What's New

The San Francisco Bay Estuary is the nation's second largest estuary. It has also suffered from extensive development, urbanization, and degradation. Though roughly 85 % of the historic wetland habitats have been lost, it is arguably the most biologically significant estuary on the Pacific Coast and a natural treasure for people of all walks of life to enjoy. San Pablo Bay, the north end of San Francisco Bay, offers a unique opportunity to connect large sections of land to protect and restore wetlands in this urban estuary. Since 1996, Joint Venture partners have been acquiring lands to what now amounts to more than 40,000 acres of land for protection or restoration. To learn more about the wetlands and wildlife in this area please visit http://www.yourwetlands.org/ and http://www.sfbayjv.org/

Bay Area License Plate

Introducing the Bay Area License Plate! The Bay Area Special License Plates will be issued by the California Department of Motor Vehicles upon receipt of 7,500 paid pledges. The sale of these special plates will benefit the San Francisco Bay Area Conservancy Program which provides funding for conservation, habitat restoration, recreation, and other environmental projects in the nine-county Bay Area. To learn more, visit Bay Area License Plate. Or listen to the podcast on Your Wetlands, where Amy Hutzel, San Francisco Bay Area Program Manager for the California State Coastal Conservancy, talks about the Bay Area Special License Plate campaign: Nature Within Reach.

Wildlife Tours

We're celebrating the issue of Bay Nature, a nature magazine for the San Francisco Bay Area, that will focus on the Flyway Highway and the restorations along Hwy 37. We'll be hosting a guided walk along Cullinan Ranch and Pond 3. Please check our calendar for details.

Tidelines

To find out more information on upcoming events in the San Francisco Bay please visit "Tidelines," the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge's quarterly newsletter, at http://www.fws.gov/desfbay/Tideline.htm.

Flyway Festival - February 6-8, 2009

Thanks to all for attending the annual San Francisco Bay Flyway Festival on Mare Island and helping make it such a successful and fun event! The annual festival celebrates the return of migratory birds from their northern summer home to the SF Bay area and points south. Join us next year for the 13th Annual San Francisco Bay Flyway Festival on February 6-8, 2009. For more information, please see the festival website at www.sfbayflywayfestival.com.