Meet BIL and IRA—two federal bills with forgettable names that belie their enormous potential impact on the environment.
Wildlife
Bald Eagles Have Adopted a Baby Hawk in the Bay Area
June 15, 2023 •
Photographer Doug Gillard witnessed the female eagle bringing in the first fuzzy, gray baby bird, but he assumed it was dinner for the eaglet.
Birds Flock to a Resurrected Tulare Lake, Peaking at Nearly the Size of Lake Tahoe
June 15, 2023 •
The resurrected Tulare Lake and thousands of acres of nearby flooded farmland are providing a temporary respite for the millions of migratory birds that pass through California along the Pacific Flyway every year.
After the Algal Bloom Cleared Out of Lake Merritt, the Nudibranchs Came to Party in Droves
May 30, 2023 •
Oodles of nudibranchs showed up in Lake Merritt after the harmful algal bloom of August 2022. These sea slugs appeared in record breaking numbers, taking Oakland’s beloved tidal lagoon by storm.
Don’t Blame the Bark Beetles
May 9, 2023 •
While walking in the woods, you’ve likely encountered a dead log engraved with maze-like squiggles. These natural carvings are known as beetle galleries, and the grooves are munched out by the larvae of bark beetles in the subfamily Scolytinae.
How the DNA We Leave Behind Can Help Conservation
May 3, 2023 •
Bits of DNA linger on the forest floor, in the ocean, and even in the air—and these strands have stories to tell, back at the lab. Here’s how environmental DNA (aka ‘eDNA’) is starting to transform how ecologists work in the Bay Area and beyond.
Avian Flu Claims at Least 7 California Condors—and a Beloved Bay Area Peregrine Falcon
April 13, 2023 •
Avian flu is hitting close to home, and it isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. California condors and a beloved San Jose falcon are the newest victims of this epidemic that is sweeping through domestic and wild bird populations worldwide.
Why State Wildlife Officials Took a Mountain Lion Cub From the Wild … Then Put It Back
March 29, 2023 •
It’s the first time a cub has ever been successfully reunited with its mom. But some local residents say it shouldn’t have been taken in the first place.
On the Family Dramas (and Weird Feet) of the American Coot
March 22, 2023 •
One of the commonest birds on the shoreline has a soap opera for a home life. Coots fight for territory, which is about food—pond muck, insects, and the stakes are high.
An Artist Goes Bird-Swatching
March 22, 2023 •
Artist Christopher Reiger’s “field guides” are on view at the Laguna Environmental Center in Santa Rosa until April 28.