Documenting gray fox behavior in the Palo Alto Baylands in order to identify and restore healthy habitats and develop the wildlife corridors necessary for their survival. As a result, UWRP helps San Francisco Bay area people and wild nature coexist through research, advocacy, and public education.

The Urban Wildlife Research Project began in 2009 when Bill Leikam, “The Fox Guy” accidentally stumbled across a family of gray foxes living near an old dirt road in the San Francisco Baylands of Central California. Captivated, Bill began watching the foxes and taking extensive notes on their behavior. “How,” he wondered, “could the wild foxes survive among the giant tech companies and urban development that spread over the once-pristine land?”

Sadly, Bill was confronted with the decimation of the total population of 25 gray foxes in 2016. After many years documenting the behavior of the fox families with trail cameras and personal observation, Bill experienced first-hand that the shrinking habitat could not sustain a healthy population of foxes. Many other wildlife species have also been in decline.

Today, the small but mighty UWRP team of volunteers is researching the resurgence of foxes in the area, determining the habitat they need to survive, and acting to protect it. Documenting obstacles to fox movement and threats to their livelihood are essential for identifying areas that need restoring, including corridors for safe passage.