Ten days ago the state set new heat records and brush fires broke out. Burn areas in the Santa Cruz Mountains rekindled. Then, over the last three days, a 2,000-mile-long filament of water in the sky burst over the areas that last week sat brown and smoking.
Category: Nature News
News from around the conservation world of the San Francisco Bay Area.
The Ocean
Packed at Pillar Point
Huge crowds are harvesting mussels and other invertebrates. Could this damage the much-beloved reef?
Nature News
Encountering an Alien on a Point Reyes Beach
Its face might have inspired the monster Alien Queen. Phronima lives like it.
Wildlife
With Fewer than 2,000 Butterflies Counted So Far, Western Monarch Takes an Astonishing Step Closer to Extinction
After dipping below its potential “extinction threshold,” the beloved butterfly population crashed again in 2020.
Stewardship
California Commits to Conserving 30 Percent of its Land and Water by 2030. What Does That Mean?
On October 7 California Governor Gavin Newsom ordered the state to create a new California Biodiversity Collaborative and conserve 30 percent of its land and coastal waters by 2030. Conservationists have celebrated the enshrinement of biodiversity preservation among the state’s … Read more
Wildlife
On Quiet Beaches, Snowy Plovers Reclaim Their Territory
Fewer human visitors this spring and summer allowed snowy plovers to relax on California beaches.
Climate Change
Add “Dry” to the List of 2020 Descriptors
Pandemic, civil rights protests, fires, election, and oh yes, possibly the second driest calendar year on record.
Policy
On Environmental Protection, Biden’s Election Will Mean a 180-degree Turn From Trump Policies
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. The Trump administration has waged what I and many other legal experts view as an all-out assault on the nation’s environmental laws for the … Read more
Parks
A New Plan for Ranching at Point Reyes and What it Means for the Future of the Seashore
Is commercial agriculture part of Point Reyes National Seashore’s essential character?
Climate Change
After Another Dry October, Have Water Worries Returned?
San Francisco records back-to-back fully dry Octobers for the second time in 170 years.
