A drought-stricken tree at sunset. (Photo: PG_Traveler, via Shutterstock)With the rainy season come and gone, drought’s withered hand remained firmly fixed on California this month, as it has been, with few exceptions, for the last decade. Woes pile up. Rain didn’t save us, the snowpack is all but gone, the Coastal Commission says no desalinating sea water, and urban-interface fires have already begun.
A mule deer with sunflowera in a mountain meadow. (Photo: Tom Reichner, via Shutterstock)OPINION: Roads and development create massive barriers for wildlife. Mountain lions, desert tortoises, California tiger salamanders and many other creatures have watched their home turf shrink. Building or upgrading wildlife crossings and preserving existing habitat can go a long way toward saving the state’s most imperiled species.
Lake Tahoe at sunset. (Photo: Dorothy Mills-GreggDeep in Gov. Brown’s 2016-17 budget was a big surprise for Lake Tahoe – the lake was cut out of its expected share of a $475 million environmental pie.
The San Ardo oil field, Monterey. Photo: Loco Steve, WikimediaFracking is taking place in urban and rural communities throughout the state, and continues to be a regular practice in California’s ocean waters. Concerned about potential impacts, Congresswoman Lois Capps has called for a moratorium on fracking in federal waters until more is understood about the risks of the practice.
George Bird Grinnell, who founded the original National Audubon Society in the late 19th Century, warned in 1894 that lead shot left behind on the ground could poison birds, and our organization has been concerned about this this environmental threat ever since. This is why Audubon California is a co-sponsor (with Defenders of Wildlife and
The nature of one of the most ambitious public works projects in California’s history resides in the detail.
And more details are emerging.
The newly-released, preliminary planning documents for the $18 billion Delta tunnels project include a detailed analysis of how the plan would affect the Delta’s ecosystem and the 57 fish, wildlife
Long-awaited details are emerging of the Brown administration’s $18 billion effort to build twin tunnels underneath the Delta, as officials launched the rollout of a complex array of preliminary documents for the Bay Delta Conservation Plan.
“The news today is that a plan is out,” Department of Fish and Wildlife Director Chuck Bonham said.