Mono County Tourism reported
📣 Sonora Pass (108) has reopened!
All three passes are now open: Tioga Pass (120), Monitor Pass (89), and Sonora Pass (108)
📸Sonora Pass 10.6.25 – pre-storm
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | October 19, 2025
Sierra Passes Reopened
Posted in Drives | Tags: Sierra Pass Reopened
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | October 19, 2025
Deadly fungus found at two national parks in Pacific Northwest
SF Gate reported
Wildlife officials in Oregon and Washington have confirmed the presence of a dangerous fungus known for killing millions of bats across North America.
The fungus Pseudogymnoascus, which causes a disease called white-nose syndrome, was found on bats at San Juan Island National Historical Park in Washington, and on bat droppings at Lewis and Clark National Historical Park in Oregon, the U.S. Geological Survey announced on Friday. This is the first time the fungus has been detected in the state of Oregon.
Read more at Deadly fungus found at two national parks in Pacific Northwest
Posted in Animals | Tags: bats, Pseudogymnoascus, White nose syndrome
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | October 18, 2025
Upcoming UC Berkeley Botanical Garden Events
See the events calendar for the UC Berkeley Botanical Garden at Garden Events
Posted in Class/Workshop, Garden | Tags: UC Berkeley Botanical Garden Events
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | October 18, 2025
Indigenous-led protections spark Bali starling’s recovery in the wild
Monga Bay reported
- An Indonesian songbird once nearly extinct in the wild, the Bali starling, is making a comeback through community-led conservation on Nusa Penida and beyond.
- Strict law enforcement and captive breeding failed to reverse the bird’s decline; poaching and habitat loss continued despite decades of formal protections.
- In the early 2000s, conservationists changed tactics, working with communities on Nusa Penida to establish the island as a sanctuary for Bali starlings.
- Villages embraced traditional awig-awig regulations to protect the starling, creating powerful cultural, social and financial deterrents to poaching..
Read more Indigenous-led protections spark Bali starling’s recovery in the wild
Posted in Birds | Tags: Bali Starling
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | October 18, 2025
Bird not seen in 20 years is rediscovered using an audio recorder
Earth.com reported
On August 24, 2025, a simple two note call recorded at 9:35 pm in Andhra Pradesh on the east coast of southern India, confirmed that the Jerdon’s courser still persists in the wild, as shown by a public recording that logs the time and coordinates.
Read more Bird not seen in 20 years is rediscovered using an audio recorder – Earth.com
Posted in Birds | Tags: Jerdon's courser
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | October 17, 2025
Your neighborhood could actually change how your brain works – Earth.com
Earth.com reported
A quiet neighborhood can heal the mind. A neglected one can harm it. Scientists at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine have found that a person’s surroundings may alter the brain’s structure and increase the risk of dementia.
Read on www.earth.com/news/your-neighborhood-could-actually-change-how-your-brain-works/
Posted in Environment | Tags: Neighborhood Impact on Health
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | October 17, 2025
A surge of visitors to Yosemite overwhelms a skeleton crew: ‘This is exactly what we warned about’
The Guardian reported
As the US government shutdown enters its third week, concerns mount over how the nation’s public lands will fare
Read on www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/oct/16/yosemite-government-shutdown-national-parks
Posted in Park | Tags: Government shutdown, Yosemite National Park
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | October 17, 2025
Planet’s first catastrophic climate tipping point reached, report says, with coral reefs facing ‘widespread dieback’
The Guardian reported
Unless global heating is reduced to 1.2C ‘as fast as possible’, warm water coral reefs will not remain ‘at any meaningful scale’, a report by 160 scientists from 23 countries warns
Posted in Environment | Tags: Coral Reets
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | October 17, 2025
More than half of world’s bird species in decline, as leaders meet on extinction crisis
The Guardian reported
Biodiversity losses are growing, the IUCN reports as summit opens, but green turtle’s recovery ‘reminds us conservation works’
Posted in Animals, Birds | Tags: Extinction
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | October 16, 2025
‘New reality’ as world reaches first climate tipping point – News
University of Exeter reported
*Widespread mortality of warm-water coral reefs under way, as world reaches first tipping point
*With global warming set to breach 1.5°C, world dangerously close to further catastrophic tipping points
*These include melting ice sheets, Amazon rainforest dieback and collapse of vital ocean currents
*Tipping points pose a new type of threat that current international structures and agreements are not designed to counter
*Key to averting catastrophe is to act urgently, by supporting societal transformation and triggering ‘positive tipping points’ such as the self-propelling rollout of green technologies
Read on news.exeter.ac.uk/research/new-reality-as-world-reaches-first-climate-tipping-point/
Posted in Environment
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | October 16, 2025
Invasive American mushroom species found in Poland
TVP World reported
Officials are sounding the alarm after an invasive North American species of mushroom was identified in eastern Poland.
The government agency responsible for managing Poland’s forests has said that a mushroom known as the slender golden bolete has been found in Białowieża Forest in eastern Poland.
Read more Invasive American mushroom species found in Poland
Posted in Mushrooms | Tags: Białowieża Forest, Slender Golden Bolete
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | October 16, 2025
Photos of Regional Parks Botanic Garden 10/15/25
Photographed in the East Bay Regional Parks Botanic Garden in Tilden Park in Berkeley, CA on October 15, 2025.
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.
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | October 16, 2025
Chile’s Atacama desert flower could hold key to drought tolerant crops
Reuters reported
In Chile’s arid Atacama, the driest desert in the world, scientists are studying a small, resilient flower that could hold genetic clues to help crops withstand worsening drought conditions driven by climate change.
The Cistanthe longiscapa, known locally as “pata de guanaco,” blooms during rare rainfall events in the Atacama desert, creating a mosaic of colors
Read more Chile’s Atacama desert flower could hold key to drought tolerant crops | Reuters
Posted in Environment, Wildflowers and Other Plants | Tags: Cistanthe longiscap, Pata de Guanaco
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | October 16, 2025
Governor Newsom Approves Park District-Sponsored Legislation Advancing Conservation and Climate Resilience
East Bay Regional Park District reports
The East Bay Regional Park District applauds Governor Gavin Newsom’s signing of landmark legislation, Senate Bill 392, which strengthens conservation efforts and enhances climate resilience across the East Bay, as well as other areas throughout the state. SB 392 was passed unanimously by the legislature.
SB 392, authored by state Sen. Tim Grayson (D-Concord), establishes the East Bay Hills Conservation Program, empowering the Park District to better protect the ecological integrity of the East Bay hills while improving wildfire resilience and expanding public access to natural areas.
Posted in Park | Tags: East Bay Regional Park District
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | October 16, 2025
A volcano erased an island’s plants. Their DNA revealed how life starts over
Volcanic eruptions on the remote island of Nishinoshima repeatedly wipe the land clean, giving scientists a rare chance to study life’s earliest stages. Researchers traced the genetic origins of an extinct purslane population to nearby Chichijima but found striking quirks—evidence of a founder’s effect and genetic drift. These discoveries shed light on how plants recolonize harsh environments and how ecosystems evolve from scratch.
— Read on www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/09/250915202828.htm
Posted in Wildflowers and Other Plants
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | October 15, 2025
Scientists discover orchids sprouting from decaying wood
ScienceDaily reported
Kobe University researchers found that orchids rely on wood-decaying fungi to germinate, feeding on the carbon from rotting logs. Their seedlings only grow near deadwood, forming precise fungal partnerships that mirror those seen in adult orchids with coral-like roots. This discovery highlights a hidden carbon pathway in forest ecosystems and explains the evolution of fully fungus-dependent orchid species.
Source: Scientists discover orchids sprouting from decaying wood | ScienceDaily
Posted in Wildflowers and Other Plants | Tags: Orchids that Sprout in Wood
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | October 15, 2025
Sonoma Land Trust Events
Check out the latest events and news for Sonoma Land Trust at OUTINGS & EVENTS
Posted in Talks, Walks & Hikes
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | October 15, 2025
The Recent New Introduction of Sudden Oak Death and Its Implications for California Forests 1/22
from East Bay CNPS
| October 22, 7:30 pm, via Zoom Register to attend Speaker: Matteo Garbelotto, PhD In this month’s online presentation, Matteo Garbelotto will summarize 25 years of research progress in understanding Sudden Oak Death (SOD). He will also describe how citizen science has discovered a recent new introduction of the SOD pathogen in multiple locations around the Bay Area and how this new introduction potentially puts our forests at greater risk. READ MORE→ |
Posted in Uncategorized
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | October 15, 2025
‘It’s resurrection’: 1,000-year-old seeds could grow ancient plants in England’s ice-age ghost ponds
The Guardian reported
An expert team are resurrecting ice age ponds and finding rare species returning from a ‘perfect time capsule’
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | October 14, 2025
Regional Parks Botanic Garden Photos 10/14/25
Photographed in the East Bay Regional Parks Botanic Garden in Tilden Park in Berkeley, CA on October 14, 2025.
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.
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | October 14, 2025
Sierra Nevada mountain passes closed amid winter storm
SF Gate reported
Caltrans has announced the temporary closure of three different mountain passes in the Sierra Nevada as the region is hit with its first significant storm of the season.
Ebbetts Pass on Highway 4, Sonora Pass on Highway 108 and Monitor Pass on Highway 89 will be closed until noon on Thursday, Caltrans District 10 announced on social media Friday, prior to the storms. The closures come as the Sierra is hit with its first big snowfall of the season, the result of a storm system that started making its way over Northern California on Monday.
Posted in Drives | Tags: Ebbetts Pass, Monitor Pass, Sonora Pass
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | October 14, 2025
India’s Red List Debut: Endangered Species Unveiling at IUCN Congress
Down to Earth reported
India’s first Red List of Endangered Species will be unveiled at the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)’s Conservation Congress to be held in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates from October 9-15, 2025.
Read more India’s Red List Debut: Endangered Species Unveiling at IUCN Congress
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | October 14, 2025
Bloom and Bust
Nature.org reported
In Wyoming, warmer springs and earlier snowmelt could spell trouble for flowering plants and the wildlife that depend on the precise timing of their blossoms and berries.
Read on www.nature.org/en-us/magazine/magazine-articles/bloom-season/
Posted in Animals, Environment, Wildflowers and Other Plants | Tags: Climate change impact on species
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | October 13, 2025
‘Their resilience is a lesson to us all’: The maritime lions hunting seals on the beach
BBC reportedI
n Namibia, a group of desert lions have left their traditional hunting grounds for the Atlantic coast, to become the world’s only maritime lions. One photographer captured this dramatic change in behaviour.
Read more and see photo at : ‘Their resilience is a lesson to us all’: The maritime lions hunting seals on the beach
Posted in Animals | Tags: Maritime Lions
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | October 13, 2025
California Now Has a State Shrub and State Snake
from the California Office of the Governor
Governor Gavin Newsom signed two bills establishing two new state symbols: the bigberry manzanita as the state shrub and the giant garter snake as the state snake.
Los Angeles, California – Governor Gavin Newsom today announced two new state symbols, signing legislation establishing the bigberry manzanita as the state shrub and the giant garter snake as the state snake.
Our state symbols celebrate California’s uniqueness, especially our distinctive ecosystems. California is a global biodiversity hotspot, with both the highest total number of species and the highest number of endemic species in the United States – including our new state shrub and snake.
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | October 13, 2025
Eight arms, endless skills: New study finds an octopus’ arms can do it all
NPR reported
Researchers studied octopuses in the wild to learn whether they favor one of their eight arms over the others for certain jobs, but found the creatures give new meaning to ambidextrous.
Read more Eight arms, endless skills: New study finds an octopus’ arms can do it all : NPR
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | October 12, 2025
Shorebird Nature Center | City of Berkeley
Visit a hands-on nature center where you can explore local wildlife, get indoor and outdoor learning experiences, and discover a building that runs on solar power and strawbales
— Read on berkeleyca.gov/community-recreation/waterfront/shorebird-nature-center
Posted in Animals, Birds | Tags: Shorebird Nature Center
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | October 12, 2025
New Cam Alert! California Condors Return For Last Weeks
Posted in Birds | Tags: California Condor
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | October 12, 2025
Going extinct ‘right under our noses’: the quiet plight of Australia’s rarest bird of prey
The Guardian reported
Restricted now to the tropical north, the mysterious red goshawk is fast disappearing as a result of climate change and habitat loss
Posted in Birds | Tags: Australian Goshawk Extinction Risk
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | October 11, 2025
Photos from my Garden 10/8/25
Photos from my home garden in Berkeley, CA taken on October 8, 2025.
Posted in Photos (Sandy's) | Tags: Garden Photos
Natural History Wanderings 