KQED Bay Curious Podcast: How One Rich Guy’s Russian Boars Colonized California
Publish On
Image
David Mauk, a Natural Resource Technician at the Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority, took KQED's Rachael Myrow and Menlo Park resident Travis Mowbray on a tour of wild boar-disturbed areas in the Máyyan ‘Ooyákma — Coyote Ridge Open Space Preserve, which sits on 1,859 acres in the Diablo Range south of San Jose.
The preserve used to be ranchland and still bears the marks of human development, like grasses planted for grazing. Mauk’s job is to help the native flora and fauna bounce back, but the wild boars make it difficult. The common joke is that they’re rototillers that poop, creating excellent conditions for invasive grasses and plants that love setting up shop in disturbed soil.
Related Posts
The Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority has an opening on its Expenditure Plan Oversight Committee, whose members review the use of all public funds collected via the authority’s parcel tax.
Feral pigs are going “hog wild” across the San Francisco Bay Area—and wildlife officials are ramping up their efforts to stop the destructive creatures.
State and local officials celebrated the addition of 14.1 miles to the Bay Area Ridge Trail May 30, marking the largest single-day dedication in decades for the ambitious project to create a continuous 550-mile loop around the San Francisco Bay Area.
Margie Matthews was recently sworn in as a director on the Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority board, replacing the late David “Mike” Flaugher to represent District 2 until Dec. 4, 2026, the remainder of Flaugher’s term. District 2 includes Milpitas.