Albany Bulb

Albany Habitat Set Aside for Owls Going Unused
A field set aside as a habitat for the Western Burrowing Owl sits empty near the Albany shore, and some locals say the project doesn’t make any sense

Watch the CBS5.com piece about the burrowing owl habitat

As part of the the City of Albany’s Measure WW – per capita Local Grant program Parks & Recreation Commission is recommending improvements to the Cove at the Albany Waterfront ($50,000).
You can read the full details at http://www.albanyca.org in the City Council Meeting 11/2/2009.
Part of the new proposed design includes improvements to the Cove, Oasis and Triangle Area…

“as you approach the cove up the path to its right, you will see a row of fruit trees with raised beds of vegetables lining the path to your left.”

Cove and Oasis Area

Oasis Seating Area: Move bicycle racks out of the view of seating and viewing area but into a highly visible location within view of people to inhibit tampering with bikes. Install one or two picnic benches. Install new seating area facing south west toward the beach within the new tree planting.

Triangle

Triangle Planting: Planting located at the triangle of the access road and path, directly south of the benches. Construct two four foot walls out of urbanite, one wall on the low east side and one wall midway in order to terrace the area and allow for mounding of appropriate planting soil.

UPDATE
The Coastal Region Emergency Operations Center has been activated. The City of Albany and the East Bay Regional Park District are in contract with the California Emergency Management Agency and with Unified Command to determine if booms are needed to reduce the chance of oil reaching shore in our area. At this time, the projected trajectory is south of the Bay Bridge.

For INFORMATION only, contact the volunteer hotline at 1 (800) 228-4544–No volunteers are currently needed. Should there be a need for volunteers, volunteers MUST have currently valid hazmat certification.

Reporting of Oiled Wildlife: 1(877) 823-6926 www.owcn.org
—–
The spill was reported at about 7 a.m. from the Dubai Star, a Panamanian-flagged vessel located at Anchorage 9 south of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, according to Lt. Steve Youde.

Articles:

SFGate.com