California Naturalist
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Program Highlights June 15-22

Twin Columbian black-tailed deer
Twin Columbian black-tailed deer
Itching to start your weekend? Us too! These Columbian black-tailed deer twins (Odocoileus hemionus columbianus) seen outside the window at CalNat HQ north in Hopland are a more common occurrence than single fawns, who are born mostly to young does.

Dominguez Rancho Adobe Naturalists
Dominguez Rancho Adobe Naturalists
Are you in the Greater Los Angeles area? Earn your UC California Naturalist certification with Dominguez Rancho Adobe Museum. Apply now! The course will be held on Saturdays from September 8 - December 8. Learn about the natural and cultural history of Los Angeles's South Bay region and visit some hidden Southern California gems! For more information, including an application, visit: http://calnat.ucanr.edu/Take_a_class/Dominguez/

 

 

Scientists with the UC Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Centerreleased their report on Lake Tahoe's average water clarity for 2017. Their finding of an average of 59.7 feet depth of clarity is the lowest since they began taking measurements in the 1960s. TERC's scientists think the recent historic drought and the following record-breaking rain and snow caused the downturn in clarity, with the warming of the Lake's water playing a role.

Climate scientists expect extreme weather fluctuations like these to become more common. And in the past four years, Lake Tahoe's water has been warming at 10 times its historic trend. While Lake Tahoe has shown it has the ability to be resilient to threats, global warming puts unprecedented pressures on the Lake's fragile ecology.

Sagehen Field Station Naturalists learn about bird banding
Sagehen Field Station Naturalists learn about bird banding

Time is running out to register for the new Sagehen Creek Field Station course! You won't want to miss a week of incredible experts in the fields of geology, hydrology, botany, and more in this unbeatable location. Nestled in the Sierra just outside of Truckee, students in this week-long course will have room and board covered while exploring the stunning features of the field station and surrounding North Shore of Lake Tahoe. Register by June 30, course dates are July 15-21!

 

 

 New UC Berkeley research on 62 species across six continents looked for global shifts in the timing of daily activity of mammals in response to humans. On average, mammals were 1.36 times more nocturnal in response to human disturbance.

Urban sprawl in Southern California is reflecting more of the sun's heat, dissipating the clouds that shade coastal Southern California in the summer, according to a new study by UC Santa Barbara researchers.

 

Assuming the official naturalist stance as we look under our coverboards to find skinks, wind scorpions and Western fence lizards!
Stewards at the Hopland Research & Extension Center Check coverboards for herps and insects.
The UCANR Hopland Research & Extension Center's incredible volunteers offer their time, skills and care to HREC programs from school groups to citizen science. MANY are also California Naturalists, trained on site! They spent the day together June 16 planning for the future and assuming the official naturalist stance as we look for wind scorpions under our coverboards! #volunteersrock

Newly discovered under our coverboards , these aggressive arachnids act just like scorpions but are in fact spiders known as windscorpions. Order: Solifugae
Newly discovered under our coverboards , these aggressive arachnids act just like scorpions but are in fact spiders known as windscorpions. Order: Solifugae