Recently a new generation of natural "wanderers" embarked on a monumental task in Muir Woods, a national monument named in honor of America's most famous naturalist John Muir.

Endangered species transferred from creek to hatchery until habitat improves

Ai's Alcatraz show is a joint project of the National Park Service and the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, which oversee the penitentiary-turned-park, and the San Francisco-based For-Site Foundation, a nonprofit that commissions artwork in public places.

What a difference a year makes. Last September, all eyes were on the bay for the America's Cup, starring Larry Ellison. This year, we're casting our glances in the same direction to Alcatraz, for the exhibition of the dissident Chinese artist Ai Weiwei.

In an upcoming landmark exhibition, set to open Sept. 24, off San Francisco Bay in the off-limits areas of the former prison Alcatraz, Ai will present a show cheekily titled “@Large” a reference to the area’s heritage of incarceration, Ai’s own flight from China’s clandestine security apparatus, and the artist’s persistent and active use of Twitter to disrupt China’s forces of censorship that have long dogged his efforts to promote increased respect for human rights in the Asian country.