The Laguna de Santa Rosa Foundation has a new home—one that’s almost 150 years old.

Ken Churchill, who oversaw the restoration project, says they had to adhere to historical accuracy for the exterior, but inside was a different story.

This portrait of the aged farmhouse at the historic  Stone Farm overlooking Occidental Road is by Calistoga painter Jocelyn Audette. The original now hangs inside the building itself.

The North Bay Report previously covered the early stages of the restoration of the civil war-era farmhouse as the project was getting started, back on August 9, 2007.

Since the Laguna Foundation was established, back in the early 1990s, Executive Director David Bannister says they have worked with considerable success to elevate public awareness of Sonoma County’s central ecological resource.

Below is a map of the full watershed that drains into the Laguna de Santa Rosa, outlined in orange. The Laguna itself flows into the Russian River at the upper left of this map, near Forestville.

When native wildlife in the North Bay runs afoul of humankind, it’s almost always the animal that comes out second best. That’s when Sonoma  County Wildlife Rescue steps in.

Even after more than 25 years of doing this, there are still surprises, says Executive Director Doris Duncan, including two species that each appeared  there for the first time earlier this year.

 Although she has been caring for all kinds of native animals throughout the organization's 18 year history, Duncan says each one is different.

Whenever possible, the treated creatures are released back into the wild, as close as possible to where they came from.

Slathering on sunscreen may protect your skin, but it's not healthy for the world's water supplies, or the aquatic life within them.  

Overexposure to the sun’s ultraviolet rays causes increased risk of skin cancers: this medical message has been widely embraced, but the law of unexpected consequences has kicked in with regard to the increased use of sunscreen.

Sejal Choski, the program director for Baykeeper of San Francisco, also wrote about this issue here.

There's no better time than now to observe young herons and egrets preparing to leave the nest, and few better places than Marin County's Bolinas Lagoon Preserve.

Although they are large birds, herons and egrets are remarkably graceful, says Andy LaFrenz, an Audubon Canyon Ranch board member, which is part of the reason he takes particular pleasure in watching them. The picture below is a Great Blue Heron in flight.

The 1000 acre Bolinas Lagoon Preserve is owned and administered by Adubon Canyon Ranch, which was founded in 1962 after local preservationists defeated a plan to build a major highway and other urban expansions into the Marin coastal area.