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.

Daylighting Codornices Creek

October 1, 2004 •  by

After six years of research and intense negotiations, the Berkeley-based Waterways Restoration Institute (WRI) and Urban Creeks Council (UCC) reached an agreement with local property owners and other stakeholders to break ground on a project that will daylight a 3,000-foot … Read more

Proposed Development of Gateway Valley

October 1, 2004 •  by

After a series of controversies spanning 16 years, environmentalists and developers have reached a deal to preserve the only north-south land bridge over Highway 24 — Gateway Valley, a critical wildlife corridor and link in a 20-mile swath of open … Read more

Natural World Museum Exhibit: Anima Mundi

October 1, 2004 •  by

In its debut exhibit, the San Francisco-based nonprofit Natural World Museum (www.naturalworldmuseum.org) presents an exploration of ancient and contemporary environmental art. Called Anima Mundi, Latin for “Soul of the World,” the multimedia exhibition show-cases modern works by renowned wild-life painter … Read more

A Tall Order

October 1, 2004 •  by

There are many factors to consider—from endangered species and sediment deficits to flood control and budget deficits—when you restore 16,500 acres of salt ponds.

Bay Activist: Florence LaRiviere

October 1, 2004 •  by

When Florence LaRiviere heard last year that 16,000 acres of Cargill’s salt ponds had been acquired for restoration, the longtime Bay advocate rejoiced. “This work will start changing the land and the waters back to what they looked like a … Read more

Invitation to a Restoration

October 1, 2004 •  by

Planners designing a strategy for one of the biggest wetlands recovery projects ever undertaken in this country—the South Bay salt pond restoration—want to hear what folks like you and your neighbors have to say about it. You may have ideas … Read more

Refuge Volunteer: Eileen McLaughlin

October 1, 2004 •  by

The baylands’ swampy smells and power lines are distasteful to many. But to Eileen McLaughlin, Don Edwards National Wildlife Refuge was unknown territory to be explored. This energetic woman started volunteering at the refuge in 1998, going out to closed … Read more

Scientist: Howard Shellhammer

October 1, 2004 •  by

Howard Shellhammer is known as the champion of a very rare mouse. A world expert on the endangered salt marsh harvest mouse, the former San Jose State biology professor has studied these diminutive rodents for over four decades, and spoken … Read more

Darn ‘Skeeters, the Unwelcome Summer Guests

July 1, 2004 •  by

A little standing water is all it takes for mosquitoes to get going, so it’s no wonder they’ve been making evolutionary hay for over 30 million years—and acting as efficient disease transporters along the way, even here in the temperate Bay Area.