Climate change is dramatically altering the San Francisco Bay Area's ecosystems and raising profound questions among conservationists about how to help species best adapt to new conditions.

Water desalination plants on the horizon

August 24, 2012 •  by

Water desalination may seem too costly and too riddled with complications to go anywhere fast. But that doesn’t mean water managers are giving up hope. Faced with an uncertain future of diminishing water supplies, officials are floating plans for 17 … Read more

Lessons from the Mountain

July 1, 2012 •  by

The looming bulk of Mount Hamilton is a familiar sight to anyone driving Highway 101 through the Santa Clara Valley. At 4,196 feet, it’s the tallest peak visible from the shores of San Francisco Bay. This is the most expansive wild landscape in the Bay Area: roughly 700,000 acres of public parks, university and conservancy reserves, and private ranches. Now it’s also become a living laboratory for studying the affects of climate change.

Kids Tracking Climate, in Real Time

July 1, 2012 •  by

Maybe you take the bus to work or abandon the gas pedal on Bike to Work Day, but how do you know whether you and your neighbors are making a difference in your community?

A “digital naturalist” studies climate change

June 27, 2012 •  by

Mike Hamilton, director of the Blue Oak Ranch Reserve on Mount Hamilton, describes himself as a “digital naturalist.” He’s wired the reserve’s 3,260 acres with sensors, sent up drone helicopters, and even set up a “Robosquirrel” in an effort to find out how climate change is impacting the region’s ecosystem.

Conservation Action Award: Ellie Cohen

May 30, 2012 •  by

Ellie Cohen became president and CEO of what is now PRBO Conservation Science in 1999. Under her leadership, the organization has grown from the local Point Reyes Bird Observatory, founded in 1965, to a hemisphere-scale operation, conducting bird-focused applied ecosystem studies on land and at sea. PRBO uses its wealth of data and partnerships to assess and reduce the impacts of changes in climate and land use on ecosystem health.

Keeping Clapper Rails High and Dry

February 16, 2012 •  by

New artificial islands at Oakland’s Arrowhead Marsh provide some welcome refuge for endangered clapper rails. But can they be expanded into enough other habitats to keep the birds safe from rising sea levels?

Taking the Measure of Climate Change At Corte Madera Marsh

January 12, 2012 •  by

To launch our new series on climate change in the Bay Area, we follow a group of researchers as they scan the bottom, poke the mud, and gauge the tides at Marin’s Corte Madera Marsh, in the first comprehensive, interdisciplinary effort to understand how the Bay Area’s tidal wetlands will respond to rising sea levels.

Letter from the Publisher

January 1, 2012 •  by

As I write this on Thanksgiving weekend, I have many things to be grateful for. For example: On Thanksgiving morning, I watched a huge raft of cormorants take off from the surface of the Bay in front of Angel Island. But behind such moments and places of great beauty, several dark clouds are gathering.