Environmental News

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

Birds in California’s desert are dying

As heat rises and weather patterns change, our storied California desert bird populations have fallen.

Vomiting bumblebees show that sweeter is not necessarily better

A new study using bumblebees has found that the sweetest nectar is not necessarily the best: too much sugar slows down the bees.

Urgent Action to Protect California Spotted Owls Recommended by Wildlife Biologists

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. 

California’s trees could shift as global warming forces birds to move out


Song surveys show that species key to spreading seeds are shuffling up and down the mountain.

California Condor

Although it can be found in several southwestern states and in Mexico, the California Condor is a distinct part of California’s natural heritage

Over a million snow geese have arrived in California: How you can see them

And for the past 20 years, there’s been Chico’s Snow Goose Festival of the Pacific Flyway celebrating the birds’ landing.

A Transformative Deal for Nature

Like the 2015 Paris climate accord, this new agreement could mark a turning point in how we manage our relationship to nature.

2019 Was the Second Hottest Year on Record, NASA Says

According to NOAA’s temperature report, 2019 was also the 43rd year in a row that saw above-average global land and ocean temperatures. 

Aphid-munching beetle could help save hemlock forests

An introduced beetle that eats the eggs of the hemlock woolly adelgid is showing promise.

Officials propose California butterfly for threatened list

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed adding a California butterfly to the list of threatened species, officials said.