To a Great Egret, Tomales Bay is full of food, but that food is not always available. Every two weeks, around the new and full moons, the lowest tides and the greatest foraging opportunity coincide with the early morning, making breakfast on the bay an easy affair. During low tides, hundreds of acres of intertidal eelgrass are exposed, allowing egrets to stab at herring during spawning events or to hunt pipe fish, which try to wrap themselves around the egret’s bill to avoid being swallowed. As the tide cycle shifts and morning tides become higher, the eelgrass is exposed for fewer hours per day, reducing foraging opportunities on the bay. During these times, egrets switch to inland ponds and creeks to hunt small fish or walk the surrounding pastures in groups to capture rodents. ...

We are pleased to announce that the Farley Family Charitable Foundation has granted $660,000 to Audubon Canyon Ranch, over the next two years, to develop our Fire Forward initiative into a vital resource for the region.

The Foundation has already contributed generously to ACR’s Living with Lions project, and this new gift reflects the Foundation's interest in our work to build a future of fire-adapted landscapes and communities, as well as contribute to the science of fire ecology. Tim Farley, son of the foundation’s founders Jim and Nancy Farley of Chicago, watched the Nuns Fire lap very close to his property on Sonoma Mountain, nearly destroying all he had. “This was a wake-up call to me and the entire community,” said Tim. “My family foundation has a clear interest in...

We are very pleased to announce the hiring of Jared Childress as ACR’s prescribed fire specialist, effective August 13, 2018. As a member of ACR’s science and stewardship staff, Jared will identify and assess units for prescribed fire or other vegetation management treatments on ACR lands and on the lands of our partner agencies and land owners/managers. He will work with our current staff to write burn plans, and interface with fire agencies, the air quality management districts, and our neighbors and community members.

Director of Stewardship Jeanne Wirka expresses our collective delight at filling this much-needed staff position, “Jared is joining ACR at a super-exciting time. The ACR stewardship staff at all of our preserves are looking forward to working with him to...