After five years of excruciating drought, California’s wildlife finally has a reason to celebrate. This vernal equinox — the first day of spring — flora and fauna from Palos Verdes to the Yosemite Valley have been rejuvenated by a historically wet and snowy winter. Life is sprouting, hopping, buzzing and flapping everywhere as ecosystems recharge. It has been good for people too. Hikes...
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It appears this steelhead season is going to end much like it began. All of the coastal rivers, other than the Smith, are currently high, muddy and not fishable. And more storms are lined up offshore. I swear I’ve written that same sentence about a million times since mid-January. But here we are in late March, with roughly a week...
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Artists are invited to submit their original artwork to the 2017-2018 California Duck Stamp Art Contest. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) will accept submissions May 12 through June 12. The contest is open to U.S. residents who are 18 years of age or older as of March 7, 2017. Entrants need not reside in California. The winning artwork will...
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Biologists from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) recently saved a Sacramento River green sturgeon trapped in the Fremont Weir. The five-and-a-half-foot long fish was stranded in the nearly two-mile-long concrete weir when Sacramento River floodwaters receded. Sturgeon in this area are migrating up the Sacramento River to spawn above Red Bluff. Sacramento River Green Sturgeon were listed as...
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Young artists and future biologists are invited to enter this year’s California Invasive Species Art Contest, sponsored by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW). This year’s theme is “Don’t Let it Loose!” Youths in grades 2 through 12 are eligible to enter. Entries should depict invasive species that might be released into California’s waters, parks and wildlands, along with...
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