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The California Department of Fish and Wildlife has launched a monthly newsletter to inform the public about the update to the State Wildlife Action Plan.
California is home to 197 mammal species, 433 species of birds, 84 reptiles, 67 species of freshwater fish and 5,047 native plants. It has more species than any other state.
However, population growth, increased development, water management conflicts, invasive species, and climate change are putting tremendous stress on these natural resources.
Compared to other states, California has the largest number of species at risk of becoming endangered, and it ranks second in the number of endangered species that live here, exceeded only by Hawaii.
CDFW updates its State Wildlife Action Plan, or SWAP, every 10 years to help preserve the state’s valuable fish and wildlife resources.
The first plan was issued in 2005 and the next update is due in 2015.
The plan identifies the species of greatest conservation need and prescribes measures to best protect them from environmental stresses and human induced threats. It focuses on a regional approach to conservation, one that takes into consideration the complex web of life inherent to every unique ecosystem.
In order to update the plan, scientists from across the state are gathering and analyzing data to develop effective, long-term conservation strategies.
“This is a massive undertaking,” said Armand Gonzales, project lead for SWAP. “It requires coordinating with a broad range of stakeholders, from biologists to land-use managers, private landowners and tribes. We are trustees of the state’s wildlife resources and it is our responsibility to keep the public informed about what we are doing to protect California’s valuable natural resources.”
The SWAP monthly newsletter, launched this month, will provide the public with highlights and milestones regarding the SWAP update process. The CDFW is also planning a dozen public scoping meetings to be held throughout the state later this year.
The first edition of the newsletter contains information on what the SWAP is, the update process, the update timeline and public participation opportunities.
In order to sign up to receive the SWAP monthly newsletter, subscribe at http://visitor.r20.constantcontact.com/manage/optin/ea?v=001E7rUX4STq9EU2AbBMxAluA%3D%3D .
Here we go again. Another asteroid is paying a visit to the Earth-Moon system.
Asteroids have been a hot topic since Feb. 15 when one small asteroid exploded over Russia and another larger one, 2012 DA14, made a record setting close approach to Earth on the same day.
This time the interloper is 1998 QE2, a potentially hazardous asteroid 2.7 km in diameter.
Astronomers are preparing to study the space rock as it harmlessly passes by on Friday, May 31.
“This is a big asteroid that's going to be one of the best radar imaging targets of the year,” said Lance Benner of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
“As my old friend, radar astronomer Steve Ostro used to say, spaceship Earth is making a flyby of the asteroid, so we're going to exploit the capabilities of the radars to understand as much as possible,” Benner said.
At closest approach on May 31, the asteroid will be 5.8 million kilometers from Earth, about 15 times farther than the Moon.
“At that range, both the Goldstone and Arecibo radars should be able to make detailed images of 1998 QE2,” said Benner. “The radar maps should rival images of other asteroids obtained by spacecraft during flyby missions.”
One thing that intrigues Benner is the asteroid's dark complexion.
According to measurements by the Spitzer Space Telescope, 1998 QE2 reflects only 6 percent of the sunlight that falls on it, which makes it blacker than coal.
“Consequently, it could have a composition similar to that of 101955 Bennu, the target of NASA's OSIRIS-Rex mission,” he said.
Due to launch in 2016, the OSIRIS-Rex spacecraft will travel to near-Earth asteroid Bennu, study it from orbit, and ultimately bring back a sample for laboratory study on Earth.
Near-Earth asteroid Bennu interests researchers for two reasons: First, it is a carbon-rich asteroid that could harbor amino acids and other organic molecules essential to primitive life. Second, it's the kind of asteroid that NASA ultimately might want to capture.
Indeed, the OSIRIS-Rex mission is considered to be a vital part of NASA's plans to find, study and relocate an asteroid for exploration by astronauts.
Perhaps 1998 QE2 will give researchers a sneak preview of this fascinating space rock.
Although the closest approach is on May 31, the best time to observe 1998 QE2 will be during the first week of June when the asteroid enters northern skies.
At that time, its sunlit side will face Earth, making it an easy target for large backyard telescopes. At maximum brightness on June 3 and 4 it is expected to glow like an 11th magnitude star.
While amateur astronomers watch the space rock glide through the constellations Libra and Ophiuchus, NASA radars will be pinging the space rock with powerful bursts of radio energy, revealing an alien landscape that no one has ever seen before.
Stay tuned for updates.
More information about asteroids and near-Earth objects is available at: http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/ , http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/asteroidwatch and via Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/asteroidwatch . More information about asteroid radar research is at: http://echo.jpl.nasa.gov/ .
Dr. Tony Phillips works for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – A male subject was reported to have been stabbed during a Thursday afternoon incident, and later was transported to an out-of-county trauma center.
Firefighters were dispatched to 3360 10th Ave. in Clearlake at around 4:30 p.m. on the report of a male stabbing victim.
The man reportedly had been stabbed in the chest and was losing consciousness. Radio reports indicated that it was not immediately known how many wounds the man had.
Firefighters initially staged nearby briefly before police cleared them to enter the scene, radio reports said.
Lake County Fire requested an air ambulance, with REACH 6 responding minutes later, according to reports from the scene.
A landing zone was set up at Austin Park, where REACH 6 met a Lake County Fire ambulance with the patient.
REACH 6 lifted off just minutes after 5 p.m., bound for Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital.
Additional details will be provided as they become available.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
ANDERSON SPRINGS, Calif. – County law enforcement officials are investigating an incident that occurred on Thursday morning involving a fight between a male subject and officers that led to the discharge of an officer's sidearm.
No one was injured in the shooting incident, which occurred at around 11 a.m. On Rose Anderson Road in Anderson Springs, according to radio reports.
On the scene Thursday afternoon at the home, located in the 11000 block of Rose Anderson Road, were investigators with the Lake County Sheriff's Office, California Highway Patrol and the District Attorney's Office.
Officials at the scene would offer few details other than to confirm that a shooting had occurred alongside a nearby creek.
District Attorney Don Anderson said his agency is involved in the investigation.
“We are the ones doing the criminal investigation into it,” said Anderson on Thursday afternoon after he returned from the scene.
A sheriff's deputy and a CHP officer had gone to the location on a civil standby and became involved in a fight with the subject at the scene, according to Anderson.
“Our officer was called as cover, as a backup unit,” CHP Officer Joe Wind told Lake County News.
Wind said on Thursday afternoon that he didn't yet have many details on the shooting incident.
“We still have everybody up there” at the location, he said.
Anderson said the subject wouldn't follow the officer's commands and ended up in a physical altercation with the deputy and the CHP officer.
Anderson said the subject attempted to grab the CHP officer's sidearm.
Based on the evidence so far, Anderson said it appeared that the gun went off accidentally during the struggle.
Wind confirmed that based on the details he had available, the shooting did appear to be a matter of the gun going off in the midst of the fight.
No one was hit, Anderson said. Wind confirmed the CHP officer was OK.
The suspect subsequently was hit with a Taser three times, Anderson said.
“And he still fought,” Anderson said.
The man later was transported to the hospital, Anderson said.
Radio reports indicated that the man, said to be in his 30s, was handcuffed facedown in the back of an ambulance during transport to Sutter Lakeside Hospital, where he remained in the emergency room Thursday afternoon. He was being treated for a minor cut that resulted from the physical fight with officers.
Anderson said investigators would probably remain on scene until late Thursday night, as they were still obtaining search warrants for the property and home.
Sheriff's Lt. Steve Brooks said late Thursday afternoon that he didn't have any details that he could provide at that point, with the investigation ongoing.
Additional details will be posted as they become available.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – On Thursday several members of Congress from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Bay Delta region spoke out against the current Bay Delta Conservation Plan and the lack of input afforded their constituents at a press conference in Sacramento.
Gov. Jerry Brown – joined by state water officials, along with business, labor and agricultural leaders in Silicon Valley – released the plan on Wednesday.
State officials said the Bay Delta Conservation Plan – or BDCP – is a proposal to provide long-term restoration and protection of fish and wildlife in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta while creating a more reliable means to supply water to 25 million Californians and over 3 million acres of farmland.
Water from Clear Lake in Lake County reaches the Bay-Delta through Cache Creek and the Yolo Bypass.
The plan is meant to address the continued degradation of the delta’s ecology and potential levee failure due to earthquake or pressure from sea level rise and increasingly violent storms, which officials said would have catastrophic consequences for California’s economy.
“California’s current water supply system is clearly vulnerable to many threats, and the cost of its failure would be enormous,” said California Natural Resources Secretary John Laird. “As public officials, we are duty-bound to address these threats. The BDCP provides the most comprehensive, well-conceived approach to ensuring a reliable water supply to 25 million people and restoring the delta ecosystem.”
However, members of Congress representing the Bay-Delta region said the plan proposed by Gov. Jerry Brown, the U.S. Department of Interior and south-of-the-delta interests would devastate the region and ignores the concerns repeatedly raised by area stakeholders.
Recently, the state of California released a 20,000 page long administrative draft environmental impact report/environmental impact statement for the BDCP.
Chapters one through seven of the plan were released in the last few months and chapters eight through 12, which include the financing mechanism, were released on Wednesday.
Rep. Mike Thompson (CA-5) said the proposed plan is not a workable solution.
“It puts the interests of south-of-Delta water contractors ahead of the Delta’s and north-of-delta’s farmers, fishers and small business owners,” Thompson said. “Livelihoods are at stake. Until we have a plan that is transparent, based on sound science and developed with all stake-holders at the table, then any process that moves us closer to building these tunnels will recklessly risk billions of California tax dollars and thousands of jobs. Let’s take the time to get this right.”
Rep. John Garamendi (CA-3) said California's water system is under enormous stress from a growing population and climate change.
“The proposed peripheral tunnel plan fails to deliver a real solution for this fundamental problem. Without adding a single drop of new water to the state's supply, the tunnels would deliver massive amounts of water from Northern to Southern California, destroying the Sacramento Delta in the process,” Garamendi said.
Garamendi added, “Instead of wreaking havoc on the delta region with a massive, expensive plumbing system, we need a cost-effective, comprehensive water plan. I have outlined a strategy that would add to our water supply through conservation, recycling, storage, and improvements to our levees while respecting water rights and using the best science. It’s time for a midstream correction to the BDCP: let’s bring everyone to the table and develop a plan that meets the needs of all Californians.”
Rep. Doris Matsui (CA-6) said the state of California, in partnership with the federal government, is on the verge of recommending a plan for California’s water future that does nothing to solve California’s water problems and is a disaster for Northern California.
“For more than six years the BDCP has plowed its way ahead led by a very small group of individuals, none of whom represent Northern California,” Matsui said. “Our constituents and stakeholders in the Bay-Delta region have been shut out of the process. To find a long-term solution all of the stakeholders, not just the beneficiaries of the project, must have a seat at the decision-making table. We can and we must do better for California. Unfortunately, the current BDCP falls far short.”
Said Rep. Jerry McNerney (CA-9), “The governor recently released additional information on his deeply-flawed plan for the delta region, which further proves he is intent on forcing this plan forward without any regard for the farmers, families and small business owners who rely upon a healthy delta for their livelihoods, or for the incredible environmental damage that will result. As it stands, the plan will cost billions of dollars, devastate the most valuable water resource we have in California, and ultimately create no new water. There is a better way forward, and it must include the input of the people who stand to lose the most if the delta is destroyed."
Rep. George Miller (CA-11) said Gov. Brown and his administration officials have failed to demonstrate that they are taking into account the real physical and financial harm that can come to Bay-Delta communities if a BDCP plan is pushed through without the proper cost benefit analysis of alternatives, an adequate finance plan, or without acknowledging the best available science – science that has pointed to the real possibility that this plan could overtax our water resources and devastate the Bay-Delta region.
“Without doing so the BDCP is further than ever from a sustainable policy. It is time to seriously reevaluate this plan to ensure it fulfills the co-equal goals that it is mandated to adhere to, and takes into consideration the concerns of the businesses, families and communities that rely on a viable, healthy Bay-Delta region for their livelihoods,” Miller said.
“All of us here understand that water is critical in our state and that there needs to be a Bay Delta solution that does not put south-of-delta water contractors ahead of everyone in or north-of-delta,” said Rep. Ami Bera (CA-7). “It’s vital for our health, our environment, and our wallets that we have a comprehensive, long-term plan for securing water access and storage that’s based on sound science. The livelihoods of our local farmers, anglers, and small business owners are at stake, and the potential risk to jobs and billions of California tax dollars is too big to ignore. Continuing with this plan, without getting input from all stakeholders, and without considering other alternatives is a bad idea for Sacramento County families.”
To read the entire administrative draft Bay Delta Conservation Plan, as well as the consultant draft BDCP environmental impact statement and environmental impact report, visit http://baydeltaconservationplan.com .
LAKEPORT, Calif. – The popular children’s Nature Education Program at the Lake County Land Trust’s Rodman Preserve will resume on Saturday, June, 15.
The program sessions will be held on the third Saturday of each month through September.
The program is great fun for children ages 7 through 12, or younger if accompanied by a parent. It is free and open to the public.
Elaine Mansell, a well-known local naturalist and educator, leads this popular program.
Mansell is a retired teacher and former Junior Ranger program director at Clear Lake State Park.
Although the program offered at Rodman Preserve is aimed at children 7 to 12, all are welcome.
There is a wide range of activities including fun nature games on the back porch, short walks, bird-watching, viewing items through microscopes and more.
Mansell’s focus is to “get kids out to look at stuff and learn about nature,” something she is passionate about.
Her programs focus on the riparian habitats at the Rodman Preserve where students will walk down to the wetland areas and “observe critters in the water, out of the water, and in the air,” Mansell said.
She will draw on her experience and knowledge of what children love and encourage them to become “Rodman Explorers.”
Reservations are encouraged, but not required. Please call Elaine Mansell at 707-263-1637 or Roberta Lyons at 707-994-2024 if you would like more information or to make a reservation for your child.
For more information about the Lake County Land Trust, go to www.lakecountylandtrust.org .