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.
Like San Mateo County, Sonoma County has both a private nonprofit land trust and a government body working to protect the landscape, though here the trust came first. The Sonoma Land Trust set up shop in 1976 and acquired some … Read more
For many Bay Area commuters, the San Francisco Bay is unfortunately more an obstacle to be crossed during rush hour than the signature natural feature of our region. But a variety of shoreline parks and visitor centers offer us an … Read more
Eastshore State Park, an 8.5-mile-long ribbon of East Bay shoreline between the Bay Bridge and Richmond’s Marina Bay, is proof that many good things don’t come easily. The park is the result of 20 years of advocacy, negotiation, and planning … Read more
The 1,220-acre Martin Luther King Jr. Regional Shoreline Park, near the Oakland Airport, includes 72 acres of restored wetlands and the distinctively shaped Arrowhead Marsh, which reaches out into the waters of San Leandro Bay. These wetlands, in the midst … Read more
From June 1 to June 5, San Francisco will host World Environment Day 2005, the first time this 33-year-old international event has been celebrated in North America. WED was established by the United Nations in 1972 to stimulate public action … Read more
As Tolay Creek pools and spills on its journey to San Pablo Bay, it passes several recent acquisitions by the Sonoma Land Trust (SLT), an organization that is piecing together a wide swath of land stretching across the shoreline of … Read more
Nestled in a hidden valley southeast of Petaluma lies Tolay Lake Ranch and an “untold story of California history,” says Philip Sales of Sonoma County Regional Parks. The parks department has teamed up with the Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and … Read more
Urban creek restoration involves more than removing nonnative plants and substituting local ones. Add to that: volunteer management skills and detailed knowledge of bird, amphibian, fish, and mammal habitats; flood plain control; water quality; government ordinances; and the right size … Read more
Long, long ago, in a time before time, the place where we now live was a deep sea. Beneath the waters, however, the earth stirred. A coast range was lifted up. Rains fell upon the bare slopes. Rivers and streams … Read more
General Information Sources and Websites Bio-Integral Resource Center www.birc.org (510)524-2567 Extensive information resources for least-toxic pest management. California Integrated Waste Management Board www.ciwmb.ca.gov/organics/gardening Information and resources for organic materials management and home gardening, including grasscycling, home composting, and worm composting. … Read more
Independent, nonprofit environmental journalism connecting people with nature in the San Francisco Bay Area.
