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.
In 2001, bulldozers excavated two immense old army water tanks that long sat at the edge of Mountain Lake, a two-and-a-half-acre lake in San Francisco’s Presidio that’s one of only three natural lakes in the city. That same year, native … Read more
With our strong state Coastal Commission, major public support for ocean protection, and thousands of square miles protected in marine reserves, California’s bountiful coastal waters might seem amply protected from major industrial uses like offshore oil drilling. But a bill … Read more
Some folks love their scent and shade; others resent them for crowding out natives; most of us know they came from Australia and found a niche here. But few know that the East Bay’s eucalypts owe their presence to one entrepreneur who thought the trees would make him rich. They didn’t, but now, love them or hate them, the trees are here to stay. Fortunately, some animals have profited from Mr. Havens’s mistake.
On San Francisco's southeastern waterfront, Heron's Head Park hosts nesting avocets, nature education programs, and the seeds of a revitalized city Bay shore.
It doesn’t take much to enjoy a well-built trail, but it takes a lot of elbow grease to actually build one. From the logistical nightmares of avoiding washouts, poison oak, and sensitive resources to the deceptively simple question of where … Read more
The North Bay is having a bit of an environmental building boom. PRBO Conservation Science, the noted research organization based in West Marin for over 30 years, will open a new facility next to Shollenberger Park, a popular birding spot … Read more
After flying flags at half-mast for 22 days throughout the East Bay Regional Park District (EBRPD), the district’s board members joined fellow board member Jean Siri’s family and nearly 350 other people to celebrate the life of the longtime activist, … Read more
The Bay Area has a rich history of women speaking out to protect lands we know and love. At the turn of the last century, when a forest fire broke out in the Santa Cruz Mountains, writer Josephine Clifford McCrackin … Read more
At a January 2006 meeting, the East Bay Regional Park District (EBRPD) Board of Directors approved the Land Use Plan Amendment for Robert Sibley Volcanic Regional Preserve after first removing the plan’s controversial campground provision. The board received volumes of … Read more
From a modern house on a knoll in the Nicasio Valley, Randy Lafranchi, fifth-generation Marin County dairyman and second-generation easement partner, surveys his family’s domain. Most of its 1,200 acres, from ridgetop to county road to water district reservoir, lie … Read more
Independent, nonprofit environmental journalism connecting people with nature in the San Francisco Bay Area.
