Archive for May, 2009

Memorial Day in Point Reyes: Art and Nature

You Mon Tsang May 18th, 2009

art_mapStart the summer right by heading up to Point Reyes on Memorial Day weekend. Besides the usual outdoors fun, the Point Reyes Open Studios offers great works by local artists.  Check it out…

Photo: Foggy Point Reyes

You Mon Tsang May 15th, 2009

John Small was waiting for the fog to clear at Point Reyes; it did not.  But Point Reyes has its own special mood in the fog, captured well in one of his photos.

Fence at Foggy Point Reyes

Springtime means critters! Harbor seals, plovers, owls, herons and bats

You Mon Tsang May 6th, 2009

What’s happening in the park in early May 2009.

  • So far this year, one snowy plover nest is being monitored. Enclosures of string and metal fencing along the Great Beach are reminders of where they are attempting to nest, please avoid these areas, look for the annual closures signs especially from Kehoe Beach South to North Beach.
  • Springtime is also the beginning of annual bat monitoring – a healthy 212 Townsend Big eared bats in the first Olema Valley counts.
  • Spotted owl nest counts in older growth woods are also positive this year!
  • The usual sign of spring at Bear Valley – the gopher hunting great blue heron appeared last week.
  • This week is also peak harbor seal season – Bolinas Lagoon and the Estero Trail are good spots to observe from a safe distance. Or the newly repaired film at Bear Valley Visitor Center has some great images of onshore antics of these marine mammals.
  • New photography show at Bear Valley Visitor Center is nature images by Kevin Shea going up this week!

These are highlights from the National Park Service Park Wavelengths newsletter.

Photo courtesy of Ian:Brewer

Point Reyes Restoration (from Near Residential Development)

You Mon Tsang May 4th, 2009

What if Point Reyes was a fully developed with housing? Well, in the 1950s, things were heading that way. If you want to know how the area got saved, I recommend this book on the history of Point Reyes and the Bay Area parks.  Fortunately for us, the National Park service is continuing its mission of restoring the area to its natural state.

Projects at the Giacomini wetlands and Limantour include removing dams and levees, building bridges and restoring streams.

Take a look at this photo of Limantour in 1961. This was to be a housing development. Fill the land with tract homes and watch it spread across the peninsula. We have a lot of people to thank for saving this place.

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Photo from NPS Archive via Pacific Coast Science and Learning Center