Peninsula Open Space Trust Acquires Rancho Canada Del Oro
Hikers and equestrians can find a new swath of accessible open space in the bucolic eastern foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains. The 2,428-acre Rancho Cañada del Oro was the...
Post Type Archives: Articles
Quail Ridge Wilderness Conservancy
Purple needlegrass may soon gain recognition as one of California’s official state symbols, like the golden poppy, our state flower since 1903. For native grass advocates, “the hope is that...
Fruits of the Forest
The classic image of a redwood forest is one of stately tall trees, dense shade, and lots of green. The columnar trunks of the giant trees draw our gaze up...
In the Shadow of Giants
The hills above Oakland once held some of the largest redwoods ever seen, one estimated at 31 feet in diameter. Ten million years ago, such trees towered over much of...
Dredging up an Avian Oasis
What do you get when you scoop up 250,000 cubic yards of muck from the Petaluma River? Prime shorebird habitat, of course. Unlikely as it may seem, Shollenberger Park is...
Saving El Palo Alto
Imagine a landmark so prominent that anyone looking south from San Francisco or north from San Jose could spot it. Spanish missionary Padre Pedro Font wrote in his diary in...
Grazing for Change
When two hikers complained to state park rangers recently about an area severely trampled by grazing cows, they drew on a strong current of suspicion that many people feel toward...
Indian Paintbrush
It turns out that some of the Bay Area's showiest wildflowers are also parasites that draw water and nutrients from their neighbors.
Letter from the Publisher
Three summers ago, in late June, I took a hike at Purissima Redwoods on the Peninsula, a reserve managed by the Mid-peninsula Regional Open Space District (MROSD). While the redwoods...
Serpentine Splendor
Tucked into less than a square mile of land next to a freeway, the Peninsula's Edgewood Park is a showcase for stunning wildflower diversity, all the result of our region's...
