Mother Nature may put an exclamation point on April this weekend. Showers are possible in some parts of the region as we wrap up Earth Month and a productive rainy season for the Bay Area.
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One of the season’s benefactors is a pure strain of rainbow trout, spotted in the creek at the newly opened Eastport Staging Area to Sibley Volcanic Regional Preserve. It took four years and some $10 million to finish the largest creek restoration project in the East Bay Regional Park District’s history, opening up about a half-mile of creeks that had been either buried or redirected through culverts.
Along with rainbow trout, hikers who enter through the Pinehurst Road gate may see Cooper’s hawks, white-tailed kites and other native wildlife feeding along the three-mile McCosker Ranch loop trail.
“We’re hoping for some 300 types of animals that could visit the area,” says park district naturalist Susan Ramos, who adds that even threatened and endangered wildlife like the red-legged frog and the Alameda whip snake may move back in. The San Francisco dusky-footed woodrat may even make a return.
“It’s a native rat, and its great because it provides food for golden eagles, raptors and owls,” says Ramos.
The project manager for the creek restoration, Carmen Erasmus, says crews planted more than four acres of native habitat including willows, live oak and alders. She says the alders they planted in 2020 have tapped into ground water and some are close to 30 feet tall now. In the culvert under Pinehurst Road, they installed fish baffles so the trout can migrate from San Leandro Creek to the restoration area’s connecting creeks.
From 9:30 a.m. until noon May 4, naturalist Michael Charnofsky will lead a group hike from Eastport Station. The Park District is not taking reservations for this free hike, but you may want to carpool because there are only nine spaces in the parking lot, plus two handicapped spots.
Other tips: No dogs are allowed in this entrance to the park. A portable toilet will have to do until completion of the project’s second phase, which will include restroom facilities and a group campsite.
For history buffs, you can still see some of the old Sacramento Northern rail line, which traveled from the Oakland hills through a tunnel and exited near the Eastport Station.
Crime alert: If you keep your registration and garage door opener in your car, you may want to rethink this common practice. Oakland police say some thieves are targeting vehicles for the garage door openers and personal information documents. With the remote and home address, a car theft can easily turn into a home burglary.
Around town: Montclair Village is looking toward its next big event — the Beer, Wine & Music Festival on June 15. This will be the 10th year for this event, which will come not long after this week’s Montclair Restaurant Walk.
Meanwhile, the multiuse plaza that served as McCaulou’s Montclair home for many years has its anchor tenants in place at the top of La Salle. Compass Real Estate, Chicago Title and a pediatric dentist have moved into the space that took more than two years to renovate.
Ginny Prior can be followed on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, Facebook and at ginnyprior.com. Email her at ginnyprior@hotmail.com.