The San Francisco Bay is our region’s dominant geographic feature.
It's small, it's restless, and it changes sex halfway through its life. Plus, the humble bay shrimp occupies a crucial niche in the complex food web of San Francisco Bay. It once played a significant role in the economy and culture of the local Chinese community. Today, both the shrimp and those who fish for it are still hanging on, but it hasn't been easy.
If you want to learn more about the Bay and “visit” some of the sites that are generally inaccessible to the public, the multi-media exhibition “Back to the Bay: An Exploration of the Marginal Zones of the San Francisco Bay” … Read more
1854: U.S. coast survey map by Josh Collins.; 1897: U.S. coast survey map courtesy CA State Lands Commission; 1996: NASA infrared photo. www.stillhere.org
A new resource is available for anyone interested in learning more about the fish and wildlife that live in and around San Francisco Bay. Baylands Ecosystem Species and Community Profiles was released in January by the San Francisco Bay Area … Read more
One measure of the ecological richness of the Bay is its role as a major nursery for five resident species of sharks.
On the edge of the tidal marsh fringing Suisun Slough, a streaky dark-brown sparrow gleans seeds of tules and other rushes from the exposed mud. A shadow passes: a northern harrier, cruising for mice. The sparrow vanishes into a tangle … Read more
San Francisco Bay presented a thrilling—yet possibly lethal—mystery to a young Spanish captain as he sailed up to probe the entry to the Golden Gate for the first time on the morning of August 5, 1775. Juan Manuel de Ayala … Read more
The air over Cullinan Ranch is cool and moist. Only the faintest gray line marks the location, south across San Pablo Bay, of the East Bay hills. The wetlands here, just north of Route 37, bear imprints of human use. … Read more
Independent, nonprofit environmental journalism connecting people with nature in the San Francisco Bay Area.
