How much is nature worth—specifically?
In this issue, we look at the multibillion-dollar business that has quietly grown up around that question. We cover the growing pains of a Bay Area tech startup that is both a way of life and a global biodiversity database: iNaturalist. We attend a community funeral for a tree. We envelop ourselves in the science of No-Sky July—or is it Fogust? Plus: summer’s subtle soundtrack, the geology under climbers, what and where AI costs us, and ancient pelicans. And, unable to resist, we look into many, many holes.
Editor’s Letter: Acre by Acre
Consider any single acre of land in the Bay Area today and all the lives it may have lived.
THE BUSINESS OF CONSERVATION
Price-Tagging Nature
Inside mitigation banking, a multibillion-dollar industry where restoring and preserving rare habitat and species makes big money.
The Camphor Tree
A big life, lived well, spreading wide, can mean so much.
The Many Faces of iNaturalist
Once a Berkeley student project, iNaturalist is a social network—and a scientific database. Now, the public departure of its cofounder highlights the challenge of balancing the two.
EXPLORE
The Subtle Sounds of Summer
After springtime’s racket, the warmer months come with a quieter soundtrack.
Climbing the Bay Area’s Geologic Past
Millions of years of slowly moving tectonic plates created a playground for rock climbers.
What’s In That Hole?
Peering into the entrances to the underworld.
DEPARTMENTS
RECENT MAGAZINES
Explore the full archive: a quarter century of Bay Nature.
