Nice article about the late local artist, Clayton Lewis, in the LA Times. "In the spring of 1964, Lewis discovered Laird's. Tiller in hand, he sailed out of Marshall on a friend's boat. He was 49, visiting with his girlfriend, and about to discover his future in some shacks sheltered by cypresses on the beach." FULL STORY: http://www.latimes.com/local/c

Sounds like there is a grass fire just north of Marshall, three to four acres. Anyone see it? Smells very smokey in Inverness.

People are still asking TWMF about the osprey nest that was cut down on Sir Francis Drake heading into the park. Local photographer Daniel Dietrich has done extensive research on it and posted it on his blog which I highly recommend reading. According to Daniel, they knew there were eggs in the nest when they cut it down. READ BLOG POST: http://www.danieldietrichphoto

TWMF is on vacation, so the posts will be slow until next week. If you have an important update, please post to the page. A local spotted this at The Pine Cone Diner, soon to be The Blue Heron BBQ???? (Thx IW)

TRAFFIC ALERT: Fatal accident at SFD and Platform Bridge Road. Road closed, avoid the area.

TRAFFIC ALERT: A truck flipped over on Sir Francis Drake in Samuel P. Taylor and both lanes are currently blocked. No time estimate for re-opening, plan accordingly. If anyone has an update, let us know. (thx KEP)

From a reader: "Hi. Yesterday at 5:30pm I was at the Inverness School playground with my 3-year-old son when we saw a young mountain lion on the street. It was sitting calmly, looked over at us & then slowly walked into the woods." Has anyone else seen something similar in the area recently? Could it be a bobcat? (thx JD)

Green Bridge Update

The Strategic Working Group (SWG) was formed in order to incorporate community input in developing and refining the range of alternatives for replacement of the existing Green Bridge prior to the development of the Draft Environmental Review report. The SWG has met twice so far. On March 22nd Caltrans mailed a newsletter to local residents and businesses regarding some of the results of the meetings to date. Subsequent newsletters will include further information on the project.

If you would like to see this newsletter, and did not receive one, you can view it on the Caltrans project website athttp://www.dot.ca.gov/dist4/la">http://www.dot.ca.gov/dist4/la
Look for "Lagunitas Bridge Newsletter 3/21/16"

In addition, Meeting Summaries of the first two meetings of the Strategic Working Group will be posted shortly to this same website.

And, if you did not attend the October 14, 2015, Caltrans meeting at the Dance Palace, please read the poster boards available at that meeting as they contain lots of valuable information. They are also posted on the Caltrans project website. Look for "Oct 14th Meeting Materials."

Again that web address is http://www.dot.ca.gov/dist4/la">http://www.dot.ca.gov/dist4/la

"Last Sunday local farmer Molly Myerson lost all of her tools and farm equipment to a fire, and most tragically, 300 newly-hatched quail that she was raising to move outside for her laying flock. In light of the fire, which demolished the barn but left her cultivated acre unharmed, Myerson’s landlord has given her 60 days to vacate the property." FULL STORY: http://modernfarmer.com/2016/0

Great job by emergency teams last night working late into the night in bad weather to rescue hikers trapped on unstable cliffs in a remote part of Point Reyes National Seashore. FULL STORY: http://m.sfgate.com/news/artic

BREAKING: MarinSAR enroute to assist Bolinas & County Fire with rescue of 3 stuck on rock cliffs in Pt. Reyes Seashore.

Orca were spotted at the Point Reyes Lighthouse this weekend. So jealous, what a rare treat! FULL VIDEO: https://www.instagram.com/p/BD

"There have been several car smash and grabs today (I heard 6) the latest at Marin Sun Farms where the thieves stole 2 backpacks after breaking the rear seat window. The thieves dumped the packs in Olema and took off. Still on the run." Anyone hear about this? (Thx JS)

A large tree fell down at the top of Laurel Ave. in Inverness Park blocking the road and knocking down power lines. Early reports are that it hit a propane tank and propane is leaking as well. Stay clear of the area.

TRAFFIC ALERT: Rangers and fire units are engaged in a cliff rescue near the lighthouse be alert for emergency vehicles on SFD and in the lighthouse area (via KWMR)
https://twitter.com/KWMRradio

This tree blocked SFD this morning during the morning commute. Be sure to check TWMF for traffic updates and if you have a traffic update (or other news), message us on Facebook so we can get the word out. Thank you! You can also find more updates and photos on our Twitter and Instagram feeds. LINKS:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/westmarinf
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thew
Web Site: http://www.thewestmarinfeed.co
Email: christian@3580.com
(Thanks to Officer Greg Westwood for the traffic update today)

Here is the historic farm house that burned down in Shallow Beach in Inverness this morning. A terrible loss. Excellent work by local fire crews in tough conditions to keep the damage to a minimum. FULL STORY: http://www.marincounty.org/mai

Scary situation, great work by local fire crews. "Fire destroyed a home in the West Marin community of Inverness early Saturday morning, displacing residents without causing any injuries. At 4:39 a.m., an emergency caller described a structure fire with flames shooting out of a roof in the 500 block of Pierce Point Road, located in the Shallow Beach area north of Inverness and adjacent to Tomales Bay State Park. Marin County Fire Battalion Chief Bret McTigue said the structure, an older two-story farmhouse, was a total loss." FULL STORY: http://www.marincounty.org/mai

Sad news. That osprey nest on SFD as you go up Ottinger's Hill into the park that I took a picture of with two ospreys nesting in it WAS CUT DOWN today by PG&E and Davey Tree. An osprey was in the nest this morning before crews arrived. According to reports, PG&E claims they had property owner and USFWS approval and that the tree was in imminent danger of falling on power lines (despite having survived last two storms). But cutting a nest down when the birds are clearly nesting in it and possibly have eggs? That seems like a very bad decision, how is that not illegal? Anyone else know the rules?

All the moms are gone but a few elephant seal pups are hanging around Drakes Beach getting ready for their journey. Good luck you guys.

Always interesting to be driving through the park and the ranches in Point Reyes while a debate on the radio rages on about the park and the ranches in Point Reyes. The Forum on KQED had an extended discussion about it today with Jeff Miller, Nicolette Hahn Niman and Paul Rogers. Its live now, they'll put the archive up later. Highly recommend listening to it if you care about this issue. I let these cows listen to some of the show so they were in the loop. WEB SITE: http://www.kqed.org/a/forum/R2

The Wall Street Journal covers the lawsuit that is being brought against the park concerning ranching. FULL STORY: http://www.wsj.com/articles/ra

Fast motion cow herding out at the ranches in Point Reyes. Yeehaw.

Car went off the road and into Tomales Bay just before Inverness this afternoon. Thanks to local rescue crews for being on it. Hopefully everyone is ok. (thx RJ)

Westbound lane of Lucas Valley Road in the woods closed due to a small but persistent land slide. Proceed with caution. (Thx DW)

Spring is here, kind of, well, almost. Either way, the ospreys are back and starting to scope out the available nesting opportunities. Good luck you two!

SR-1 still closed just north of Bear Valley Road in Olema due to tree on power lines. Power is out in Olema. Bear Valley Road is open as a detour.

Busy day! Both lanes blocked on SR-1 north of Point Reyes by Marconi Cove. (Thx RJ)

TRAFFIC ALERT: SR-1 at Bear Valley Rd is blocked by a fallen tree onto power lines. Avoid the area.

"Road Closure: Bolinas-Fairfax Road closed over Mt. Tamalpias between the Meadow Club, Fairfax and Ridgecrest Road due to multiple mud/rock slides. Engineers and road crews evaluating repairs needs, road expected to be closed through at least Monday afternoon. We'll keep you posted on this..." - Sheriff Doug Pittman

Cascade Falls in Fairfax is a good place to go feel the power of the rain.

SR-1 south of Tomales is officially closed right now, both lanes. Haven't heard any estimated time of opening. Looks like another solid shot of rain is coming in around 3:00pm with possible thunderstorms.

"The Shoreline Unified School District with schools in Tomales, Point Reyes and Bodega Bay in West Marin and Sonoma counties announced that the 500 students in its boundaries would also have no school on Friday because of the rain and flash flood warnings in effect." FULL STORY: http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news

SR-1 is flooded south of Tomales, about a foot of water on road, proceed with caution, it may be closed. Blocking both lanes. I heard a report that West Marin and Tomales schools are closing early, be sure to confirm that with your school. Trees down all over the place, be safe!

From NWS: "BOTTOM LINE...THURSDAY INTO MONDAY LOOKS VERY WET FOR OUR ENTIRE REGION ESPECIALLY FOR THE NORTH BAY. DUE TO THE RECENT RAINFALL AND SATURATED SOILS IN MANY SPOTS, SOME HYDRO PROBLEMS ARE LIKELY. PERSONS NEAR CREEKS AND STREAMS SHOULD PAY VERY CLOSE ATTENTION TO THE LATEST FORECASTS. RAINFALL TOTALS BY MONDAY COULD BE NEAR A FOOT FOR SOME NORTH BAY MOUNTAIN LOCATIONS." No idea why they keep the caps key slammed down, but go get an umbrella if you haven't already.

Tuesday Quick Quiz: Where was this photo taken? #surferonpotatochip

Boom. Nicasio Reservoir is overflowing! El Niño delivers as promised. (Big thx to LF)

Absolutely howling wind at Drakes Beach today. Sounds like power out in much of Bolinas. How's everyone holding up?

The Privateer restaurant in Inverness is closed after three short months. Ouch. Apparently they have a five year lease and are looking for someone to sublet it to. FULL STORY: http://www.ptreyeslight.com/ar

From Sheriff Doug Pittman: "Did you see it? Did you hear it? At 8:11 this morning the Sherif's Office received a report of a woman behaving strangling, standing in the middle of the road on SF Drake Blvd on Olema Hill yelling and screaming at passing motorists. When deputies arrived to check on her welfare the woman ran to her car and fled from pursuing deputies. The chase continued Southbound on Hwy 1 towards Stinson. The woman attempted to evade the deputies making U-turns and finally 23 minutes later, coming to a stop where deputies were able to take her into custody.

Exactly what led to this behavior is yet unknown. The driver, a Stinson Beach resident, will be facing several severe charges for her actions.

On a side note, I want to thank Carla and other staff at Stinson Beach School who once notified of the chase and not knowing what the woman's intentions were, locked down the school at our request in Stinson Beach until we knew all were safe and that there was no threat to our children!"

Don't be afraid to tell visitors this: "Adorable harbor seal pups are starting to dot Marin’s beaches and wildlife officials are urging people to leave them alone. The Point Reyes National Seashore and the Marine Mammal Center say harbor seal pups, born in late winter and early spring, could suffer permanent harm if they are moved or if their mothers are scared off."
FULL STORY: http://www.marinij.com/environ

From NWSBayArea: "Rain returns to #CenCal this week into next. @NWSWPC 6 day precip total shows inches of rain possible." Prepare accordingly. Sounds like really strong south winds on Saturday and Sunday too.

Amazing what you find when you clean out the West Marin Little League shed to get the season started. If you're interested in sponsoring the league and having your own sign on the home run wall, let me know.

The Point Reyes Light did a really nice story on the Case of The Burned Boat with solid quotes and historical context. Highly recommend reading it. Also, they scored the actual fire picture, so bonus points there (by Katie Eberle). Plus they mentioned TWMF, so double bonus points. PR LIGHT STORY: http://www.ptreyeslight.com/ar

Other links worth reading (to see how the news covered this):

Daily Mail (??):
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tra

PetaPixel:
http://petapixel.com/2016/02/2

SFGate:
http://www.sfgate.com/news/art

7x7
http://www.7x7.com/culture/ico

BoingBoing
https://boingboing.net/2016/02

Here is a 'steel wool instagram contest' someone sent in:
http://ink361.com/app/users/ig

All the other Instagram links of boat steel wool photos are in the comments of previous posts. I'm not going to wade into that again, the stories above do a good job of summarizing all of that.

I also heard that George Clyde did a story on KMRW that says the state park owns that land the boat is on, not the federal park, but I can't find that anywhere on the Google.

Someone floated the idea of doing a nice art show with photos, paintings and remembrances of the boat to mourn the passing of the boat. Sounds good to me.

If I missed any other worthy news stories, throw them in the comments...

A TWMF supporter sent in a link to this audio tour of the ranches in Point Reyes. If anyone gives it a try, let us know if its worth the money. (thx RB)
LINK: https://voicemap.me/tour/point

"I know one of the two people who accidentally set this landmark, and iconic photo location ablaze. He thought he was being careful, but physics took over and the unthinkable happened. The old shipwreck burned. He feels terrible and has admitted to his part. I'll admit the pics that came from the session he and his friend shot look cool. That said, I wish it didn't happen." - Matt Grans Flickr Page: https://www.flickr.com/photos/

""The cause of the fire is unknown, but Chief Fox said, “Someone called up and wanted their names cleared from being the cause of it.” He added that as far as his department is concerned, the cause of the fire and who is to blame for it is likely to remain a mystery." We'll never know who set the fire, but we have learned what 'spinning fire wool' is. What a bummer. FULL MARINIJ STORY: http://www.marinij.com/general

And the plot thickens. Forest DeSante posted this screen capture on his FB page of a photo that was posted last night. This explains the 'why', now time for the 'who'?
https://www.facebook.com/perma

Wayward elephant seal at Drakes. Owning it.

Ok, this is big news. Serious parking paint in front of Tobys! No more messing around. (Thx AN)

Almost a direct hit! Heavy wind last night, anyone else have any damage?

"An online petition to lure Dennis Rodoni of Olema into the 4th District’s supervisor race may bear fruit: Mr. Rodoni, a lifelong West Marin resident and the owner of Rodoni Construction, who challenged Mr. Kinsey for the seat over a decade ago, said he is considering a run. “I need to sit down and talk with family,” he said on Wednesday. “It’s a hard decision, because it’s a big commitment.” THE PETITION:
https://www.change.org/p/the-v
POINT REYES LIGHT ARTICLE: http://www.ptreyeslight.com/ar

You knew it was coming. Holiday traffic is here, don't leave the house if you don't have to...

From ABC News, "The recent rains have brought to life a gem in the Bay Area – Alamere Falls in the Point Reyes National Seashore. http://abc7ne.ws/1o4vZzL"

Uh oh. "A year after an oyster farm was forced to shut down at Point Reyes National Seashore, sparking a bitter controversy over the role of farming in national parks, a coalition of environmentalists on Wednesday filed a lawsuit over a bigger and more explosive target: thousands of dairy and beef cattle in the park. The groups say that park service officials are violating federal law because they are moving forward with a plan to renew 20-year leases to the ranchers without conducting adequate environmental studies on how the thousands of cows are affecting the seashore's scenic resources, including its tule elk." FULL STORY: http://www.mercurynews.com/sci

"The California Coastal Commission fired its executive director Wednesday, defying more than 1,000 people who packed a meeting to support a man they called one of the state’s most important guardians of public access to the coastline." FULL STORY: http://www.sfgate.com/science/

Just in time for Valentine's Day! A West Marin love story (in SFGate no less). "Claire Herminjard did not want to date a meat guy. When she met David Evans in 2010, she was looking for business advice. The two felt a flash of connection when they realized how much their ideals about agriculture, and life, lined up. They probably even fell in love that day. But the timing wasn’t right because Herminjard had made it a rule: Do not get involved with a meat guy." FULL LOVE STORY: http://www.sfchronicle.com/rec

Tomorrow is the big showdown in Morro Bay over the removal of the California Coastal Commission's Executive Director Charles Lester. "The (removal) campaign was spurred by (those) who would prefer a less restrictive approach to coastal development projects and are hoping to replace Lester with someone more compliant to their will." Legions are expected to attend Wednesday’s 10 a.m. hearing on the Central Coast, prompting staffers to move it to a larger venue. FULL STORY: http://www.pressdemocrat.com/n

A reader shared this: "Kent Lake is spilling. A guy from MMWD told me: 'We're in great shape.' Now if we can just take the rest of the state with us...." So will the Nicasio Reservoir spill over too? And will it ever rain again? (thanks BE)

I heard that someone sighted a mountain lion near the Nicasio School this weekend. While doing research I discovered the 'triple crown' which is where you see a mountain lion, a bobcat and a lynx all in one day. Apparently Miles DeGraffenreid did just that in Walnut Creek recently. Amazing. FULL STORY: http://www.sfgate.com/outdoors

(photo by John Richards of a mountain lion in Palo Alto)