One of the telescopes used in the Catalina Sky Survey. The sun sets behind the telescope dome, which is open. Image credit: Catalina Sky Survey. This just in: NASA’s new Daily Minor Planet project seeks your help discovering and tracking asteroids — in a dazzling new data set.
Remember asteroids, those lumps of rock tumbling through space left over from the formation of our solar system? There are so many reasons to find these objects. Some asteroids pose an impact hazard to Earth, while others are essential for humanity's endeavor to explore, live, and work in space. Now there's a new way you can help.
The Daily Minor Planet project, uses data from the NASA-funded, University of Arizona-based Catalina Sky Survey, which collects more than 1000 images per night. "We take so many images of the sky each night that we cannot possibly look through all of our potential real asteroids," said Carson Fuls, a science engineering specialist for the Catalina Sky Survey who heads the project.
At the Daily Minor Planet, you'll decide if the specks of light in the images look like genuine celestial bodies or, instead, are false detections resulting from inconveniently timed "twinkles" of the star-studded background, dust on the telescope mirror, or other causes. After answering by clicking a "yes" or "no" button, you can either write a comment or move on to the next set of images.
The new Daily Minor Planet project replaces the Catalina Outer Solar System Survey project, which is now complete. If you contributed to the Catalina Outer Solar System Survey project, thank you! The science team learned from their experience working with you on that project and cleared up some bottlenecks in their data pipeline. The new Daily Minor Planet will feature new images uploaded daily—come give it a try!
"I thought it would be great if people could do what we do every night," said Fuls. "We see this website throwing open the doors: Do you want to look for asteroids, too? If so, come on in."
LP 791-18 d, shown here in an artist's concept, is an Earth-size world about 90 light-years away. The gravitational tug from a more massive planet in the system, shown as a blue disk in the background, may result in internal heating and volcanic eruptions – as much as Jupiter’s moon Io, the most geologically active body in the solar system. Astronomers discovered and studied the planet using data from NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope and TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite) along with many other observatories. Credits: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Chris Smith (KRBwyle). Astronomers have discovered an Earth-size exoplanet, or world beyond our solar system, that may be carpeted with volcanoes. Called LP 791-18 d, the planet could undergo volcanic outbursts as often as Jupiter’s moon Io, the most volcanically active body in our solar system.
They found and studied the planet using data from NASA’s TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite) and retired Spitzer Space Telescope, as well as a suite of ground-based observatories.
A paper about the planet – led by Merrin Peterson, a graduate of the Trottier Institute for Research on Exoplanets (iREx) based at the University of Montreal — appears in the May 17 edition of the scientific journal Nature.
“LP 791-18 d is tidally locked, which means the same side constantly faces its star,” said Björn Benneke, a co-author and astronomy professor at iREx who planned and supervised the study. “The day side would probably be too hot for liquid water to exist on the surface. But the amount of volcanic activity we suspect occurs all over the planet could sustain an atmosphere, which may allow water to condense on the night side.”
LP 791-18 d orbits a small red dwarf star about 90 light-years away in the southern constellation Crater. The team estimates it’s only slightly larger and more massive than Earth.
Astronomers already knew about two other worlds in the system before this discovery, called LP 791-18 b and c. The inner planet b is about 20% bigger than Earth. The outer planet c is about 2.5 times Earth’s size and more than seven times its mass.
During each orbit, planets d and c pass very close to each other. Each close pass by the more massive planet c produces a gravitational tug on planet d, making its orbit somewhat elliptical. On this elliptical path, planet d is slightly deformed every time it goes around the star. These deformations can create enough internal friction to substantially heat the planet’s interior and produce volcanic activity at its surface. Jupiter and some of its moons affect Io in a similar way.
Planet d sits on the inner edge of the habitable zone, the traditional range of distances from a star where scientists hypothesize liquid water could exist on a planet’s surface. If the planet is as geologically active as the research team suspects, it could maintain an atmosphere. Temperatures could drop enough on the planet’s night side for water to condense on the surface.
Planet c has already been approved for observing time on the James Webb Space Telescope, and the team thinks planet d is also an exceptional candidate for atmospheric studies by the mission.
“A big question in astrobiology, the field that broadly studies the origins of life on Earth and beyond, is if tectonic or volcanic activity is necessary for life,” said co-author Jessie Christiansen, a research scientist at NASA’s Exoplanet Science Institute at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. “In addition to potentially providing an atmosphere, these processes could churn up materials that would otherwise sink down and get trapped in the crust, including those we think are important for life, like carbon.”
Spitzer’s observations of the system were among the last the satellite collected before it was decommissioned in January 2020.
“It is incredible to read about the continuation of discoveries and publications years beyond Spitzer’s end of mission,” said Joseph Hunt, Spitzer project manager at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. “That really shows the success of our first-class engineers and scientists. Together they built not only a spacecraft but also a data set that continues to be an asset for the astrophysics community.”
TESS is a NASA Astrophysics Explorer mission led and operated by MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and managed by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. Additional partners include Northrop Grumman, based in Falls Church, Virginia; NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley; the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian in Cambridge, Massachusetts; MIT’s Lincoln Laboratory; and the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore. More than a dozen universities, research institutes, and observatories worldwide are participants in the mission.
The entire body of scientific data collected by Spitzer during its lifetime is available to the public via the Spitzer data archive, housed at the Infrared Science Archive at IPAC at Caltech in Pasadena, California. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of Caltech, managed Spitzer mission operations for the agency’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. Science operations were conducted at the Spitzer Science Center at IPAC at Caltech. Spacecraft operations were based at Lockheed Martin Space in Littleton, Colorado.
Jeanette Kazmierczak works for the NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.
Jakub Hlávka, University of Southern California and Adam Rose, University of Southern California
Putting a price tag on all the pain, suffering and upheaval Americans and people around the world have experienced because of COVID-19 is, of course, hard to do. More than 1.1 million people have died as a result of COVID-19 in the U.S., and many more have been hospitalized or lostloved ones. Based on data from the first 30 months of the pandemic, we forecast the scale of total economic losses over a four-year period, from January 2020 to December 2023.
To come up with our estimates, our team used economic modeling to approximate the revenue lost due to mandatory business closures at the beginning of the pandemic. We also used modeling to assess the economic blows from the many changes in personal behavior that continued long after the lockdown orders were lifted – such as avoiding restaurants, theaters and other crowded places.
Workplace absences, and sales lost due to the cessation of brick-and-mortar retail shopping, air travel and public gatherings, contributed the most. At the height of the pandemic, in the second quarter of 2020, our survey indicates that international and domestic airline travel fell by nearly 60%, indoor dining by 65% and in-store shopping by 43%.
We found that the three sectors that lost the most ground during the first 30 months of the pandemic were air travel, dining, and health and social services, which contracted by 57.5%, 26.5% and 29.16%, respectively.
From 2020 to 2023, the cumulative net economic output of the United States will amount to about $103 trillion. Without the pandemic, the total of GDP over those four years would have been $117 trillion – nearly 14% higher in inflation-adjusted 2020 dollars, according to our analysis.
We also simulated four different possible economic outcomes had the number of COVID-19 deaths been different because of either more or less successful public health strategies in the first 30 months of the pandemic.
The direct health expenses, driven mostly by hospitalization costs in these scenarios, would have totaled $20 billion in a best-case scenario in which 65,000 Americans would have died from January 2020 to June 2022. In the worst-case scenario, about 2 million would have died during that period, with $365 billion in direct health-related expenses.
Based on our findings, most economic losses were not due to these health care expenditures.
Why it matters
The COVID-19 pandemic’s economic consequences are unprecedented for the U.S. by any measure. The toll we estimate that it took on the nation’s gross domestic product is twice the size of that of the Great Recession of 2007-2009. It’s 20 times greater than the economic costs of the 9/11 terrorist attacks and 40 times greater than the toll of any other disaster to befall the U.S. in the 21st century to date.
We modeled only the pandemic’s standard economic effects. We didn’t estimate the vast array of economic costs tied to COVID-19, such as lost years of work after an early death or a severe case of long-COVID-19.
We also didn’t assess the costs due to the many ways that the disease has affected the physical and mental health of the U.S. population or the learning loss experienced by students.
Children at Pomo Elementary School in Clearlake, California, will be part of a walking school bus event on Wednesday, May 31, 2023. Photo courtesy of the Konocti Unified School District. LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — In partnership with the city of Clearlake and Blue Zones Project Lake County, Konocti Unified School District invites community members to participate in their walking school bus event.
It will be held on Wednesday, May 31, starting at Austin Park at 7:30 a.m. and ending at Pomo Elementary School.
The goal of the event is to highlight the need for walkable neighborhoods and encourage federal funding to support the effort.
From left, Lakeport Police Chief Brad Rasmussen, K9 Officer Olin and Sgt. Andrew Welter. Photo courtesy of the Lakeport Police Department. LAKEPORT, Calif. — This week the Lakeport Police Department’s K9 officer and his sergeant partner were honored for their graduation from an educational program that expands their crime-fighting capabilities.
The Lakeport City Council hosted the presentation for Sgt. Andrew Welter and K9 Olin at its Tuesday meeting.
Olin is a German shepherd who joined the Lakeport Police Department in the summer of 2021.
Last week, Olin and Welter graduated from a seven-week program with master trainer Frank Romano at Golden Gate K9, said Lakeport Police Chief Brad Rasmussen.
Rasmussen said five weeks of the training were focused on patrol work, including suspect tracking and apprehension.
“Olin can enter buildings or vehicles to search for and apprehend suspects. He can also do these things out on open land. He is trained to also call off and return without biting or apprehending,” Rasmussen told Lake County News. “Of course we would only use him for apprehensions when circumstances justified the use of force, such as serious violent felons that are a danger to the community or officers.”
Rasmussen said the other two weeks of the training were spent on drug odor detection.
Olin is now certified to alert on the odor of methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin and fentanyl, Rasmussen said.
“From here on out they have to continue to train one day every two weeks with Golden Gate,” said Rasmussen.
Olin, who turned 3 years old in February, also went through a previous training program. “So for his age he has quite the extensive training,” Rasmussen said.
Lakeport Police’s K9 program, which was reestablished after more than a decade without a dog, has been funded with donations from the Sean M. Walsh K-9 Memorial Foundation, the United States Department of Agriculture, the Lakeport Police Department and the community, Rasmussen said.
At the Tuesday council meeting, Rasmussen presented Olin with a badge.
Welter attached the badge to his K9 partner’s collar.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
K9 Officer Olin with his new badge. Photo courtesy of the Lakeport Police Department.
The former Kmart building on South Main Street in Lakeport, California, is undergoing a major renovation in order to house new tenants. On Wednesday, May 17, 2023, workers were busy removing the facade to prepare it for a new Tractor Supply Co. store. Photo by Elizabeth Larson/Lake County News. LAKEPORT, Calif. — Work is underway to transform the building that previously housed Kmart into space to house new stores.
On Wednesday, construction workers were busily stripping the facade off the building, removing the Spanish-style tiles and other materials. By that point, the large red Kmart letters already had been removed.
The Kmart store was shuttered at the end of 2019 after more than 20 years in the 90,852-square-foot building, located at 2019 S. Main St.
The city of Lakeport’s consultant, The Retail Coach, has been working since the store closed to help bring new retailers to the site, and last year the company confirmed that new tenants were lined up.
At its Dec. 14 meeting, the Lakeport Planning Commission approved an application from Upward Architects, a Tempe, Arizona-based commercial architecture firm, for a use permit and an architectural and design review for a new commercial project at the building, as Lake County News has reported.
Upward Architects’ plan is to subdivide it into three lease spaces and to increase the building’s height from 29 feet to 32 feet.
So far, two tenants are confirmed — Marshalls, a department store, and Tractor Supply Co., which offers housewares, equipment, tools, food for pets and livestock.
The plans presented to the commission in December called for Tractor Supply to occupy the northern portion of the building and Marshalls the southern space, with a third tenant to occupy the central portion of the structure.
City Associate Planner Victor Fernandez told Lake County News that Tractor Supply has submitted their building permits and is currently working on interior demolition/remodeling, sewer and water line expansion, as well as sidewalk expansion.
“They have also made progress with their fire alarm permits and are expected to commence exterior facade improvements in the near future,” Fernandez said.
Fernandez said Tractor Supply also has submitted a permit for a 35-foot free-standing sign, as well as a smaller monument sign that will serve the shopping center and its tenants.
As of Wednesday, Marshalls had not submitted any plans. “Hopefully, they can get started soon,” Fernandez said.
Fernandez said the project is tentatively scheduled to be discussed at the June 14 Lakeport Planning Commission meeting.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
When heading to California's waterways this Memorial Day weekend and summer season, make sure to wear a properly fitted, U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jacket. There are also more than 100 life jacket loaner stations throughout the state. Courtesy photos. LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — California State Parks' Division of Boating and Waterways kicks off the official boating season in California in coordination with National Safe Boating Week held May 20 to 26.
The Division of Boating and Waterways, or DBW, encourages all boaters and outdoor enthusiasts to brush up on boating safety skills and prepare for the boating season.
This observance week is a global awareness effort that encourages boaters to make the most of their boating adventure by being responsible. One of the important safety measures to take while boating is wearing life jackets.
“With the weather warming up, the snow melting from this year’s historic snowpack and boaters heading out to the water, it is crucial that life jackets are worn at all times while boating,” said DBW’s Deputy Director Ramona Fernandez. “Just like you wear your seatbelt in the car, wearing a life jacket while boating is one layer of prevention to avoid unnecessary tragedy.”
U.S. Coast Guard statistics show that drowning was the reported cause of death in four out of every five recreational boating fatalities in 2021 and that 83% of those who drowned were not wearing life jackets.
Newer styles of life jackets are much more comfortable, lightweight and stylish compared to the bulky, orange life jackets that boaters used to know. There are innovative options, such as inflatable life jackets, that are much cooler in the warmer weather and allow mobility and flexibility for activities like boating, fishing, paddling or hunting.
Here are some helpful tips for selecting and maintaining life jackets:
U.S. Coast Guard–Approved: Wear only U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jackets while boating. All life jackets approved by the U.S. Coast Guard will have an approval number located on the inside label.
Proper Fit: Life jackets are sized by weight and chest measurements. An adult-sized life jacket is not suitable for a child, as the life jacket may be too large and may ride up around their face or even slip off. Always check the fit of the child’s life jacket before entering the water. A life jacket too small for the wearer may not keep them afloat.
Intended Boating Activity: Make sure that the life jacket is approved for the specific boating activity in which you plan to participate.
Good condition: Check the life jacket before use to ensure it is in good condition. Replace a life jacket that has faded labels, rips, tears, mildew, loose or missing straps, frayed webbing or broken zippers or buckles. If an inflatable life jacket is used, check recommendations from the manufacturer on the CO2 canister and arming mechanism, and replace as necessary.
Children and life jackets: Under California law, every child under 13 years of age on a moving recreational vessel of any length must wear a U.S. Coast Guard–approved life jacket in serviceable condition and of a type and size appropriate for the conditions and the activity. Many cities and counties also have regulations about children and youth life jacket requirements along rivers and lakes. Always check with local managers about life jacket rules.
Life jacket loaner program: DBW partners with local agencies to ensure boaters have access to life jackets. A life jacket can be borrowed from more than 100 life jacket loaner stations throughout the state. View life jacket loaner stations.
“Doc.” Photo courtesy of Clearlake Animal Control. CLEARLAKE, Calif. — Clearlake Animal Control is featuring new dogs and others that continue to wait to be adopted this week.
The shelter’s website lists 48 dogs waiting for adoption.
The dogs that are available for adoption include “Doc,” a male Rottweiler-pit bull mix.
“Sosa.” Photo courtesy of Clearlake Animal Control.
Another adoptable dog is “Sosa,” a 4-year-old female American Staffordshire terrier mix.
Also up for adoption is “Roman,” a 5-year-old border collie-German shepherd mix with a long black coat and white markings.
He was the featured dog at Thursday’s Clearlake City Council meeting, where it was reported he is a favorite of shelter staff.
Roman is well-mannered and gentle, enjoys long walks and has very good leash skills.
Shelter staff said he is good with other dogs but that they are not sure if he gets along with cats.
He is neutered and up to date on all vaccinations.
“Roman.” Photo courtesy of Clearlake Animal Control. The shelter is located at 6820 Old Highway 53. It’s open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.
For more information, call the shelter at 707-762-6227, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., visit Clearlake Animal Control on Facebook or on the city’s website.
This week’s adoptable dogs are featured below.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
Fast boats will take to the water this weekend at the Buckingham Test and Tune. Courtesy photo. KELSEYVILLE, Calif. — Classic cars, custom boats and fun are planned for this weekend at the Buckingham Golf Club and Community Center in Kelseyville as the Buckingham Test and Tune returns.
With a hiatus due to low water and COVID concerns, the spectacle is roaring back.
The show is filled to capacity, ensuring spectators and participants a fun-filled weekend.
On Saturday, custom cars, street rods and muscle cars will be on display beginning at 9 am.
Vintage and historic speedboats will run on the water from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday and Sunday, weather and water conditions permitting.
Some of the boats registered to participate include Madam Blue, Tiger, Hot to Trot, The Specialist, Shady Lady, Thrill Me, Chuck Wagon, Hombre and Thunder Chicken.
The event is hosted by the California Speedboat Association, with the help of many volunteers.
“I am so proud of Lake County for their support of this event,” said volunteer Rich Scogin. “I am so thankful to the business community for their support.”
He added, “Our local volunteers have worked tirelessly for months. Rick and Peggy Bonds’ ‘never give up’ attitudes are an inspiration.”
Event organizer Joe Bullock is credited with ensuring the event is a treat for participants and spectators.
He has also secured custom awards, including several handcrafted trophies.
Vendors will include Konocti Bicycles, Lady Luck Garage, Hillside Honda, Red Beard Wraps and Operation Tango Mike. Food will be available for purchase.
There is no fee for spectator admission.
Buckingham Golf Club and Community Center is located at 2855 Westlake Drive.
As trees and flowers blossom in spring, bees emerge from their winter nests and burrows. For many species it’s time to mate, and some will start new solitary nests or colonies.
Bees and other pollinators are essential to human society. They provide about one-third of the food we eat, a service with a global value estimated at up to $US577 billion annually.
Because people are widely familiar with honeybees, many assume that all bees are social and live in hives or colonies with a queen. In fact, only about 10% of bees are social, and most types don’t make honey.
Most bees lead solitary lives, digging nests in the ground or finding abandoned beetle burrows in dead wood to call home. Some bees are cleptoparasites, sneaking into unoccupied nests to lay eggs, in the same way that cowbirds lay their eggs in other birds’ nests and let the unknowing foster parents rear their chicks.
A few species of tropical bees, known as vulture bees, survive by eating carrion. Their guts contain acid-loving bacteria that enable the bees to digest rotting meat.
Busy brains
The world looks very different to a bee than it does to a human, but bees’ perceptions are hardly simple. Bees are intelligent animals that likely feel pain, remember patterns and odors and even recognize human faces. They can solve mazes and other problems and use simple tools.
Bees’ sensory experience of the world is markedly different from ours. For example, humans see the world through the primary colors of red, green and blue. Primary colors for bees are green, blue and ultraviolet.
Bees’ vision is 60 times less sharp than that of humans: A flying bee can’t see the details of a flower until it is about 10 inches away. However, bees can see hidden ultraviolet floral patterns that are invisible to us, and those patterns lead the bees to flowers’ nectar.
Naturalist David Attenborough uses ultraviolet light to show how flowers may appear different to bees than to humans.
Bees also can spot flowers by detecting color changes at a distance. When humans watch film projected at 24 frames per second, the individual images appear to blur into motion. This phenomenon, which is called the flicker-fusion frequency, indicates how capable our visual systems are at resolving moving images. Bees have a much higher flicker-fusion frequency – you would have to play the film 10 times faster for it to look like a blur to them – so they can fly over a flowering meadow and see bright spots of floral color that wouldn’t stand out to humans.
Bees’ sense of touch is also highly developed: They can feel tiny fingerprint-like ridges on the petals of some flowers. Bees are nearly deaf to most airborne sounds, unless they are very close to the source, but are sensitive if they are standing on a vibrating surface.
Problem solvers
Bees can navigate mazes as well as mice can, and studies show that they are self-aware of their body dimensions. For example, when fat bumblebees were trained to fly and then walk through a slit in a board to get to food on the other side, the bees turned their bodies sideways and tucked in their legs.
Experiments by Canadian researcher Peter Kevan and Lars Chittka in England demonstrated remarkable feats of bee learning. Bumblebees were trained to pull a string – in other words, to use a tool – connected to a plastic disk with hidden depressions filled with sugar water. They could see the sugar wells but couldn’t get the reward except by tugging at the string until the disk was uncovered.
Other worker bees were placed nearby in a screen cage where they could see what their trained hive mates did. Once released, this second group also pulled the string for the sweet treats. This study demonstrated what scientists term social learning – acting in ways that reflect the behavior of others.
Pollinating with vibrations
Even pollination, one of bees’ best-known behaviors, can be much more complicated than it seems.
The basic process is similar for all types of bees: Females carry pollen grains, the sex cells of plants, on their bodies from flower to flower as they collect pollen and nectar to feed themselves and their developing grubs. When pollen rubs off onto a flower’s stigma, the result is pollination.
My favorite area of bee research examines a method called buzz pollination. Bees use it on about 10% of the world’s 350,000 kinds of flowering plants that have special anthers – structures that produce pollen.
For example, a tomato blossom’s five anthers are pinched together, like the closed fingers of one hand. Pollen is released through one or two small pores at the end of each anther.
When a female bumblebee lands on a tomato flower, she bites one anther at the middle and contracts her flight muscles from 100 to 400 times per second. These powerful vibrations eject pollen from the anther pores in the form of a cloud that strikes the bee. It all happens in just a few tenths of a second.
Bumblebees demonstrate buzz pollination on a Persian violet blossom.
The bee hangs by one leg and scrapes the pollen into “baskets” – structures on her hind legs. Then she repeats the buzzing on the remaining anthers before moving to different flowers.
Bees also use buzz pollination on the flowers of blueberries, cranberries, eggplant and kiwi fruits. My colleagues and I are conducting experiments to determine the biomechanics of how bee vibrations eject pollen from anthers.
Whether you have an apartment window box or several acres of land, you can do a few simple things to help bees.
First, plant native wildflowers so that blooms are available in every season. Second, try to avoid using insecticides or herbicides. Third, provide open ground where burrowing bees can nest. With luck, soon you’ll have some buzzing new neighbors.
The YMCA Camp Jones Gulch. Photo courtesy of the Governor’s Office. Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday announced major progress in the state’s efforts to conserve 30% of state lands and coastal waters by 2030.
Since April 2022, California has added approximately 631,000 acres of conserved land — nearly 1,000 square miles — bringing the statewide total to 24.4% of lands and 16.2% of coastal waters. Watch the Governor's video announcing this milestone here.
Known as the 30x30 initiative, Gov. Newsom’s October 2020 Executive Order launched what his office called “a once-in-a-generation opportunity to lead the world protecting and restoring nature as a climate solution.”
It calls for additional protection of 6 million acres of land and 500,000 acres of coastal waters in the next seven years to achieve 30x30.
In 2021, President Biden launched the same initiative at the federal level, putting the U.S. on track to conserve 30% of lands and waters nationally. And last year, world leaders came together to agree to protect 30 percent of land and waters in 190 countries across the world.
“California is setting the bar for conservation for other states and nations around the world,” said Newsom. “Preserving species in peril, breaking down barriers to the outdoors for underserved communities, working alongside native peoples who have stewarded these lands and waters since time immemorial — our 30x30 initiative is restoring and protecting California’s unparalleled natural beauty for generations to come.”
The progress is detailed in an inaugural annual report, “Pathways to 30x30 California,” which highlights significant progress over the last year toward achieving three key objectives: 1) Protecting and restoring biodiversity; 2) Expanding access to nature; and 3) Mitigating and building resistance to climate change.
The report provides specific examples of projects that expanded conserved lands throughout the state, including:
Banning Ranch: This $97 million acquisition consists of 387 acres of lowlands and coastal bluffs in Newport Beach and now connects nearly 1,000 acres of conserved coastal lands and waters. Over the next several years, former oil fields on the property will be converted to a public coastal park.
Banning Ranch. Photo courtesy of the Governor’s Office. YMCA Camp Jones Gulch: This voluntary conservation easement conserves 920 forested acres that will continue to host youth development opportunities, environmental education, recreation and community service.
Wildlife Crossings: These crossings enable wildlife to safely traverse busy roadways, as well as find food sources and increase genetic diversity. Two notable crossings include one under construction at over Highway 17 in Santa Cruz County, which will also serve to connect more than 50 miles of previously fragmented regional trails, and the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing, which is expected to help preserve the mountain lion population in the Santa Monica Mountains (which could become extinct within 50 years without an influx of genetic diversity).
The state’s commitment to equity, tribal partnerships and economic prosperity — pillars of the 30x30 initiative — is backed by more than $100 million in grants for local communities and tribes to implement conservation planning projects.
The funding is part of $1.4 billion the state has directed to nature-based solutions to combat climate change and protect the state’s world-renowned biodiversity.
Gov. Gavin Newsom joins the groundbreaking of the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing in April 2022. Photo courtesy of the Governor’s Office.
The South Cow Mountain Off Highway Vehicle Management Area in the Ukiah Field Office in Northern California. Photo by Eric Coulter/Bureau of Land Management. LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — The Bureau of Land Management Ukiah Field Office is taking measures to protect habitat for the imperiled Clear Lake hitch by temporarily limiting vehicle access to the South Cow Mountain Off Highway Vehicle Management Area in Lake County.
The temporary closure of the Scott’s Creek gate entrance near Lakeport became effective starting on Friday, May 12, and continues until Thursday, June 1.
The South Cow Mountain OHV Management Area will remain open to vehicle access on the west side via the Westside Staging Area near Ukiah in Mendocino County.
In addition, the Indian Valley/Walker Ridge and Knoxville Management areas in Lake County will remain open to vehicle access as an alternate location for OHV recreation while the Scott’s Creek gate remains closed.
Recreationists can continue to access the Scott’s Creek entrance by hiking.
“This temporary gate closure at the Scott’s Creek entrance is required to protect water quality and juvenile fish as they migrate back to Clear Lake from Scott’s Creek and prevent destruction of riparian habitat necessary for juvenile Clear Lake hitch survival,” said Ukiah Field Manager Nicholas Lavrov. “This temporary gate closure is an added measure to ensure survival of the Clear Lake hitch as this species has shown rapid decline over the last several years.”
The state-threatened Clear Lake hitch, found only in the Clear Lake Basin, has been in rapid decline since 2017.
Presently, the Clear Lake hitch is under review for listing under the Endangered Species Act.
In recent years, due to drought, the fish have not been able to reach the spawning grounds on BLM lands.
With the recent wet winter and spring, Scott’s Creek has become a productive breeding ground and rearing habitat for the fish.
Scientists determined that 2017 was the last successful reproductive year and hitch live an average of six years; 2023 is potentially the last year for that age class of fish to successfully reproduce.
The BLM intends to partner with local tribes, governments, and agencies to promote the protection of the species and prevent the imminent danger of extinction. This endeavor to close the Scott’s Creek entrance, while juvenile hitch remain in the creek is a key step to ensuring the prolonged survival of the species.
Scott’s Creek is the largest tributary to Clear Lake. Much of the land within the South Cow Mountain OHV Management Area is within the Scott’s Creek watershed.
Soils in the region are naturally high in nutrients like phosphorous and the BLM is mandated by the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board to reduce nutrient inputs into Scott’s Creek to protect the Clear Lake watershed.
Temporary closure of the Scott’s Creek entrance will help to prevent unauthorized vehicle access into the creek to prevent degradation of water quality and the sensitive riparian area while water remains in the creek.
Although the BLM operates on a multiple-use mission that includes grazing, recreational access, and minerals extraction, protecting identified significant resources within streams and riparian areas is a priority use of those lands.
Officials ask the public to please remain respectful and stay on designated routes to avoid crushing juvenile fish and to protect a valuable water resource critical to the Lake County community and Clear Lake hitch survival.
Pack It In — Pack It Out: The Bureau of Land Management encourages all recreationists to practice Leave No Trace ethics while recreating on public lands. Help the BLM be good stewards and preserve public lands for future generations.
For more information, please visit the South Cow Mountain webpage. For specific questions, contact the Ukiah Field Office at 707-468-4000 or by email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
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