- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
Fines levied for fish and wildlife violations in Marin County will fund a slate of programs to enhance local fish and wildlife resources and public education programs, according to the Marin Independent Journal.
The funding is being allocated by the Marin County Fish and Wildlife Commission, which is staffed by UC Cooperative Extension director and watershed management advisor Dave Lewis. He reported that reduced state and local allocations resulted in the commission limiting its recommendations for grant disbursements in 2011.
The nine grants, which ranged from $1,140 to the Friends of...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
A mountain lion tracked with a GPS collar by UC Davis scientists made a two-month, 100-mile trek through San Diego County - skirting highways, the Wild Animal Park and Camp Pendleton beaches - before being shot in April because he raided a farm near the community of Japatul.
The San Diego Union Tribune reported last Saturday on the improbable journey of M56, the moniker by which the lion was known.
The UC Davis Wildlife Health Center began the mountain lion tracking project in 2000, the article said. At first, scientists focused on evaluating the impact of lions on...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
Santa Rosa Press Democrat writer Meg McConahy opened a a story about varmint infestations with a cute, if maybe exaggerated, lead. "If you thought flood, fire and mold were the largest threats to your house," she wrote, "you probably have yet to face the menace of a pregnant raccoon."
The lead foreshadowed an anecdote in the story in which a raccoon ultimately led homeowners to hire a crane lift and punch a hole in their roof to get rid of an unwelcome guest. Fortunately, most critter infestations are more easily remedied. On way to face the problem is by downloading information from the UC ANR...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
Pacific fishers are at the center of a conundrum. Most people have never seen them, but judging from photos of researchers cuddling the furry creatures, they are adorable. The nocturnal and obsessively shy fisher is related to the mink, otter and marten. They once ranged from British Columbia down through California's Sierra Nevada, but only two native populations remain today -- one around the western California/Oregon border, and one in the southern Sierra Nevada Mountains, according to the Environmental Protection Information Center.
Fishers' preferred home in dead trees and their tendency to move around put them at odds...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
Cooler weather in California is helping firefighters begin to get a handle on fires that have raged in the state for weeks. But concerns over the fires' consequences are sure to continue for months. Two articles over the weekend touched on such issues.
The Wine Spectator magazine raised the spector of 2008 vintage wines being imparted with a smoky character due to the fires.
"There are examples of smokiness from forest fires showing up in wines," the story quoted Roger Boulton, a viticulture and enology professor at UC Davis.
The article, by Augustus Weed, said chemicals in the smoke can coat grapes and be...
