Pest Management At Flood Park FAQ

A pest management plan to reduce the number of ground squirrels causing damage to trees and walkways has been developed in coordination with our Natural Resource Management staff.

Arts Commission Cultural Equity Statement

The San Mateo County Arts Commission, which views the arts as an essential part of a healthy and vibrant community, champions policies and practices that promote social and cultural equity. We strive to promote inclusive and diverse programming and to ensure equitable access to arts and culture for all, with consideration for race, ability, sexual orientation, age, gender, economic status, and cultural background. We also commit to partnering with artists and arts organizations that represent and celebrate the diversity of our county, through the fair and equitable distribution of programmatic and financial support. Through these actions, arts are a vehicle for social change.

Meet Our New NRM Interns - Winter 2021

We're excited to introduce our new Natural Resource Management interns. Meet Johanna, Alissa, and Aidan!

Reseeding a Natural Preserve with Native Grass

Our task was to level and install seed beds for the Green Grass Project at Edgewood Farms —an amazing project spearheaded by the Friends of Edgewood group, which has been helping steward the park and its incredible diversity of plant life for over 25 years.

San Bruno Mountain Elfin Monitoring

Every other year the Natural Resource Management team does a survey of San Bruno Elfin, an endangered species on San Bruno Mountain. Their larva, or caterpillars, feed an attractive native succulent that grows on rocky outcrops.

"Oh No! I Think It's Dead, It Has No Tail!"

It is quite common to mistake a lizard that has just lost its tail for dead! While unfortunately the lizard is now tail-less, it isn't dying, far from it actually. It is very much still alive. Lizards utilize caudal autotomy (tail dropping) as a survival strategy for predatory response! When being chased or spotted by a predator a lizard may drop his or her tail and speed away while the piece of tail continues to wriggle and squirm, mimicking another lizard. If a lizard is bit by a venomous snake it may drop its tail as well, to ensure that the toxin does not reach the rest of the lizard’s body. In some cases, the tail will even grow back, however the regenerated tail does have less function.

Meet the Pacific Purple Sea Urchin

As a Natural Resource Management Intern I visit many of the parks to analyze different habitats and support vegetation management activities.

Stalking the California Golden Violet

A few feet farther up the slope I saw the telltale yellow flowers, looking like a garden “pansy,” peaking out of the mass of green. It was California Golden Violet, Viola pedunculata

Meet Our New NRM Interns

In January of 2020 San Mateo County Parks Natural Resource Management was excited to welcome our first intern team. Meet Alex Wilbanks, Johanna Harrison, and Olivia Kurz.

San Mateo County Arts Commission Public Grant Review Panel

The San Mateo County Arts Commission has received 25 grant applications for the 2017 year. San Mateo County nonprofit arts organizations applied for either Project/Program Support or Organizational Support. A meeting to review the applications is open to all applicants and members of the public.