Posted by: Sandy Steinman | July 23, 2025

California State Parks Foundation Photo Contest

The California State Parks Foundation Photo Contest invites park visitors and photography enthusiasts of all ages and experience levels to capture the natural beauty, recreational activities, and unique landscapes of California’s state parks.

Your best shots could be featured in our official calendar, on our website, and across our social media channels, reaching thousands and helping raise awareness for the parks you love.

Categories

You can enter up to three photos per category:

  • Scenic Landscapes — Natural beauty across all seasons
  • Wildlife & Nature — Flora, fauna, and ecosystems
  • Recreation & Activities — Hiking, surfing, camping, and more
  • People in Parks — Enjoying parks responsibly and sustainably
  • California History — Cultural and historic sites in parks

Rrad more California State Parks Foundation Photo Contest | Cal Parks

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | July 23, 2025

Fox-Turned-Shoe Bandit Makes Grand Teton’s ‘Most Wanted’ List 

Cowboy State Daily  reported

At least one fox has been stealing shoes from campers in Grand Teton National Park, so far racking up a score of at least 32 shoes absconded with.

It’s become such a problem that the sly fox has become the park’s “most wanted” criminal.

There might be more than one fox involved — a vulpine shoe theft ring, if you will.

Read more  Fox-Turned-Shoe Bandit Makes Grand Teton’s ‘Most Wanted’ List | Cowboy State Daily

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | July 23, 2025

Should we protect non-native species? A new study says maybe

ScienceDaily  reported

A new study found that over a quarter of the world’s naturalized plant species are threatened in parts of their native range — raising questions about the role non-native populations may play in global conservation efforts.

Read on www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/05/250514181240.htm

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | July 22, 2025

Photos from the High Sierra

Below is a slideshow of iPhone photos taken in the Yosemite high country, Eastern Sierra, White Mountain and Great Basin between October 3 and 12th.

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | July 22, 2025

Zoom Presentation: Long-billed Curlew Thursday. July 24

 

From Golden Gate Bird Alliance

Learn about the biology of these charismatic birds, the largest North American shorebird: their habitats, nesting requirements and migratory journey. Learn how satellite technology is uncovering some of their mysteries and is connecting communities from the mountains of Idaho to coastal California.

Date: Thursday. July 24 (7pm- Pacific time)  Location: Online via Zoom

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83897582723?pwd=1Nc6IbOGx1PXlnVqAVBJKSUS9DFL7l.1

 

 

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | July 22, 2025

Orchids in the Park 2025 – Summer Sale – July 26-27

 

Saturday, July 26, 2025 10:00 AM

Orchids in the Park 2025 – Summer Sale – July 26-27

SF County Fair Building

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | July 22, 2025

Lake Tahoe clarity dips in 2024 but isn’t ‘statistically worse’ 

The Sacramento Bee  reported

Lake Tahoe’s water clarity is neither improving nor worsening, according to the 2024 Lake Tahoe Clarity Report released by UC Davis’ Tahoe Environmental Research Center on Monday.

The 2024 annual average clarity for Lake Tahoe was 62.3 feet or 19.0 meters. This marks a decline from 68.2 feet in 2023, and is the third-worst recorded depth since clarity readings were first collected in 1968. However, the report notes that “it is not statistically worse” by comparison.

Read more  Lake Tahoe clarity dips in 2024 but isn’t ‘statistically worse’ | Sacramento Bee

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | July 21, 2025

Photos of What’s Blooming in the Regional Parks Botanic Garden – July 2025

Photos taken in the Regional Park Botanic Garden in Tilden Park in Berkeley, CA in July, 2025.

The Regional Parks Botanic Garden is a botanic garden of California native plants. The Garden is open Monday through Sunday from 8:30 AM to 5 PM.  It is located within Tilden Park in the hills above Berkeley, California.  It is a 10-acre garden for 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. To learn more about the garden visit the website at www.nativeplants.org .

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | July 21, 2025

Key Yangtze Sturgeon Habitat Restored Following Removal of 600 Dams and Hydrostations

Good News Network reported

It’s all part of a recent emphasis that the Chinese government has had on recovering the river’s ecosystem to former glories.

Read on www.goodnewsnetwork.org/key-yangtze-sturgeon-habitat-restored-following-removal-of-600-dams-and-hydrostations/

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | July 21, 2025

Hopes high as hundreds of critically endangered frogs survive release into wild in Victoria

The Guardian reported

More than 600 captive-bred spotted tree frogs have joined the dwindling wild population near Mount Beauty – and so far more than half have been found again

Read on www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/jul/22/critically-endangered-spotted-tree-frogs-survive-release-into-wild-victoria

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | July 21, 2025

‘Dragon prince’ dinosaur discovery ‘rewrites’ T.rex family tree

The BBC  reported

Scientists have discovered a new species of dinosaur – in the collection of a Mongolian museum – that they say “rewrites” the evolutionary history of tyrannosaurs.

Researchers concluded that two 86 million-year-old skeletons they studied belonged to a species that is now the closest known ancestor of all tyrannosaurs – the group of predators that includes the iconic T.rex.

The researchers named the species Khankhuuluu (pronounced khan-KOO-loo) mongoliensis, meaning Dragon Prince of Mongolia.

The discovery, published in Nature, is a window into how tyrannosaurs evolved to become powerful predators that terrorised North America and Asia until the end of the reign of the dinosaurs.

Source: ‘Dragon prince’ dinosaur discovery ‘rewrites’ T.rex family tree

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | July 20, 2025

Here are some of the newest UNESCO World Heritage sites

NPR reported that

Twenty-six sites have been added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List, designating their cultural and natural importance.

These include Orango National Park on the Bijagós Archipelago off of the coast of Guinea-Bissa and other natural areas.

Read story and see complete list of new sites at  Here are some of the newest UNESCO World Heritage sites : NPR

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | July 20, 2025

Inside Elon Musk’s plan to rain SpaceX’s rocket debris over Hawaii’s pristine waters

The Guardian reported

The hundreds of miles of ocean that surround Mokumanamana and other Hawaiian islands are now under threat, according to environmentalists and scientists. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the agency that oversees air and space travel in the US, announced in May that it had given Elon Musk permission to detonate rocket ships from his company SpaceX over these protected waters.

Read full article at   Inside Elon Musk’s plan to rain SpaceX’s rocket debris over Hawaii’s pristine waters | Technology | The Guardian

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | July 19, 2025

The Guardian view on the cultural life of trees: we must protect our natural heritage

The Guardian in an editorial discussed the cultural value of trees

From Shakespeare to Radiohead, ancient woodlands have shaped the UK’s creative landscape. They deserve to be celebrated.

If the mindless felling of the Sycamore Gap tree has taught us anything, it is that there is no such thing as “just a tree”, as one of the perpetrators, Adam Carruthers, told the jury. “It was almost as if someone had been murdered,” he said of the ensuing public outcry. For many it was.

Read on www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/jul/18/the-guardian-view-on-the-cultural-life-of-trees-we-must-protect-our-natural-heritage

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | July 19, 2025

‘It’s just a weird, weird bird’: Why we got the dodo so absurdly wrong

BBC reported

The extinct flightless pigeon has captured imaginations for over 400 years. Experts and artists are now revealing how much we have distorted what the dodo was really like – nimble and slender, with a formidable beak.

Read on www.bbc.com/future/article/20250714-why-history-got-the-dodo-so-absurdly-wrong

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | July 19, 2025

This new fungal battery can be tossed in the compost

Anthropocene Magazine reported

Researchers have employed an unlikely organism—fungi—to make a new type of biodegradable battery. The new 3D-printed fungal battery produces enough electricity for small sensors and it can tossed into compost to degrade once its work is done. The work appears in the journal ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering.

Read more This new fungal battery can be tossed in the compost

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | July 18, 2025

Shooting of bear that swam to tiny Canadian island frustrates First Nations 

The Guardian reported

The journey of Tex, a young grizzly bear that gripped public attention in Canada after swimming to a tiny populated island, came to a violent end this week after he was shot and killed without authorization, despite plans by Indigenous groups to relocate him.

Read more Shooting of bear that swam to tiny Canadian island frustrates First Nations | Canada | The Guardian

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | July 18, 2025

Clever Cockatoos Have Figured Out How to Drink From Water Fountains

The New York Times  reported

Most birds go for ease when looking for drinking water. But the sulfur-crested cockatoos in the suburbs of Sydney, Australia, often prefer to quench their thirst with a challenging puzzle.

They had also learned how to flip open garbage lids in the suburbs of Sydney, Australia. Scientists wonder what they’ll work out next.

Read more at Clever Cockatoos Have Figured Out How to Drink From Water Fountains

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | July 17, 2025

Three New Frog Species Discovered as Scientists Trek to Remote Peaks in the Andes Where No Roads Go

Good News Network reported

Three new types of frogs were discovered during off-road scientific expeditions in the remote cloud-shrouded peaks of the Andes.

The secretive amphibians were found between 2021 and 2024 in the Cordillera de Huancabamba mountains of northern Peru—in forests and mountain trails with no road access.

Read more : Three New Frog Species Discovered as Scientists Trek to Remote Peaks in the Andes Where No Roads Go

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | July 17, 2025

Scientists find immune molecule that supercharges plant growth

ScienceDaily reported

Scientists have discovered that a molecule known for defending animal immune systems called itaconate also plays a powerful role in plants. Researchers showed that itaconate not only exists in plant cells but actively stimulates growth, such as making corn seedlings grow taller. This surprising crossover between plant and animal biology may unlock new, natural ways to boost agriculture and even improve human health.

Read on www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/06/250606205413.htm

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | July 16, 2025

Pine Martens Breeding in Southwest England for the First Time in Over 100 Years 

The Good News Network reported

Camera trap footage has conservationists celebrating what are probably the first pine martens born in southwest England in over 100 years.

Their births follow a “pioneering” reintroduction project that sought to rebalance the predator-prey dynamics of a wild England by bringing back these arboreal, small game specialists.

Read more and see photos at

Pine Martens Breeding in Southwest England for the First Time in Over 100 Years – LOOK

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | July 16, 2025

How Can birds fly such long distances?

Quanta Magazine reported in the article ‘Turbocharged’ Mitochondria Power Birds’ Epic Migratory Journeys

Changes in the number, shape, efficiency and interconnectedness of organelles in the cells of flight muscles provide extra energy for birds’ continent-spanning feats.

Weighing in at a single ounce, the white-crowned sparrow can fly 2,600 miles, from Mexico to Alaska, on its annual spring migration, sometimes traveling 300 miles in a single night. Arctic terns make even longer journeys of 10,000 miles and more from the Arctic Circle to Antarctica, while great snipes fly over food-poor deserts and seas, sometimes covering 4,200 miles in four days without stopping.

Read more ‘Turbocharged’ Mitochondria Power Birds’ Epic Migratory Journeys | Quanta Magazine

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | July 16, 2025

New plant leaf aging factor found

ScienceDaily reported

Researchers have discovered a protein that is involved in plant leaf aging.

— Read on www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/05/250530124254.htm

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | July 15, 2025

Chimpanzees wear blades of grass in their ears and rears

EarthSky reported

A team of researchers from Utrecht University in the Netherlands, Durham University in the U.K. and other institutions observed something remarkable at a chimpanzee sanctuary in Zambia. Several chimpanzees from one particular group were seen dangling blades of grass from their ear holes or their behinds, for no apparent reason. Researchers did not see the behavior in other chimpanzee groups at the same sanctuary, despite similar living conditions. Utrecht University researcher Edwin van Leeuwen said:

“This shows that, like humans, other animals also copy seemingly pointless behaviors from one another. And that, in turn, may offer insights into the evolutionary roots of human culture.”

Read more at Chimpanzees wear blades of grass in their ears and rears

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | July 15, 2025

Eldorado National Forest Interpretive Association Upcoming Events

See upcoming events for Eldorado National Forest Interpretive Association at enfia.org/calendar/

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | July 15, 2025

 Siskiyou Land Trust Upcoming Events

See upcoming events for the Siskiyou Land Trust at  Upcoming  events

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | July 15, 2025

A crow’s math skills include geometry

NPR reported

Crows are able to look at a handful of four-sided shapes and correctly distinguish those that exhibit geometric regularity from those that don’t, according to a provocative new study.

It’s the first time a species other than humans has been shown to have this kind of geometric intuition, says Andreas Nieder, a cognitive neurobiologist at the University of Tübingen in Germany.

Read more A crow’s math skills include geometry : NPR
https://www.npr.org/2025/04/12/nx-s1-5359438/a-crows-math-skills-include-geometry

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | July 14, 2025

Grand Canyon National Park Update on Dragon Bravo Fire

News Release

The Dragon Bravo Fire on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park exhibited extreme and volatile fire behavior the evening of July 12, resulting in a 500-acre expansion. Fire managers have confirmed the loss of the Grand Canyon Lodge and numerous historic cabins in the developed area.

On July 12, at approximately 10:30 p.m., fire activity intensified rapidly, fueled by sustained winds of 20 mph and gusts reaching up to 40 mph. Firefighters made significant efforts overnight to slow the fire’s progression under dangerous and fast-changing conditions.

Read More…

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | July 14, 2025

Cockatoos learn to use drinking fountains in Sydney

New Atlas reported

In an impressive feat of rapid urban adaptation, sulphur-crested cockatoos have worked out how to use their feet and their large bodies to twist the tap handles of drinking fountains in order to access water from the faucet. It’s the first observation of this behavior spread throughout a large population of birds.

Read more and and see video at Cockatoos learn to use drinking fountains in Sydney

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | July 14, 2025

This Was Odd: Capuchin Monkeys Kidnapped Howler Monkey Babies

 

The New York TImes reported

Male capuchin monkeys on a Panamanian island were documented carrying around infant howler monkeys for no clearly discernible reason.

Read more at This Was Odd: These Monkeys Kidnapped Babies From Another Species.

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