From our blogs

KPIX 5 gives viewers a rare tour of Drawbridge

Devin Fehely of KPIX 5 got special permission from the federal government to give viewers a rare tour of Drawbridge, a place that few people know exist. It's the Bay Area's only ghost town, located in the middle of the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge.

Enjoy the 5 minute video that also features San Francisco Bay Wildlife Society's Ceal Craig:

US Department of Interior impacted by partial federal government shutdown

The United States Department of Interior has been impacted by the partial federal government shutdown that went into effect early Saturday December 22, 2018. Funding for about a quarter of the federal government has expired and some 800,000 employees from nine key federal departments and dozens of federal agencies have been furloughed or are working without pay. The departments impacted are Agriculture, Commerce, Justice, Homeland Security, Interior, State, Transportation, Treasury, and Housing and Urban Development. This is the third federal government shutdown this year.

Among the federal employees furloughed at the Department of Interior (DOI) are most of workers at the National Park Service (NPS) and the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS). DOI websites and social media accounts will not be updated.

Under the contingency plan of the National Park Service, no national parks will be open and no visitor services — including restrooms, facility and road maintenance, snow plowing, and trash collection — will be provided. Scheduled programs will be canceled, visitor centers will be closed and campgrounds will be unstaffed. Visitors are requested to practice "leave no trace" principles to avoid fouling up the national parks when no visitor services are available.

Support us with your charitable donation this holiday season

Happy Holidays!

The San Francisco Bay Wildlife Society is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) Friends group, authorized by Congress to support the education, interpretation, and research activities of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Help us in our mission to promote public awareness and appreciation of the San Francisco Bay and its natural history, and to conserve and preserve the remaining bay lands as essential wildlife habitat.

Your support of our education, interpretation, and research activities is more important than ever. Any amount you’re willing to donate this holiday season will be greatly appreciated! Donations may be fully tax-deductible.

Click here to support us with your charitable donation this holiday season.

On #GivingTuesday help us conserve and preserve the essential wildlife habitat of the San Francisco Bay.

#GivingTuesday

The San Francisco Bay Wildlife Society is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) Friends group, authorized by Congress to support the education, interpretation, and research activities of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Help us in our mission to promote public awareness and appreciation of the San Francisco Bay and its natural history, and to conserve and preserve the remaining bay lands as essential wildlife habitat.

Your support of our education, interpretation, and research activities is more important than ever. Any amount you’re willing to donate this #GivingTuesday will be greatly appreciated! Donations may be fully tax-deductible.

Click here to support us with your charitable donation this #GivingTuesday.

Donate when you shop on Amazon this Black Friday

Black Friday is just around the corner and there are amazing deals to be found online! Support us by starting your shopping at smile.amazon.com/ch/94-3039253.

Amazon will donate 0.5% of the price of your eligible AmazonSmile purchases to San Francisco Bay Wildlife Society whenever you shop on AmazonSmile.

San Francisco Bay Wildlife Society Donation Form

Events at Don Edwards SF Bay NWR canceled due to poor air quality

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service decided late afternoon Friday, November 16, 2018 to cancel all indoor and outdoor events scheduled for Saturday, November 17, 2018 at the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge due to poor air quality.

The following 4 events have been canceled:

Smoke from the Camp Fire in Butte County, California caused the air quality in Northern California on Friday to dip to the worst in the world, with San Francisco's Air Quality Index (AQI) measured at a record-breaking level of 271.

SFBWS at the USFWS Regions 1 and 8 conference for Service staff and Friends Groups

by Ceal Craig

Visiting national wildlife refuges around the United States is a passion for many of us, I know. In June 2018, I had the opportunity to visit several on my trip north to Medford, Oregon, for a Friends Group PLUS Fish & Wildlife Service conference for Regions 1 and 8 covering Washington, Idaho, Oregon, California, Nevada, and the Pacifc. Meeting other Friends Groups and Service staf is always a pleasure, since we all share the same passion for the refuges we support. I learned a lot about the northwest refuges on this trip, in particular, several rural refuges, in Idaho, Washington, and Oregon. Two of us representing the San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge Complex attended: me (Friends President) and Paul Mueller, the Volunteer Coordinator for the Refuge Complex.

In one thought provoking conference discussion, I learned how a Friends Group is affected when the refuge they support is taken over by people who would not allow the public to visit, or let Friends and refuge staff do their jobs, specifically, the occupation of Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in early 2016. At that time, I was at a national Friends and Fish & Wildlife Service conference in West Virginia caught in over 40 inches of snow. There too, I was meeting people who are passionate about refuges in the United States; passionate about helping wildlife, protecting habitat for endangered species, engaging the public, and fostering a sense of stewardship of the refuges.

Shoring up New York Harbor's reef, a billion oysters at a time

An instructor at the Urban Assembly New York Harbor School, watches students as they send 422 oyster reef structures into the Hudson River. Credit Agata Poniatowski/NPR.

An instructor at the Urban Assembly New York Harbor School watches students as they send 422 oyster reef structures into the Hudson River.

Andrea Strong, a food writer, covers oysters and citizen science in The Salt section of NPR today:

Across New York City, more than 70 restaurants are tossing their oyster shells not into the trash or composting pile, but into the city's eroded harbor. It's all part of Billion Oyster Project's restaurant shell-collection program [at] the Urban Assembly New York Harbor School, a public high school on Governors Island that offers technical and vocational training in the marine sciences. The New York Governor's Office of Storm Recovery has partnered with Billion Oyster Project to install oysters on its $74 million Living Breakwaters Project, which aims to reduce and reverse erosion and damage from storm waves, improve the ecosystem health of Raritan Bay and encourage environmentally conscious stewardship of nearshore waters.

Read on to find out more about an excellent example of collaboration among commercial, educational, and government interests to build a sustainable and very useful result that also helps New York City weather future sea level rise. We need these kinds of ideas in our own San Francisco Bay Area as well.

Celebrate National Wildlife Refuge Week (Oct 13 - 20) at Don Edwards SF Bay NWR

Come celebrate National Wildlife Refuge Week this year from October 13 through October 20 at the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Nature walks, yoga and tai chi, plant sale, and a bike tour - there’s something for everyone during National Wildlife Refuge Week. Celebrate your local national wildlife refuge! Take part in some or all of the activities listed below.

Tai Chi & Nature Walk

Environmental Education Center, Alviso
Saturday, October 13, 2018
9:30 a.m.-11:00 a.m.

Hike the Mallard Slough Trail

Environmental Education Center, Alviso
Saturday, October 13, 2018
10:00 a.m.-noon

Native Plant Sale

Visitor Center, Fremont
Saturday, October 13, 2018
10:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m.

Annual Sale of Native Plants • October 13, 2018

Time to landscape your yard before the rains start with drought-tolerant, native plants from the San Francisco Bay Area. Create habitat for pollinators and birds around the San Francisco Bay. Plants sold by the San Francisco Bay Wildlife Society.

Saturday, October 13, 2018 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.

Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge
2 Marshlands Rd, Fremont, CA
For more information, call Carmen Minch at 510-792-0222 ext. 476.

For driving directions to the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge, go to http://www.fws.gov/refuge/don_edwards_san_francisco_bay/drivingdirection...

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