The BBC reports
Scientists in Egypt have identified a new species of four-legged whale that lived around 43 million years ago.
The fossil of the amphibious Phiomicetus anubis was originally discovered in Egypt’s Western Desert.
Read more at New species of ancient four-legged whale discovered in Egypt – BBC News
Posted in Animals | Tags: Four Legged Whale
The San Francisco Chronicle reports
Lassen Volcanic National Park is still on fire. The second largest conflagration in California history, the Dixie Fire, has now spread over more than half of the park, with nearly 65,000 of the park’s 106,452 acres burned.
And while it’s too soon to assess the damage, initial reports and photographs show that some structures and areas of the park are in pretty bad shape, while others remain pristine and standing.
Seeing what the inside of Lassen looks like now can be upsetting, but park officials emphasize that the entire region was once covered in volcanic ash and rock, and that the resilient park will eventually recover.
Posted in Park | Tags: Dixie Fire, Lassen Volcanic National Park
California Biodiversity Day takes place on September 7th of each year, marking the anniversary of the launch of the California Biodiversity Initiative in 2018. This annual event celebrates our state’s exceptional biodiversity, while also encouraging actions to protect it. This year, we are excited to have many partners joining us to host California Biodiversity Day events from September 4 to September 12. Please check out the events at California Biodiversity Day 2021.
Posted in Animals, Environment, Wildflowers and Other Plants | Tags: California Biodiversity Day
from Santa Barbara Maritime Museum
Good news! SBMM has extended the online SCAPE original artwork exhibit and sale through September 15, so you have two more weeks to purchase a lovely original piece of art from local Santa Barbara artists. Visit sbmm.org for more information and to buy fine art and support the Museum.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tags: Art Exhibit
from the National Wildlife Federation
Check out our new Eco Region Keystone Host Plant Lists from Dr. Doug Tallamy and pollinator conservationist, Jarrod Fowler. These native plants are critical to the food web as they support higher numbers of wildlife species completing their life cycle. Without keystone plants in the landscape, butterflies, native bees, and birds will not thrive.
Find your state on the eco region map and click on the list of the best native plants for butterflies, moths, and pollen specialist bees in your area.
Posted in Environment, Wildflowers and Other Plants | Tags: Native Plants Supporting Wildlife
The BBC reports
At least 30% of the world’s tree species face extinction in the wild, according to a new assessment.
They range from well-known oaks and magnolias to tropical timber trees.
Experts say 17,500 tree species are at risk – twice the number of threatened mammals, birds, amphibians and reptiles combined.
Read more at One in three trees face extinction in wild, says new report – BBC News
Posted in Environment | Tags: Tree Extinction
Center for Biological Diversity News Release
Feds Announce Lease Sale as Louisiana Reels From Impacts of Hurricane Ida
WASHINGTON— Immediately following the Biden administration’s decision to offer more than 80 million acres of the Gulf of Mexico for oil and gas leasing, environmental and Gulf groups today filed a challenge to the lease sale in court.
Earthjustice filed the lawsuit in federal court in the District of Columbia on behalf of Healthy Gulf, Sierra Club, Friends of the Earth and the Center for Biological Diversity. It was filed against Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management following the notice of lease sale 257.
Posted in Environment | Tags: Gulf of Mexico for Oil
Forest Service Closure Information To better provide public and firefighter safety due to the ongoing California wildfire crisis, the USDA Forest Service has temporarily closed the national forests in the Pacific Southwest Region from August 31, 2021 at 11:59pm through September 17, 2021 at 11:59pm. This closure affects the Inyo National Forest in Mono County. Read the press release https://assets.simpleviewinc.com/simpleview/image/upload/v1/clients/monocounty/Humbolldt_Toiyabe_News_Release_307353df-0704-4a48-a41b-a1204dcdf0b6.pdf
Read more about what it open and closed in Mono County at USFS Closure Information
Posted in Park
Meet Academy educators online from your home or classroom via interactive livestreams for K-8 students. at Take a Virtual Field Trip with our Distance Learning Programs!| California Academy of Sciences
Posted in Class/Workshop, Talks | Tags: California Academy of Sciences
Photos from a visit to the Regional Parks Botanic Garden in Tilden Park in Berkeley on August 30, 2021
The Regional Parks Botanic Garden is a botanic garden of California native plants.
You can see other photos from the Regional Parks Botanic Garden by several photographers on the garden’s Flickr group page at Regional Parks Botanic Garden.
Center for Biological Diversity News Release
WASHINGTON— Three neonicotinoid insecticides likely harm all of the country’s 38 protected amphibians and roughly three fourths of all other endangered plants and animals, according to long-anticipated studies released today by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Neonicotinoids are the most popular insecticides used in the United States. Hundreds of studies have shown they play a major role in population-level declines of bees, birds, butterflies and freshwater invertebrates. Today’s draft biological evaluations represent the first time the EPA has evaluated the chemicals’ potential to harm the nation’s most imperiled plants and animals.
Posted in Environment | Tags: Endangered species, neonicotinoid pesticides
See the UC Berkeley Botanical Garden calendar of events for September at UC Berkeley Events Calendar | Botanical Garden
There are a number of talks on Oaks and a virtual butterfly walk.
Posted in Talks | Tags: UC Berkeley Botanical Garden Events
from the Huntington
The West on Fire, explores the West’s relationship with fire, and how it has shaped both our past and present. Topics include fire practices in Indigenous communities, the history of Black firefighters in Los Angeles, smoke and urban air quality, farmworker community health during wildfires, post-wildfire debris flow, the origins and endurance of Smokey Bear, incarcerated firefighters, and more. Learn more at Podcast: Western Edition > Huntington-USC Institute on California and the West > USC Dana and David Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
Posted in Environment
NPR reports
Recent, intense wildfire seasons are helping scientists understand the apocalyptic swirls of smoke, wind and flame known as fire tornadoes. They’re working to determine if the fiery phenomena are occurring more often as fires grow more intense and the conditions that create them more frequent. Read about the data they’ve gathered so far or listen to the story.
Posted in Environment | Tags: Fire Tornado
Vox writes about the drought on the Colorado River and the impact on animals
The 20-plus-year drought in the American West hit a new extreme this week as the US government declared a water shortage on the Colorado River for the first time in history.
The megadrought is threatening wildlife, and state agencies are pouring in resources to keep important species alive — in some cases, by flying water in helicopters to remote, artificial watering holes where bears, sheep, and other thirsty animals seek relief.
Read story at The Colorado River faces an extreme drought. What does that mean for animals? – Vox
Posted in Animals, Environment | Tags: Airlifting Water for animals, Colorado River, Drought
The Sacramento Bee reports
With fires raging across the state, the USDA Forest Service is closing all 20 million acres of California’s national forests to public access for two weeks beginning Tuesday.
In an announcement Monday, the Forest Service said the closure will extend through at least Sept. 17.
“I have made the difficult decision to temporarily close all (California) National Forests in order to better provide public and firefighter safety due to extreme fire conditions throughout the state, and strained firefighting resources throughout the country,” California’s regional forester, Jennifer M. Eberlien, said
This closure starts at noon Tuesday.
Those caught entering Forest Service lands — including developed campgrounds, hiking trails and recreation sites — typically face fines of up to $5,000 for violating closure orders.
Read more at California national forests ordered closed to prevent fires | The Sacramento Bee
Posted in Park | Tags: All California National Forests Closed
In celebration of National Wildlife Day, Join Los Padres ForestWatch as we host an exciting virtual presentation and Q&A, ‘Plight of the Puma: In Southern California” with Miguel Ordeñana, Community Science Senior Manager & Wildlife Biologist with the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.
from UC Berkeley
For nearly half a century, lightning-sparked blazes in Yosemite’s Illilouette Creek Basin have rippled across the landscape — closely monitored, but largely unchecked.
Their flames might explode into plumes of heat that burn whole hillsides at once, or sit smoldering in the underbrush for months.The result is approximately 60 square miles of forest that look remarkably different from other parts of the Sierra Nevada: Instead of dense, wall-to-wall tree cover — the outcome of more than a century of fire suppression — the landscape is broken up by patches of grassland, shrubland and wet meadows filled with wildflowers more abundant than in other parts of the forest. These gaps in the canopy are often punctuated by the blackened husks of burned trunks or the fresh green of young pines.
Read more at : How wildfire restored a Yosemite watershed | Berkeley News
Posted in Environment, Park | Tags: How wildfire restored a Yosemite watershed, Yosemite
See a list of all events for Golden Gate National Parks at Events in the Parks | Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy
Posted in Park | Tags: Golden Gate National Parks Events
UC Berkeley Rausser College of Natural Resources reports
Environmental advocates have expressed concern that cannabis farms are diverting water from rivers and streams, which could harm fish and other wildlife.
Read story at Cannabis farms irrigating with groundwater may affect stream flows | UC Berkeley Rausser College of Natural Resources
Posted in Environment | Tags: Cannabis Farms, Groundwater
CornellLab of Ornithology writes about using birds as an environmentally friends alternative to the pesticides
Across America and beyond, farmers and vineyard and orchard owners are enlisting wild birds—from raptors to songbirds—in a sustainable battle against pests. They erect nest boxes, install raptor perches, or plant inviting native cover—all of which offer less expensive natural pest control than other traditional methods.
Birds are environmentally benign, while poisons are not. And pest-controlling birds stay on the job, while pesticides must be reapplied, and the effect of bird-scaring balloons, hawk silhouettes, and propane cannons quickly wears off.
Read article at At Orchards and Vineyards, Birds Are Outperforming Pesticides | All About Birds All About Birds
Posted in Animals | Tags: Birds Outperform Pesticides
Center for Biological Diversity News Release
Chico Project Would Pave Over Vernal Pools, Threaten Endangered Species
SACRAMENTO, Calif.— The Center for Biological Diversity sued the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today for approving a mixed-use development in Northern California and failing to protect endangered species habitat.
Today’s lawsuit challenges the permitting of the Stonegate development, a 314-acre residential and commercial project that would destroy vernal pool habitat near Chico. The site is home to imperiled species like the vernal pool fairy shrimp, vernal pool tadpole shrimp and the endangered flower known as Butte County meadowfoam.
Posted in Environment | Tags: Chico California, Threats to Vernal Pools
BayNature article on possible impact of recall election
California Governor Gavin Newsom’s recall election in mid-September, should he lose, will very likely terminate the floundering politician’s career. A late-term gubernatorial replacement would also mean a potentially major shift in California environmental policies. If voters yank Newsom, a Democrat, from office, he is likely to be replaced by a Republican. The leading candidate, Larry Elder, is a far-right conservative and libertarian who calls climate change a “religion.”
Newsom and his supporters warn that replacing him with Elder, best known as a talk show host, risks rollbacks of state fracking bans and executive orders targeting greenhouse gas emission reductions, fuel efficiency, and biodiversity conservation. The agenda of a new administration could, they say, be a disaster for California’s environmental policies and role as an international environmental leader – and would come on the heels of the United Nations’ report warning of cataclysmic and inevitable climate change and the need to curb emissions.
“A new governor right now could scuttle everything,” says Daniel Gluesenkamp, executive director of the California Institute for Biodiversity and former executive director of the California Native Plant Society.
Read more at Newsom Recall Could Mean a Seismic Shift for Conservation – Bay Nature
Posted in Environment | Tags: California Recall Election
Posted in Environment | Tags: Intelligent Species
Bay Nature writes about how oaks survive fires
healthy oaks do usually survive most fires. And thank goodness—they are among my favorite trees. Oaks are not the oldest, widest, largest, or tallest trees, but wherever they occur, they tend to dominate both in the forest and in scrubland. Oaks cover approximately one-third of California’s 33 million acres of forest.
Read more at Ask the Naturalist | How Do Oak Trees Survive Fire? – Bay Nature
Posted in Environment | Tags: Trees and Fire
Greeting’s native plant enthusiasts!
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Native Plant Program has received three new Sr. Environmental Scientist Specialist full-time positions to support the conservation and recovery of native plant species. Each position will have a distinct position number and RPA Number; therefore, you will need a separate and complete application package to apply for each position you are interested in. The positions are as follows:
Posted in Job Openings | Tags: Job Openings
Posted in Park | Tags: National Park Birthday
The Revelator reports on A project in Los Angeles could help communities that lack tree canopy and provide a much-needed tool to protect residents from dangerous temperatures.
As heat wave after heat wave scorches the West this summer, it may feel like there’s no escape from the record-breaking temperatures. But mounting research shows one way to help beat the heat: Urban communities with more tree cover fare much better than those that lack a green canopy.
This lack of “tree equity” strongly correlates with race and income. A study of more than 3,000 communities across the United States determined that poor communities with a majority of people of color tend to have less green infrastructure and fewer trees than well-to-do, white areas.
Read more at Closing the Tree Equity Divide • The Revelator
Posted in Environment | Tags: Tree Equity Divide
The LA Times reports on efforts to save endangered species from total extinction
Globally, more than a million plants and animals face extinction due to habitat loss, climate change and other factors related to human activity, and this alarming loss of biodiversity is only accelerating. In California, conservationists and biologists have identified scores of species in potential peril, including many icons of the state’s beloved wildlands — chinook salmon, giant sequoias, Joshua trees, desert tortoises, California red-legged frogs, gray whales.
Now, a hellish summer of extreme fire activity, drought and heat are again pushing some species to the brink of oblivion. Seized by a newfound urgency, state and federal biologists, research institutions, conservation organizations and zoos have been racing to save the most threatened species with a bold campaign of emergency translocations, captive breeding programs and seed banks. Some have likened the effort to a modern-day Noah’s Ark.
Read full article at California builds ‘Noah’s Ark’ as extinction looms – Los Angeles Times
Posted in Animals, Environment, Wildflowers and Other Plants | Tags: Extinction Threats
Happy #BlackInNationalParksWeek!
Black In National Parks week creator Nicole Jackson and James Edward Mills of The Joy Trip Project shared their thoughts on the role people of color have played in the management of public land on The Takeaway
Posted in Park | Tags: Black In National Parks Week
Natural History Wanderings 