Alcatraz has so many layers of history: military base, federal prison, site of Native resistance, bird sanctuary. The 22-acre island in the San Francisco Bay continues to generate speculation and ink, creativity and reflection.

For nearly 40 years, the Golden Gate Raptor Observatory at the Parks Conservancy has collaborated with the National Parks Service to track the migratory patterns of these birds – collectively known as raptors – with the mission of inspiring their preservation throughout California.

Sutro Lands End Partners, LLC has been awarded a 20-year lease for the former Cliff House restaurant space, which is inside Golden Gate National Recreation Area. The partners will revive the space as well as the café inside the Lands End Visitors Center operated by the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy.

A task force commissioned by Gov. Newsom has unveiled a new online tool that it says will provide a first-of-its-kind map showing all forest and fire prevention work completed in California. 

“The dashboard that the task force has developed is very much in line with the types of tools we’ve been developing regionally to support cross-jurisdictional and landscape-level projects,” Danny Franco, senior project manager with the Parks Conservancy, said.

Nicki Phelps, Vice President of Visitor Programs and Services at the Parks Conservancy, was the recepient of the 2022 James V. Murfin Award for Cooperating Associations and Partnerships which recognizes individuals who have made significant and lasting contributions to improve and strengthen the 100-year partnership between the National Park Service and cooperating associations.