Wildfire season in California started early this year, and researchers say the fires are burning stronger because of the dry winter. The news is adding urgency to the effort to prevent fires like the 1991 Oakland Hills blaze that killed 25 people and destroyed more than 3,000 homes. But a proposal to cut 100,000 eucalyptus trees or more has stirred up controversy, and now, a long-running battle over the plan is coming to a head.
This aired on KQED Science on June 24, 2013.
(From left to right) Brendan Weiner, Howard Nathel, De’Jon Banks, Fredrick Lake, Joseph Stewart, Anton Jackson and Joe Green look for pikas. Photo: Molly Samuel/KQED
The American pika is a squeaky little animal that lives at high elevations in mountains in the West. It could one day have a huge influence on America’s battles over climate change. And a new program is enlisting students to help scientists learn more about the critters.
This aired on KQED Science on October 1, 2012
Mono Lake
In the thick of the latest budget crisis, the state Department of Parks and Recreation has been told to cut $22 million over two fiscal years, and it’s planning to do that by closing 70 parks. Now legislators are debating which parks will feel the blow.
This aired on The California Report on 11/2/11.
California’s Audubon Society is breaking ground on a new bird habitat on Aramburu Island in Marin County’s Richardson Bay.
This aired on KQED News on 8/17/11.
