State budget problems mean that local land trusts are holding onto land they planned to hand over to the state, and facing tough times in the absence of bond funding.
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Land Trusts Face Bondless Future
October 1, 2009 •
Aleta George
Writer Aleta George trained as a Jepson Prairie docent in 2009. In addition to writing Bay Nature's Ear to the Ground column, she has written for Smithsonian, High Country News, and the Los Angeles Times.
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Local Artists Paint for Diablo
October 1, 2009 •
The BayWood artists’ October 2009 show will feature new works of Mount Diablo, and proceeds benefit Save Mount Diablo, which is working to raise funds for a critical new purchase by March 3, 2010.
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No Normal for Coastal Waters
October 1, 2009 •
Nesting failures for cormorants on the Farallones and Alcatraz are just the most obvious expression of unprecedented, and confusing, conditions faced by wildlife in the waters off our shores.
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Counting Gulls, with Protective Gear
July 1, 2009 •
Clad in bike helmets and ratty clothes, staff and volunteers with the San Francisco Bird Observatory brave the South Bay’s raucous seagull nesting colonies, where the explosion of breeding gulls threatens to push aside less aggressive species.
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Exotic Jellies in the Bay
July 1, 2009 •
On a hot July afternoon last year, UC Davis graduate students Alpa Wintzer and Mariah Meek dipped glass jars and nets into Suisun Slough at Suisun City’s public dock in Solano County. They were capturing small gelatinous creatures that look and act like jellyfish. These jelly look-alikes seemed to be everywhere and are beautiful to watch. But they’re also a problem…
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Remembering Brian O’Neill
July 1, 2009 •
In May 2009, the Bay Area–and the nation–lost one of its most eloquent and effective advocates for open space preservation and access. Brian O’Neill, superintendent of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA) since 1986, died of complications from heart surgery…
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Seeking Creeks, Confronting Sea Level Rise
July 1, 2009 •
Kids take the Creek Seeker Express to Martinez to learn about the creeks that run through our neighborhoods, while a new juried exhibit shows off designers’ ideas for confronting sea level rise.
Development and Open Space at Concord Naval Station
April 1, 2009 •
After several years of planning, many hours of meetings, and spirited community involvement, the Concord City Council voted on January 12 in favor of a reuse plan for the 5,100-acre Concord Naval Weapons Station, the former base bordering Pittsburg and … Read more
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Protecting Plovers
April 1, 2009 •
On a gray September day, I walked north on Ocean Beach from Sloat Boulevard to the Cliff House. It was far from an idyllic walk on that black-sand beach. I saw several dead seagulls, one being eaten by a crow. … Read more
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Sudden Oak Death Blitz
April 1, 2009 •
The deadly plant disease known as sudden oak death (SOD) has spread to 14 coastal counties, and according to UC Berkeley’s Forest Pathology and Mycology Lab, the continuing epidemic threatens the survival of tanoaks, an ecologically important native tree, as … Read more