from Los Padres ForestWatch
|
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | May 26, 2021
Fire Ecology Webinar 5/27/21
Posted in Environment, Talks | Tags: Fire Ecology
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | May 26, 2021
Regional Park Botanic Garden Summer and Fall Classes
Classes – June – September 2021
- Monday, June 14 – Glenn Keator: Winnemucca Lake
- Monday, June 28 – Glenn Keator: Mt. Eddy
- Monday, August 23 – Glenn Keator: Mediterranean Regions of the World Part III: Cape Province of South Africa
- Monday, August 30 – Glenn Keator: Mediterranean Regions of the World Part IV: The Mediterranean Basin
- Two Mondays, September 13 and 20 – Glenn Keator: Basics of Asteraceae: A Guide to Identification
For more detailed information and registration go to: https://nativeplants.org/events-and-classes/classes-field-trips-workshops/
For additional information email: bgardenreg@gmail.com
Advance registration is required for all classes. Drop ins are not permitted.
Refunds can not be given for cancellation made less than a week before a class and 2 weeks before an overnight trip.
If you would like a 2-page PDF of all the information on this page, click here.
Posted in Class/Workshop | Tags: East Bay Regional Parks Botanic Garden Classes
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | May 26, 2021
Good news on Snowy Plover habitat
Golden Gate Audubon reports
This week the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service designated 24,527 acres along the Pacific Coast as critical habitat for endangered Western Snowy Plovers — an important step towards ensuring the species’ recovery and ultimate survival.
The FWS action ends several years of legal conflict over how much land would be designated as critical habitat for the plovers, and doubles the acreage initially proposed in 2005.
Read more at Good news on Snowy Plover habitat
Posted in Birds | Tags: Snowy Plover Protection
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | May 25, 2021
Help The Birds – Build a Birdbath
from Audubon
|
|
|
Posted in Birds, Uncategorized | Tags: Birdbaths
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | May 24, 2021
Total eclipse of year’s closest supermoon on May 26
EarthSky reports
On May 26, 2021, the full moon sweeps through the Earth’s dark umbral shadow to stage a short-lived total eclipse of the moon. Although totality lasts for less than 15 minutes, a partial umbral eclipse precedes and then follows totality by nearly 1 1/2 hours each time. So, from start to finish, the moon takes a little over three hours to cross the Earth’s dark shadow.
This May full moon counts as the closest (and therefore the biggest) full moon of the year. Some people may call it a supermoon. A total eclipse of the year’s closest full moon last occurred on September 28, 2015.
Read more at Total eclipse of year’s closest supermoon on May 26 | Tonight | EarthSky
Posted in Astronomy | Tags: Lunar eclipse
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | May 24, 2021
Governor’s California Comeback Plan includes Sierra Nevada wildfire resilience
Sierra Nevada Conservancy News Release
It is the middle of May, and Californians across the state are starting to feel the effects of a water year that has left much of the state in drought. In the Sierra Nevada, dry-too-soon landscapes dominated by overgrown forests are raising concerns about a rewind of the historically destructive 2020 fire season.
The good news, such as it is, is that state leaders are increasingly allocating resources to match the challenges megafires, like those we saw last year, create for California and the Sierra Nevada.
Last week, Governor Newsom reaffirmed support for a down-payment on Sierra Nevada wildfire resilience with a $708-million 2021-2022 budget proposal. It includes an additional $50 million for the Sierra Nevada Conservancy to fund forest health and fuel reduction projects in the region. If enacted, we expect that funding from this budget would start becoming available for projects in early 2022.
Read more: Governor’s California Comeback Plan includes Sierra Nevada wildfire resilience
Posted in Environment, Park | Tags: sierra Nevada Conservancy, Wildfire Resiience
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | May 23, 2021
Native Bees – Virtual Presentation 5/27/21
From Theodore Payne Foundation for Wild Flowers & Native Plants”
Poppy Hour: Native Bees with Krystle Hickman
Did you know California has over 1,500 native bee species? Join artist and TEDx speaker Krystle Hickman as she showcases native bees. Thursday, May 27 from 5:30-7pm. Free with RSVP; Tickets here.
click read more to learn more about presentation Krystle Hickman
Posted in Animals, Garden | Tags: Native Bees
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | May 23, 2021
Outdoor Asian
Outdoor Asian began as a platform to spread the triumphs, challenges, and stories of the Asian Pacific Islander community, and they continue to work on this tradition. The organization’s vision is crucial: to create a diverse and inclusive community of Asian and Pacific Islanders in the outdoors. Check out their website to find out how you can get involved in this important work.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tags: Outdoor Asian
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | May 23, 2021
Global Cactus Traffickers Are Cleaning Out the Deserts
The New York Times reports on the growing problem with cactus theft
A recent raid in Italy involving rare Chilean species highlights the growing scale of a black market in the thorny plants.
Andrea Cattabriga has seen a lot of cactuses where they didn’t belong. But he’d never seen anything like Operation Atacama, a bust carried out last year in Italy. A cactus expert and president of the Association for Biodiversity and Conservation, Mr. Cattabriga often helps the police identify the odd specimen seized from tourists or intercepted in the post.
This time, however, Mr. Cattabriga was confronted by a stunning display: more than 1,000 of some of the world’s rarest cactuses, valued at over $1.2 million on the black market.
Read more at Global Cactus Traffickers Are Cleaning Out the Deserts- The New York Times
Posted in Uncategorized | Tags: Cactus Theft, Cactus Traffickers
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | May 22, 2021
Bay Nature Events Calendar
Find events about nature and wildlife happening around the greater San Francisco Bay Area! During the COVID-19 pandemic, all listings are virtual events, unless noted. For in-person events, remember to practice COVID-19 safety measures, including mask-wearing and social distancing.
See calendar at Bay Nature
Posted in Talks | Tags: Bay Nature Talks
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | May 22, 2021
Regional Parks Botanic Garden Photos 5/18/21
Photos from a visit to the Regional Parks Botanic Garden in Tilden Park in Berkeley on May 18, 2021
The Regional Parks Botanic Garden is a botanic garden of California native plants. The garden is open for visitors Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. Admission is free but reservations are required. For reservations click here.
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.
This is part of my continuing pandemic project, the “Stay at Home Photo Project”. It includes many street photos from Berkeley and Albany as well as photos from the UC Berkeley campus, my yard, local botanic gardens, and neighbors’ yards You can see larger higher quality versions of many of the photos at Flickr in my collection Stay at Home Photo Project.
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | May 22, 2021
Pt. Reyes Internship for the Scientists in Parks
from Pt. Reyes National Seashore
We’re hiring an intern for the Scientists in Parks Internship Program! Join us this winter season to work alongside Interpretive Park Rangers and Biologists and help us educate the public on elephant seals, ensure the safety of both the seals and visitors at Drakes Beach, and help conduct monitoring surveys of the elephant seals.
This is a paid 12-week internship (January – March) with housing provided and the application deadline is June 13, 2021. Apply now! A maximum of 100 applicants can apply, so the application period may end earlier than stated.
Get more details about the position and how to apply 
https://rock.geosociety.org/eo/viewJob.asp?jobID=3110
https://rock.geosociety.org/eo/viewJob.asp?jobID=3110Posted in Park | Tags: Pt. Reyes Science Internship
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | May 22, 2021
Ladybugs, Where Do They Go?
from East Bay Regional Parks
The gardens around Crab Cove are abuzz with insects in summer, including ladybugs. They are a gardener’s best friend and an important part of the environment. Over their lifetime of about one year, ladybugs can eat up to 5,000 aphids and other soft-bodied creatures that consume plants. In the warmer months, watch for these attractive beetles around your home and in undeveloped areas as they search for food. Their larvae, who look like tiny alligators, have just as big an appetite for the same prey. But what happens in the colder months when aphids disappear?
Sometime in early to mid-fall, ladybugs from the Bay Area lowlands seem to fly away with the prevailing winds to the east, settling down in numerous places in the East Bay hills to hibernate. In Reinhardt Redwood Regional Park near the junction of the Stream and Prince Trails, thousands of convergent ladybugs (Hippodamia convergens) can often be found huddling together from about late October to mid-February. They are on objects like bushes, logs, fence posts, and underneath leaves. It is an amazing sight to behold that often brings joy to both kids and adults.
Read more at Ladybugs, Where Do They Go?
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | May 21, 2021
New Idaho Law Calls For Killing 90% of State’s Wolves
NPR reports
Conservative lawmakers in Idaho and Montana have passed new laws to drastically reduce the number of wolves in those states. Concerns over the animal’s impact on both livestock and wild prey have long festered among ranchers and some hunters and reached the floor of Idaho’s House of Representatives in April.
Read more at New Idaho Law Calls For Killing 90% of State’s Wolves : NPR
Posted in Animals | Tags: Wolf Killings
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | May 21, 2021
Talk: Shrubberies, Windscreens and Groundcovers May 22 at 1 pm
|
|
|
Posted in Garden | Tags: Groundcovers, Shrubberies, Windscreens, Windscreens and Groundcovers
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | May 21, 2021
In a desert seared by climate change, burrowers fare better than birds
From Berkeley News
In the arid Mojave Desert, small burrowing mammals like the cactus mouse, the kangaroo rat and the white-tailed antelope squirrel are weathering the hotter, drier conditions triggered by climate change much better than their winged counterparts, finds a new study published today in Science.
Over the past century, climate change has continuously nudged the Mojave’s searing summer temperatures ever higher, and the blazing heat has taken its toll on the desert’s birds. Researchers have documented a collapse in the region’s bird populations, likely resulting from many bird species’ inability to withstand these new hotter temperatures
However, the same team that documented the birds’ decline has now found that small mammal populations in the desert have remained relatively stable since the beginning of the 20th century.
Read more at In a desert seared by climate change, burrowers fare better than birds | Berkeley News
Posted in Animals, Birds, Desert, Environment | Tags: Climate change, Desert Birds, Desert Burrowing Mammals, Desert Wildlife
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | May 20, 2021
Tioga Road tentatively to open on Thursday, May 27
Tioga Road (the continuation of Highway 120 through the park) will tentatively open on Thursday, May 27, at 8 am, weather and conditions permitting. Check nps.gov/yose for updates. Please protect wildlife by obeying speed limits.
The Tuolumne Meadows Store, Grill, and Post Office will tentatively open on May 28, conditions permitting.
Some trails starting from the Tioga Road are flooded or covered in snow. Please #RecreateResponsibly and be prepared to turn back if you encounter flooding, snow, or other adverse conditions that you’re not prepared for. Remain on trails through sensitive meadows even if they’re flooded. Wilderness permit reservations for backpackers are available up to four days in advance. Visit https://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/wildpermits.htm for details.
A reservation is required to drive into Yosemite: https://go.nps.gov/reserve.
Posted in Drives, Park | Tags: Tioga Pass Opening, Yosemite National Park
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | May 20, 2021
Webinar on Wildfires May 27
from Los Padres Forest Watch
Smokescreen: Your Burning Wildfire Questions Answered
Webinar: Thursday, May 27 at 7pm
Dr. Chad Hanson, forest and fire ecologist with the John Muir Project of Earth Island Institute, author of the new book, Smokescreen: Debunking Wildfire Myths to Save Our Forests and Our Climate as well as dozens of peer-reviewed studies, will be joining us for an evening to discuss forest fire ecology in California. This is a great chance to have your questions about forest fires answered by a scientist at the forefront of wildfire research.
Posted in Environment, Talks | Tags: Wildfires
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | May 20, 2021
What to Save? Climate Change Forces Brutal Choices at National Parks
The New York Times reports
For decades, the core mission of the Park Service was absolute conservation. Now ecologists are being forced to do triage, deciding what to safeguard — and what to let slip away.
For more than a century, the core mission of the National Park Service has been preserving the natural heritage of the United States. But now, as the planet warms, transforming ecosystems, the agency is conceding that its traditional goal of absolute conservation is no longer viable in many cases.
Read more at What to Save? Climate Change Forces Brutal Choices at National Parks – The New York Times
Posted in Park | Tags: Impact Climate Change on National Parks
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | May 19, 2021
Alcatraz’s Breeding Seabirds and Climate Change 5/20/21
Golden Gate Audubon’s Online Speaker Series
Alcatraz’s Breeding Seabirds and Climate Change
Presented by Lydia D’Amico and Zoe Burr Thursday, May 2 7 p.m. via Zoom
Dive into the world of Alcatraz seabirds! Learn about the several species that breed on the island each spring and summer, and their threats from climate change and our urban environment.
Please click the link below to join this Zoom webinar:
HTTPS://ZOOM.US/J/91728588874?PWD=WUEYC3FBBNRHOFF0CZA3VLJHOWXXZZ09
Passcode: 807489
Posted in Birds, Talks | Tags: Alcatraz's Breeding Seabirds and Climate Change
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | May 19, 2021
Endangered Species Day is May 21
Every year on the third Friday in May, thousands of people around the world participate in Endangered Species Day by celebrating, learning about, and taking action to protect threatened and endangered species. Wildlife refuges, zoos, aquariums, gardens, schools, libraries, museums, community groups, nonprofits, and individuals hold special programs or events for people of all ages. Due to the global coronavirus crisis, the programs organized for Endangered Species Day 2021 will primarily be online events, digital actions, and remote activities.
Read more Endangered Species Day – Endangered Species Coalition
Posted in Animals, Wildflowers and Other Plants | Tags: Endangered Species Day
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | May 19, 2021
Webinar: Birds of Southern California 5/21/21
from the Anza-Borrego Desert Natural History Association
Webinar: Southern California Birds: Residents and Visitors Presenter: Wendy Esterly
May 21, Fri., 6:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
This presentation will feature Wendy’s wonderful photography of year-round resident bird species and migratory visitors. RSVP HERE Wendy Esterly is a photographer, nature enthusiast, and avid birder. She volunteers at theNAT|San Diego Natural History Museum with the Canyoneers and at Mission Trails Regional Park in San Diego, California. For both organizations she is a trail guide and a member of the team who instruct the training course for future trail leaders. She has received awards from the City of San Diego, theNAT|San Diego Natural History Museum, and Mission Trails Regional Park for her volunteerism, and her photos have been used in publications and displays.
No charge, but donations greatly appreciated. Register ahead using the link below. If you register, but find you cannot attend, please let us know. There is a link to cancel in your email confirmation. Thank you for your consideration. Our programs are not recorded.
Posted in Birds, Talks | Tags: Southern California Birds
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | May 19, 2021
Achieving Net-Zero Climate Targets Will Depend on Public Lands
The Revelator has an article on how Public lands are an important part of slowing climate change. But only if we can turn them from sources of carbon emissions to sinks.
To slow climate change, we’ll need to not just cut emissions, but sequester them. And for that we’ll need to protect healthy ecosystems, experts say.
A stunning 23% of the nation’s greenhouse gases can be traced directly to public lands. Much of these emissions come from the extraction of fossil fuels under leases issued by the Bureau of Land Management. States have limited control over what takes place on federal property, even when that land is within their borders. The BLM and U.S. Forest Service set the terms for oil and gas leasing, mining permits and logging.
Read story at Achieving Net-Zero Climate Targets Will Depend on Public Lands • The Revelator
Posted in Environment | Tags: Public Lands and Climate Change
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | May 18, 2021
Urban Birding Webinar 5/20/21
Can you be an urban birder, too?
|
| CLICK FOR INFO + REGISTRATION |
Posted in Birds | Tags: David Lindo, Urban Biriding
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | May 18, 2021
Study reveals how fences hinder migratory wildlife in the West
Berkeley News reports
Each year, thousands of migratory mule deer and pronghorn antelope journey northwest from their winter homes in the Green River Basin, a grassland valley in western Wyoming, to their summer homes in the mountainous landscape near Grand Teton National Park.
But to reach their destination, these ungulates must successfully navigate the more than 6,000 kilometers (3,728 miles) of fencing that crisscrosses the region. That’s enough distance to span nearly twice the length of the U.S.-Mexico border.
In a new study, wildlife biologists at the University of California, Berkeley, combined GPS location data of tagged mule deer and pronghorn with satellite imagery of fences to find out just how often these animals encounter fences, and what happens when they do. The results, published on Jan. 7 in the Journal of Applied Ecology, help pinpoint which fences pose the biggest barrier to ungulates trying to access their ideal habitat.
Read more at New study reveals how fences hinder migratory wildlife in the West | Berkeley News
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | May 17, 2021
California Wildflowers in Vogue Magazine
A new first for California Wildflowers. Vogue magazine recently had a substantial story on California Wildflowers and the threats they are facing from humans
Why California’s Super Bloom Is Under Siege | Vogue
Despite their popularity and ecological importance, wildflower blooms across California are in peril due to a pile-on of human-caused stressors.
Read story at Why California’s Super Bloom Is Under Siege | Vogue
Posted in Wildflowers and Other Plants | Tags: California Wildflowers
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | May 16, 2021
115 Top U.S. Wolf Experts, Scientists Urge Biden Administration to Restore Federal Protections for Gray Wolves
Center for Biological Diversity News Release
115 Top U.S. Wolf Experts, Scientists Urge Biden Administration to Restore Federal Protections for Gray Wolves
State Wildlife Agencies Reject Science, Demonstrate Inability to Sustain Wolf Populations
More than 100 scientists today called upon Interior Secretary Deb Haaland and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to reinstate federal protections for gray wolves under the Endangered Species Act.
Wolves lost their federal protections when the Trump administration finalized a national delisting rule in January. Since then, management of wolves has fallen to state wildlife agencies. The letter explains that “state governments have clearly indicated that they will manage wolves to the lowest allowable standards.”
Under the Endangered Species Act, all decisions about the listing of imperiled species must be based solely on the best available science. The scientists’ letter calls upon the federal officials to reinstate federal protections for wolves and “reverse recent and broad trends that have disregarded best-available science with respect to the ESA.”
The letter is endorsed by 115 scientists with expertise in areas related to wolf conservation, such as ecology, population dynamics and genetics. The letter is led by John Vucetich, a professor at Michigan Technological University, and Jeremy Bruskotter, a professor at Ohio State University.
“It’s very clear. The best-available science shows that gray wolves in the lower 48 states do not meet the law’s requirements for recovery,” said Vucetich. “Not being recovered, combined with hostile treatment of wolves by states such as Montana, Idaho and Wisconsin, indicates the need for federally guided conservation of wolves.”
“Emerging science and our experience with wolf conservation indicate there is far more suitable habitat for wolves than was once believed,” said Bruskotter. “Recovering wolves in other suitable areas depends critically on wolves dispersing from existing recovery areas. The recent politicization of wolf management in states like Idaho and Montana puts long-term recovery of wolves in jeopardy by reducing the probability of such dispersals.”
On his first day in office, President Biden ordered a broad review of the Trump administration’s anti-wildlife policies, including the decision to strip Endangered Species Act protections from gray wolves. Since then, hundreds of wolves have been killed under state management. The Fish and Wildlife Service has yet to issue any official review of the gray wolf delisting rule.
Posted in Animals | Tags: Gray Wolves
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | May 15, 2021
Bay Nature Events Calendar
See a list the current list of nature events at Bay Nature. Most of the events are still virtual and online.
Posted in Animals, Birds, Talks, Wildflowers and Other Plants | Tags: Bay Nature Talks
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | May 15, 2021
Forest Service Halts Huge Clearcutting Plan Next to Yellowstone
Center for Biological Diversity News Release
Forest Service Halts Huge Clearcutting Plan Next to Yellowstone National Park That Threatened Grizzlies, Lynx
WEST YELLOWSTONE, Mont.— Following a challenge by multiple conservation groups, the U.S. Forest Service announced Thursday that it was halting a plan to clearcut more than 4,600 acres of pine forests, log across an additional 9,000 acres and bulldoze up to 56 miles of road on lands just outside Yellowstone National Park in the Custer Gallatin National Forest.
In April the Center for Biological Diversity, WildEarth Guardians, Alliance for the Wild Rockies and Native Ecosystems Council challenged the South Plateau project, saying it would destroy habitat for grizzly bears, lynx, pine martens and wolverines. The logging project would have destroyed the scenery and solitude for hikers using the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail, which crosses the proposed timber-sale area.
Posted in Animals, Environment, Park | Tags: Clearcutting, Yellowstone National Park
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | May 15, 2021
Why an octopus never gets tangled
Nature News has a story that explains how is it an octopus never gets tangled up with itself. Each of the octopus’s arms has hundreds of suckers that reflexively to almost anything they come into contact with — but never grasp the octopus itself, even though an octopus does not always know what its arms are doing.
Scientists describe that each arm has its own motor controller separate from the brain that through chemical sense and touch is able to identify its own body and not grasp it. This even applied to amputated arms.
To learn more read the story at: Why an octopus never gets tangled : Nature News & Comment.
Posted in Animals | Tags: Octopus, Why an octopus never gets tangled
Natural History Wanderings 