Bobcat by Cleve Nash

Bobcat by Cleve Nash

Snowy Egrets by Alan Schmierer

Goats and Dogs at Point Buchon
by Jeanie Greensfelder

Peregrine Falcon image on banner by Cleve Nash

A Bird's Eye View by Mike Stiles

Beginning birders are often confused with certain groups of birds. For that matter, advanced birders can be confused with certain groups of birds. Gulls, sparrows, and flycatchers — to name a few — have been known to exasperate even the most adept of experts. Entire books can, and have, been written on those subjects, and they are well beyond the scope of this article.  Read More

Coastland Contemplations by Michele Oksen

If hummingbirds make you happy and monarch butterflies make you smile, find a garden full of blooming Pride of Madeira. Sit and have tea, relax in the sun and get a natural dose of Vitamin D, or discreetly hunker down with camera at the ready, surrounded by this flowering shrub. Enjoy a visual festival of vivid colors and nature in action. Read More

Elfin Forest by Jean Wheeler

 The Elfin Forest is colorful all year, but I think this month and the next are perhaps the most abundantly colorful in the year.  Wildflowers are blooming in all colors, and butterflies are at their most active.  Birds are building nests or feeding hungry hatchlings.   Read More

Healthy Creeks Make Healthy Communities

Everyone lives in a watershed and everything we do from work to shopping to play occurs in a watershed. The majority of creek‐side property is in private ownership, placing the responsibility for the health of the creek with you. Acting as a watershed steward you can protect San Luis Obispo creeks and help your neighbors to do the same. Read More

Marine Sanctuaries by Carol Georgi & Karl Kempton

Along rocky shores, the inhabitants are hardy and adaptable as they are subjected to a variety of harsh conditions. Organisms living in this area must be able to withstand periodic desiccation (drying out), changes in temperature, light and salinity, as well as strong wave action. Variation in the degree of exposure to these environmental factors can create marked zonation within the habitat. Read More

Planting Hope: Sowing Seeds for the Next Generation of Family Farmers by Courtney Mellblom

The American Farmland Trust states that each year roughly one-million acres of our farmland are lost to industrial development and the extension of urban sprawl.  In San Luis Obispo County alone, 7,000 acres of arable land were converted to urban sprawl in just two years, according to the Central Coast Foodshed Guide, which was published in 2010 by the Cal Poly Center for Sustainability. Read More

Sweet Springs Reflections by Holly Sletteland

There have been some very important developments in our pursuit of a Minor Use Permit (MUP) for Sweet Springs East to implement access improvements and restoration plans in recent weeks.    Read More

Female Elephant Seals in
Dispute Over Space by Kevin Cole

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