SF Gate reported
According to experts interviewed by SFGATE, there’s no concrete way to define a superbloom. And even if there were, some find the term problematic altogether.
Read on www.sfgate.com/national-parks/article/calif-superbloom-death-valley-21951556.php
Posted in Wildflowers and Other Plants | Tags: Superbloom hype
SF Gate reported
Hotel and dinner guests were evacuated Monday after a fire broke out in Yosemite National Park’s Ahwahnee Hotel
Read on www.sfgate.com/national-parks/article/yosemite-ahwahnee-hotel-fire-21953201.php
Posted in Park | Tags: Fire at Ahwahnee
See All Upcoming Tejon Ranch Events at Events
Posted in Walks & Hikes | Tags: Tejon Ranch activities
ScienceDaily reported
- Antarctica’s Hektoria Glacier stunned scientists by retreating eight kilometers in just two months, with nearly half of it collapsing in record time. The rapid breakup was driven by a flat, underwater bedrock surface that allowed the glacier to suddenly float and fracture from below. Satellite and seismic data captured the dramatic chain reaction in near real time. The findings raise concerns that much larger glaciers could one day collapse just as quickly.
Read more Antarctica just saw the fastest glacier collapse ever recorded Antarctica just saw the fastest glacier collapse ever recorded
Posted in Environment | Tags: Climate change
See Upcoming Los Padres ForestWatch Upcoming Events at Home | Los Padres ForestWatch
Posted in Birds, Talks | Tags: Los Padres ForestWatch Upcoming Events
Theodore Payne Foundation inspires and educates Southern Californians about the beauty and ecological benefits of California native plant landscapes.We are located on 22 acres of canyon land in the northeast corner of the San Fernando Valley. Our full-service native plant nursery, seed room, book store, art gallery, demonstration gardens, and hiking trails are open to the public year round. We offer garden tours and classes for adults and families, as well as field trips to TPF and in-classroom programs for children. Friendly on-leash dogs are welcome and there is no admission charge!
See upcoming events at Theodore Payne Foundation Events – Upcoming Activities and Tickets | Eventbrite
Posted in Class/Workshop | Tags: Theodore Payne Foundation Upcoming Events
SF Gate reported
The Olympic marmot, a chubby, whistling ground squirrel found only in the high alpine meadows in and around Olympic National Park, has finally made progress toward federal protection. After nearly two years of silence about the creature’s dwindling numbers, federal wildlife officials have taken a long-awaited first step after a lawsuit accused the agency of missing legally required deadlines.
Read on www.sfgate.com/national-parks/article/olympic-marmots-endangered-species-21338309.php
Photographed in the East Bay Regional Parks Botanic Garden in Tilden Park in Berkeley, CA on February 23, 2026.
The Regional Parks Botanic Garden is a California native plant garden. It is located within Tilden Park in the hills above Berkeley, California, It is a 10-acre garden includes many of the state’s rare and endangered plants and a place for visitors to wander among trees, shrubs, flowers, and grasses from plant communities throughout the state. There are free weekend and holiday tours. Admission and parking are free. For more information about the garden visit the Friends of the Regional Parks Botanic Garden.
See the calendar of upcoming events for the East Bay Regional Parks at https://www.ebparks.org/calendar
Posted in Park, Walks & Hikes | Tags: East Bay Regional Parks
NBC Bay Area
A blood-red moon will soon grace the skies for a total lunar eclipse — and there won’t be another until late 2028.
The spectacle will be visible Tuesday morning from North America, Central America and the western part of South America. Australia and eastern Asia can catch it Tuesday night. Partial stages of the eclipse with small bites taken out of the moon can be seen from Central Asia and much of South America. Africa and Europe will be shut out.
Solar and lunar eclipses happen due to a precise alignment of the sun, moon and Earth. There are between four and seven a year, according to NASA.
Read more A total lunar eclipse will turn the moon blood red on Tuesday
Posted in Uncategorized
Monga Bay reported
For farmers, sometimes the easiest way to save a crop or prevent catastrophic insect damage is to spray a pesticide. But this common practice is wreaking havoc on the soil, according to new research published recently in the journal Nature. The study examined soil from 26 European countries, finding that pesticide contamination is widespread beyond … Continue reading
Posted in Environment | Tags: Pesticides
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Catalina Island Trip Details -Tuesday, March 10, 2026 Duration: A full day on Catalina Island – The boat departs from Long Beach Harbor for Avalon at 9:50 am, and we’re on the 7:55 pm return. Please meet in Long Beach at 8:30 am for check-in. Group Size: Limited to 15 volunteers. Difficulty: Easy to moderate walking on well-maintained trails. What is included:
What is not included:
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Posted in Environment | Tags: Catalina Island Marine Institute
New Scientist reported
Temnothorax kinomurai, a parasitic ant species found in Japan, reproduces asexually and all of its young develop into queens that try to take over other ants’ colonies
Read more Everyone’s a queen: The ant species with no males or workers
Posted in Animals | Tags: Parasitic Ants, Temnothorax kinomurai
ScienceDaily reported
Plants make chemical weapons to protect themselves, and many of these compounds have become vital to human medicine. Researchers found that one powerful plant chemical is produced using a gene that looks surprisingly bacterial. This suggests plants reuse microbial tools to invent new chemistry. The insight could help scientists discover new drugs and produce them more sustainably.
Read on www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/02/260203030546.htm
Posted in Wildflowers and Other Plants | Tags: Microbial Tools
SF Gate reported
Golden mussels, an invasive species of mollusk known to wreak havoc on water infrastructure and aquatic habitats, are spreading rapidly through California.
Read on www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/california-golden-mussels-21941209.php
Posted in Animals | Tags: Golden Mussels, Invasive species
Audubon reported on December 16, 2025
A new collection of case studies highlights how nature can provide resilient, cost-effective answers to today’s infrastructure challenges.
The challenges facing communities and the environment are daunting: severe weather, flooding, and the impacts of climate change have all taken center stage. Today Audubon released a new report highlighting approaches to these issues that are rooted in nature-based solutions: methods of harnessing the power of nature to provide benefits for our communities and the environment. Nature-based solutions utilize ecosystems to protect people, their homes and communities, and promote biodiversity.
Read more at Audubon Releases “Nature Works!” Showcasing Nature-Based Solutions
Posted in Environment
Our biggest fundraiser of the year is back, with a 2026 goal of raising $180,000 to protect Bay Area birds. Your participation supports our youth education program, habitat restoration, and conservation advocacy. Over thirty tours will be available. Registration opens at 1 pm on Feb. 28
Learn more at 2026 Golden Gate Birdathon
Posted in Birds | Tags: Golden Gate Birdathon
Friends of California Condors Wild and Free Upcoming Events at Events | Friends of California Condors Wild and Free
Posted in Uncategorized
Photographed in the East Bay Regional Parks Botanic Garden in Tilden Park in Berkeley, CA on February 23, 2026.
The Regional Parks Botanic Garden is a California native plant garden. It is located within Tilden Park in the hills above Berkeley, California, It is a 10-acre garden includes many of the state’s rare and endangered plants and a place for visitors to wander among trees, shrubs, flowers, and grasses from plant communities throughout the state. There are free weekend and holiday tours. Admission and parking are free. For more information about the garden visit the Friends of the Regional Parks Botanic Garden.
Colorado wildlife authorities have introduced a plan to reintroduce the wolverine, one of the largest members of the weasel family, back into the state where it’s been absent for a century.
— Read on www.goodnewsnetwork.org/colorado-begins-planning-return-of-wolverine-across-its-parks-absent-for-more-than-100-years/
Posted in Animals | Tags: Colorado Wolverine Reintroduction
SF Gate reported
Big Basin Redwoods State Park in the Santa Cruz Mountains, the oldest state park in California, is now 153 acres larger, thanks to the $2.415 million purchase of a storied nearby property.
NoraBella, or “the Gateway to Big Basin,” was purchased by California State Parks from the conservation nonprofit Sempervirens Fund and permanently added to Big Basin’s now 18,376 acres, California State Parks announced on Thursday. The property borders Saddle Mountain at the park’s eastern entrance, and features creeks, waterfalls, canyons and a diverse forest habitat home to gray foxes and mountain lions.
Read more Purchase of contentious 153-acre property permanently expands Big Basin Redwoods State Park
Posted in Park | Tags: Big Basin State Park, NoraBella
Numbers of rare butterfly eggs have skyrocketed in Wales after landowners let their hedgerows grow wild to help the Brown Hairstreak survive.
— Read on www.goodnewsnetwork.org/numbers-of-rare-butterfly-eggs-are-best-on-record-after-hedges-allowed-to-grow-wild/
Posted in Butterflies, Wildflowers and Other Plants | Tags: Butterflies and Hedges, Habitat
NPR reported
A newly discovered species of large dinosaur lived in marshy areas, hunted for fish and had an impressive horn protruding from its skull. It is the first time in over 100 years that scientists have discovered a new species of Spinosaurus dinosaurs, which are large fish-eating predators that first emerged during the Jurassic period more than 140 million years ago.
Read more at New Spinosaurus species had a massive head crest
Posted in Animals | Tags: New Species, Spinosaurus dinosaurs
The Mendocino Voice reported
After decades of decline, endangered coho salmon have returned to the coast in numbers that more than double the targets set by habitat restoration projects. In 2008, just 5,000 coho were estimated across the entire state, one percent of their historic numbers; over the winter of 2024-25, more than 30,000 were counted in Mendocino County alone, showing that recovery is possible. Conservationists say that while it’s still too early to tell what this season’s numbers might be, it’s looking promising for another good year.
Read more Restoration efforts spark remarkable comeback for coho salmon on Mendocino CoastRestoration efforts spark remarkable comeback for coho salmon on Mendocino Coast
Photographed in the East Bay Regional Parks Botanic Garden in Tilden Park in Berkeley, CA on February 22, 2026.
The Regional Parks Botanic Garden is a California native plant garden. It is located within Tilden Park in the hills above Berkeley, California, It is a 10-acre garden includes many of the state’s rare and endangered plants and a place for visitors to wander among trees, shrubs, flowers, and grasses from plant communities throughout the state. There are free weekend and holiday tours. Admission and parking are free. For more information about the garden visit the Friends of the Regional Parks Botanic Garden.
See the events calendar for the UC Berkeley Botanical Garden at Garden Events
Posted in Class/Workshop, Garden | Tags: UC Berkeley Botanical Garden Events
Officials discuss why Sea lions are making a home in Sacramento instead of by the ocean.
Watch on www.youtube.com/watch
Earth.com reported
A tiny roundworm living in Utah’s Great Salt Lake has now been confirmed as a species never before described by science.
Researchers say its ability to survive in the lake’s extreme salt levels not only expands what scientists know can live there, but also raises new questions about how it arrived and what role it plays in a fragile, bird-supporting ecosystem.
Posted in Animals | Tags: Diplolaimelloides woaabi, New Speciers
The Guardian reported
The lifespan of fish appears to be drastically reduced by pesticides, a study has found.
Even low levels of common agricultural pesticides can stunt the long-term lifespan of fish, according to research led by Jason Rohr, a biologist at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana.
Read more at Pesticides may drastically shorten fish lifespans, study finds
Posted in Animals, Environment | Tags: Impact Pesticides on Fish
SF Gate reported
Yosemite National Park has closed to visitors due to the impacts of a powerful winter storm, which has dumped copious amounts of snow over the park and caused trees to topple around Yosemite Valley and over park roads.
Superintendent Raymond McPadden officially closed the park Thursday afternoon, citing “high snow loading, multiple road closures into and within the park due to heavy snowfall, on-going tree and limb failures, and potential avalanche conditions” in a safety closure notice reviewed by SFGATE. “The closed area includes the entire park,” the notice reads.
Read more Superintendent closes Yosemite National Park for safety reasons
Posted in Park | Tags: Yosemite Closure
Natural History Wanderings 