From our blogs

19 Jan 2015

Substance spill threatens seabirds in San Francisco Bay

Photo by Cheryl Reynolds. Photo courtesy International Bird Rescue.

Bufflehead coated with pale goo at the International Bird Rescue center in Fairfield, CA. Photo by Cheryl Reynolds. Photo courtesy International Bird Rescue.

Dozens of seabirds were found covered in a pale goo late Friday January 16 on the eastern shore of the San Francisco Bay by East Bay Regional Park District staff. The birds were transported to the Fairfield office of International Bird Rescue, a non-profit that specializes in the rehabilitation of seabirds. At least 25 birds died of dehydration and hypothermia. The substance contaminating the birds and the circumstances in which it spilled into the bay waters is under investigation by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

By late Monday night, over 240 birds had been picked up from the San Leandro Marina, Hayward Regional Shoreline, Crab Cove in Alameda and Bay Farm Island Shoreline Trail in Alameda. The affected species are common goldeneye, eared grebe, surf scoter and bufflehead. They are all migratory waterbirds that winter in the coastal waters of the San Francisco Bay. They are excellent swimmers and dive under the water to eat crustaceans and molluscs.

26 Dec 2014

Seven Things You May Not Have Known About the Refuges in the San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge Complex

Lange’s Metalmark Butterfly was the subject of poachers in the early 1990s. Photo by Susan Euing. Photo courtesy US Fish and Wildlife Service.

Lange’s Metalmark Butterfly was the subject of poachers in the early 1990s. Photo by Susan Euing. Photo courtesy US Fish and Wildlife Service.

  1. Three poachers were convicted in 1993 for poaching endangered insects including the Lange’s metalmark butterflies at Antioch Dunes National Wildlife Refuge. The trio received a combination of monetary fines, hundreds of hours of community service, months of in-house imprisonment, and years of probation.
  2. Two films, the 1971 cult classic Harold and Maude and a 1999 independent film Dumbarton Bridge, was partially filmed on what is now the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Familiar scenes of salt ponds are used as backdrop for the films.
06 Dec 2014

Environmental Education Internship

GENERAL DESCRIPTION

The Environmental Education volunteer internship is located at the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge Environmental Education Center in Alviso, CA. The Environmental Education Center provides free programs to schools and the public, while teaching about the local wildlife, conservation, and how to help the environment. The Living Wetlands program is designed to teach about wetlands and the properties of wetlands including watersheds and water conservation. We need a highly motivated individual who has an interest in education and visitor services and will assist in educating, planning, and developing the Living Wetlands program.

01 Dec 2014

Scat collection in the Santa Cruz Mountains

Volunteers collecting scat in the Santa Cruz mountains

Volunteers collecting scat in the Santa Cruz mountains. Photo courtesy conservationscats.com. Copyright Conservation Scats.

The Conservation Scats program run by the University of California, Santa Cruz is looking for volunteers to collect carnivore scat samples for research. The purpose of the citizen science project is to understand how human development and activity impacts how carnivores compete with each other for prey.

Scat collection days are on December 7 and 14. Volunteers can look forward to a short introductory training session, starting at 7:30 AM followed by hiking for 3 to 5 hours and collecting scat samples.

For more information go to conservationscats.com or contact its Project Leader, Justine Smith.

16 Nov 2014

Alviso Slough Cleanup

Sloughkeepers cleaning up Alviso Slough in their kayaks

Sloughkeepers cleaning up Alviso Slough in their kayaks. Photo courtesy sloughkeepers.com. Copyright Sloughkeepers.

Join your love of kayaking in the San Francisco Bay and a clean environment by participating with our partners the Sloughkeepers in cleaning Alviso Slough. Bring a kayak out to the upper lot’s launch ramp at the Alviso Marina on Sunday November 23 at 11:00 AM. Be prepared to paddle through the slough and some reeds to clean up our neighborhoods waters.

Due to the reeds, this is recommended for those who have some kayaking experience. Slough Keepers will provide garbage bags and even some garbage barges. To sign up, contact Eric Norris at sloughkeepers@gmail.com and visit www.sloughkeepers.org for more information. Space is limited to 25 kayakers.

19 Oct 2014

Spooky Slough! • October 25, 2014

Grab a flashlight and head to the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge in Alviso for this FREE Special Event celebrating our nocturnal neighbors!

Crafts, costumes, live animals, and much more!

09 Oct 2014

Science Day • October 18, 2014

Celebrate National Wildlife Refuge Week October 11-18 at Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge.

Discover what wildlife species lay on the refuge’s land, water, and air with experts, or discover them on your own. Join us for a day of exploration as we view creatures up close.

  • Bird Banding
  • Macroinvertebrate Sampling
  • Mammal Trapping
  • Plankton Sampling
  • Bird Walks
  • Microbe Sampling
  • Plant Walks
  • Workshop on Citizen Science Apps
  • Twilight Marsh Walk
  • Insect Exploration
01 Oct 2014

Annual Sale of Native Plants • October 18, 2014

Help save water use by landscaping your yard with California native plants and attract hummingbirds and butterflies to your neighborhood. Sale will be held at the Visitor Center located at the first parking lot to your right.

Saturday, October 18, 2014 10:00 p.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.

29 Sep 2014

Lynnea Shuck Honored by Earth Island Institute for Creating Refuge’s Junior Ranger Program

Brower Youth Award Winner Lynnea Shuck, on the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge

Brower Youth Award Winner Lynnea Shuck, on the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Photo courtesy USFWS. Copyright CC-BY-NA 3.0

Lynnea Shuck, a 17-year-old volunteer who created the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge’s first Junior Refuge Ranger program, has been named one of six youth leaders in North America to receive the Earth Island Institute’s prestigious Brower Youth Award.

The awards, part of the Institute’s New Leaders Initiative, recognize young environmental activists ages 13 to 22 for outstanding efforts to promote ecological sustainability and social justice.

Shuck, a senior at Mission San Jose High School in Fremont, Calif., has been volunteering with the refuge since 2010. She created her innovative Junior Refuge Ranger program in 2013, when she recognized an opportunity to more actively engage young people who, in turn, can become advocates for wildlife protection and the refuge system.

21 Sep 2014

National Wildlife Refuge Week is October 12-18!

Look for special events at your local national wildlife refuge to celebrate the largest network of lands devoted to wildlife and conservation. There’s at least one in every state. In the meantime, here’s some trivia about the refuges in the San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge Complex.

By the numbers ...

  • 7 National Wildlife Refuges are in the San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge System Complex.
  • 2 percent of San Pablo Bay NWR lands were purchased using money generated by the sale of Federal Duck Stamps.
  • 11 adult burrowing owls were surveyed at the Warm Springs Unit on the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay NWR in June 2014.
  • 40 years ago the north Farallon Islands and West End Island were designated as Wilderness by US Congress.
  • 40,000 cubic yards of sand dredged from the San Joaquin River as part of the Port of Stockton’s annual river maintenance program were deposited on Antioch Dunes NWR to create sand dune habitat. More is needed.
  • 1992 is the year Marin Islands NWR was established.
  • 14 Santa Cruz long-toed salamander larvae were discovered in newly constructed Prospect Pond at Ellicott Slough NWR.
  • 4 federally-listed threatened and endangered species are known to occur on Salinas River NWR.

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