Photos are from July 3, 4 and 12 taken along highway 120 through Yosemite and east to Lee Vining. Also includes Ellery Lake are and Nunatuk Nature Trail.
You can see larger, high quality versions of the photos on Flickr at Yosemite Area Photos
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | September 21, 2025
Photos from Yosemite High Country
Posted in Uncategorized
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | September 21, 2025
Fall is Planting Season in California
Fall is here 🍂 and in California, that means planting season! Now is the time to visit your CNPS Chapter Fall Plant Sale for local native plants that are best suited to your region. Some are online, some are in person, some are both! Visit cnps.org/events and search by “plant sale” to find them. We’ll keep adding events as chapters make them available.🌱
Posted in Garden | Tags: California Native Plant Sales
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | September 21, 2025
New species of mouse opossum has a tail longer than its body
Earth.com reported
A peer-reviewed report has documented a new animal species – a small marsupial, found at 8,740 feet (2,660 meters) in the eastern Andes of Peru. Turns out this is not just a variant of something already known, but a new species in its own right.
Read more New species of mouse opossum has a tail longer than its body – Earth.com
Posted in Animals | Tags: Marmosa chachapoya, mouse opossum, Río Abiseo National Park
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | September 21, 2025
These Ant Queens Seem to Defy Biology: They Lay Eggs That Hatch Into Another Species
Smithsonian Magazine reported
Iberian harvester ant queens produce offspring of their own species and of the builder harvester ant, seemingly by cloning males
Read on at These Ant Queens Seem to Defy Biology: They Lay Eggs That Hatch Into Another Species
Posted in Animals | Tags: Iberian harvester ant queens
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | September 20, 2025
Scientists just found the “master switch” for plant growth
ScienceDaily reported
Scientists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory have cracked open the secrets of plant stem cells, mapping key genetic regulators in maize and Arabidopsis. By using single-cell RNA sequencing, they created a gene expression atlas that identifies rare stem cell regulators, links them to crop size and productivity, and offers a new roadmap for breeding resilient, high-yield plants.
Read on www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/09/250915202831.htm
Posted in Wildflowers and Other Plants | Tags: Plant Growth
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | September 20, 2025
Bay Area Biology Internship
Love plants and the San Francisco Bay Area national parks?? There’s an internship for that! 
Applications have opened for a spring-summer 2026 Scientists in Parks BIOLOGY ASSISTANT position with the San Francisco Bay Area Inventory & Monitoring Network Plant Community Monitoring team!
Learn more and APPLY TODAY at bit.ly/sfbay2025plants! This position will close after 60 applications or by October 12th, whichever comes first.Looking for something a little different? Find science internships in national parks across the country at go.nps.gov/sip
Posted in Job Openings | Tags: Biology Internship
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | September 20, 2025
Marin County Parks Upcoming Events
See the calendar of upcoming free events for Marin County Parks Events Calendar – Marin County Parks
Posted in Park
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | September 20, 2025
Fungi and plants have something to teach humans about global trade and cooperation
NPR writes about Plant-Fungal relatioinships
Over the past few decades, scientists have come to increasingly appreciate plant intelligence.
Plants communicate and alert each other to predators. They mount defenses, such as releasing toxic or unpleasant chemicals when animals munch on their greenery, and learn to ignore harmless stimuli. They may even form memories.Some 70 to 90% of plants engage in symbiotic exchanges like those between mycorrhizae and their plant partners.
Read story at Fungi and plants have something to teach humans about global trade and cooperation : Planet Money : NPR
Posted in Uncategorized
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | September 19, 2025
Job Openings
Click on each for more details and application process
San Clemente Island Seasonal Habitat Restoration Technician
San Clemente Island Invasive Plant and Botany Project Manager
San Clemente Island Seasonal Invasive Plants Technicians (2)
Posted in Job Openings | Tags: Job Openings
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | September 19, 2025
Death Valley Road Closures
from Death Valley National Park
Storm Impacts in Death Valley National Park
The remnants of Tropical Storm Mario brought 0.6 inches of rain to Furnace Creek on the night of September 18—about one-quarter of the park’s average annual rainfall in just a few hours.
In a desert like Death Valley, even small amounts of rain can trigger flash flooding. The park’s rocky, steep terrain causes water to run off quickly, creating fast-moving flows of mud, rocks and debris. These floods have covered some roads and have eroded road shoulders, making travel hazardous.
Roads currently closed due to storm damage:Posted in Desert, Drives, Park | Tags: Death Valley Road Closures
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | September 19, 2025
Regional Parks Botanic Garden Photos 9/18/25
Photographed in the East Bay Regional Parks Botanic Garden in Tilden Park in Berkeley, CA on September 18, 2025.
The Regional Parks Botanic Garden is a California native plant garden. It is located within Tilden Park in the hills above Berkeley, California, It is a 10-acre garden includes many of the state’s rare and endangered plants and a place for visitors to wander among trees, shrubs, flowers, and grasses from plant communities throughout the state. There are free weekend and holiday tours. Admission and parking are free. For more information about the garden visit the Friends of the Regional Parks Botanic Garden.
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | September 19, 2025
Spectral bats lead social lives with hugs, play, and food sharing
Earth.com reported
In the depths of Costa Rica’s tropical forests, a surprising story has emerged. Spectral bats – the world’s largest carnivorous bats – are not the solitary hunters many once believed them to be. Instead, these creatures lead richly social lives, filled with affection, cooperation, and care.
Read more at Spectral bats lead social lives with hugs, play, and food sharing – Earth.com
Posted in Animals | Tags: Spectral bats
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | September 18, 2025
Island-wide removal of honeybees reveals exploitative trophic competition with strongly declining wild bee populations
ScienceDirect reports
Highlights
•Honeybee temporal removal on a small island increased nectar and pollen availability
•Without honeybees, wild bees increased activity and changed hourly patterns
•Without honeybees, wild bees increased nectar intake and optimized search time
•Wild bee abundance declined ∼80% in 4 years, supporting trophic competition
Read on www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960982225002623
Posted in Animals | Tags: Honey Bee impact on Native Bees
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | September 18, 2025
New plant species discovered has flowers with tiny “horns”
Earth.com reported
New genus and species of plant discovered, Ovicula biradiata, is called a “woolly devil” because it appears to have tiny horns.
Read more and see photos at New plant species discovered has flowers with tiny “horns” – Earth.com
Posted in Wildflowers and Other Plants | Tags: Ovicula biradiata, Woolly Devil
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | September 18, 2025
Taft Gardens & Nature Preserve Events
See upcoming events at Taft Gardens and Nature Preserve at Events — Taft Gardens & Nature Preserve
Posted in Garden | Tags: Taft Gardens & Nature Preserve Events
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | September 18, 2025
New Family of Black Bears in the Santa Monica Mountains
Los Padres ForestWatch reported
The Santa Monica Mountains have a new mama bear, and she’s now roaming the Topanga Canyon area with her three cubs. It’s the first family of bears in these mountains in at least a quarter-century.
Read more Meet Your New Neighbors in the Santa Monica Mountains – Los Padres ForestWatch
Posted in Animals | Tags: Black Bears, Santa Monica Mountains
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | September 18, 2025
Why Insects Are More Sensitive Than They Seem
Pocket reported
For decades, the idea that insects have feelings was considered a heretical joke – but as the evidence piles up, scientists are rapidly reconsidering.
Read more at Why Insects Are More Sensitive Than They Seem
Posted in Animals | Tags: Insect Sensitivity
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | September 18, 2025
Researchers Blown Away After Finding Jaguar Population up 30% Across Mexico
The Good News Network reported
…a second national jaguar population census which found this charismatic cat is actually increasing in numbers across the country, reaching around 5,300 animals.
Read article at Researchers Blown Away After Finding Jaguar Population up 30% Across Mexico
Posted in Animals | Tags: Increase Mexican Jaguar Population
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | September 17, 2025
Eurasian griffon vultures’ 245,000km journey underlines need for conservation
Arab News reported
Two endangered Eurasian griffon vultures, satellite tagged and released by Prince Mohammed bin Salman Royal Reserve, have traveled 245,632 kilometres, through eight countries, in the past 29 months.
Read more: Eurasian griffon vultures’ 245,000km journey underlines need for conservation
Posted in Birds | Tags: Bird migration, Eurasian Griffon Vultures
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | September 17, 2025
Rare and beautiful bird rediscovered after 100 years of no sightings
Earth.com writes about the Endangered night parrot (Pezoporus occidentalis) is one of the rarest birds in Australia, with fewer than 20 known alive today. Read about how they were recently found at Rare and beautiful bird rediscovered after 100 years of no sightings – Earth.com
Posted in Birds | Tags: night parrot, Pezoporus occidentalis
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | September 17, 2025
Footlong creature found on rainy road in China in first-of-its-kind sighting
MSN reported
On a rainy day in southern China, a 1-foot-long creature emerged from its hiding place and worked its way along a mountain road. Something about the iridescent animal caught the attention of locals – and for good reason.
It turned out to be a first-of-its-kind record.
A team of scientists visited southern Yunnan Province, near the China-Vietnam border, in April as part of a project to survey the region’s amphibians and reptiles, according to a study published Aug. 22 in the peer-reviewed Biodiversity Data Journal.
During the researchers’ visit, locals caught an unfamiliar-looking snake and showed it to the team, the study said. Researchers took a closer look at it, analyzed its DNA and identified it as a Zugs’ odd-scaled snake, or Achalinus zugorum.
Zugs’ odd-scaled snakes are a “poorly-known” and “enigmatic species” found in northern Vietnam and described as a new species in 2020, researchers said. Except for a single male snake, “no other specimens of this species have been reported so far.”
Read more and see photos at Footlong creature found on rainy road in China in first-of-its-kind sighting
Posted in Animals
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | September 16, 2025
Woodrats reveal how herbivores survive eating toxic plants
Earth.com
Plants protect themselves. They often produce chemicals that discourage animals from feeding on them. For herbivores, survival means eating enough food while avoiding dangerous toxins. This delicate balance shapes how animals forage and adapt to their environment.
The challenge is not only about survival in the present moment. It is also about long-term adaptation. Animals that fail to strike this balance risk starvation or poisoning, while successful ones pass on their strategies to future generations.
Read on www.earth.com/news/woodrats-reveal-how-herbivores-survive-eating-toxic-plants/
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | September 16, 2025
E. Bay Regional Parks Looking for a Web Designer
The East Bay Regional Park District is on the lookout for a talented website design professional or agency to breathe new life into our public-facing website. If you have a passion for creating engaging online experiences, we want to hear from you! Check out the full Request for Proposals https://www.ebparks.org/public-info/bids-rfps. Don’t miss your chance—submit your proposal by October 6, 2025!
Posted in Job Openings, Park
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | September 16, 2025
‘Exciting’ deep sea discovery found off the California coast
SF Gate reported
The fish, now known as the bumpy snailfish (Careproctus colliculi), is one of three new species discovered off the California coast, alongside the dark snailfish (Careproctus yanceyi) and the sleek snailfish (Paraliparis em). It was recently described by researchers from SUNY Geneseo and scientists from the University of Montana and the University of Hawaii at Manoa.
Read article at ‘Exciting’ deep sea discovery found off the California coast
Posted in Animals | Tags: bumpy snailfish, Careproctus colliculi
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | September 16, 2025
Gorgeous coastal bridge on Calif.’s Highway 1 gets a death sentence
SF Gate reported
It’s the last of its kind in California. Will it last much longer?
This bridge is no ordinary crossing. Built in 1944, it is the last timber truss superstructure owned by the state of California still carrying highway traffic — a historic landmark that locals consider part of their identity.
But the state says its days are numbered. Caltrans asserts the bridge is in disrepair and potentially dangerous, and after 10 years of public process, it has officially unveiled designs for a modern replacement: seismically sound, easier to maintain, built to standard specifications but utterly lacking in any design poetry or marvel.
Read story at : Gorgeous coastal bridge on Calif.’s Highway 1 gets a death sentence
Posted in Drives | Tags: Albion River Bridg
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | September 16, 2025
How One Photographer Captures the Glory of Birds in Flight
Atlas Obscura on the the abstract, amazing patterns of Starling flocks in flight
Dark, sinuous lines float in a blue sky. It seems straight out of sci-fi or fantasy—a fantastical spacecraft transitioning into its cloaking shield, or a mythical beast in flight. In reality, it is cranes at Gallocanta Lake in Spain, dozens of them, traveling between where they feed in the fields and where they sleep in the water. It is many frames, compressed to a single moment. Catalan photographer Xavi Bou is fascinated with birds and the challenge of making their flight patterns visible. He has combined his passions for nature, art, and technology to create these images which he calls “ornitography,” from the Greek ornitho- (“bird”) and graphe (“drawing”).
See photos and read more at How One Photographer Captures the Glory of Birds in Flight – Atlas Obscura
Posted in Birds, Photography | Tags: Starling Flock Flight Patterns and Designs
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | September 15, 2025
Yosemite Job Openings
The National Park Service is hiring for summer 2026! A variety of seasonal jobs are opening this fall (some starting today, September 15). Here in Yosemite, we’ll be hiring:
Park Rangers (Protection)Job summary: Apply laws and regulations to protect both visitors and resources of our national parks, and ensure a safe visitor experience through patrols, emergency response, and investigations.Recreation Fee Clerks and Technicians (campground and entrance station positions)Job summary: Collect and account for fees at various locations interacting with visitors and sharing information. Serve as front-line representative to answer questions and offer guidance to visitors.Park Ranger (Interpretation)Job summary: Develop and present interpretive and educational programs for visitors of all ages, managing group sizes that range from small family units to large tour groups with diverse backgrounds and accessibility needs. Programs include guided walks, talks, and interactive presentations focused on the park’s natural and cultural resources.Park Ranger (Interpretation-Language)Posted in Job Openings, Park | Tags: Yosemite Job Openings
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | September 15, 2025
Eucalyptus trees removed from East Bay parks
KRON 4 reported
East Bay Regional Park District completed a 3-year-long project removing and thinning trees across 667 acres in Anthony Chabot Regional Park.
The project was described by park officials as a large-scale eucalyptus removal effort aimed at preventing catastrophic wildfires.
Read more Eucalyptus trees removed from East Bay parks | KRON4
Posted in Park, Wildflowers and Other Plants | Tags: Eucalyptus Removal from East Bay Parks
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | September 15, 2025
Joshua Tree Trail to Desert Palms Closed
Joshua Tree National Park News Release
The Oasis of Mara trail at Joshua Tree National Park is closed because of damage caused by flooding. Recent summer monsoonal events caused severe erosion of the paved trail and impacted the cultural site. Several sections of the trail have been undercut and others have steep drop-offs, creating unsafe hiking conditions. The trail will be closed until repairs are completed.
Read more at Oasis of Mara trail closes because of storm damage – Joshua Tree National Park (U.S. National Park Service)
Posted in Desert, Park, Walks & Hikes, Wildflowers and Other Plants | Tags: Joshua Tree Trail Closure
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | September 15, 2025
Anza-Borrego Foundation Events
Anza-Borrego Foundation hosts a variety of events and educational programs, including hikes, botany walks, photography workshops, and more. See the schedule at Events | Anza-Borrego Foundation
Posted in Talks, Walks & Hikes | Tags: Anza-Borrego Foundation Events
Natural History Wanderings 