Matthew Bettelheim is a freelance writer and a wildlife biologist with AECOM.
Tom Stienstra’s Bay Area Recreation, by Tom Stienstra, Foghorn Outdoors, 2004, 498 pages, $19.95 (www.foghorn.com). In introducing his newest guide-book, Tom Stienstra writes, “Like many people, at one time I believed there was no place left to go in … Read more
Redwood Regional Park, Alameda County – French Trail: From the Canyon Meadow Staging Area, set a course north along the Stream Trail toward the Skyline Gate. Verdant grassy meadows and shadowy redwood groves trade off as you make your way … Read more
Here are several local organizations that have recently taken steps to preserve redwood forests in the Bay region and beyond. Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST) Together with the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District, in 1999 POST acquired 1,065 acres known … Read more
To learn more about ancient megafauna and efforts to protect and restore the Bay Area’s megafauna: Megafauna Video Check out our feature article on the Bay Area’s prehistoric megafauna, and then watch KQED’s video on megafauna, part of their Quest … Read more
A good rain sends all manner of mushrooms pushing their way up from underground. Here are some of the places around the Bay Area where you can admire the beauty and diversity of these charismatic fungi.
6th Edition, by the California Coastal Commission, University of California Press, 2003, 304 pages, $22.50 (www.ucpress.edu). If you love to hike the coastline, visit tidepools or simply get your feet wet in the surf, make a place on your … Read more
Swimmers plunge into the Bay at Aquatic Park for the swim to Alcatraz and back. Photo by Charles Kennard. The best way to appreciate San Francisco Bay is to experience it firsthand. There’s nothing like getting some spray on your … Read more
Despite their recreational and functional value, most reservoirs come at a cost. To build a reservoir, we must drown a valley. In the Bay Area, that probably entails flooding valuable wildlife habitat, such as oak woodlands, vernal pools, and riparian … Read more
To familiarize yourself with all the Marin Headlands have to offer, start at the National Park Service’s Marin Headlands Visitor Center. There, browse their historical and natural history exhibits, tap into their educational resources on the Miwok Indians or the … Read more
Independent, nonprofit environmental journalism connecting people with nature in the San Francisco Bay Area.
