Marin County is set to begin a $3 million project this summer to overhaul trails and repair environmental damage caused by decades of visitation at one of the country’s few remaining old-growth redwood groves. About half of the project funding is from a California State Parks grant. The project is part of the One Tam collaboration of public agencies with support from the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy nonprofit group.
The $25 million project planned for China Beach has broken ground. “The Parks Conservancy was able to raise $10 million in philanthropic dollars to support the project cost, largely donations from the local community,” said Claire Mooney, vice president of parks, places and innovations at the Parks Conservancy.
John King: "It is the past, present and future combined in a way that defies simple narratives — just like the uncompromising, ultimately seductive metropolis in which it resides."
Shane Douglas, General Manager of AllTrails and Board Member for Outdoor Afro and the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, has been appointed to the National Park System Advisory Board by Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland. First authorized in 1935, the Board advises the Secretary and the Director of the National Park Service (NPS) on matters relating to the Service's work.
Mori Point in Pacifica is attracting hikers from around the Bay Area to see a hillside exploding with golden wildflowers.
If you want a spectacular wildflower experience in the Bay Area, you don’t have to travel far: Mori Point in Pacifica is exploding with golden blooms, with bonus views of the wild ocean beyond.
“We talked to 1,000 users of this beach about what they love about this place and what they do here,” said Claire Mooney, vp of park places and innovation at the Parks Conservancy, who coordinated years of community meetings and outreach to neighbors and stakeholders. “There have been so many incredible people involved, and it is such a great opportunity for this site."
A two-year project to rehabilitate the facilities at China Beach kicked off Thursday, May 4, at a ceremony overlooking the beach, Marin Headlands and the Golden Gate Bridge. The project will cost around $25 million, $10 million of which has been fundraised by the Parks Conservancy.
Martine Glaros and Clint Josol, who work at the Parks Conservancy's Marin Headlands Native Plant Nursery, helped compile a colorful informative guide to spring wildflower blooms. The Parks Conservancy has cultivated over 300 unique species of plants native to the Golden Gate National Parks in its native plant nurseries to preserve and restore park natural areas.
"People come here thinking it's a city backyard park," said Roberta Walker, the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy retail manager for the Lands End Lookout Visitor Center. Walking along the coast at Lands End makes you feel like you've found your own secret path. Still, the trails here are well maintained and easy to follow.
A pair of nesting peregrine falcons on Alcatraz Island successfully hatched four chicks in April. “The efforts to monitor nesting peregrines on Alcatraz are very exciting,” Teresa Ely, senior program manager at the Parks Conservancy’s Golden Gate Raptor Observatory. “Their local population has rebounded, and it’s amazing to see these birds thrive in habitats that act as sanctuaries amongst urban landscapes.”
For those who live in and visit the area, these trails, and hundreds of miles more, are a defining characteristic of Marin. They are built on layered stories of the past, surfacing experiences of nature, athleticism and community. “The trails in Marin connect you to those who have walked before,” says Mia Monroe, National Parks ranger and Marin community liaison.
