Celebrate California Biodiversity Day 2020 at a National Wildlife Refuge. Visit a National Wildlife Refuge in California from September 5-13 and record any animals or plants you observe using the iNaturalist app.

Founded by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1903 and administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Wildlife Refuge System is a diverse network of lands and waters dedicated to conserving America’s rich fish and wildlife heritage. Within California, 40 refuges across the state provide habitat for wildlife and recreational opportunties for people. To locate a refuge near you, go to https://www.fws.gov/refuges/visit/.

Due to the COVID19 pandemic, this is a self-led bioblitz. Although most refuge and hatchery lands and outdoor spaces have remained open for the public to enjoy, we encourage you to:

Review our state-by-state update page and check local refuge and hatchery conditions before
visiting
Follow current CDC safe practices by maintaining a safe distance between yourself and other groups
Wear a cloth face mask/covering over the nose and mouth, especially when social distancing is
difficult
Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds
Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth
Cover your mouth and nose when you cough or sneeze
Most importantly, stay home if you feel sick

https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/california-biodiversity-day-2020-usfws-national-wildlife-refuges

The 2019 City Nature Challenge is coming up soon! Please join in the fun April 26 through April 29, as San Diego County competes against areas around the world to see who can make the most observations of nature, find the most species, and engage the most people in the Challenge. Last year, San Diego placed in the top 3 in all categories. Let’s meet or beat last year’s record! We can't let San Francisco beat us again! If you participated last year, thank you, and we hope you will do so again this year. If you are new to the Challenge, just jump right in and submit observations from anywhere in San Diego County over the 4-day period.
Set a goal: make 100 observations over the 4-day period; or find 10 species new to you; or submit more observations per day than you have on any prior day since you started using iNat; or come up with your own goal! Maybe you can outdo last year's top observer who contributed 992 observations of 569 species during the 4 days of the challenge.

Learn more about the 2019 San Diego City Nature Challenge at sdnat.org/CNC2019

In this moment of mercenary politics, those of us who are out-proud tree-huggers have taken to citing the bottom line. The clean water, timber, cultural and recreation opportunities of a single forest deliver more economic value than all of the failing U.S. coal industry.

https://www.seattletimes.com/opinion/the-secret-life-and-value-of-trees/

For those interested in hiking to Cedar Creek Falls, Cleveland National Forest officials said that the lack of water flow at the falls has caused the pool to turn green and become stagnant.

The forest service advises hikers to wait until spring to swim in the pool as the current conditions can cause higher levels of bacteria and the murky water attracts insects and garter and rattlesnakes.

http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/ramona-sentinel/sd-cm-ram-forest-service-cedar-creek-falls-20171027-story.html

Researchers from the U.S. Forest Service are documenting what they are calling an unprecedented die-off of trees in urban areas across Southern California.

Sycamores, willows, avocado and citrus trees are dying because of the drought, pests and disease infestations.

http://www.kpbs.org/news/2017/apr/26/us-forest-service-unprecedented-tree-die-hits-sout/

TRABUCO CANYON – A mountain lion was spotted Monday by people visiting Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park, according to county officials.

http://m.ocregister.com/articles/mountain-729588-park-lion.html

More open space than park, the Preserve is part of a patchwork of large habitats that make up north county San Diego. Wildlife currently moves between tracts of land such as the Cleveland National Forest, Palomar Mountain, BLM land and the Rancho Guejito, a privately owned ranch that spans 23,000 acres east of Escondido. Hellhole Canyon is a centerpiece connecting them all.

http://www.valleycenter.com/news/2016-09-08/Valley_News/Open_space_campaign_aims_to_protect_wildlife_corri.html

At the beginning of summer, Cleveland National Forest was considering closing the Cedar Creek Falls trail when temperatures hit 90 degrees or hotter for health safety reasons, but pending paperwork has prevented them from doing so, according to a spokesperson.

http://m.ramonasentinel.com/news/2016/jul/27/despite-heat-hikes-to-cedar-creek-falls-continue/