- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
The National Park Service has contracted with Peaceful Valley Donkey Rescue to humanely remove 2,500 to 4,000 burros in Death Valley National Park, a particularly challenging effort because the Bureau of Land Management, which manages adjoining land, does not consider the non-native equines a problem, reported Miranda Willson in the Las Vegas Sun.
The rescue organization rounds up the burros and puts them up for adoption.
Experts say the burros damage vegetation near the park's desert springs, which support rare and endemic fish, plants, invertebrates...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
UC Master Gardeners in Stanislaus County presented an all-natural, sustainable solution to disposing garden and food waste during a session for the community on worm composting, reported John Holland in the Modesto Bee.
All it takes is an 18-inch deep bin, equipped for drainage, and a supply of red worms. Provide the worms a substrate that contains a mix of high carbon materials - like shredded paper, dry leaves or sawdust - and kitchen scraps - such as fruit and vegetable cores and peels, leftover grains and coffee grounds. A few months later, the worms will have transformed the contents into a rich organic fertilizer ready to be applied to garden...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
Carolynn Culver, a research scientist at UC Santa Barbara and an California Sea Grant extension specialist, is researching whether native sunfish can be used in place of toxic chemicals to reduce invasive mussel larvae and other pests in Southern California lakes and reservoirs, reported Sonia Fernandez in the USCB online magazine Futurity.
Quagga and zebra mussels are two of the most devastating aquatic pests in the United States. The small freshwater mussels grow on hard surfaces such as...
- Author: Pamela Kan-Rice
Mobile Friendly Version of Avocado Pest Guidelines Available
(AgNet West) Brian German, Dec. 31
An updated tool from the University of California's Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR) should made pest management a bit more user-friendly. UC ANR has recently launched a new mobile-friendly version of the Pest Management Guidelines for Avocados.
http://agnetwest.com/mobile-friendly-version-avocado-pest-guidelines-available/
Holiday Recycling...
- Author: Pamela Kan-Rice
After the Camp Fire, many landowners want to fight fire with fire
(Chico ER) Camille Von Kaenel, Dec. 16
Private landowners and managers throughout Northern California are increasingly interested in fighting fire with fire.
Around 75 people showed up to a workshop organized by the University of California Cooperative Extension with a Cal Fire grant at Big Chico Creek Ecological Reserve on a drizzling Friday to learn about the science and art of prescribed fire. They came from next door and from Grass Valley and Lake County. Some of them owned property burned entirely or partly by catastrophic wildfires in recent years and were determined to do something to avoid fires burning homes and taking...