It’s the 50th anniversary of the federal Wilderness Act, and a time for reflecting on the meaning of wild and nature. Bay Nature’s July-September 2014 issue explores the wilderness areas in our region, places that prove you don’t have to be far from the city to find land “where man himself is a visitor who does not remain.” We also turn to natural areas still in the making, like the Hamilton Wetlands restoration project, where a levee breach this spring will allow the Bay to slowly reclaim its former territory. On the 25th anniversary of the Bay Trail, 2.7 miles of new trail has just opened at Hamilton, a “yellow brick road” around the edge of the marsh where hikers and bikers can watch a wetland reborn. The July-September issue also features stories from a generation of retiring East Bay Regional Park District workers that came into the parks in the 1970s suffused with the spirit of the environmental, equal rights, and anti-war movements, leaving behind the largest regional park district in the nation. We uncover the majesty of sparkling bioluminescence; the fun and science behind a wild nature-counting weekend in the Golden Gate National Parks; and an attempt to really understand the effects of climate change at the local level.
