1. SF Planning Dept cancels April 19 open house on draft Recreation and Open Space Element
2. Postal Service raises mail rates just in time for your tax return
3. India Basin fun events on the Blue Greenway TONIGHT, April 16 and April 23
4. Save the frogs, save the turtles: write to Gov Brown
5. Fungicide chlorothalonil - bad news for frogs
6. AB 1162 would toughen laws against poachers
7. Stop Congress from delisting the gray wolf from ESA/halting roadless areas
8. AT&T wants to foist 726 more Utility Boxes on San Francisco streets - targets for taggers
9. Composer John Cage talks sense about us
10. Dog Management Plan for GGNRA - letter to Supervisor Mar
11. The cruel irony of the Oakland Zoo expansion
12. Honeycombs seem palaces to bees
13. Green Hairstreak corridor trek Sunday the 17th
14. Oaktown Nursery: butterfly gardening and the plants we grow
15. Caring for oaks and native trees Apr 18 in Belmont/Native plant gardening for beginners Apr 28 in San Carlos
16. Earth Day on Pedro Point Headlands April 16
17. Friends of 5 Creeks - potpourri of events
18. Annual UC Berkeley hydrology symposium May 7
19. Blackened forest allowed to recuperate on its own at Tahoe?
20. A spring report from Pinnacles National Monument
21. High Speed Rail federal funding disappeared
22. Financial crisis: What we've learned and how far we've come
23. Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert - the lighter side of the Planned Parenthood debate
24. Owl boxes
25. Diamond Lil, the peregrine falcon hanging out at PG&E soars over Market Street
26. Feedback
27. SF Natural History Series: The Mystery of Laguna Dolores April 21/Report on last month's talk
28. Save the Frogs Day Rally in Washington DC April 29
29. Scientific American potpourri
30. Notes & Queries: Why do small songbirds sing sweet musical notes, while bigger birds squawk and screech?
1. Announced in last newsletter:
> San Francisco Planning Dept Public Open House to view the Revised Draft of the Recreation and Open Space Element, April 19
THIS IS CANCELLED: We are rescheduling it for a date about a month from now, and we will send an email as soon as we have a confirmed date.
Sue Exline, Planner, Citywide Policy
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2. (U.S. Postal Service, I would like you to meet the Internal Revenue Service. FYI, they're the ones who collect our taxes, and they like to be paid on time. Will you remember that next year? Thank you. JS)
Jean Oullette:
As I was printing out envelopes to mail my tax returns, I happened to hear on a news broadcast that the U.S. Postal Service is raising its rates for first-class envelopes weighing more than one ounce, effective Sunday, April 17 - the day before this year's tax filing deadline. If you go to the usual USPS "calculate postage" site, the rate for mailing a two-ounce envelope on April 18th is listed as $.61. But if you go to the home page and click on the "New Prices for Mailing Services" box, you'll see that the actual rate is $.64. First-class rates remain the same for a letter weighing one ounce or less, but they've increased for letters over the one-ounce limit.
A lot of folks file online, but if you're one of those Luddites - like Les and me - who mail their returns, be aware that the IRS issues dire warnings for those who mail their returns with insufficient postage. If your return contains multiple pages, such as Schedules C, M, and SE - like mine - the Postal Service might be gracious about this and deliver your mail anyway, but then, it might not.
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3. India Basin FUN Events on the Blue Greenway in April
Friday Night, April 15, 4 pm – 9 pm
Speakeasy Ales & Lagers, Keith and Evans Streets (near the main post office)
Stop by the India Basin Neighborhood Assocation table at the fabulous Speakeasy this Friday night. Bring your friends and neighbors to see displays of the Community Vision while enjoying the best beer at the best price in SF, the West, perhaps the world. PLUS: If you haven’t joined IBNA yet, the wonderful Brian will be there to get you involved (he’s usually set up around 5:30).
Saturday Morning, April 16, 10 am – 12:30
India Basin Shoreline Walk, FREE
Meet at Heron’s Head Park parking lot for a 3-mile waterfront walk. Hear about the local history and the Community Vision for the future. Walk begins and ends at Heron’s Head. Wear sturdy shoes. Leashed dogs OK.
Saturday, April 23, 11 am SHARP
11th Annual IBNA Spring Egg Hunt
India Basin Shoreline Park, FREE
Enjoy a great morning on the Blue Greenway! Kids up to age 12 can hunt for eggs and win prizes. We’ll have goats to pet, a fire truck to climb on, and a visit from the IBNA bunny …
From the India Basin Neighborhood Association
www.INDIABASIN.org
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4. SAVE THE FROGS! SAVE THE TURTLES!
LETTERS NEEDED TO GOVERNOR JERRY BROWN
"The Director [John McCamman, Dept. of Fish & Game] acts at the pleasure of the Governor." --Sonke Mastrup, Deputy Director of DFG - 2010
California annually imports TWO MILLION AMERICAN BULLFROGS and 300,000-400,000 FRESHWATER TURTLES for human consumption. The frogs are commercially-raised in Taiwan. Most of the turtles are taken from the wild in states east of the Rockies. None of these animals are native to California, and they displace and prey upon our native species when released into local waters (a common, though illegal practice). All are diseased and/or parasitized (though it's illegal to sell such products). Many are butchered while fully conscious. Worse, a recent study showed that 62% of the market frogs carry the chytrid fungus, which is believed to have caused the extinctions of some 200 species of amphibians around the world in recent years.
A small group of us for 15 years have been pressuring the Department of Fish & Game to ban the importation, possession and sale of these animals for human consumption, to no avail. But now there's hope for REAL change. If DFG Deputy Director Mastrup (above) is correct, then the Governor could fix this deplorable situation overnight.
WHAT YOU CAN DO - Please write to Governor Brown and Resources Secretary John Laird, asking them to stop this brutal and environmentally-destructive commerce, which also puts the public health at risk. And ask your own legislators to make the same request.
GOVERNOR JERRY BROWN, THE STATE CAPITOL, SACRAMENTO, CA 95814
RESOURCES SECRETARY JOHN LAIRD, 1416 9TH STREET, SACRAMENTO, CA 95814
ACTION FOR ANIMALS would appreciate copies of any letters you send--afa@mcn.com. Thanks! Eric Mills
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5. HerpDigest, Volume 11, #17, 4/12/11 reports that a University of South Florida study published in Environmental Health Perspectives shows that a common fungicide, Chlorothalonil, "used around the world on farms and golf courses" is far more toxic to frogs than anybody imagined. It had been "relatively untested" on amphibians until the recent study.
Source story at: http://news.usf.edu/article/templates/?z=123&a=3313
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6. AB 1162 Would Toughen Laws Against Poachers
http://bfusa.convio.net/site/MessageViewer?em_id=6462.0&dlv_id=9542
California’s wildlife are facing their toughest challenge yet: poaching. The crime is at an all-time high in the state.
Poachers revel in slaughtering as many animals as they like, day or night, out of season, and by using any method they can. Many will even sell wildlife parts on the black market—in recent years, some areas in California have seen more bear carcasses with gallbladders or claws missing than ever before. With the lowest ratio of game wardens per capita of any state (roughly 200 wardens to patrol 100 million acres of land), California needs all the help it can get to protect wildlife from poachers.
Assembly Bill 1162, sponsored by Wes Chesbro (D-Arcata), would make poaching of certain trophy big-game species punishable by up to $40,000 and/or one year imprisonment. The bill also subjects poachers who use any type of “signal-emitting device” in conjunction with the purpose of trafficking bear parts to a fine of 10 times the market value of the bear parts, or $10,000.
AB 1162 will increase the chances that poaching cases concerning trophy big-game species are fully prosecuted. To ensure that all incidents of poaching are taken seriously, Born Free USA would like the bill to encompass protections for all big-game species, regardless of their trophy/non-trophy status.
Poachers don’t care about laws put in place to protect wildlife, unless penalties are significant enough to have a deterrent effect. Please ask your Assembly representative to support AB1162 today, and to encourage an amendment to include protections for all big-game species.
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7. From Center for Biological Diversity
Stop Congress From Destroying Key Environmental Protections; Call Your U.S. Senators in the Next 24 Hours!
Anti-environment riders have made it into the 2011 budget. Congress will vote on the budget before the end of this week (either Thursday (4/14) or Friday (4/15))! These riders include:
1) Legislatively delisting the gray wolf from the Endangered Species Act. This is a job for scientists and wildlife managers, not politicians! If such a rider passes, it will open the floodgates of legislative roll-backs of key environmental legislation like the Endangered Species, Clean Water, and Clean Air Acts.
2) Halting the initiative to assess and recommend roadless areas * for protection as wilderness. This is an Obama Administration initiative announced only three months ago! Signing a budget with a rider repealing an initiative from the administration's own environmental agenda will signal that any conservation program is fair game for defunding or repeal.
Please contact your U.S. Senators in the next 24 hours and urge them to vote on a clean budget that does not include these anti-environment riders.
Find the number of your Senators here or call the capitol switchboard at 877.762.8762
* "The term 'roadless' does not mean an absence of roads. Rather, it indicates an attempt to minimize the construction of permanent roads."
--from the U.S. Interior Dept's environmental impact statement on oil development in western Alaska during Bush Administration
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8. 726 Utility Boxes Planned for City Streets
We urge all users of the public realm - our sidewalks, streets, plazas and parks - to attend an important public hearing and contact their neighborhood association and Supervisor. Your voice to protect the public realm from the onslaught of private interests cannot be heard unless you use it!
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A utility box soon becomes a target for tagging
San Francisco Beautiful cautions against the precedent of ceding our sidewalks to AT&T. As other utilities follow suit, thousands of boxes would further blight our sidewalks - if the Categorical Exemption from environmental review is not reversed by the Board of Supervisors.
San Francisco need not compromise the unique character and livability of our neighborhoods in order to remain a leader in both technological innovation and utilization. We urge concerned citizens and community organizations to contact their Supervisor in support of an Environmental Impact Report and to come testify:
Tuesday, April 26 at 4 PM
Board of Supervisors Chambers, City Hall
1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place
San Francisco, California 94102
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9. My words of wisdom for the day come from John Cage via the New Yorker article by Ross. Even though I never could really connect with his music, I always thought he was a truly remarkable person. In 1928 he wrote:
"One of the greatest blessings that the United States could receive in the near future would be to have her industries halted, her business discontinued, her people speechless, a great pause in her world affairs. . .. We should be hushed and silent, and we should have the opportunity to learn what other people think."
"Our planet has a skin disease; it's the human race." Anonymous
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10. Dog Management Plan for GGNRA
Supervisor Eric Mar:
I am writing on behalf of the Golden Gate Audubon Society and its more than 10,000 members and supporters in the Bay Area to ask you to oppose Supervisor Scott Wiener’s resolution that puts the Board on record as opposing the preferred Dog Management Plan for the GGNRA. We urge you, instead, to support Supervisor Elsbernd’s amendments to the resolution which clearly expresse the city’s concerns and realistically engages the city in the NEPA process to work with the Park Service (rather than putting the two agencies at odds) to improve the plan.
Supervisor Wiener developed the resolution only in consultation with off-leash advocates and not with representatives of other groups. Supervisor Wiener’s resolution is essentially a line-by-line reiteration of the off-leash advocates’ talking points and, as such, provides a one-sided view that distorts facts and engages in speculation only to further the interests of one constituency out of many that use and enjoy the GGNRA.
In truth, the proposed plan is the largest accommodation of dogs into any national park in the United States. It provides for very large off-leash recreation areas on Ocean Beach, Ft. Funston, and Crissy Field in San Francisco alone. It also allows on-leash recreation on every trail except one in San Francisco. This extensive open space available for dog-related recreation, coupled with San Francisco’s welcoming accommodations of dogs, ensure that responsible dog owners have ample opportunity to socialize and exercise their dogs. Allegations of impacts to San Francisco’s parks and dogs are purely speculative and, in truth, are being used to without foundation to attack the proposed plan. This is not how good policy is made.
We ask you to conduct an independent and thorough review of this issue and to consider the problem that the Park Service is facing – an unmanageable status quo with rampant non-compliance with existing rules that puts park users, natural resources, and even other dogs at risk. Some key points to remember:
* Dogs, especially off-leash dogs have negative impacts for multiple user groups, including those that rely on dogs as companion guides. For example, according to a 2003 study, 89% of guide dog users reported off-leash dogs interfering with the guide-owner team and 42% reported being attacked by off-leash dogs. In a 2007 study, Asian and Latino community members reported they were less likely to visit parks because of the presence of uncontrolled, off-leash dogs and dog feces left behind by irresponsible dog owners. We also know that incidences of dog attacks are underreported in San Francisco and that there is no way to measure incidences of harassment, intimidation or fear caused by dogs.
* Off-leash dogs have been recognized as the single greatest threat to wintering snowy plovers at Ocean Beach and disturbance to the threatened snowy plover has been documented for over a decade. (See GGNRA, Draft Snowy Plover Management Plan, Ocean Beach, San Francisco, p. 21 (1998)) Dogs are well known to affect wildlife, as was documented in a 2006 study which found that “the presence of dogs along recreational trails correlated with altered patterns of utilization by different wildlife species”. (Lenth, B. et al. 2006. The Effects on Dogs on Wildlife Communities. 2006. Research Report Submitted to City of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks. Available at http://www.friendsofboulderopenspace.org/documents/dogs_wildlife_communities.pdf)
* The Park Service is attempting to carve out an exception especially for dog owners that use the GGNRA and has created the largest accommodation for dogs in the national park system. In other parks across the country, dogs are allowed only in limited areas (usually parking lots) and only on leash.
San Francisco’s Recreation and Parks Department has stated that many of San Francisco’s dog parks are underutilized. San Francisco has at least 28 off-leash areas and accommodates off-leash dogs into most city parks without enforcing leash laws.
* Supervisor Wiener’s resolution puts the city at odds with the Park Service, rather than providing a realistic approach for the city’s concerns’ to be heard through the formal commenting process. The city’s concerns would be better addressed and more likely resolved if the city participated in the NEPA process rather than trying to engage the Park Service in a negotiation which is not provided for by the law.
We understand that this is a controversial issue and that you are hearing from many supporters for off-leash recreation. We remind you that these are a minority of users of the park who are having a significant impact on other users, wildlife, and habitats. The GGNRA proposed dog management plan is intended to provide a reasonable balance and create a sustainable, manageable means of accommodating dogs into the GGNRA.
We ask that you support Supervisor Elsbernd’s resolution state that the City has significant concerns and directing the appropriate agencies to submit substantive comments to the plan while working with the Park Service to develop a plan that will work for all user groups and protect the park for future generations.
Michael Lynes, Conservation Director
Golden Gate Audubon Society
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11. Guardian Weekly Quote of the week: "Earth is the mother of all. It establishes a new relationship between man and nature, the harmony of which must be preserved as a guarantee of its regeneration." Bolivian Vice-President Álvaro García Linera, on planned laws granting nature equal rights to humans
East Bay Express article covering the Oakland zoo expansion project:
http://www.eastbayexpress.com/ebx/the-cruel-irony-of-the-oakland-zoo-expansion/Content?oid=2574511
The California Native Plant Society is concerned about the impacts of the zoo expansion to the rich Valley Needlegrass grasslands there as well as to locally rare plants and oak woodlands. We're calling for a full EIR--since that requires alternatives. There will be an expansion regardless, but there is plenty of room for better plans and alternatives. The Oakland Planning Commission will be holding a hearing next Wednesday, April 20th to decide whether to recommend approval of the CEQA document (a mangled version of a Mitigated Negative Declaration) to the City Council. There is a broad coalition of environmental groups and a grassroots group (Friends of Knowland Park) who are all calling for a full EIR.
Opening paragraphs of article:
The Cruel Irony of the Oakland Zoo Expansion
A proposed exhibit celebrating California native species would plow under parkland that is home to endangered wildlife.
At more than five hundred acres, little-known Knowland Park is Oakland's single largest parcel of open space. It's also of immense ecological value, environmentalists say. The oak and riparian woodlands and perennial grasslands on Knowland's rolling hills host an array of native plants and animals, some of which are rare, endangered, or otherwise protected. But 56 acres of the picturesque parkland and its native species are now threatened by a planned expansion of the Oakland Zoo, which, ironically, wants to build a new exhibit celebrating California species that have lost their habitats. Environmentalists also contend that the zoo, an organization ostensibly dedicated to conservation, is trying to skirt California environmental laws that are designed to protect threatened and endangered wildlife.
For example, Laura Baker, conservation chair of the California Native Plant Society, argues that the zoo's plan to protect a rare native wildflower colony within a proposed wolf enclosure is woefully insufficient because it involves little more than watching to ensure the wolves don't dig up the plants. "We find it absurd to trade off any currently threatened species to showcase other endangered or extirpated species," Baker said. "It makes a mockery of the whole concept of the 'California!' exhibit."
Abundant flora at Knowland Park include purple needlegrass (the California state grass), mature coast live oaks, and some of the last remaining undisturbed California chaparral in the East Bay. Hawks, owls, foxes, deer, and red-legged frogs also make their home there, and a federally protected Alameda whipsnake was identified on three occasions in 2010. The zoo, which occupies 44 acres in lower Knowland Park, wants to expand to more than twice its current size to make room for California creatures including Tule elk, mountain lions, condors, beavers, and grizzly bears in a hillside setting.
The greatest danger, that of losing one's own self, may pass quietly as if it were nothing; every other loss, that of an arm, a leg, five dollars...is sure to be noticed. Soren Kierkegaard
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12.
Thus Ants, who for a Grain employ their Cares,
Think all the business of the Earth is theirs.
Thus Honeycombs seem Palaces to Bees,
And mites imagine all the World a Cheese.
-Alexander Pope
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13. Green Hairstreak Butterfly Corridor TREK With Liam O'Brien
Sunday, April 17, 11 am - 1 pm
Take a captivating walk with lepidopterist, Liam O'Brien, as we seek a glimpse of the stunning iridescent green, locally endangered Green Hairstreak butterfly. Walking through some of its last island breeding areas, we will discuss its life-cycle, plant associations, and efforts in the neighborhood to increase its habitat and to create a connected habitat corridor. We will have Liam's expert eye on the lookout for other butterflies and their host and nectar plants as well, and learn how to plant for the Green Hairstreak and other local butterflies in your own neighborhood.
We encourage everyone who has not seen this magnificent butterfly or would like to get outside and learn more about it, to come join us in welcoming the Green Hairstreak begin its flight season.
Where to Meet:
Meet at the dead end of Rivera, below Hawk Hill. If you are driving, park near Rivera St and 14th Ave.
Green Hairstreak Picture 3.jpg
To sign up for the TREK email linda@natureinthecity.org or call 415-564-4107.
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14. Oaktown Nursery - Butterfly Gardening & The Plants We Grow
http://www.bayfriendlyblog.org/2011/04/butterfly-gardening-plants-we-grow.html#more
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15.
Monday, April 18, 7:00-8:30 pm: Caring for Oaks and Native Trees: Barrie Coate. Do you have native oaks on your property? Do you want to incorporate other native trees into your garden? Learn how to plant and care for oak and other native trees in the home landscape. Of particular interest are small to medium trees that are 'garden scale' and trees that may be appropriate for parking strips. Renowned arborist Barrie Coate spent 11 years at the Saratoga Horticultural Foundation. He has received numerous awards from the Western Chapter of International Society of Arboriculture. He is the Arboricultural Consultant for the J. Paul Getty Museum. Belmont Library, 1110 Alameda de las Pulgas, Belmont. (650) 591.8286.
Thursday, April 28, 7:00-8:30 pm: Native Plant Gardening for Beginners: Fran Adams. It is easy to incorporate native plants in your existing garden – for beauty, for habitat, for low maintenance, for saving energy and money, and for a sense of place. Fran Adams is a landscape designer based in Palo Alto with 20 years of experience. She offers classes in garden design at Palo Alto USD Adult School and at Foothill College. Her gardens have been featured on the Going Native Garden Tour. San Carlos Library, 610 Elm Street, San Carlos. (650) 591-0341 x237.
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16. Earth Day on the Pedro Point Headlands
Saturday April 16th (for Earth Day)
8.45 - 11.30am (Action - meet at the Pedro Point Firehouse at 8.45)
11.30 - 3.30am (Celebration)
We will carpool up through the green gate and take on projects at the Headlands widening trails, removing french broom, or tending the newly planted natives. Time will be allotted for a hike to see the wildflowers.
Afterwards the Pacifica Beach Coalition is throwing a Celebration on the beach you will not want to miss. They have two bands lined up, kids activities, cake, coffee, dozens of booths, speakers, entertainers, fun for all planned and food / drinks for sale. Bring a cup to be more sustainable.
See the poster below or go to http://www.pacificabeachcoalition.org/Home/earth-day-2011-celebration for more information
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17. Potpourri from Friends of 5 Creeks
Join Friends of 5 Creeks at El Cerrito Hillside Natural Area Saturday, Apr. 16
Celebrate spring with us at El Cerrito's beautiful hillside natural area, enjoying grasslands and oak woodlands while yanking out large and small invasive, fire-prone broom. Just the thing to relax after taxes -- or if you're still struggling with them! Free lunch for volunteers afterward at
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El Cerrito Community Center, 7007 Moeser Lane!
Any time after 9 AM, meet at the service-road gate west of the El Cerrito Recycling Center, 7501 Schmidt Lane. Wear closed-toed shoes with good traction and long pants and sleeves (poison oak). Water, snacks, gloves, and tools provided!
Join us in two walks on Cerrito Creek
Thursday morning, April 14, F5C Vice President Shirley Jowell leads an easy, level stroll along Cerrito Creek for ages 50+, the April walk in our monthly series co-sponsored with Albany Senior Center. Meet at 9 AM Peet’s Coffee, San Pablo at Carlson (AC Transit 72 or El Cerrito Plaza BART). Please sign up in advance at Albany Senior Center, 846 Masonic, 510 524 9122. Information, sjowell@att.net, 510 525 7012.
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Friday evening, April 22, the "real" anniversary of Earth Day, with Transition Albany and Huchiun Ohlone member Corinna Gould, Friends of Five Creeks will lead a second annual Earth Day evening walk on Cerrito Creek and up Albany Hill, celebrating local watersheds, community resilience, and the meaning of time and place.
This is a substantial climb, some on fairly steep, narrow trails. Wear walking or hiking shoes and long pants and long sleeves; bring sticks if you use them. Meet at 6 PM at Peet's Coffee, San Pablo at Carlson. Free, all welcome!
Join us April 30 - May 1 protecting Coast Live Oaks
Sign up at http://sodblitz.eventzilla.net to help track spread of the disease that is killing coastal California’s beautiful live oaks. There is no cure, but properly timed action can slow spread and save specific trees. You will (1) attend a 1-hr training at UC Berkeley 1:30 PM Sat., Apr. 30, (2) look for infected bay-tree leaves (the main carrier) where you want or at sites we suggest and (3) return samples to the campus by 5 PM Sun., May 1. Homeowners with oaks and bays, and people who like to walk or hike, both encouraged!
For more information on the survey, see our web site, www.fivecreeks.org. For information on Sudden Oak Death , go to www.suddenoakdeath.org. To tell others via Facebook, we’ve posted the basic sign-up information on our Friends of Five Creeks page there.
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Join us at our Monday, May 2, talk -- Coopers Hawks and local creeks!
We have a real treat of a talk Monday, May 2, 7-9 PM at Albany Community Center, 1249 Marin.
All bird and nature lovers will enjoy hearing Allen Fish, director the Golden Gate Raptor Observatory, speak on "East Bay Cooper's Hawks -- Sentinel Species for Happy Urban Creeks."
Free, all welcome, and delicious refreshments! Put it on your calendar!
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18. The annual UC Berkeley hydrology symposium happens on May 7 from 9am-1pm in Wurster Hall- room 112.
A complete schedule will follow in the coming weeks, but highlights will include:
- Student presentations from independent research projects.
- A keynote address titled "Restoring streamflow in coastal California watersheds: lessons learned through a science-based process" by Matthew Deitch (Center for Ecosystem Management and Restoration)
- A panel discussion by a variety of professionals on current issues and future trends in hydrology and restoration.
The event is free, but please RSVP to ensure a space.
(ucbriverrestoration@gmail.com)
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19. Burned forest value central to Tahoe logging fight – San Jose Mercury News
The idea that blackened forests should be left to regenerate on their own is not an easy sell in the tourist mecca of Lake Tahoe, where 250 homes were destroyed in a June 2007 south shore blaze.
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20. From Steve Neff:
Hi Jake, I just wanted to pass along the word that the Pinnacles is really kicking off its wildflower season. I spent 3 nights camping and hiking there and saw a good 50 species that I could give a name to, and more I didn't recognize. Particularly heavy were shooting stars, fiesta flowers, blue dicks, johnny-jump-ups, larkspurs. The North Wilderness, Balconies, and High trails were especially good.
happy trails, steve neff
PS oooh, and I saw my first horned lizard ever!
PPS Actually, sometimes I think what I like the most about the Pinnacles are the oaks. I like imagining how some of the old ones I see probably had grizzlies lounging about underneath them, eating acorns, a couple hundred years ago.
What set me to thinking about grizzlies and oaks is that I've been reading "A State of Change" by Laura Cunningham (and looking at the fantastically drawn illustrations therein!). I don't know if you've reviewed it for your excellent newsletter, but I think a lot of your readers would fin
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