Due to a wildfire that started on Monday, August 17, all trails west of Bear Valley Trail and south and east of Limantour Road are closed to all entry until further notice. Coast Campground and Sky Campground are closed until further notice. For current alerts at Pt. Reyes go to https://www.nps.gov/pore/index.htm
Posted in Park | Tags: Pt. Reyes Wildfire
from National Moth Week
We’re happy to report that National Moth Week 2020 – our 9th annual – broke several records and attracted hundreds of new moth-ers.
With mothing one of the safest, most enriching activities that families and individuals could do in their own backyards during the pandemic, National Moth Week attracted 573 new participants among a total of 915 registrations – surpassing our previous high of 585 registrations. They were from 53 countries – another record. Joining us for the first time were Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Madagascar, Mauritania and Uganda. Once again, the U.S. and India had the most registered events.
Posted in Animals | Tags: National Moth Week
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Posted in Birds | Tags: John James Audubon’s Racist Past
Bird health and human health are deeply linked. As are the links between the impacts of climate change, poverty, marginalization, and population growth. In this talk, learn how population growth, the rise in carbon emissions and the impacts of U.S. foreign assistance policies have on global health. Hannah Evans will outline some of the ways that human growth and habitat destruction contribute to climate change, and how all three factors are affecting bird populations throughout California and in other regions.
When: This Thursday, July 20th at 7 pm
How To Sign In: Our free Speaker Series webinar is available on a first come, first serve basis with a limit of 500 participants. Please make sure to download the Zoom app before the Speaker Series begins. You will need a passcode to sign into the event. Links and passcode are provided below.
Join from a PC, Mac, iPad, iPhone or Android device: Please click this URL to join. https://zoom.us/j/93059294325?pwd=RGFyS2NONHQ4dFNDbzQxZUl0bVFiZz09
Passcode: 567672
Or join by phone: Dial(for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location):
US: +1 669 900 6833 or +1 346 248 7799 or +1 253 215 8782 or +1 301 715 8592 or +1 312 626 6799 or +1 929 436 2866
Webinar ID: 930 5929 4325 Passcode: 567672
International numbers available: https://zoom.us/u/adtty3vpuW
Photographed in the North Berkeley Flatlands on August 17, 2020.
This is part of my continuing 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 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 which includes the following albums
Posted in Photos (Sandy's) | Tags: Berkeley Street Photos, Flowers
Mother Jones reports
It’s no accident that the most polluted communities are also the most likely to have more severe cases of COVID-19.
Christina Hemphill Fuller is an environmental exposure scientist and epidemiologist focused on the intersection of air pollution, public health, and racial justice. Her expertise has taken on even greater relevance as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed that Black and Latino communities have experienced some of the worst effects of COVID-19, being three times as likely to become infected as white people, and nearly twice as likely to die. The Georgia State University professor says it’s not a coincidence that these communities also face more pollution in their daily lives, which makes them more vulnerable to a range of health problems, including lung damage. Fuller’s area of specialty is in a type of air pollution called ultrafine particles, which can lodge deep in the lungs and could make people more likely to experience severe effects of COVID-19.
Read full article Christina Hemphill Fuller: How Trees Can Help Us Fight a Pandemic – Mother Jones
Posted in Environment | Tags: Pandemic impact on polluted communities
If verified, today is the hottest temperature officially verified on Earth since July 1913–which were also recorded in Death Valley!
Today would also break the daily record by 5 degrees Fahrenheit and the monthly record for August by 3 degrees Fahrenheit!
Posted in Desert, Environment, Park | Tags: Death Valley Hottest Place on Earth
EarthSky reports on what are lightning sprites
Sprites aren’t terribly well known, except to meteorologists, nature photographers and others who study the skies. They aren’t especially rare, but they’re fleeting. They’re not easy to capture on film. Lightning sprites are electrical discharges high in Earth’s atmosphere. They’re associated with thunderstorms, but they’re not born in the same clouds that send us rain. Thunderstorms – in fact all earthly weather – happen in the layer of Earth’s atmosphere called the troposphere, which extends from Earth’s surface to about 4 to 12 miles (about 6 to 19 km) up. Lightning sprites – also known as red sprites – happen in Earth’s mesosphere, up to 50 miles (80 km) high in the sky.
See photos and read full article at What are lightning sprites? | Earth | EarthSky
Posted in Environment, Uncategorized | Tags: lightning sprites
Photographed in the North Berkeley Flatlands on August 16, 2020.
This is part of my continuing 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 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 which includes the following albums
Posted in Photos (Sandy's) | Tags: Berkeley Street Photos, Flowers
Posted in Park | Tags: Tejon Ranch
Hendrix College reports
For years now, scientists have warned of a coming “insect apocalypse” that threatens to wipe out many arthropod species, bringing significant ecological ramifications, including adverse effects on food production for human and other animal populations. But exactly what changes are we seeing in the United States? At this point, the declines do not appear to be as widespread as feared, according to a new study recently published in Nature Ecology and Evolution.
Read full article at Insect Apocalypse? Maybe Not, Says Newly Published Study Co-Authored by Hendrix Professor Moran | Hendrix College
Posted in Animals, Environment | Tags: Insect Apocalypse
Photographed in the North Berkeley Flatlands on August 15, 2020.
This is part of my continuing 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 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 which includes the following albums
Posted in Photos (Sandy's) | Tags: Berkeley Street Photos, Flowers
SF Gate reported
The National Park Service issued an advisory of “multiple hazardous conditions in the park” due to trees downed by the storm that block several trails as well as two fires crews were fighting Sunday morning.
Also the Pt. Reyes Gas Station ran out of gas
Read full story at SF Gate Point Reyes was so popular this weekend it ran out of gasoline
Posted in Park | Tags: Point Reyes National Seashore
Talk opens at 7pm, announcements at 7:10pm, talk begins at 7:15pm
Speaker: Nick Jensen, Lead Conservation Scientist at California Native Plant Society
Zoom Link: https://cnps-org.zoom.us/j/96719152436
Meeting ID: 967 1915 2436
One tap mobile +16699009128,,96719152436# US (San Jose)
Find your local number: https://cnps-org.zoom.us/u/aegMZ98JmT
Abstract: From a botanical perspective, with more than 6,500 native plants, California is among the most special places on Earth. It is the most diverse U.S. state. About 60% of California’s acreage, the area under Mediterranean climate conditions (excluding desert habitats), has been selected as one of the world’s 36 Biodiversity Hotspots. More than 30 percent of the state’s plants are considered endemic and are found nowhere else.
Posted in Environment, Wildflowers and Other Plants | Tags: CNPS, conservation
National Parks Conservation Association reports
Recent changes to a foundational environmental law governing federal development projects will have far-reaching consequences for people and parks.
Recent changes to a foundational environmental law governing federal development projects will have far-reaching consequences for people and parks.
Last month, the Trump administration weakened the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to allow faster approval of development projects such as highways, oil and gas drilling rigs, chemical plants, and other types of infrastructure on federal lands. This bedrock conservation law lays the foundation for responsible federal project management, and this attack on its effectiveness is a devastating blow that sets our nation’s environmental progress back decades and puts communities in jeopardy.
Read full article at The Administration’s ‘Single Worst Environmental Rollback’ · National Parks Conservation Association
Posted in Environment, Park | Tags: Threats to National Parks, Trump Environmental Rollbacks
The Washington Post reports
Sports teams, military bases and corporate logos aren’t the only things being renamed or recast during these days of racial reckoning. A little bird just got a new moniker.
After a concerted push, including by Black birders, the American Ornithological Society has changed the name of the McCown’s longspur to the thick-billed longspur. The original honored John Porter McCown, a Confederate general who also led campaigns against Native American tribes.
Read full story at A small bird sheds its Confederate past with a new name – The Washington Post
Posted in Birds | Tags: McCown’s longspur, Thick-billed longspur
ScienceDaily reports
A key uncertainty in climate projections is the amount of carbon emitted by thawing permafrost in the Arctic. Plant roots in soil stimulate microbial decomposition, a mechanism called the priming effect. An international research team shows that the priming effect alone can cause emission of 40 billion tonnes carbon from permafrost by 2100.
Read more at Plant roots increase carbon emission from permafrost soils — ScienceDaily
Posted in Environment | Tags: Carbon Emission
With warm weather in the forecast, expect crowded conditions at the coast this weekend. Parking areas will close when they reach capacity. Parking updates are posted on Twitter: https://twitter.com/pointreyesnps
Please #RecreateResponsibly. Wear a mask. Wash your hands. Watch your distance. https://www.nps.gov/pore/planyourvisit/recreate-responsibly.htm
Road construction may cause delays of up to half an hour. Current conditions and closures are detailed on our website: https://go.nps.gov/pore/conditions
We need each otter to stay safe. Thank you for doing your part to keep yourself, otters, and the park safe this weekend!
#PointReyesNPS #FindYourPark #EnquentraTuParque
Posted in Park | Tags: Point Reyes National Seashore
The UC – Berkeley Botanical Garden is currently open daily from noon to five by reservation. There is an entrance fee and paid parking. For more information and to make reservations go to UC – Botanical Garden.
Here are some photos from my visit on August 11.
Posted in Garden, Photos (Sandy's) | Tags: UC-Berkeley Botanical Garden
See the winning photos from the 2020 California Wildlife Photos of the year at California Wildlife Photo of the Year Contest****
Posted in Photography, Uncategorized | Tags: California Wildlife Photo of the Year
Posted in Animals, Park | Tags: Gerald the Turkey, the aggressive turkey
EarthJustice News Release
Six environmental and consumer groups warned the U.S. Department of Energy today that they will sue the agency if it does not meet its legal responsibility to review and update overdue energy efficiency standards for an unprecedented 26 consumer and commercial products — including some of the largest energy users, such as air conditioners, water heaters, refrigerators, and clothes dryers — within 60 days.
Posted in Environment | Tags: Consumer Cost, Department of Energy, Environmental Risk
Lichen photos take on Monday Aug. 10, 2020 on the fences of Pierce Point Ranch at Pt. Reyes National Seashore.
Also check out Pt. Reyes Photos: McClure Beach 8/10/20
Posted in Photos (Sandy's) | Tags: Lichens, Pierce Point Ranch, Pt. Reyes
Center for Biological Diversity News Release
A federal court today overturned a Trump administration reinterpretation of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act that had upended decades of enforcement and let industry polluters entirely off the hook for killing birds.
The administration argued the law only applied to intentional killing of birds and not “incidental” killing from industrial activities, including oil spills, electrocutions on power lines, development and other activities that kill millions of birds every year.
Posted in Birds | Tags: Migratory Bird Treaty
Center for Biological Diversity News Release
Atlantic Population Faces 50% Drop by 2050, Pacific Declining 5% Annually
WASHINGTON— A new review of leatherback sea turtle science concludes that seven distinct populations of leatherback sea turtles face a high extinction risk. The National Marine Fisheries Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced today a finding that all seven leatherback sea turtle populations remain endangered, denying a petition by the commercial fishing industry to relax some protections.
If trends continue, the review found, U.S. leatherback sea turtles in the Atlantic will decline by half within 30 years. Pacific annual nest counts at the two most important beaches (Jamursba-Medi and Wermon, both in Indonesia) declined annually by 5.7% and 2.3% respectively in the most recent monitoring period.
Posted in Animals | Tags: Extinction Risk for Leatherback Sea Turtles
Photos from McClure Beach on August 11, 2020.
Posted in Animals, Birds, Photos (Sandy's), Wildflowers and Other Plants | Tags: Birds, Insects, McClure Beach, Pt. Reyes, Wildflowers and Other Plants
Campfires are now prohibited on all U.S. Forest Service-Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest land including developed campgrounds. 
Read the latest forest order here: https://bit.ly/2PGG1GL
Posted in Park | Tags: Camping Alerts
The Francisco Public Library is sponsoring
Learn: Park Careers–The Gray and Green and In-Between Friday, 8/14/2020 11:00 – 12:00
Meet your Park Rangers and park friends in this live panel exploring careers in your national parks and the Golden Gate National Recreation Area on Friday, 8/14/2020 11:00 – 12:00. Hear about their journeys to a park career and how you too can join them someday as part of the park family.
Tune in on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/SanFranciscoLibrary
Read more Learn: Park Careers–The Gray and Green and In-Between | San Francisco Public Library
Posted in Park | Tags: Careers In National Parks and Recreation Areas
Recent findings bolster more than 10 years of research, confirming massive carbon storage in old-growth redwood forests and potential of younger, previously logged forests.
Read article at https://www.savetheredwoods.org/wp-content/uploads/files/PR_200430_RCCI.pdf
Posted in Environment | Tags: Carbon Storate, Redwoods
Photographed in the North Berkeley Flatlands on August 9, 2020.
This is part of my continuing 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 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 which includes the following albums
Posted in Photos (Sandy's) | Tags: Berkeley Street Photos, Flowers
Natural History Wanderings 