When the fog rolls in at Twin Peaks on a summer evening, the city recedes, and it gets a bit easier to imagine a 10-mile path connecting natural open space from Crissy Field through Twin Peaks and Glen Canyon down to Candlestick Point. That image occupies Claire Beyer’s mind, and it’s the ultimate goal of her project, known as the Twin Peaks Bioregional Parks Project.
Bay Nature Local Heroes | Environmental Justice | Farming and Ranching | Health | Parks | Policy | Pollution | Stewardship
Charting Future for Santa Clara County Parks
For the first time since 1993, the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors has asked the county parks department to review criteria for land acquisition, and they’re looking for input from the public on what kinds of parklands they buy, and where.
Volunteers to Descend on Las Trampas
On July 24 and 25, you could be one of about 150 people who will join Cathy Moyer’s Volunteers for Outdoor California to work at Las Trampas Regional Wilderness on the Sycamore Trail, right on the ridgeline, with incredible views of both Mount Diablo and San Francisco.
Best of Times, Worst of Times for Contra Costa Preservation
The new Habitat Conservation Plan in East Contra Costa County has been short on money, but land prices almost couldn’t be better.
Jack Laws on Loving Nature
Naturalist and artist Jack Laws throws his whole body and soul into inspiring people to love, and understand, the natural world around them. His field guides are amazing, but have you seen his impersonation of a jumping spider? Not to be missed…
People Join Hands Across the Sand, Protesting Offshore Oil
As the oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico entered its third month last week, people across the country turned out on beaches and shorelines to protest offshore oil drilling. In 33 countries and all 50 states, including dozens of sites in the Bay Area, the Hands Across the Sand event drew hundreds of people to join hands on Saturday, June 26, in a symbolic line at several spots in San Francisco and all over the Bay Area.
Visualizing Futures for Redwood City Salt Ponds
We recently came across a compelling short video that uses Google Earth and historical photos to make the case against Cargill’s large proposed development in Redwood City. Watch the video — and then learn who made it, and why…
Grand Plans for Gateway Park
On June 2, about 80 people gathered in downtown Oakland to hear, and discuss, the plan for a major new shoreline park at the eastern foot of the Bay Bridge. If you’re having trouble picturing what sort of park one might have there, you’re not alone. At present, it’s essentially a no-man’s-land, but regional officials say it could be a world-class shoreline destination. With a lot of work and public input, of course…
Deciding Point Molate’s Future
On May 18, the Richmond City Council voted to extend for 10 months an agreement with a developer proposing a casino at Point Molate, a former Navy fuel depot near the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge. Local activists and architects are working on their own alternative vision for the space.
The Once and Future Delta
About the only thing people agree on about the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta–the subject of countless white papers, editorials, and political debates–is that it’s in a heap of trouble. But this 1,000-square-mile patchwork of islands, sloughs, wetlands, and farmlands is also a rich and complex–if highly altered–ecosystem at the core of the San Francisco Estuary. Here we take a look behind today’s news to understand what the Delta once was, how it has been changed, and what it might become . . . with a lot of help from its friends.