Exploring Nature in the San Francisco Bay Area

  • Bay Area Butterfly Resources

    Bay Area Butterfly Resources

    The Bay Area is home to almost 150 species of butterflies, skippers, and moths—and to quite a few butterfly lovers as well. If you number yourself among that group, spring is high season. Here’s a sampling of local butterfly events: The Bay Area is home to the largest concentration of butterfly counts in the country,…

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  • Bullet Trains in the Back Country?

    Bullet Trains in the Back Country?

    Late last year, the California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) withdrew its controversial proposed Central Valley-Bay Area routes that would have girdled Henry Coe State Park and the adjacent Orestimba Wilderness. But while the heart of the park has been spared, John Woodbury of the Bay Area Open Space Council cautions that the two northerly Diablo…

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  • Redwood Outings

    Redwood Outings

    Redwood Regional Park, Alameda County – French Trail: From the Canyon Meadow Staging Area, set a course north along the Stream Trail toward the Skyline Gate. Verdant grassy meadows and shadowy redwood groves trade off as you make your way parallel to Redwood Creek, where rainbow trout frequent the waters. From Skyline Gate, the West…

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  • Redwood Resources

    Redwood Resources

    Here are several local organizations that have recently taken steps to preserve redwood forests in the Bay region and beyond. Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST) Together with the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District, in 1999 POST acquired 1,065 acres known as the Bear Creek Redwoods, located south of San Jose in Santa Clara County. (650)854-7696…

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  • Purple Needlegrass Takes Root in the Capitol

    Purple Needlegrass Takes Root in the Capitol

    David Amme, author of “Grassland Heritage” in Bay Nature’s April-June 2004 issue, called purple needlegrass “the undisputed candidate for official state grass.” Now that may soon become literally as well as figuratively true: State Sen. Michael Machado, D-Linden, is sponsoring legislation to make purple needlegrass California’s official state grass. The long-lived, drought-tolerant purple needlegrass, or…

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  • Megafauna Resources

    Megafauna Resources

    To learn more about ancient megafauna and efforts to protect and restore the Bay Area’s megafauna: Megafauna Video Check out our feature article on the Bay Area’s prehistoric megafauna, and then watch KQED’s video on megafauna, part of their Quest program. Tule Elk Restoration Point Reyes National Seashore Association Point Reyes Station, CA 94956 (415)…

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