This Special Place
We all admire and appreciate the majestic beauty and serenity of Point Reyes. It is an incredibly special place and deeply touches our hearts. No other public place along the northern California coast offers so much to so many. It is part of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) Golden Gate Biosphere Reserve which represents a highly diverse complex of terrestrial , coastal and marine environments . It gives us coves and bays for kayaking, trails for equestrians, and opportunities to see hundreds of bird species, tule elk, seals, sea lions, badgers, bobcats, otters, and more. 
Traveling Through Time
In today’s newsletter, we give a nod to some of the “rebels” who helped preserve this mosaic of biodiversity from Tomales Bay to San Francisco. But first, whenever we begin to tell stories of Place, we need to acknowledge that Point Reyes is the ancestral home to the Coast Miwok . They carefully tended the waters and land here for thousands of years before the first Europeans arrived. Here is a timeline as shared on the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria site. In addition, if you’d like to learn more about Indigenous territories, here’s a wonderful activity to share with your family and friends. Simply go to this site, Native-Land.ca , and type in your address. Native Land is a tool that maps out Indigenous territories, treaties, and languages. It has sparked some great conversations within my family (I grew up in the ancestral home of the Peoria Tribe - I’m from Michigan).  

Who and What Do We Honor?  
While our country comes to terms with and looks deeply at those we honor and the symbols our communities hold sacred, the most important work we can do right now is to acknowledge our past. We invite you to journey with us as we reveal stories of what makes Point Reyes what it is today. We hope you will join us for one or all of our upcoming community events to further explore these inspiring stories.
 
Last week we celebrated Latino Conservation Week . Stay tuned for our next newsletter as we highlight the next generation of land stewards and shine a spotlight on Latino support for conservation and stewardship of the outdoors.

– Heather Clapp, Director of Development and Community Engagement
Greetings!

Marty Griffin is celebrating his 100 th birthday this month! When he was born, the National Park Service was a nascent agency, Muir Woods National Monument was 12 years old, and Point Reyes National Seashore did not exist. In his youth, Marty visited Muir Woods and Bolinas Lagoon, where he naturally gravitated growing up. He attended UC Berkeley's Zoology program where visionaries in ecology trained the first scientists of national parks.

These youthful experiences shaped Marty to become a pioneering conservationist who in turn shaped the landscape of Marin. He did so by recognizing the vital interdependence of public and environmental health. After medical school, Marty applied his skills in diagnosis to a medical practice where he prescribed walking in nature to his patients.
As president of Marin Audubon Society, Marty, with colleagues Caroline Livermore, Huey Johnson, Peter Behr, and many others preserved significant watersheds along the coast including Bolinas Lagoon and Tomales Bay. He strategically acquired significant habitats including Audubon Canyon Ranch, Cypress Grove, Hog Island and especially tidelands targeted for fill. Many of these parcels are now imbedded in the land/seascape of the parks.

Much of Marty’s career is chronicled in his book Saving the Marin–Sonoma Coast , which inspired the award winning documentary by Nancy Kelly and Kenji Yamamoto called Rebels With a Cause (see more about the film and a chance to meet the filmmakers below). It is good to remember what leadership looks like and celebrate Marty for his many legacies over the past century.

Sincerely,
Dr. Sarah Allen
PRNSA Advisor and Former NPS Marine Ecologist and Researcher
Park Updates
Campgrounds are Open!  Park campgrounds  are open with some  new rules in an effort to keep campers healthy .

Visit our  Recreate Responsibly   page for guidelines for responsible recreation in the outdoors at Point Reyes and other park lands during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Updates will be posted to this park website and  social media channels . For more information, please see  Marin County's Stay at Home Order   and  Frequently Asked Questions .
Community Events
Color In Nat ure  
Panelist Discussion:
Thursday, August 6,
7 – 8:30pm;
Community Engagement:
Friday, August 7, 7pm
Color In Nature is a new two-part webinar discussing the significant and often under-represented experiences of the Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) community in the great outdoors. First, on Thursday, August 6, we'll hear from diverse and experienced panelists working to change the face of outdoor recreation. This first webinar will be a discussion among our panelists. Then, join us on Friday, August 7, at 7pm for a listening room where anyone can voice concerns, ask more questions, and be a part of the conversation.
Panelists: Ernesto Pepito, Associate Director for Youth Development at the Crissy Field Center & Administrator for the Environmental Educators of Color; Dr. Keith Nathaniel, Director of Cooperative Extension of Los Angeles County for the University of California Cooperative Extension; and Carlo Arreglo, Interpretive Park Ranger and Program/Volunteer Manager at Point Reyes National Seashore.
Donations are appreciated and will be used for Diversity Equity and Inclusive Initiatives in the outdoors.  Register HERE
Shark Week With An Expert
A Virtual Red Barn Lecture
Tuesday, August 11, 2020
6:00 PM – 7:00 PM PDT
Biologist and longtime white shark researcher Scot Anderson joins PRNSA for a special Shark Week webinar! As sharks are often sensationalized and misunderstood, Shark Week gives us a chance to celebrate ancient and amazing creatures that play a crucial role in our ocean ecology. Scot will discuss some of his research and personal experience with these apex marine predators, including recent findings on the significance of rare interactions between white sharks and Orcas off the California coast. Register HERE
Book Read & Conversation  
Save the Date!   Thursday, August 27 at 4pm
Please join us for our first Virtual Community Book Club and Conversation . In partnership with the Marin County Free Library , we are reading the book Black Faces, White Spaces: Reimagining the Relationship of African Americans to the Great Outdoors by Dr. Carolyn Finney. Copies of the book are available at both Inverness and Point Reyes Libraries. Note: these copies will be reserved at the desks. Please call and reserve a copy or stop by during curbside hours and request the book. FYI, if someone calls and needs the book sent to Bolinas or Stinson Beach, the librarians can have the book sent to the library and placed on the hold shelf. Also -  Black Faces, White Spaces is available on Hoopla through the library with no wait. Instructions for downloading to Hoopla on the library's website: https://marinlibrary.org/ebooks/    
Podcast Recommendation
In Episode 22 of the podcast  Breaking Green Ceilings ,  host Sapna Mulki interviews African American wildlife ecologist Dr. Jonathan Hall. In this wide-ranging discussion, Dr. Hall discusses his current work around California condor restoration, his experiences as a scientist, environmentalist, and hunter, and how race is embedded in many issues of ecology and conservation. This interview may be especially interesting to those participating in PRNSA's Community Read!  
Community Film Viewings
No Time To Waste
Available to stream on Vimeo
through the end of July.
This documentary chronicles the life of Betty Reid Soskin, a 98-year-old National Park Ranger and great granddaughter of a slave. Learn about her urgent mission to use the final years of her life to tell an authentic story of what it means to be black and a woman in the United States.  There is a fee to stream the film and a ll proceeds from film rentals go to Rosie The Riveter Trust, a non profit organization. Photo by Luther Bailey, NPS
Rebels With A Cause
Save the Date!
Tuesday, August 18 at 6pm
(Registration details in future e-newsletter)
See the award-winning documentary by Nancy Kelly and Kenji Yamamoto, and then join us in August at this virtual event to meet the filmmakers in conversation with Dr. Sarah Allen.
Check with the Marin County Free Library to borrow a copy of the DVD.
"A stunningly beautiful film narrated by Frances McDormand, REBELS WITH A CAUSE spotlights a battle over land that changed the American landscape forever."
In Remembrance of Inspirational
Environmentalist Huey Johnson
PRNSA remembers and honors the life of Marin County environmentalist, Huey Johnson. As the Western Regional Director of the Nature Conservancy, Huey helped preserve the Marin Headlands from land development in the late 1960’s. Additionally, he went on to become the president of the Nature Conservancy and served as California’s Secretary of Natural Resources from 1976-1982. Johnson was called “a catalyst and champion for environmental protection” by the United Nations and was given the Sasakawa Prize by the UN Environmental Programme in 2001. Below are a few messages from coworkers and friends of Huey.

“Huey Johnson inspired me to become an environmentalist. In 1976 he hired me to help realize his vision of the Trust for Public Land, creating an Urban Program that would begin in Oakland to transform weed and trash ridden vacant lots into community gardens and mini-parks. Within three years we had acquired 40 lots and converted them (with the active engagement of hundreds of local residents) into amazing open space assets, and incorporated six neighborhood land trusts that TPL then conveyed the properties to. I would never have worked with PRSNA or many other environmental organizations and projects if it had not been for that first invitation from Huey.”
- Steve Costa, PRNSA Advisor

“I served as the Undersecretary for Resources for the last three years of Huey Johnson’s tenure. I had the profound privilege and deep pleasure every day to see his passionate and inventive ways to protect our state’s precious natural resources. To do so, he built unusual coalitions, held out for his principles when others were urging compromise and always did it with a smile and a twinkle in his eyes. An authentic and unique steward for the planet. Like Steve’s comments above, he shaped my passion and commitment to working on land and natural resources issues for the past 40 years.”
- Kirk Marckwald, PRNSA Board Chair
Photo of Huey Johnson by Bruce Wolfe, Bay Nature Magazine (Courtesy of RRI)
#ParkInPlace - Conservation Corner
Marine Protected Areas
by Meghan Garfink, PRNSA Science Communication Intern
Conservation at the Seashore spans beyond our terrestrial landscape. As a part of the Marine Life Protection Act , the Point Reyes State Marine Conservation Areas (SMCA) and Point Reyes State Marine Reserves (SMR) cover over 20 square miles of protected area off the California coast. There is strong scientific evidence on the benefits of Marine Protected Areas for restoring marine ecosystems. As one of California’s major upwelling zones, these marine areas are actively protecting large mammals like humpback and gray whales, seals, sea lions, and elephant seals as well as a diverse array of fish species, seabirds, marine grasses, and shellfish. Without these conservation efforts, there could’ve been more oil rigs off the coast than gray whale sightings. To learn more about marine monitoring programs in Point Reyes, visit here: https://www.nps.gov/rlc/pacificcoast/research.htm
Upcoming Field Classes
AUGUST
Friday, August 7, 10:00am to 4:00pm
(In Person)
Friday, August 21, 7:00pm to Sunday, August 23, 6:00pm (Online and In Person)
Saturdays, September 26 – October 24
This UC California Naturalist Saturday lecture series is a partnership between the University of California Cooperative Extension and the Point Reyes National Seashore Association . The mission is to foster a committed corps of naturalists and citizen scientists.

Over the course of five consecutive Saturdays, students will experience Point Reyes National Seashore in ways the casual visitor cannot, working in areas less traveled alongside some of California’s most knowledgeable naturalists. Come experience the richness and biodiversity that Point Reyes has to offer.

Graduates of this program are ready to take an active role in natural resource conservation, education, and restoration. Upon completion, graduates will receive an official California Naturalist Certification and are eligible for 4 credit units from UC Davis Extension. Register HERE

If you have special circumstances or questions, please contact us at [email protected].
Full Moon Monthly Member Hikes
UPCOMING MONTHLY MEMBER HIKES
Saturday, August 1
Saturday, September 5


We're Back! And we've missed you! We love our members! Due to Covid-19 protocols, our group size is limited. We can only take a maximum of 12 participants on each hike. Register today  for these special member events. Spots will fill quickly. Not a member?  Become a member  today.

This event is FREE to members and up to 2 guests (Bring a friend!). Can't make it this time? No worries. Full moon monthly member hikes will take place every month on the Saturday closest to the full moon. Full Moon photo by Piro Patton
Point Reyes National Seashore | (415) 663-1200 x 310 | [email protected] | www.ptreyes.org