Environmental News

A curated set of environmental news stories brought to you by the Gottlieb Native Garden team.

Biologists recommend urgent action to protect California spotted owls

In the Pacific Northwest, the range expansion of Barred Owls has contributed to a conservation crisis for Northern Spotted Owls, which are being displaced from their old-growth forest habitat.

Calvert bill proposing new wildlife refuge in Southern California passes committee

The U.S. House Natural Resources Committee advanced a bipartisan bill that would establish land at a home-state wildlife preserve as a new wildlife refuge and ensure public access and enhanced recreation opportunities.

A New Phacelia Hidden in Plain Sight

The plant doesn’t have a name yet, but the team is leaning toward P. damnatio to commemorate the location of Damnation Pass.

Extreme low tides reveal a spectacular underwater world

A two-spotted octopus wrapped its long arms across Jim Serpa’s fingers; a rock crab safely tucked itself inside a hideout; and sandcastle worms tightly gathered in masses to cover large rocks.

The Vanishing Butterfly Groves of California

Action is urgently needed to address the challenges facing monarch butterfly overwintering sites.

To avert climate disaster, look to land: study

Humans now actively manage more than half of the ice-free land on Earth – what we might call our “working lands.” 

The Vanishing Butterfly Groves of California

Action is urgently needed to address the challenges facing monarch butterfly overwintering sites.

Why we need a variety of ways to protect wildlife

We must fight for the Endangered Species Act and build up other lines of defense

California’s monarch butterflies remain critically low for second year

The western monarch butterfly population wintering along California’s coast remains critically low for the second year in a row, a count by an environmental group released Thursday showed.

Cookies, Honey, Tangerines, Manure—These Birds Have Some Strange Scents

There’s still a lot scientists don’t know about odor in the avian world, but this much is clear: Some species really smell.