Bulletin of Atomic Scientists reported

As the director of the National Security Archive’s Climate Change Transparency Project, Rachel Santarsiero is in the business of monitoring and facilitating the flow of information from the government to the public. What she’s seeing now, in the first weeks of President Trump’s second administration, is throwing the continuity of that process into doubt.

“We’re really losing our history here; we’re losing our environmental history,” Santarsiero told the Bulletin last week.

To some extent, government watchdogs, scientists, and climate and environmental activists were expecting this. During the first Trump administration, the use of terms like “climate change,” “clean energy,” and “adaptation” across federal environmental websites fell by 26 percent. In some cases, those terms were replaced by more ambiguous phrases like “energy independence” and “resilience”; other pages referencing climate change simply vanished.

Read more  ‘We’re losing our environmental history’: The future of government information under Trump – Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists

The Cool Down reported

Across the northeastern United States, a quiet but powerful transformation is underway.

Rivers that were once blocked by outdated dams are now running freely again, and the results are nothing short of astonishing — long-lost ecosystems are returning, fish are migrating in record numbers, and local residents are reconnecting with revitalized waterways in ways they never imagined.

Read more Scientists witness unexpected changes in rivers after knocking down dams: ‘We didn’t even know there was [one] there’

Posted by: Sandy Steinman | March 24, 2025

Sea lions in Southern California sick from domoic acid poisoning

ABC News San Diego reported

Handfuls of California sea lions are getting sick from domoic acid poisoning that stems from algae.

Read on www.10news.com/news/local-news/sea-lions-in-southern-california-sick-from-domoic-acid-poisoning

Posted by: Sandy Steinman | March 24, 2025

Skyline Serpentine Prairie Photos 3/23/2025

Photographs from the Skyline Serpentine Prairie in Redwood Regional Park in Oakland, CA on March 23, 2025.

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The Dodo reported

If snowy owls are known for one thing, it’s their white plumage. Their coloring helps them blend in with the frost-covered environments they call home.

Wildlife photographer Julie Maggert has been taking pictures of snowy owls for years. So when she heard that a strange, orange-colored snowy owl had been spotted flying around Michigan’s Thumb area, she knew she had to see the bird for herself.

See photo of owl and read more at One-Of-A-Kind Orange Snowy Owl Leaves Scientists Scratching Their Heads – The Dodo

Posted by: Sandy Steinman | March 23, 2025

New national forest to see 20m trees planted across West by 2050

BBC reported

The government says the new Western Forest project will help the UK meet its tree-planting targets.

Twenty million trees will be planted and 2,500 hectares (6,178 acres) of new woodland created in the west of England as part of a “national forest” drive, the government has announced.

Read on www.bbc.com/news/articles/c93nxj5n5g9o

The Revelator reported

Hunting enthusiasts moved species like muskoxen and mountain goats to new environments, but their survival in those faraway lands may help animals in other areas.

In his dark 1967 sonnet “All Along the Watchtower,” Nobel Laureate songwriter Bob Dylan painted a dour picture of businessmen and plowmen abusing earth while clueless of its value. If it were written today, phrases like “climate catastrophe,” “pollution,” “species extinctions,” and “a planet gasping for air” might have made the list.

Read more at  Inadvertently Victorious — How Some Species Persist as the Climate Collapses • The Revelator

LAist reported

California wildflower blooms aren’t expected to be as big this year, but there’s an easy action you could take to help other native plants grow around you.

A new study from researchers at UC Riverside found that raking away thatch — a tan layer of dead plant debris produced by invasive plants like grasses — can be an effective way to increase biodiversity of native plants.

Read more Here’s an easy way you can help California native wildflowers thrive | LAist

Posted by: Sandy Steinman | March 21, 2025

Upcoming CNPS Events

See the calendar of upcoming events of the California Native Plants Society at https://www.cnps.org/events

Posted by: Sandy Steinman | March 21, 2025

Photos from Mt. Burdell

Photos from Mt Burdell on Tuesday March 18, 2025.

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The Revelator

Western monarchs face myriad threats. A network of advocates is doing everything they can to mitigate the dangers and unravel mysteries about monarch movements and behavior.

In 2023 volunteers counted 16,000 western monarch butterflies at the eucalyptus grove in Pismo Beach, California. In 2024 they counted fewer than 200. “I just stood in the grove and wept,” one volunteer wrote. But they didn’t give up.

Red more Meet the Passionate Advocates Trying to Save Western Monarch Butterflies • The Revelator

Posted by: Sandy Steinman | March 20, 2025

Job Opening

Bay Nature is Hiring!
Become our new Membership ManagerJoin our team as a full-time membership manager! Know anyone with strong digital marketing, design, and communications skills, along with a creative and entrepreneurial spirit? Send them our way. Learn More Here »

Posted by: Sandy Steinman | March 20, 2025

Taxonomist Appreciation Day

from the archives of the Revelator

Yesterday was Taxonomist Appreciation Day, a reminder that it’s a heck of a lot harder to save a species from extinction if it doesn’t have a name.

The Guardian reported

DDT use nearly wiped out the raptor by the 1970s. Now peregrine numbers are collapsing again in many countries and no one is quite sure why

Read more at  Decades after peregrines came back from the brink, a new threat emerges | Environment | The Guardian

Posted by: Sandy Steinman | March 19, 2025

New species of venomous snake discovered in Venezuela

Sacramento Bee reported

Alongside a mountain road in northern Venezuela, a venomous creature tucked up its 1-foot-long body and hid under a rock to wait for nightfall. The lurking animal caught the attention of passing scientists — and for good reason.

It turned out to be a new species.

Read more: New species of venomous snake discovered in Venezuela: photo | Sacramento Bee

Posted by: Sandy Steinman | March 19, 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 by: Sandy Steinman | March 19, 2025

Invasive Australian species found in US: Are the critters harmful?

USA Today reported

A new critter is creeping into the United States’ waters.  The invasive Australian redclaw crayfish has been spotted in southern Texas, roughly 8,000 miles from its home. The freshwater crustacean is indigenous to the rivers of northern Australia and parts of Papua New Guinea.

Read more at : Invasive Australian species found in US: Are the critters harmful?

Posted by: Sandy Steinman | March 18, 2025

Rockslide closes critical highway into Yosemite indefinitely

SF Gate reported

A rockslide on a crucial entry into Yosemite National Park has closed a portion of state Route 140. The debris slide occurred sometime Monday night, according to Caltrans, and forced the agency to close about 2 miles of the highway between the small communities of Briceburg and El Portal.

Read more  Rockslide closes critical highway into Yosemite indefinitely

Posted by: Sandy Steinman | March 18, 2025

Meet Quipu, the largest structure in the universe

Meet Quipu, the largest structure in the universe
— Read on earthsky.org/space/quipu-largest-structure-in-the-universe/

Posted by: Sandy Steinman | March 17, 2025

Webinar: Alcatraz Island – Climate Refuge for Birds 3/20

SF Gate reported on the impact of the government cutbacks at Channel Islands National Park including  staff cuts and spending freezes will impact the park and  likely cost taxpayers more in the long run.

Beneath a facade of normalcy, the Channel Islands are being pushed to their limit.

Everything seems glorious at Channel Islands National Park. It isn’t.

Read article at California’s most underappreciated national park is quietly in crisis

121 Clicks write about

The natural world is filled with breathtaking beauty, often hidden in plain sight. Award-winning photographer Timothy Boomer specializes in revealing the unseen wonders of nature through his magical macro photos of fungi and other tiny organisms.

His work showcases extreme close-ups of the natural world, capturing colors, details, and patterns that often go unnoticed by the naked eye. With his mastery of specialized macro techniques and an inspiring talent for composition and framing, Boomer transforms small-scale subjects into stunning works of art.

omposition and framing, Boomer transforms small-scale subjects into stunning works of art.

See his amazing photos and read more at  Award-Winning Photographer Timothy Boomer Captures Magical Macro Photographs of Fungi

Posted by: Sandy Steinman | March 16, 2025

Trump admin reportedly rescinds national monuments in California

The Wilderness Society reported

According to New York Times and Washington Post reporting, the Trump administration has rescinded the proclamations that established two national monuments totaling nearly a million acres in California: Chuckwalla National Monument, near Joshua Tree National Park, and Sáttítla Highlands National Monument, just northeast of Mount Shasta.

Read more  Trump admin reportedly rescinds national monuments in California | The Wilderness Society

Posted by: Sandy Steinman | March 16, 2025

Anza-Borrego Desert Natural History Association Upcoming Events

See upcoming events calendar of hikes and programs at https://www.abdnha.org/calendar1.htm.

SF Gate reported

In December, the one road leading to Olympic National Park’s Hoh Rain Forest, the quietest place in the country, closed indefinitely due to washout damage. Local agencies were having trouble securing federal funding to make repairs, and business owners in Forks, the nearby gateway town that’s entirely dependent on tourism, were beginning to panic.

On Thursday morning, the people of Forks breathed a collective sigh of relief. Through an unusual and unprecedented funding arrangement, which required the town itself to raise and contribute thousands of dollars, the road is on its way to being repaired.

Source: Gateway town fights to reopen Olympic National Park’s quiet rainforest

Posted by: Sandy Steinman | March 16, 2025

What Can Psychology Offer Biodiversity Protection? 

The Revelator reported

The new field of conservation psychology offers valuable lessons for protecting the world’s wildlife — as well as ourselves.

Conservation psychologists study the intersection between people and biodiversity protection by examining environmental justice; human behavior, attitudes, and perceptions; environmental education; community-based conservation and capacity building; and the many ways in which we relate to our natural environments, amongst other topics

Read article at  What Can Psychology Offer Biodiversity Protection? • The Revelator

Posted by: Sandy Steinman | March 15, 2025

Upcoming Events from Friends of California Condors Wild and Free

See upcoming evnets form Friends of California Condors Wild and Free at  Events | Friends of California Condors Wild and Free

See the Guardina’s The best of this week’s wildlife photographs from around the world at  Week in wildlife: leapfrogging monkeys, a strolling tortoise and Lincolnshire seals | Environment | The Guardian

California Curated reported

As California’s cities expand and encroach upon natural landscapes, the state’s wildlife is adapting in fascinating ways. One of the most compelling examples of urban ecology at work is the story of the dark-eyed junco (Junco hyemalis), a small songbird traditionally found in mountainous forests, now thriving in urban environments like San Diego and Los Angeles. These birds are demonstrating the rapid adaptability of species when faced with the unique pressures of urban life, providing a living case study of how evolution unfolds in real-time in human-modified habitats.

Read more at  Dark-Eyed Juncos are California’s Unexpected Pioneers of Urban Evolution – California Curated

Posted by: Sandy Steinman | March 14, 2025

Wild Flower Hotline

The Theodore Payne Wild Flower Hotline is back! Since 1983, this free weekly guide has helped nature lovers find the best wildflower displays across Southern and Central California. From March through May, updates are posted every Friday and available on our website, via podcast or rss feed, and by phone. The Hotline is your go-to resource for wildflower season, featuring bloom reports from urban parks to remote wilderness areas.

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