From Yosemite National Park
Posted in Drives, Park | Tags: Tioga Pass Road, Yosemite
As the Rare Plant Nursery Technician, you’ll help with nursery and seed bank work related to rare plant conservation and research. You’ll spend a lot of time doing greenhouse work, seed cleaning, seed bank curation, and minimal fieldwork. This full-time (40 hours per week), non-exempt position reports to the Rare Plant Biologist and works primarily with the Rare Plant Conservation Team. The term for this position is 12 months, with the potential to extend the appointment based on funding availability and performance. Ability to work a shifted schedule that includes one weekend day is preferred. This is an in-person position, with minimal opportunities for remote work. This position is being considered at Technician Level 1 or Level 2, depending on applicant education and experience, with a pay range of $19-$24 per hour. For more information, and to apply, please visit https://tinyurl.com/Rare-Plant-Nursery-Technician
— Read on forum.cnps.org/
Posted in Job Openings | Tags: Job Opening
From Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Iridescence shows up in a host of species across the avian world, but hummingbirds are next-level, officially claiming the mantle of the most colorful birds on Earth. Take a fantastic voyage into the microscopic universe contained within hummingbird feathers and discover their dazzling secrets.
Download a Free Illustrated Poster: “Gems of the Western Hemisphere” depicts more than 50 gorgeous hummingbirds in shades from amethyst to sapphire to ruby.
Posted in Birds | Tags: Hummingbirds
| During this week, community, non-profit, faith-based, and government organizations and agencies hold events throughout the country. From hiking and camping to community roundtables and film screenings, these activities promote conservation efforts in their community, and provide an opportunity for Latinos to show their support for permanently protecting our land, water, and air. This national initiative runs July 15-23. |
Posted in Environment | Tags: Latino Conservation Week
The Revelator reports
New research shows that these ecosystem engineers can be an “ally in stopping the decline of biodiversity.”
Researchers in Poland have found another reason to love beavers: They benefit wintering birds.
The rodents, once maligned as destructive pests, have been getting a lot of positive press lately. And for good reason. Beavers are ecosystem engineers. As they gather trees and dam waterways, they create wetlands, increase soil moisture, and allow more light to reach the ground. That drives the growth of herbaceous and shrubby vegetation, which benefits numerous animals.
Read more at Nature’s Supermarket: How Beavers Help Birds — And Other Species • The Revelator
Posted in Animals, Environment | Tags: Beavers
From Friends of the Regional Parks Botanic Garden
A special summer plant sale will be held July 15-16 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. both days. The sale will be at the Juniper Lodge, where the weekly plant sales have been. This will be the last plant sale until the Fall Sale on October 7th, 2023.
— Read on nativeplants.org/special-july-weekend-plant-sale/
Posted in Garden | Tags: Native Plant Sale
From Inyo National Forest
Lake Mary Road and roads within the Lakes Basin: opening Friday, July 14 at 8:00 a.m.Posted in Drives, Park | Tags: Inyo National Forest
Hazard Tree Abatement will continue, and as a result, there may be temporary traffic stops along the way. Please exercise patience and follow any guidance from the authorities.
The Twin Lakes campground will be the only one open for now.
Mother Nature has blessed us with abundant water, and Coldwater Creek is overflowing. As you drive through the area, please maintain a slow speed and DO NOT park on flooded shoulders.Posted in Drives | Tags: Lakes Basin
The New York Times Reports
Strips of sharp metal pins are meant to keep birds away from buildings. Some birds are stealing them to build their nests.
Read on www.nytimes.com/2023/07/13/science/magpies-birds-nests.html
Posted in Birds | Tags: Unique Bird Nests
Organ Pipe Cactus is currently seeking volunteers for the winter season. Positions include Campground Host, Campground Assistant, Custodial, Interpretation and Visitor Center and Astronomy volunteers.
Volunteers at ORPI must come with a fully self-contained RV and are provided with an RV site in an exclusive VIP RV Campground with all hook-ups and utilities, as well as a community room with Wi-Fi, laundry facilities, showers and freezers. The agreement in exchange for the site and utilities is 32 hours of volunteer work per week, per person.
Learn more and apply at https://www.volunteer.gov/s/
Posted in Job Openings, Park | Tags: Organ Pipe
NPR reports
A new study in the journal PLOS Biology finds that these humble insects can actually learn to solve puzzles from one another, suggesting that even some invertebrates like these social insects have a capacity for what we humans call “culture.”
Read story at Bumblebees’ puzzle-solving powers suggest a capacity for animal culture : NPR
Posted in Animals | Tags: Bumblebees' puzzle-solving powers
State Route 120 W is now open between Lee Vining and the eastern entrance to Yosemite National Park. The park entrance remains closed at this time and vehicles will not be able to drive into the park from the Mono County side.
Posted in Drives | Tags: Highway 120 Update
from Sierra Magazine
The magic and myth of the mustangs seem to collide with the realities of landscape management, policy tussles, and laws that haven’t been meaningfully updated since the 1970s.
Posted in Animals | Tags: Wild Horses
Saguaro National Park is recruiting interns to join the Education team through the Next Generation Ranger Corps. From field trips to camps to youth leadership and volunteerism, Next Gens work in every corner of the park’s community. If you have a curiosity for the desert landscape and want to share your joy of discovery, you can be part of the Saguaro National Park mission.
In addition to the stellar learning opportunities, work experience, and networking benefits, Next Gens earn $17.54+/hour and are eligible for Public Lands Corps hiring authority after completing at least 640 hours of service.
Applications are accepted through July 14th. Find the full job description and contact information at https://www.nps.gov/…/next-generation-ranger-corps.htm (or by searching Next Generation Rangers on our website)
Posted in Job Openings, Park | Tags: Internships, Saguaro National Park
NPR reports
Fourteen Angolan giraffes walk into a truck … and then travel more than 800 miles to their historical homeland, where they had been locally extinct for decades. The migrant giraffes rode unsedated for more than 36 hours this week from Namibia to their new home in Iona National Park, in Angola.
Who are they?
Read more14 Angolan giraffes have been sent to Angola, where they were extinct : NPR
Posted in Animals | Tags: Angola Giraffes
The New York Times reports
Electric green algal blooms are spreading, threatening wildlife, pets, people and cities. And algae season is only getting started.
Read more at It’s Toxic Slime Time on Florida’s Lake Okeechobee
Posted in Environment | Tags: Green Algal Blooms, Toxic Slime
The Sacramento Bee reports.
Savolainen and his colleagues determined that same-sex behavior within the monkey population was extremely common and likely beneficial, according to a study published July 10 in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution.
Read article at www.sacbee.com/news/nation-world/world/article277207103.html
Posted in Animals | Tags: Monkey Sexual Behavior
California Botanic Garden is seeking a passionate, creative, and self-motivated individual to join the Garden’s horticulture staff. Under supervision of the Grounds Manager, the Horticulturist-I maintains the living collection, including planting, pruning, weeding, watering, mulching, and removing dead plants; maintains irrigation systems, decomposed granite paths, and other garden facilities.
Learn more and see how to apply at Horticulturist – I, California Botanic Garden – CNPS Forums
Posted in Job Openings | Tags: CALIFORNIA BOTANIC GARDEN, Job Opening
The BBC reports on common poisonous plants in the UK at UK poisonous plants: The dangerous plants lurking in plain sight – BBC News
Posted in Uncategorized | Tags: poisonous plants
NPR reports
A deadly toxin has been poisoning sea lions and dolphins, causing seizures, erratic behavior, bulging eyes and foaming at the mouth. It has been especially worse for pregnant mammals.
— Read on www.npr.org/2023/07/11/1186747010/sea-lions-sick-dying-southern-california-coast-algal-bloom-algae
Posted in Animals | Tags: dolphins, Sea Lions, Toxic algae
The New York Times reports
Scientists say that reintroducing the fast-moving predators to the West Coast could help control the spread of sea urchins that are devouring kelp.
The kelp forests off the West Coast are dying, and with their decline, an entire ecosystem of marine plants and animals is at risk. A large starfish with an appetite for sea urchins could come to the rescue.
One reason for the disappearing kelp is the tremendous expansion of the sea urchin population that feeds on it — including an estimated 10,000 percent increase in their numbers over the past few years in a reef surveyed off the coast of Oregon. And it may be that sea urchins have multiplied because one of their chief predators, the sunflower sea star, has been nearly wiped out by disease.
Read more at The Missing 24-Limbed Animals That Could Help Rescue the Ocean’s Forest
Posted in Animals, Environment | Tags: Loss of Kelp, Sea Urchins, Sunflower Sea Star
Wane.com reports
Hungry ticks have some slick tricks. They can zoom through the air using static electricity to latch onto people, pets, and other animals, new research shows.
Humans and animals naturally pick up static charges as they go about their days. And those charges are enough to give ticks a boost to their next blood meal, according to a study published Friday in the journal Current Biology.
Read more at Hungry ticks use a static trick to land on you and your pets
EarthSky reports
Before 1992, when astronomers found the first exoplanets, they assumed other solar systems – if they existed – would be similar to ours. Now, we’ve found more than 5,000 exoplanets. These known worlds orbit fewer than 4,000 distant stars (of the hundreds of billions of stars in our Milky Way galaxy). And only about 850 of these stars have at least two confirmed planets. So … about 850 known multi-planet systems so far. Most don’t resemble ours. That’s the conclusion of a new study, announced on February 14, 2023, which categorized exoplanet systems into four basic classes. Our local solar system – our sun and its planets – fall into what these scientists are calling the Ordered class. Our class if the rarest of the four, they said.
Read more at EarthSky | Of 4 types of planetary systems, ours is rarest
Posted in Astronomy | Tags: Ordered Class Planetary Systems
From Yosemite National
Enjoying the blooming flowers in Yosemite’s majestic meadows this summer? Help us keep them that way! Meadows are special sponges of biodiversity that are highly vulnerable to human interactions. Over time, when stepped on continuously, meadow soils become compacted, making it exponentially more difficult for native and culturally important plants to flourish. When visiting Yosemite this summer, remember to take a step back! Please admire meadows from a marked trail, boardwalk, bike path, or sidewalk. If you are unsure whether or not a trail is official, you can download the NPS App which is free of charge and available offline. You can also request a free map at the entrance gate!
Posted in Park, Wildflowers and Other Plants | Tags: Yosemite Wildflowers
The Narwhal reports
Biologists are sounding the alarm about logging rare old-growth trees home to the Williamson’s sapsucker — a migratory, at-risk woodpecker
Almost two decades after the Williamson’s sapsucker was listed as endangered under Canada’s Species at Risk Act, the B.C. government continues to sanction logging in the bird’s old-growth forest critical habitat
Read more at B.C. logs old-growth home to endangered sapsucker | The Narwhal
Posted in Birds | Tags: Williamson’s sapsucker
EarthSky reports
Meteors are the streaks of light you see in the night sky. Most meteors are tiny particles left behind by icy comets; they never reach Earth’s surface. But sometimes chunks of more rocky or metallic space debris enter Earth’s atmosphere and survive the fiery passage to the ground. Their name changes on the first bounce off Earth’s surface from meteor to meteorite. A meteorite can turn up just about anywhere on Earth. If you’re looking for one of these space rocks, where do you look?
Read more at EarthSky | Meteorite hunting? Here’s how to find one
Posted in Astronomy | Tags: Meteorite Hunting
From Siskiyou Institute
Join Siskiyou Land Trust for an evening of night sky viewing north of Weed, CA on Hwy. 97 with Barbara Paulson. Tuesday, July 18, 2023 9:00 – 11:00 PM
Barbara will orient us to the major constellations and stars, and also discuss star evolution and other fun universe facts. Directions and details will be provided once you sign up.
To register go to https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfIkB-HydPBg0JBt68QGmdQ1n8BPPkh-ZnsNU3k0Io7vxs1iQ/viewform
Plan on bringing warm clothes, a blanket or beach chair. You can also bring binoculars or a telescope if you have one. July 19th is a back up date in case of clouds/inclement weather.
For questions, contact Laura Bradley at (530) 926-2259 or sltsteward22@gmail.com
Prior to the trip, logistics and meeting place will be confirmed by email. Children are welcome accompanied by a parent. If you are bringing others, excellent! Please have each person fill out this online registration form. Dogs are not allowed except for ADA service animals.
Posted in Astronomy | Tags: Dark Skies
This will be the last plant sale until the Fall Sale on October 7th. Weekly Wednesday morning and monthly first Saturday sales are suspended while we increase inventory for the October 7th, 2023, Fall Sale.
Posted in Garden | Tags: Native Plant Sales
The Revelator reports
Soil’s microbial communities keep it healthy, just like the one in our guts. But new research finds we’re not doing a good enough job of protecting it.
Tackling the biodiversity crisis may mean starting small — very small.
The life we can’t see is some of the most threatened, say researchers of a new study in Nature Microbiology. And those microbial organisms — tiny bacteria, fungi and viruses that live in the soil — are fundamental to our existence.
Read more The Earth Has a Microbiome — And It Needs Help • The Revelator
Posted in Environment | Tags: Soil’s microbial communities
From Inyo National Forest
Posted in Park, Turkey, Walks & Hikes | Tags: Inyo County
Natural History Wanderings 