Exploring Nature in the San Francisco Bay Area
Since our story went to press, there’s been some good news for the Southern Sea Otter: census numbers for the California population soared by 17 percent since last year. More than 2,500 otters were counted off our coast this spring, the highest number recorded since current census methods were implemented in 1983. While the dramatic…
There are quite a few reservoirs and artificial lakes in and around the Bay Area that are open to the public for a variety of recreational acitivities. Following is a listing of many of these which, while not necessarily comprehensive, gives you a range of places to get wet this summer and beyond. East Bay…
In mid-November, a federal judge gave the U.S. Navy permission to test its Low-Frequency Array (LFA) sonar in the western Pacific Ocean. The system transmits sounds up to 215 decibels, approximately equivalent to the noise of an F-15 fighter jet during takeoff. Environmental groups have sought to stop the Navy, fearing that whales in the…
To See the Stars Well do I know that I am mortal and a creature of one day;but when my mind follows the massed wheeling circles of the stars,my feet no longer touch the earth…—Ptolemy, epigram to the Almagest Observatories & Planetaria Visiting the Chabot Space and Science Center (510-336-7300; located on Skyline Boulevard in…
The new Eastshore State Park comprises one of the largest undeveloped public landholdings fronting San Francisco Bay, stretching from the Bay Bridge in Oakland to Marina Bay in Richmond. The 8.5-mile-long, 260-acre park is the result of more than four decades of lobbying, negotiations, and ballot initiatives by local environmental activists. In 2000, the Department…
To learn more about ravens, you might first dive into a field guide—Audubon, Golden, Peterson, Sibley, among others. In addition to a clear, concise description of your bird in question, most field guides will point to distinguishing features (in the raven’s case, its large size, Roman-nosed beak, diamond-shaped tail, and gliding in flight, etc); range…
Independent, nonprofit environmental journalism connecting people with nature in the San Francisco Bay Area.
