|
Art in Nature 2022 Residency
Posted in Uncategorized | Tags: Arti In Nature Residence, Taft Garden
Conservation of California Walnut 8/17/21
from Channel Islands Chapter of the California Native Plant Society
Conservation of California Walnut (Juglans californica) w/ Dr. Travis Longcore of UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability and Science Director of The Urban Wildlands Group
Tuesday, August 17th, 2021 at 7:00PM
Passcode: 254028
Find your local number: https://cnps-org.zoom.us/u/kLj1E8tt2
Posted in Environment | Tags: California Walnut, Juglans californica
Employment in the energy sector will dramatically expand as economies decarbonize
Anthropocene reports
A team calculated that a decarbonized world could lose 9.5 million fossil fuel jobs—and gain a whopping 17.4 million renewable jobs.
Read article at Employment in the energy sector will dramatically expand as economies decarbonize
Posted in Environment | Tags: Renewable Energy Job Gains
1st Carnivorous Plant Identified In 20 Years Grows Near Vancouver
NPR reports
A pretty little white flower that grows near urban centers of the Pacific Northwest turns out to be a killer.
The bog-dwelling western false asphodel, Triantha occidentalis, was first described in the scientific literature in 1879. But until now, no one realized this sweet-looking plant used its sticky stem to catch and digest insects, according to researchers who note in their study published Monday it’s the first new carnivorous plant to be discovered in about 20 years.
Read or listen to story at 1st Carnivorous Plant Identified In 20 Years Grows Near Vancouver : NPR
Posted in Wildflowers and Other Plants | Tags: Triantha occidentalis, Western false Asphodel
”Conservation of the Smaller Majority – Butterflies of San Diego County” 8/18
from Cabrillo National Monument
Naturally Speaking Virtual Talk: ”Conservation of the Smaller Majority – Butterflies of San Diego County”
- When: Wednesday, August 18th at 6:30 PM Pacific time – 7:30 PM Pacific time
- Where: Cabrillo National Monument Foundation’s Zoom
- Who: Paige Howorth – McKinney Family Curator of Entomology
- How: Register at https://bit.ly/2T6zCdl!
- Cost: Free!
- Audience: All are welcome!
Natural Landscape Photography Awards Competition
The first Natural Landscape Photography Awards, a competition created to find the very best landscape photography of the natural world. This is a competition for digital and film photographers who value realism in their images and edit with this in mind. As a result we have a few more rules (eek!) than other competitions but we hope the result will be a fantastic showcase of not only photographer’s talents, but also the true wonder of the landscape.
We have a range of categories to suit the huge variety of modern approaches to landscape photography from grand scenics, to intimate abstracts. There is a top prize of US $5000 and many other prizes for category winners and runners-up.
Learn more and to find out how to enter go to Natural Landscape Photography Awards | Welcome
Posted in Photography | Tags: Natural Landscape Photography Awards
Job Opening: Greenspace-Executive Director The Cambria Land Trust
Executive Director Search
The mission of Greenspace—The Cambria Land Trust, a 501c3 non-profit organization founded in 1988, is to preserve and protect the environment of the North Coast of San Luis Obispo County by
- Protecting and enhancing open space and natural areas
- Promoting awareness and appreciation of environmental issues
- Promoting sustainable land use and management of natural resources
- Protecting and promoting healthy forests through Monterey Pine Reforestation; and
- Preserving historic and cultural sites which are significant to the area.
Posted in Job Openings | Tags: Job Opening
Siberia’s wildfires are bigger than all the world’s other blazes combined
The Washington Post reports on the enormous size of the fires in Siberia. Below are a few excerpts
fighting forest fires that have burned more than 62,300 square miles since the beginning of the year, according to Greenpeace. That’s an area nearly twice the size of Austria.
More than 100 fires in the United States this year have burned 8,977 square miles, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. In Canada more than 13,000 square miles have burned so far this year in British Columbia and the Yukon, Manitoba and Ontario, according to the Canadian Wildland Fire Information System.
Read full article at Siberia’s wildfires are bigger than all the world’s other blazes combined – The Washington Post
Posted in Environment | Tags: Enormous Siberia Fires
Perseid Meteor Shower Peaks tonight
|
|
Posted in Astronomy | Tags: Perseid Meteor
The ongoing persecution of a public lands wolf pack
WildEarth Guardians reports
The Timberline pack has persisted for 18 years though constantly persecuted—native wolves killed for eating non-native domestic sheep on a public lands national forest
Read story at The ongoing persecution of a public lands wolf pack | WildEarth Guardians
Importance of flowering season duration & planting for pollinators 8/12/21
Job Opportunities: Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks
Posted in Park | Tags: Job Openings
A Major U.N. Report Warns Climate Change Is Accelerating
NPR reports
Global climate change is accelerating and human-caused emissions of greenhouse gases are the overwhelming cause, according to a landmark report released Monday by the United Nations. There is still time to avoid catastrophic warming this century, but only if countries around the world stop burning fossil fuels as quickly as possible, the authors warn.
Read more or listen to story at A Major U.N. Report Warns Climate Change Is Accelerating : NPR
Posted in Environment | Tags: UN Climate Change Report
UK says a failure to act on the climate ‘is justified’
Climate News Network reports
Three months before hosting the UN conference, COP-26, the UK says a failure to act on the climate treaty can be justified.
In a remarkable challenge to the global consensus that the climate crisis is an urgent threat to the planet, the United Kingdom has argued that a failure to act on the climate treaty agreed in 2015 can be justified.
Its stance is all the more bizarre as in less than three months the UK government is to host the crucial United Nations climate conference, COP-26, in the Scottish city of Glasgow, starting on 1 November.
Read more UK says a failure to act on the climate ‘is justified’ | Climate News Network
Posted in Environment | Tags: UK justifies Failure to Act on climate
Protected Areas Work To Support Healthy Bird Populations
Pt. Blue Conservation Science reports
Now there is more evidence to show that protecting areas work to support healthy bird populations. Congrats to our Point Blue Conservation Science scientists for a recent publication in American Ornithological Society‘s journal, “Ornithological Applications”. View the paper with the link: https://academic.oup.com/…/ornithapp/duab035/6332433…
Posted in Birds | Tags: Pt. Blue Conservation Science
Eastern Sierra Photos 7/9/21
A series of photos taken in the Eastern Sierra at Smokey the Bear Flat, along Highway 395 and from Panum Crater.
The insect and plant photos are taken at Smokey the Bear Flat which is a dry, pumice-flat meadow on the east side of Highway 395, just north of the Mammoth Lakes exit. It has some interesting flowers in spite of its dry desolate appearance from highway 395.
You can see large high quality version of these photo and other photos from the Eastern Sierra/White Mt. trip in a Flickr collections at Sierra Nevada and White Mt. Trip July 2021
Why wildfires create red suns and moons
EarthSky reports
Wildfires raging in western North America in 2021 have affected air quality and the look of the sky in places thousands of miles away. Many people have noticed hazy skies overhead or seen at a distance, or red suns and moons. July’s full moon took on an eerie reddish hue, similar to the moon when it undergoes a lunar eclipse. Recent sunsets have featured a hot-pink to electric-orange orb, also due to wildfire smoke drifting in from far away. But what makes the sun and moon turn red?
Read more EarthSky | Why wildfires create red suns and moons
Posted in Environment | Tags: Red Moons, Red Suns, Wildfires
Job Opportunities
Several organizations listed new job openings:
Terrestrial Invertebrate Conservation Ecologist – Santa Barbara Botanic Garden
Senior Environmental Specialist – Extra-Help – County of Sonoma
Posted in Job Openings | Tags: Job Openings
Lassen Park Closed
Posted in Park | Tags: Lassen Park
In South Africa, Poachers Now Traffic in Tiny Succulent Plants
The New York Times reports
Police search the desert trying to track down the poachers selling Conophytums to collectors worldwide, threatening to wipe out rare plants in the wild.
Conophytum, a genus of flowering plants that consists of over 100 species — including several listed as endangered — are the latest victims of a global wave of succulent poaching driven by surging demand from collectors and enthusiasts around the world, but especially in China and Korea, experts said.
Read article at In South Africa, Poachers Now Traffic in Tiny Succulent Plants – The New York Times
Posted in Wildflowers and Other Plants | Tags: Conophytums, Plant Poaching
Proposed Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument expansion would add Walker Ridge tract
Lake County News reports
On Tuesday, Congressman John Garamendi (D-CA03), a former deputy secretary of the Interior during the Clinton Administration, released a discussion draft of the “Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument Expansion Act” for public review and comment.
This draft legislation would expand the National Monument to include a federally owned land parcel known as the “Walker Ridge” tract.
This ridgeline in Lake County has cultural significance to Native Americans and is home to bald eagles and rare wildflowers.
Posted in Environment, Park | Tags: Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument, Walker Ridge
Job Opportunity: Biological Science Technician
Re-vegetation treatments aim to mitigate the degradation of Mojave Desert shrublands impacted by invasive annual grass-fed wildfires. USGS is actively monitoring the effectiveness of ecological restoration so that successful practices can be scaled up to create fuel breaks and re-establish habitat islands burned by large-scale fires. Availability of locally-sourced native seed, however, is limited due to low seed production characteristic of many desert plants.
Core duties:
Collect, enter, and conduct QA/QC checks on data for currently-planted species – Ten common gardens located across the Mojave Desert represent a range of temperature and seasonal rainfall, and have seven different native Mojave species currently planted into them. The incumbents will continue data collection on survival, reproduction, growth, and physiology of plants at these gardens, and compile and conduct QA/QC checks on the collected data.
Read More…
Posted in Job Openings | Tags: Biological Science Technician, Job Opportunity
Oregon’s Bootleg Fire Grew Rapidly in Areas Subject to Logging and Other Management Activities
from Los Padres ForestWatch
The Bootleg Fire in southern Oregon, the nation’s largest year-to-date wildfire, has burned over 413,000 acres since starting on July 6 and merging with the smaller Log Fire on July 19. An independent analysis of the landscape that has burned so far has revealed that tens of thousands of acres of recent thinning, fuel breaks, and other forest management—similar to what has been proposed on Pine Mountain and Mt. Pinos in the Los Padres National Forest—fail to stop or slow the fire’s rapid spread.
Read moreOregon’s Bootleg Fire Grew Rapidly in Areas Subject to Logging and Other Management Activities
Posted in Environment | Tags: Wildfires and Logging
Job Opening: CNPS Executive Director
CNPS Executive Director
⠀
Reporting to the Board of Directors, the Executive Director (ED) serves as the lead executive of the organization, responsible for the implementation of the strategic goals in alignment with the mission, vision, and values of CNPS. In collaboration with staff, more specific areas of responsibility include fundraising; budgeting; Board and Chapter Council support and relations; organizational operations; partner cultivation and stewardship; and staff leadership, support, and management. Learn more.
Posted in Job Openings | Tags: CNPS Executive Director, Job Opening
August CNPS Talks
August 4, 7:30 pm Container Gardening with Native Plants, a talk by Pete Veilleux – SCV Chapter
August 5, 5:30 pm Native Gardening: Plant Selection 101
August 12, 7:30 pm Climate Change Impacts on California Biodiversity – Yerba Buena Chapter
August 14, 9 am California Native Garden Design – Waterwise Community Center
Aug. 18 Paintbrushes in Peril: Rare Castilleja Species of North America, Santa Clara Valley Chapter
Aug. 19 Gardening in Fire Landscapes, CSU Chico Herbar
Posted in Garden, Talks, Wildflowers and Other Plants | Tags: CNPS Talks
Closures in Los Padres National Forest
from Los Padres ForestWatch
The Forest Service has closed Sunset Valley Road, Davy Brown, and Nira Campgrounds to all traffic including pedestrians through March 30, 2022. The closures relate to repairs and bridge construction that are part of a project aimed at improving fish passage in local streams. All trails in the Figueroa Mt. Recreation Area except the Catway OHV Trail are to remain open and accessible through alternate points.
Posted in Park | Tags: Los Padres National Forest Closures
Bishop Creek Road Photos 7/8/21
Photos taken along Bishop Creek Road (Highway 168) on July 8, 2021.
You can see large high quality version of these photo and other photos from the Eastern Sierra/White Mt. trip in a Flickr collections at Sierra Nevada and White Mt. Trip July 2021
Posted in Photos (Sandy's), Wildflowers and Other Plants | Tags: Bishop Creek, California Wildflowers
Secrets of ‘1,000-year-old trees’ unlocked
The BBC reports
Scientists have discovered the secret of how the ginkgo tree can live for more than 1,000 years.
A study found the tree makes protective chemicals that fend off diseases and drought.
Read more Secrets of ‘1,000-year-old trees’ unlocked – BBC News
Posted in Environment | Tags: 1000 year old trees, Ginko Trees
Job Openings: Wild Birds Unlimited
Wild Birds Unlimited of Novato is now hiring for the position of part- and full-time Sales Associate.
Applications can be obtained at the store or downloaded here. Applications and/or resumes may be submitted to wbumarin@gmail.com or in-person at our Novato location. For more information, contact Mike or Jack Gedney by phone at (415) 893-0500 or at wbumarin@gmail.com.
Read more at Wild Birds Unlimited – Nature Shop
Posted in Job Openings | Tags: Job Openings
Bristlecone Pine Photos 7/7/21
Photographed in the Patriarch Grove on White Mountain July 7, 2021.
from Wikipedia
Pinus longaeva (commonly referred to as the Great Basin bristlecone pine, intermountain bristlecone pine, or western bristlecone pine) is a long-living species of bristlecone pine tree found in the higher mountains of California, Nevada, and Utah. Methuselah is a bristlecone pine that is 4,852 years old and has been credited as the oldest known living non-clonal organism on Earth. To protect it, the exact location of this tree is kept secret. In 1987, the bristlecone pine was designated one of Nevada’s state trees. The tree named “The Partriarch” in 1951 it was added to the American Forestry Association’s list of big trees as the largest Bristlecone PIne.(included in photo slideshow below)
These ancient trees have a gnarled and stunted appearance, especially those found at high altitudes, and have reddish-brown bark with deep fissures. As the tree ages, much of its vascular cambium layer may die. In very old specimens, often only a narrow strip of living tissue connects the roots to a handful of live branches.
You can see large high quality version of these photo and other photos from the Eastern Sierra/White Mt. trip in a Flickr collections at Sierra Nevada and White Mt. Trip July 2021
Posted in Photos (Sandy's) | Tags: Bristlecone Pines, Oldest Tree, Pinus longeava, White Mt.
Natural History Wanderings 