Author: Kenneth Rangel

In California, winter rains bring spring flowers. Our state boasts one of the largest numbers of endemic plant species in the world: of the over 3500 species of plants found in our region, over 60% of them are found here and here alone, leading to spectacular “super-blooms” of native wildflowers in the spring when conditions are right (like the massive super-blooms in the California that occurred in 2017 after the abnormally wet 2016-2017 rainy season). But, it’s official: this past winter was one of the driest on record, with most of the Bay Area in a moderate to severe drought as …

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Despite it feeling like time has stopped during these pandemic times, the world still turns, the seasons change, and invasive plants continue to threaten the health and wellbeing of our bayland ecosystems. After all, invasive species don’t need to follow shelter in place restrictions! Invasive species are plants, animals, or other organisms that have evolved in one area of the planet and were transported beyond their native range, either on purpose or by accident. However, not all non-native species are inherently bad; most have a limited potential to spread outside of cultivated areas or are unsuitable to grow in our …

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San Francisco Bay is a bountiful haven for wildlife. Walking along the bayshore can reveal coverts of coots paddling along lagoons and shallow bays, perhaps joined by a raft or paddling of different duck species. Walk along any of San Francisco Bay’s many marshes, and you could find herds of curlews and flings of dunlin probing through mudflats at low tide in search of a consortium of crabs. You may stumble upon a sedge of bitterns or herons slinking through the rushes, tules (and yes, sedges) of the Bay’s wetlands in search of a hood of snails to eat. You …

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The 2017 State of the San Francisco Estuary Conference, held recently in Oakland, gave scientists, land managers, policy makers, community leaders, as well as writers and artists from across the Bay-Delta region an opportunity to connect with one another, and to build connections between their various fields. Throughout the conference, attendees were welcomed to “get out of their silos,” and explore the interrelatedness of their fields. The conference also provided a venue to look back at the past 20 years of tidal marsh restoration; to celebrate successes, evaluate where we fell short, and anticipate future challenges and opportunities for restoring …

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