The San Francisco Bay Area is bejeweled with hundreds of parks and open space preserves as well as a rich set of laws and policies meant to ensure the survival of vulnerable species and ecosystems. Real people made this happen through a dedicated call to stewardship.

Concord Naval Weapons Station Redevelopment

April 1, 2008 •  by

Driving east on Highway 4 toward Pittsburg, I notice the man-made dirt bunkers on the right that look like giant ground squirrel burrows. The bunkers and surrounding grasslands are part of the 5,100-acre upland portion of the Concord Naval Weapons … Read more

Proposed State Park Closures

April 1, 2008 •  by

In 1953, Sada Coe gave her family ranch to the public, with the stipulation that it become parkland and that it be named after her father, Henry W. Coe. Several years later, she reiterated her passion for sharing the land … Read more

River of Words, 2008

January 1, 2008 •  by

When teacher Linda Cover walks into a classroom, she steps onto fertile soil, knowing that her students have a cumulative knowledge of their watershed. As a Spectra Arts teacher with the Cultural Council of Santa Cruz, she works with kids … Read more

Sudden Oak Death Still With Us

January 1, 2008 •  by

A mountain biker flew down Patrick Ridge in Marin County’s China Camp State Park. He was focusing on the rocky fire trail and an upcoming sharp left turn, so it’s unlikely he noticed the dying trees that line the trail. … Read more

Mary Bowerman Memorial

October 1, 2007 •  by

In 1930, UC Berkeley botany student Mary Bowerman accepted a professor’s assignment to identify all the flowers on Mount Diablo. “Little did I know 65 years ago that my senior project would become my life’s work,” explained Bowerman, who died … Read more

After the Storm

October 1, 2007 •  by

From the early 1980s until his death in 1992, Bob Walker took photos that captured the beauty of the East Bay’s wildlands, and his advocacy marshaled public support for protecting those landscapes, leading to the purchase of more than 30,000 acres for public open space. In fall 2007, a new book of Walker’s work gave us the opportunity to revisit the luminous landscape photography of this local conservation hero.

Diving into Our Ocean Sanctuaries

October 1, 2007 •  by

While living for a while on the Monterey Peninsula, I found myself drawn time and again from the cafes and shops of Pacific Grove down to the waters of Monterey Bay. Sometimes I would just sit on a bench and look for sea otters resting and feeding their pups in the undulating kelp beds. My time in Monterey was a small but privileged window into the wonderful diversity that makes the central coast of California one of the richest marine ecosystems in the world…

Making Waves for a Healthy Ocean

October 1, 2007 •  by

When I stand on San Francisco’s Ocean Beach and look west, it’s difficult for me to comprehend that we humans can have any impact of consequence on a body of water that is so vast, let alone impacts that are … Read more