Marine sanctuary offers lectures and excursions on our rocky shores

Anthony Fisher/FMSA
Sea slug (hermissenda), taken at Fitzgerald Marine Reserve
Press release

By on Mon, April 26, 2010

The Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary and the Farallones Marine Sanctuary Association are holding paired lectures and excursions on the biology of the the local coast.

Lecture: Sneaky Sea Slugs! Three Tales of Tidepool Thievery

Learn about the astounding biology of a diversity of nudibranchs (sea slugs.) Discover how these colorful mollusks use their food to defend themselves from predators!

Dr. Rebecca Johnson, Academy Invertebrate Zoologist
 
Monday,  May 3,  8 Pm
Historic Train Depot,
Half Moon Bay
110 Higgins Canyon Rd.,
Half Moon Bay, CA
 
Wednesday,  May 5,  2:30 Pm
California Academy of Sciences,
San Francisco
55 Music Concourse Drive
San Francisco, CA
 

Field Excursion: Tidepool Exploration

Explore a fascinating world of interdependent life on and between the rocks. Learn about species with unique adaptations such as anemones, sea urchins, and chitons!

Dr. Rebecca Johnson, Academy Invertebrate Zoologist &
Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary Educators
 
Sunday,  May 16,  7 AM
Fitzgerald Marine Reserve, Moss Beach
 
Sunday,  May 30,  7:30 AM
Duxbury Reef, Bolinas
 
Directions will be provided after registration. Must be at least 6 years old and accompanied by an adult. Suggested donation of $5 per person per program.

These programs sometimes sell out quickly. Reservations are required. Contact Christy Walker: [email protected] or (650) 712-8948 to register for all but California Academy of Sciences lecture. California Academy of Sciences lecture is free with admission. Seating is limited. Reserve a space online or call 800-794-7576.

 

Video: Rally to save the Vallemar palms

Pacificans rallied on Palm Sunday, March 28, to save giant palm trees from PG&E. Kids 4 Change raised $1,700, at the rally with a bakesale, and with a book sale two weeks later.

By on Mon, April 26, 2010

Avoid disturbing seabirds during breeding season

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By on Wed, April 21, 2010

With breeding season underway, NOAA’s Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary urges coastal visitors, whether boaters and paddlers or small aircraft pilots, to avoid disturbing nesting seabirds. In Spring, seabirds often favor the protection of rugged coastal cliffs and offshore islands, and will form dense, noisy breeding colonies in areas such as Devil’s Slide Rock,  Pt. Reyes and the Marin Headlands north of San Francisco, and the Farallon Islands.

Although seabirds spend most of their time at sea, they must come to land to rest, nest and rear their chicks. Colonies of several hundred thousand may form adjacent to fish-rich ocean waters that also attract fishermen, boaters, pilots, birdwatchers and other wildlife enthusiasts.  Seabirds will neglect their young if disturbed repeatedly, and may abandon a colony altogether.

“Seabirds are indicators of change in ocean conditions – an early warning system for scientists and managers of fisheries and marine protected areas,” said Maria Brown, sanctuary superintendent. “Healthy colonies are the best baseline for detecting the type and severity of changes that occur.”

Coastal users can also download maps of sensitive areas and overflight information at http://farallones.noaa.gov/eco/seabird/welcome.html.

Wildflower Identification Workshop & Railroad Right-of-Way tour, Saturday

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Choris' Popcorn-Flower, Coastal Bluff Top, Half Moon Bay
Letter

By on Wed, April 14, 2010

Please join the Coastside Land Trust for an exciting workshop led by Toni Corelli, Half Moon Bay botanist, State Park volunteer and co-author of Plants and Plant Communities of the San Mateo Coast. Learn plant family characteristics, how non-native plants arrive here, and where the native plants are. Light refreshments will be served. Come stroll through this beautiful open space, lead by Toni Corelli. Apply your plant identification skills and identify plants and other wildlife. Beverages and cookies will be served at the end.

Saturday, April 17, 2010

Workshop from 1:00 - 2:30 p.m.
At the Train Depot, 110 Higgins Canyon Road, Half Moon Bay

Ocean Shore Railroad Right-of-Way Plant Identification Walk from 3:00 - 5:00 p.m.
Meet at corner of Poplar Street and Railroad Avenue; parking at Poplar Beach

Suggested donation for Workshop: $15, seniors $5, under 18 free.
Ocean Shore Railroad Right-of-Way Plant Identification Walk: free. Bring binoculars, dress in layers and wear sturdy shoes.

For more information: 650.726.5056 or [email protected] http://coastsidelandtrust.org

 

Class for volunteers to help plovers at HMB State Beach, Sat, Apr 10

Press release

By on Sat, April 3, 2010

Along the San Mateo County coast, trained volunteers play a major role in protecting the Western Snowy Plover—a small shorebird that lays its eggs on the sand at a few California beaches every summer.

The snowy plovers, which are listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, may be found on several local beaches during the winter months.  In the spring and summer, the plovers congregate on the few beaches that can provide safe nesting sites, including Half Moon Bay State Beach—a busy recreational beach where a protected habitat is set aside for the plovers to nest.

Volunteers in the Half Moon Bay State Beach Plover Watch program monitor the beach to help protect the plovers and point them out to beach visitors.  Public education—sometimes including presentations for school groups—is an important part of the volunteer program.

When volunteers find a plover nest—well-camouflaged eggs laid in a depression in the sand—they call in help to build a wire “exclosure” around it to prevent predators such as ravens and gulls from taking the eggs.  When the eggs hatch, about four weeks later, the plover chicks are cared for by the male parent for almost a month until they can fly (fledge).  The female parent often leaves for another beach where she may breed with another male.

A free, one-day training workshop for prospective Plover Watch volunteers will be offered on Saturday, April 10, from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., at the Half Moon Bay State Beach office located at 95 Kelly Avenue, in Half Moon Bay.  To register for the workshop or for more information, call Ranger Nelle Lyons or volunteer Paul Langan at (650) 726-8804, voice mailbox 7 #, or e-mail [email protected].

Rally in Pacifica to save the palm trees in Vallemar, Palm Sunday, Mar 28

Press release

By on Thu, March 25, 2010

This Sunday, March 28th, in a David vs. Goliath face-off, a group of children and concerned citizens will be gathering in a Pacifica, California neighborhood for a book recycling and fundraising effort to save 11 century old palm trees from being cut down by PG&E. Kids 4 Change, a non-profit children’s group which performs charitable services and funding, voted unanimously to make saving the palms their current cause.  They will be rallying Sunday with other children and adults to raise awareness about the fate of the trees they love.

The trees, Canary Island Palms, were planted in this urban forest, circa 1906, more than 50 years before the city was incorporated.  Stunning in appearance with large fronds that drape majestically from the crown, the trees are threatened not by disease but by poor urban planning.  Though they are only one third of the way through their estimated 300 year lifespan, on Tuesday night, Pacifica’s Parks, Beaches, and Recreation Commission voted to allow PG&E to kill the first 3 of these trees because the city does not have the money to move the utility poles or underground the wires which are at risk of becoming a safety hazard.  The core issue is that the trees have now grown close enough to PG&E’s high voltage lines to present a fire and electrocution hazard.  Citizens have argued that this was a foreseeable consequence of placing lines directly above these trees, which have, naturally, grown taller.  As of now, PG&E is not willing to fund environmentally friendly solutions such as redirecting lines, extending poles, or undergrounding the wires

In the past 50 years, hundreds of trees have been removed from the rarefied tree-laden neighborhood of Vallemar, many of which were sick, or at the end of their lifespans.  Now the remaining healthy palms are at risk only because PG&E placed power lines directly in their line of growth, and the severe trimming required would kill them.  Concerned citizens and Kids 4 Change are now joining with a local non-profit, the Vallemar Conservators, which has been working for decades to save and replace the lost grandeur, has been working hard to raise awareness of this situation in hopes of finding a solution other than removal of the trees.

Anyone who is interested in tree conservation is invited to join Kids 4 Change and the Conservators on Palm Sunday, March 28, for the kick-off event, from 12-2pm at the corner of Reina del Mar and Nataqua in Pacifica, where kids and adults will gather, collecting donations of books and money for the cause.  The book sale will take place on April 17th, in the same neighborhood, and all proceeds will go towards saving the trees.

To learn more about the palm crisis go to http://www.vallemarpalms.com.  And to donate or learn more about Kids 4 Change please visit their website http://www.kids4change.org   All monies raised between now and April 17th will go to saving the palm trees.

 

Big Wave developers are responding to the DEIR comments themselves due to lack of funding

Letter

By on Thu, March 25, 2010

I attended the Planning Commission meeting yesterday.

During the meeting Jim Eggemeyer, County Planning Director informed the Planning Commissioners that the Big Wave Project developers are "collaborating" with the Planning Department by responding to 245 public comments on the Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) themselves.  Eggemeyer also said that the Big Wave Project developers are unable to continue funding the environmental consultants (CAJA).

The Planning Commission Site Visit will be Monday, April 26 at 3:30pm

The Planning Commission Hearing is April 28th at 6:30pm at HMB High School.

Link to Area29 letter hand delivered to the Planning Commission yesterday: http://www.thepelicaneye.com/2010/03/big-wave-project-eir-shenanigans.html

Link to Darin Boville’s Planning Commission meeting article: http://www.montarafog.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=519:county-planning-department-recommends-that-big-wave-help-complete-its-own-environmental-evaluation-&catid=1:latest-news

This "collaborative" approach may cast doubt on the credibility and transparency of the EIR process.

Going Native Garden Tour, Sunday, Apr 18

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Press release

By on Thu, March 25, 2010

Are you interested in gardens that are water-wise and low maintenance, attractive to humans as well as birds and butterflies? Visit them on the Bay Area’s 8th annual Going Native Garden Tour on Sunday, April 18, from 10am to 4pm. This is a free, self-guided tour of home gardens landscaped with California native plants.

This year’s tour offers over 65 gardens for viewing - from townhome lots to 1-acre plots, from newly planted gardens to established ones. You won’t have to go far to see one: the gardens are located throughout the Santa Clara Valley and the Peninsula. Visit as many gardens as you like - for inspiration and ideas and for pictures (with owner’s permission). Native plants will be available for purchase at select gardens. Many gardens will feature talks on native plant gardening.

What’s special about California native plants? They are adapted to our soil and climate, and are easy to care for. Many of our native plants are naturally water-wise and drought tolerant. They support a wide variety of wildlife that has co-evolved with them, and their distinctive look and elegant beauty gives your garden a sense of place that is uniquely Californian.

The self-guided tour is open to all. Admission is free; registration is required at www.gngt.org before April 18, 12 noon, or until the tour reaches capacity. Space is limited; register early to ensure a place. For more information, email [email protected].

The tour is organized entirely by volunteers. Volunteers receive a t-shirt with original art and invitations to visit native gardens throughout the year. To volunteer, visit www.gngt.org and click on “Volunteer Registration”. Knowledge of native plant gardening is a plus but not required to volunteer.

 

Farallones Sanctuary advisory board meeting in Point Reyes, Apr 8


By on Thu, March 25, 2010

The Gulf of the Farallones Marine Sanctuary advisory board will hold its next meeting in Point Reyes.  The agenda is after the jump.

Photo: Baby snakes!

Barry Parr
They're pretty hard to see in this iPhone photo, but there are three heads in this picture. We discovered these baby snakes Tuesday on a hike in the back of Montara.
Corrected

By on Thu, March 25, 2010

CORRECTION: We’ve been informed by a herpetologist that there appears to be a single dorsal stripe from the back of the head on at least one of the snakes.  This would indicate that they are garter snakes—probably Western terrestrial garter snakes.

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