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The Napa Valley, and a History of Water and Wine

January 1, 2007 •  by

The Napa Valley was once a place of enormous natural bounty, fed by a vibrant, healthy river teeming with salmon and steelhead. Today, the valley is more famous for its managed bounty of grapes and fine wine. The river, hemmed in by vineyards, has too often been relegated to the status of a waste canal. But now a unique alliance of growers and scientists has come together to give the Napa’s upper reach a chance to regain some of its wildness.

What were those fins off Ocean Beach?

January 1, 2007 •  by

Q: Off San Francisco’s Ocean Beach, I saw dorsal fins beyond the surfers. After 20 minutes, I saw two bearers of fins breaching the water. What were they? [Claire, San Bruno] A: Congratulations on being very observant. The animals you … Read more

Looking Ahead on the Napa River

January 1, 2007 •  by

In our January-March 2007 feature, “Valley of Water and Wine,” we highlight the innovative work of landowners along the Napa River who are initiating restoration projects on the upper reaches of the river. The Rutherford Dust Society, a group of … Read more

Rare and Endangered Mosses

January 1, 2007 •  by

January-March 2007 WEB EXTRA: Rare and Endangered Mosses Many of us go through life barely noticing mosses and their cousins, liverworts and hornworts. It’s easy to miss bryophytes—the collective name for mosses, liverworts, and hornworts—painted on a tree trunk, growing … Read more

Tafoni Around the Bay

January 1, 2007 •  by

The tafoni weathering formation featured at El Corte de Madera Creek Preserve is a particularly accessible example of an uncommon phenomenon, but there are several other places to see tafoni in the Bay Area. At Castle Rock State Park west … Read more

sand dollars

The West Coast’s Living Sand Dollars

January 1, 2007 •  by

There’s a lot more to the western sand dollar (Dendraster excentricus) than meets the eye. Most people who spend any time at the beach are familiar with the sand dollar’s skeleton, or test—the rigid, white flattened disk that commonly washes … Read more

Visiting the Regional Parks Botanic Garden

January 1, 2007 •  by

The Regional Parks Botanic Garden, in Tilden Regional Park, is a 10-acre landscape of plants native to California. The garden includes ten sections corresponding to ten geographic regions of the state, all woven into a beautiful naturalistic landscape of trees, … Read more

Birding Blind

October 1, 2006 •  by

When I was growing up in Tiburon, my grandparents lived only a couple miles away and were a big part of my childhood. It was my grandfather who ignited my interest in nature, and in particular birds, by giving me … Read more