are full of mysteries.
