As the week begins, we reflect on the great work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  Dr. King was known for his non-violent ways to promote civil rights and his use of civil disobedience. He was a strategist as he chose how and where to hold protests. His actions were instrumental in passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Fairy Housing Act of 1968. Sadly, his life was brutally cut short on April 4, 1968, at the age of 39. Although nothing can bring him back, there is an awe inspiring memorial in Washington D.C. to encourage all who visit to remain vigilant in working toward a more equitable Country, void of discrimination. I highly recommend viewing the memorial in daylight and at night.

"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly." Letter from Birmingham, Alabama jail, April 16, 1963. 

The rains continue to pummel California with snow amassing considerable amounts at elevation. Floods have closed roads, left mud and debris when waters recede and resulted in deaths. Many trees have lost limbs or completely come out of the ground. One newscaster this last week mentioned we were expecting ARBORgeddon since there were far more trees needing to be removed than arborists available to do the work. I talked with a cousin who said there were still trees on cars in a Sacramento neighborhood. The loss from these many storms has taken their toll physically as well as emotionally. Of course, a few days of sunshine (or at least no rain) will make for easier cleanup.  Let's keep the temperatures cool enough to keep the snow on the mountains at least until the rivers slow down. Our thoughts are with those who are managing the aftermath of storm related issues.

A mycologist's delight.

A mycologist's delight after recent rains.

Dr. Erik Porse joined ANR on Wednesday as our new director of the California Institute for Water Resources. We are excited to have a director with strong experience in science and policy. Erik's recent research with scientists and projects has addressed state and federal goals for safe drinking water, efficient urban water use, sustainable groundwater management, water reuse, beneficial uses of stormwater, and environmental finance. Stop by his office at our 2^nd Street Building in Davis and introduce yourself.

One of the highlights of last week was meeting with Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Califf and staff, and California Department of Food and Agriculture Secretary Ross and her staff to discuss how to implement soon to be released rules to make our food supply safer.  There are over 300,000 farmers who grow leafy green vegetables. California's share is 20,000 and our many trade organizations involved with leafy greens production are eager to begin work. It takes local people who are connected and trusted to translate regulations to growers for adoption. UC ANR Advisors are trusted, connected and practical. We bring the knowledge of the University of California into every county. We look forward to working with CDFA and FDA to help make our food supply even safer.

A huge THANK YOU to those working diligently to keep everyone safe! In addition to a bomb cyclone, it appears we have a new term “Extreme Weather Impact”. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) “The strongest storm of the series will bring yet another round of heavy rain on already flooded rivers and saturated soils, high winds that may topple trees and power lines, and heavy snow on top of an enormous snowpack. Mudslides, flooding, rapid rises on rivers, and flash flood and debris flows on burn scars; and avalanches and infrastructure impacts become even more likely with this storm.“  Although the forecast if for the Sacramento area, it's similar for the Central Valley, North Coast and much of the Central Coast. Currently, flood warnings are in place through the 11^th.  We're in for a few interesting days. If your office suffers from the inclement weather please notify Brian Oatman, Director of Risk and Safety Services. Brian and the team have done yeoman's work managing through all things Covid and now a precedent setting series of winter storms. Thank you for all your efforts!

The news is filled with photos and stories of people who chose to ignore posted flooded signs and became stranded or worse yet, died. Please heed danger/warning signs. Also, be careful when you're driving in the dark in low areas or when it's raining. Although I remember some very wet, flooded days in Woodland and Davis this storm series has the potential to top those events. Be safe! Another THANK YOU for all ANR employees at RECs who are managing through the storms and shoring up during the dry periods. We appreciate all your efforts to keep the research project afloat. 

Toppled tree; 2023 January storm.

I stopped in at UC Davis Sunday. Similar to other parts of California, uprooted trees lay in disarray from last Tuesday. Irrigation plumbing and lighting were damaged as well. Think of what those trees know about the formation of campus from the days of Emil Mrak to today. It's sad to see these trees toppled. Imagine the sound of such an event! For anyone who has been around a tree of this size falling, you certainly know it's not a quiet activity. The good news is no one was injured in the process.

Given the expected high winds it's worth carefully analyzing parking opportunities near trees over the next many days. Keep in mind all broken branches have not made it to the ground. Do pay attention to disconnected branches when parking!

A message from the portal: Project Board is back online for anyone who previously accepted a Microsoft invite. If you have not accepted, you will receive an invite on Jan. 9th from invites@microsoft.com; please accept! Double check junk mail if you didn't see your invitation.

Hopefully everyone working remotely has electricity and connectivity. Let's see how the week turns out. 

A brief dusting of snow!

Happy New Year one and all!  The year is starting with much water, floods, mud and earthquake. Thus far Californians' have died, water conservation is needed to prevent overwhelming water systems, and flooding has required evacuations. Additionally, there has been the on again, off again electricity. For most people living in California we're used to knowing the food safety issues associated with power outages. Please review the guidelines to ensure your safety should your electricity be off for an extended time period.

The current storm pattern will bring additional rains. Already saturated soil plus gusty or gale force winds can blow down trees and power lines. As we prepare for electrical outages it's important to be prepared. The next 24 to 48 hours will be challenging in parts of California based on National Weather Service forecasts. The California Public Utilities Commission has links for power outage maps. Also included on their page is a link for emergency preparedness. Many Counties have a link on their County website for emergency services. It's important to receive weather related updates regularly from a trusted source.

As flood waters rise please heed to emergency service staff directing traffic or emergency personnel. It's important to not get stuck in water and create more traffic issues than you were trying to solve.  

ANR has links on our Emergency Preparedness website including a great link on food safety, a section on the 4-H site for disaster planning, and an Emergency Preparedness and Planning on the Master Gardener site. If you need information another great website is the Extension Disaster Education Network for winter weather. There are resources there for homes, pets, farms, travel, etc.

Please be safe as you manage this storm and subsequent storms. It's nice to know we're starting the year with water, even with some of the challenges associated with a stormy winter. Feel free to share an additional website you like for emergencies. Brighter days are ahead!

Recently we received notification about the national broadband challenge. Thank you, Andy Lyons, for putting together a brief summary of the broadband challenge and WHY each of us should participate. We all know internet access is a requirement to be successful in business and life. How many minutes or hours go by (while you're awake) that you don't use wifi or internet?  Living in California we also know our connectivity is less than desirable. Apologies for all the calls I've dropped over the last year! Please take a few minutes to read Andy's post and participate in the challenge. Currently the map makes California look great with connectivity meaning fewer federal funds will come to CA to improve connectivity. Since many of us realize this isn't true, it's worth reading the challenge and participating in it. Feel free to share with co-workers, family, friends, etc. for others to take the challenge as well.

Welcome to Hopland REC

Evaluating infrastructure needs. Darren Haver, Jennifer Bunge, Danny Fung, Tom Seward and John Bailey (L to R).

Although many may be on vacation, others continue to work. Thank you to all our staff who keep ANR running day in and day out! Special thanks to John Bailey and Tom Seward (Hopland REC) for hosting Darren Haver, Jennifer Bunge, Danny Fung, Sinan Al Adhami, Felicia Johnson, Greg Gibbs and me as we reviewed the state of facilities at the REC a week ago (see photo). Hannah Bird joined the conversation as well. We enjoyed looking at building structural integrity and discussing infrastructure needs versus wants. It was a detail-oriented meeting and many of us left with homework.

Welcome to Sierra Foothill Research and Extension Center

The next day, Dustin Flavell hosted Darren at Sierra Foothill REC. We had a quick visit with Business officer Michelle Flavell as well as Nickolai Schweitzer (Ag Supervisor) who was preparing for a fire inspection the next day. We appreciated everyone's time given their busy schedules. By the way, Nickolai was a founding member of Staff Assembly and remains active with the group. If you're a staff member please check out opportunities with Staff Assembly!

Measuring impacts of drought or increased warming.

Both of these RECs have unique opportunities for the scientist looking to answer questions on working landscapes. The hard work everyone puts into their jobs to keep the RECs working to answer tomorrow's questions with today's research is appreciated.

Enclosures and hoops modified to restrict rainfall from entering (simulated drought) and increase temperature (simulated climate change)

No doubt many people had travel challenges this last week. Hopefully, most were able to make something good come out of the disruptions. A good friend of mine would always remind me that the first thing to pack when going on a trip was patience. I take her words to heart every time I travel. Thankfully, my canceled flight was identified before I went to the airport. This provided a few extra days at home. My fruit trees appreciated the winter pruning and although my sewing area is not quite organized (nor will it ever be) I did get an opportunity to cut out many projects.

As the year comes to a close, we remember those we lost who enriched our lives and those who are new in our lives. Here's a shout out to all the new ANR hires in 2022. We welcome you to UC ANR where you help make change happen!