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Shane Douglas, General Manager of AllTrails and Board Member for Outdoor Afro and the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, has been appointed to the National Park System Advisory Board by Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland. First authorized in 1935, the Board advises the Secretary and the Director of the National Park Service (NPS) on matters relating to the Service's work.

Mori Point in Pacifica is attracting hikers from around the Bay Area to see a hillside exploding with golden wildflowers.

If you want a spectacular wildflower experience in the Bay Area, you don’t have to travel far: Mori Point in Pacifica is exploding with golden blooms, with bonus views of the wild ocean beyond.

“We talked to 1,000 users of this beach about what they love about this place and what they do here,” said Claire Mooney, vp of park places and innovation at the Parks Conservancy, who coordinated years of community meetings and outreach to neighbors and stakeholders. “There have been so many incredible people involved, and it is such a great opportunity for this site."

A two-year project to rehabilitate the facilities at China Beach kicked off Thursday, May 4, at a ceremony overlooking the beach, Marin Headlands and the Golden Gate Bridge. The project will cost around $25 million, $10 million of which has been fundraised by the Parks Conservancy.

Martine Glaros and Clint Josol, who work at the Parks Conservancy's Marin Headlands Native Plant Nursery, helped compile a colorful informative guide to spring wildflower blooms. The Parks Conservancy has cultivated over 300 unique species of plants native to the Golden Gate National Parks in its native plant nurseries to preserve and restore park natural areas.

"People come here thinking it's a city backyard park," said Roberta Walker, the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy retail manager for the Lands End Lookout Visitor Center. Walking along the coast at Lands End makes you feel like you've found your own secret path. Still, the trails here are well maintained and easy to follow.

A pair of nesting peregrine falcons on Alcatraz Island successfully hatched four chicks in April. “The efforts to monitor nesting peregrines on Alcatraz are very exciting,” Teresa Ely, senior program manager at the Parks Conservancy’s Golden Gate Raptor Observatory. “Their local population has rebounded, and it’s amazing to see these birds thrive in habitats that act as sanctuaries amongst urban landscapes.”

For those who live in and visit the area, these trails, and hundreds of miles more, are a defining characteristic of Marin. They are built on layered stories of the past, surfacing experiences of nature, athleticism and community. “The trails in Marin connect you to those who have walked before,” says Mia Monroe, National Parks ranger and Marin community liaison.

March 21 marks the 60th anniversary of Alcatraz’s closure as a penitentiary, but it’s always been much more than that brief history. Alcatraz Island is a place to learn about social justice, prison reform, birds, and even flowers! The island is full of history. Come and see for yourself.

The Golden Gate National Recreation Area is doing such cool accessibility work – and has so many beautiful and interesting things to see – that it’s worth mentioning to put on your vacation bucket list.

“We’ve made every effort to be sustainable,” says Shelagh Fritz, Program Manager of Alcatraz Gardens. Scraps and cuttings are collected for compost, never hauled away. Over on the other side of the island, near the rose garden, she proudly shows me Alcatraz’s award-winning compost, lifting up a tarp to reveal a shoulder-high collection of steaming organic matter, complete with plump, writhing worms.