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
The Sierra Magazine reports
The National Park Service is racing to expand cellphone service at parks nationwide.
a few watchdog groups—along with some current and former NPS staffers—warn that the spread of telecom connectivity threatens the parks’ wild character and the opportunities for solitude and retreat that make the parks valuable in the first place.
Read article at Wi-Fi in the Wilderness | Sierra Club
Posted in Park | Tags: Wi-Fi in the Wilderness
Sierra Club News Release
Sens. Diane Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Steve Daines (R-Mont.) introduced legislation yesterday that would fast-track unsustainable logging, increase wildfire risk and jeopardize community safety. The measure stands in stark contrast to sensible, science-based legislation sponsored by Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), which would help communities in fire-prone areas without backcountry logging.
The Feinstein-Daines bill, the Emergency Wildfire and Public Safety Act of 2020, would limit environmental, judicial and public review requirements. Among other things the bill requires extensive logging, allows for truncated environmental review procedures for millions of acres of harmful logging projects, and sidesteps procedures to protect imperiled species.
Posted in Environment | Tags: Feinstein-Daines Wildfire Bill
Photographed in the North Berkeley Hills on August 8, 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
Limantour Road has re-opened just in time for the weekend! We expect this to be a very busy weekend so please recreate responsibly – go before you go, bring your own food, water, hand sanitizer and pack out what you pack in. Have a safe visit!
Posted in Park | Tags: Limantour Road, Pt. Reyes
Usa news posts reports
The Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District announced this week it has finished filling a 0.6-mile gap to connect 80 contiguous miles of the shoreline trail across three counties. Hikers and bikers can now go from Menlo Park across the Dumbarton Bridge to the East Bay or south to Santa Clara.
Read more at New Bay Trail segment links Menlo Park to Santa Clara | Usa news posts
Posted in Walks & Hikes | Tags: Bay Trail
EarthSky reports
In 2020, the peak mornings for the Perseid meteor shower – August 11, 12 and 13 – will feature meteors under moonlight. The Perseids tend to be bright, so we expect a good percentage to overcome the moonlit glare.
No matter where you live worldwide, the 2020 Perseid meteor shower will probably produce the greatest number of meteors on the mornings of August 11, 12 and 13. Read moe at Perseid meteors 2020
Posted in Astronomy | Tags: Meteor Showers, Perseid Meteor Shower
The BBC reports
Birdwatching has boomed during the Covid-19 lockdown in Australia, and it’s having an unexpected benefit.
Scientists have been using an increase in data on bird identification apps to help with conservation efforts after Australia’s devastating bushfires.
See video at: How ‘lockdown birdwatching’ is aiding bushfire recovery – BBC News
Posted in Birds, Environment | Tags: Lockdown Birding
The Revelator reports on The Long-lost Frogs Found in a Remote Ecuadorian Reserve — and the Threat That Could Wipe Them All Out
Scientists have rediscovered the endangered Mindo glassfrog, which hasn’t been seen in decades. And it’s just one of many remarkable species they’ve found in an at-risk habitat.
One of the world’s rarest, most beautiful and least-seen frogs has been rediscovered — thanks, in part, to a scientist’s parasitic infection.
Posted in Animals | Tags: Rhaebo olallai, Tandayapa Andes toad
Photographed in the North Berkeley Flatlands on August 5, 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
NPR reports
A study published by The Trust for Public Land found that parks serving primarily nonwhite populations are, on average, half the size of parks that serve majority-white populations, and are potentially five times more crowded.
The data showed that parks serving mostly low-income households are, on average, four times smaller — and potentially four times more crowded — than parks that serve mostly high-income households.
Read full story at Parks In Nonwhite Areas Are Half The Size Of Ones In Majority-White Areas, Study Says : NPR
The Guardian reports
When Onon the common cuckoo took off from Mongolia last June no one expected him to make a 26,000km round trip to southern Africa
When Onon took off above the rolling hills of the Khurkh valley in Mongolia last June, researchers had no idea if they would see him alive again. Along with one oriental cuckoo and three other common cuckoos, each fitted with a tiny tracking device, he was about to embark on an epic journey to southern Africa.
Last month, he was the only bird to return safely with his tracker intact.
Source: Cloud cuckoo land? How one bird’s epic migration stunned scientists | Environment | The Guardian
Posted in Birds | Tags: Cloud cuckoo
Yesterday I went back up to the Regional Parks Botanic Garden in Tilden Park in Berkeley. It is a botanic garden of California native plants. The Garden is currently open by reservation four days a week. To see how to visit the garden go to Regional Parks Botanic Garden Reopens – reservations required
You asee other photos from the Regional Parks Botanic Garden on the garden’s Flickr group page at Regional Parks Botanic Garden.
Posted in Garden | Tags: Job Opportunity
California Department of Fish and Wildlife News Release
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) has confirmed outbreaks of adenovirus hemorrhagic disease in deer in several northern California counties, and is asking California residents to help curb the spread by not feeding wild animals, and reporting potential cases to the department.
Read more at adenovirus hemorrhagic disease – CDFW News
Posted in Animals | Tags: adenovirus hemorrhagic disease, Deer
Posted in Talks | Tags: Science Cafes
National Park Foundation News Release
Will Shafroth, President and CEO of the National Park Foundation, the official nonprofit partner to the National Park Service, made the following statement following the ceremony where President Trump signed the Great American Outdoors Act into law:
“Today we celebrate a watershed moment in the conservation community.
Enactment of the Great American Outdoors Act affirms our shared commitment to caring for America’s national parks and public lands. Tackling our parks’ long overdue maintenance needs will ensure they are safe and accessible for all, offering inspiration for generations to come.
Posted in Park | Tags: Great American Outdoors Act, National Parks
The East Bay Times reports
Four black bears have been hit by cars in Yosemite National Park over the last three weeks, leading rangers to urge motorists visiting the famed Sierra Nevada destination to slow down in a summer in which the human traffic has been cut in half because of the coronavirus.
Read more Yosemite: 4 bears hit by cars, rangers urge motorists to slow down – East Bay Times
Posted in Animals, Park | Tags: Yosemite Bears
The Mercury News reports
The largest remaining piece of property connected to San Jose’s agricultural history as the “Valley of Heart’s Delight” began a new chapter on Monday with the finalizing of a $93 million deal to purchase 937 aces in Coyote Valley, a rural expanse of farmland and open space on Silicon Valley’s southern edges.
The close of escrow ends development battles dating back 35 years and started a new chapter on a public process to help shape the property’s future uses.
“We can reconnect people to this natural landscape and create something that is truly novel in the Bay Area,” said Matt Freeman, assistant general manager of the Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority,
Read more at Coyote Valley deal closes, public input sought for 937-acre San Jose property – The Mercury News
Posted in Park | Tags: Coyote Valley, Santa Clara Valley Open Space
National Parks Conservation Association News Release
The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals today upheld the Montana District Court’s opinion that reinstated Endangered Species Act protections for the Yellowstone region’s grizzly bear population. The decision spares the grizzlies from plans for trophy hunts in the states of Wyoming and Idaho.
Posted in Animals | Tags: Grand Tetons, Grizzly Bears, Yellowstone
The San Francisco Chronicle has an article with a map that is regularly updated for outdoor recreation
The Chronicle has mapped out a comprehensive list of parks, beaches and nature trails in the Bay Area and Northern California with the status of each place — letting you know if the area is open to the public, has visitation restrictions or is closed until further notice. So if you want to see the marine life splendor in the tide pools of Ocean Beach or walk the tranquility path of the labyrinth at Lands End, check our interactive map first. We can save you the headache of arriving at a closed location, and point you toward somewhere that will welcome you.
We’ll be updating this list, so check back periodically
Read full article and see map with links at Map: Where to hike, run, and get outside right now in the San Francisco Bay Area
Posted in Park, Walks & Hikes | Tags: Bay Area Park Opening Status
The LA Times reports
A popular Ventura County hiking area will remain off-limits for the next two months as officials look to stave off potentially unsafe crowding conditions amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Under an order from the Los Padres National Forest, part of Santa Paula Canyon — from the forest boundary to about three miles above the area known as the Punch Bowl — will remain closed until Sept. 30.
Also closed will be the Big Cone, Cross and Jackson Hole campgrounds and the Last Chance Trail.
Read more at COVID-19 closes Ventura County trails through September – Los Angeles Times
Posted in Park, Walks & Hikes | Tags: Los Padres National Forest
Photographed in the North Berkeley Flatlands and Albany on August 2, 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: Albany Street Photos, Berkeley Street Photos, Flowers
Center for Biological Diversity News Release
The Trump administration issued a new proposal today that will severely limit the government’s ability to protect habitat that imperiled animals and plants will need to survive and recover.
The proposal, the latest in its attempt to weaken the Endangered Species Act, focuses on a crucial aspect of the law that protects “critical habitat” for threatened and endangered species. The new proposal limits protections to habitat that could currently support the species — but not areas that could be restored or safeguarded to provide additional habitat for future recovery. That would preclude protecting habitat that had been historically used by a species as well as habitat that could be important as species move in response to threats such as climate change.
Posted in Environment | Tags: Endangered Species Threats
The Port of San Francisco has just issued this announcement seeking a graduate student (or very capable undergrad) for a paid short-term internship (late summer through fall 2020). Suitable for History, Sociology, or science majors with good research and writing skills and an interest in racial equity. Internship duties will include research on the history of race inequity along the San Francisco waterfront. This important research will help the Port come up with a plan to reverse those inequities. To apply, please click here.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tags: Port of San Francisco Internship
The Brink, a Boston University publication wrote about research that Combating a Pandemic Is 500 Times More Expensive Than Preventing One
For decades, scientists and environmental activists have been trying to draw the world’s attention to the many harms caused by the rapid destruction of tropical forests. One of these harms is the emergence of new diseases that are transmitted between wild animals and humans, either through direct contact or through contact with livestock that is then eaten by humans. The SARS-CoV-2 virus—which has so far infected more than 15 million people worldwide—appears to have been transmitted from bats to humans in China.
They discovered that significantly reducing transmission of new diseases from tropical forests would cost, globally, between $22.2 and $30.7 billion each year. In stark contrast, they found that the COVID-19 pandemic will likely end up costing between $8.1 and $15.8 trillion globally—roughly 500 times as costly as what it would take to invest in proposed preventive measures. To estimate the total financial cost of COVID-19, researchers included both the lost gross domestic product and the economic and workforce cost of hundreds of thousands of deaths worldwide.
Read full article at Why Combating a Pandemic Is 500 Times More Expensive Than Preventing One | The Brink | Boston University
Posted in Environment | Tags: Pandemics
The UC – Berkeley Botanical Garden is now open to the general public. It is 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
Posted in Garden, Photos (Sandy's) | Tags: UC-Berkeley Botanical Garden
Posted in Uncategorized | Tags: Candlestick Point Job Opportunities
The Sierra Club reports on the history of racism in the National Parks and outdoors.
A recent National Park Service study shows that Black Americans remain far less likely than whites to visit national parks, forests, and wilderness areas;a result of the exclusionary history of parks and public spaces in this country. Prior to the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, many national parks in the South and “border” states maintained segregated bathrooms, restaurants, picnic areas, lodgings, and campsites, and restricted access to other “white-only” spaces.
Read article at “That legacy has a long afterlife,” says Our Wild America press secretary Courtney Bourgoin.
Posted in Park | Tags: Racism in the National Parks, Racism in the Outdoors
World Ranger Day is celebrated on 31 July to commemorate Rangers killed or injured in the line of duty and to celebrate the work Rangers do to protect the world’s natural and cultural heritage.
Climate change, poaching and armed conflict are some of the challenges facing World Heritage. The Covid-19 pandemic has amplified these issues affecting sites and the managers who protect them.
Read more, see some ranger stories and learn about activities at: World Ranger Day 2020 – UNESCO World Heritage Centre
Posted in Park | Tags: World Ranger Day
Natural History Wanderings 