This is a collection of articles dealing with organic gardening, ecology, environmental restoration, news items of interest, travel and just about anything else I find of interest and willing to share with others around the globe. - ENJOY!
Clearly a radical change is needed or the entire planet's various ecosystems will collapse and fail for good. Oh no, I'm not talking about another one of those mythical 6th Extinction faith affirmations constantly chanting on social media sites. Rattlesnake Mountain once had a plethora of native wildflowers which for the mst part no longer exist up there. The photo above is where I grew up in El Cajon, Californa and this mountain is that mountain known as Rattlesnake Mountain. Today it is awash in non-native invasive annuals from the Mediterranean like Black Mustard, Wild Radish, European Oats and Yellow Star Thistle. Believe it or not the native wildflowers in the photo below use to cover Rattlesnake Mountain every Springtime year after year. In fact most of the native coastal sage scrub has been choked out as well.
This photo on the right was taken by Jay Beiler. I'm not sure of the date, but it's reminiscent of the intensity of the wildflower displays which were once common for me when I first moved to anza in 1981. Interestingly between the dates of 1978 to 1983, Southern California had experienced one of it's longests and wettest El Niño weather events, in fact for many of us it was the first time we had heard of that term. But that El Niño event followed a milder drought period back in the 1970s and provided the energy for an explosion of wildflower growth. The early 1980s was a magical sort of time for nature lovers armed with cameras. All maner of native wildflowers like the iconic state flower California poppies, owl's clover, lupines, tidy tips, gold fields, etc. Everywhere you went out on a drive was every bit as breath taking as the scene above. Other areas like Aguanga, Sage, Hemet Valley, Winchester and further on down south to Warner Springs in San Diego county all reflected this same magnificent brilliance on a massive scale. But then of course things weren't as extensively developed in those days. Sadly that's all gone now. Take a close look at the radical contrast below. How quickly the local peoples forget.
Image from Cahuilla Creek Motorcross
Image from Google Earth
Fast forward to the present and this region has a whole new different look. The photo above is the exact spot today where the wildflower displays were a common sight years ago. And amazingly, this all takes place on the large Cahuilla Indian Reservation. This is not about picking on Native Americans and their wish to prosper economically. I mean I get that. But aren't these the very people the environmentalists have told us are by their very nature were always one with the land and whose example we need to follow ??? Funny thing is, I remember back in the 1970s & 80s how much of a target the Native Americans were by most all Environmental organizations with Greenpeace taking the lead. Not only were they targeted because some Tribal groups encouraged less than eco-friendly businesses with risky & dangerous polluting types of industries onto their reservations because the Rez lacked regulations, rules, and red tape, but also because some tribes had traditions of hunting Whales, Seals, Salmon fishing right privileges at sensitive locations, etc. Actually Greenpeace still has a beef with many tribes for whale hunting and they've recently engaged in a vicious threatening pursuit against one young Native American teenager in Alaska over a whale hunting affair just last year. Still it is interesting that such a business as a motorcross track would be allowed to be placed in one of the most beautiful spots on the whole reservation known for it's spectacular native wildflower displays which has now disappeared forever. Of course it's their land and they can do with it as they wish. Still, it's puzzling. This Google Earth image at upper right, can be clicked on to provide a bigger picture of the exact location and the extensiveness of the destruction and damage of the former wild meadow. I guess it's also the general shock for me every time I visit Anza Valley seeing ALL of the negative changes which have taken place everywhere, including my own former acreage on Table Mountain which has been stripped of most of it's native chaparral vegetation and turned into an industrial Marijuana Farm complete with massive industrial greenhouse infrastructure by some Asian business interests. Unfortunately for me I'm cursed with the memory of what my place once was. 😞
But there's something more Serious here than large corporate targets with deep pockets 😲
Image from a Temecula Real Estate Co.
This picture above could be any property for sale up in the Anza & Aguanga area. It is representative of your average land speculator, developer or average weekend ranchette property owner who purchases land and eventually strips it of all chaparral vegetation. The only exception would be if the shrub were a Manzanita or beautiful scrub oak. People make biased judgements about what plants to remove by mere outward appearances much like they do with each other. But why strip the land down to bare soil ??? In almost all cases invasive non-native weeds will move in and take it's place, especially land in the deep soils of the Valley floor. Now take a look at Anza from this Google Earth from a Satellite point of view.
Image - Google Earth
Image - Salton City (eyetwist)
Many of the more well known Environmental organizations are fond of targeting large corporate business entities because of their ability to cause wholesale damage on a grand scale within any environment, not to mention the other important fact that they also have deeper pockets to satisfy "sue & settle" strategies. But there are also the individual small land owners who often go unnoticed on the eco-activist radar, yet collectively these small land owners can ruin much larger regions of land far more than any single corporate giant. It was one of my pet peeves when I lived in Anza for almost 20+ years. People buy raw land and the first thing they do is hire the local Joe Sixpack and his mighty tractor to strip their property bare of most all of it's chaparral vegetation. I've often wondered why ? If that was their original goal, why not purchase raw dirt (literally) cheap land in somewhere like Salton City for pennies on the dollar which is already devoid of plant life ? But this degradation goes completely unnoticed and is absolutely never discussed by the eco-activists. Click on the google earth image above for a larger view and see how much land has been stripped of vegetation so far at this point. Don't pay so much attention to those larger tracts of farmland being cultivated, they've been there for ages. Focus on all the smaller 2, 5, 10 to 20 acres parcels together collectively.
Now this photograph above I found on the website or Facebook page of the Anza Electric Cooperative. The photographer's location is taken from the top of Hill Street up at the foot of Thomas Mountain north of Mitchell Rd. The valley below way in the distance is actually an ancient lake bed close to the Terwilliger area on the Cahuilla Indian Reservation, but it could be more accurately be described as a giant vernal pool in wetter years. When the Spanish Expedition of Juan Bautista de Anza came through here in 1775 along with Frair Pedro Font, they named this ancient lake, "Laguna de Principe" and paid special attention in their writings about all the spectacular wildflower displays seen for miles in every direction you looked. Check out a 2013 post I wrote on Anza's accurate account of his Spanish Expedition through Anza. They really were in awe of this area's raw untouched unspoiled beauty and they also described the even larger more vast the wildflower displays of Hemet Valley a week later after arriving from the mouth of Bautista Canyon. The photo below here is the area of west Hemet near the Auto Mall along Hwy 74, from Hemet the elevation only drops one inch all the way to Winchester. So quite often massive shallow vernal pool lakes use to form every Spring and that is prime habitat conditions for Goldfields. While a single Goldfield flower is pretty, the tiny flowers are barely noticiable on their own, but in company with millions of their friends, they create a spectacular golden display so bright, they are often too tough to observe without squinting or wearing sunglasses in the powerful sunlight. Hence the plural name Goldfields. Sadly, most of those former prime flat habitat areas which historically have had the best vernal pool habitats in Southern California are also prime flatland for commercial land development.
photo - Richard Cummins
This is probably the last brilliant photograph of the Goldfields to be display in western Hemet Valley that people will ever see. Those expansive vernal pool fields are now weed infested with cheatgrass, foxtails, mustard, etc. Also while visiting there I noticed recent housing tract encroachment and major commercial development everywhere in west Hemet and further south of this location. Add to all of this the extreme drought pattern which has become the new abnormal in SoCal and the newer improved flood control infrastructure the authorities have installed to quickly expedite rainwater out of Hemet Valley on it's way west to Canyon Lake and no more mass vernal pools will appear ever again which Goldfields in this area thrived best in after they dry up.
Satellite Image W. Hemet - Google Earth
This google earth picture above provides the exact location of where those large masses of Goldfields you see above at the foot of the Saddlback hills in the background. But like I stated previously, that brilliant blindingly beautiful Spring wildflower display of Goldfields will no longer appear here ever again. The field now is just too weed infested and another unfortunate change will be the rerouting of water runoff through newer flood control infrastructure which will now limit the vernal pool formation.
Hwy 74 Roadside View - Google Earth
Note there are some patchy remnants of Goldfields here, but they are overwhelmed by the invasive weeds brought in as a result of increased human activity. The Hill on the left is the one seen in the beautiful photo above. Take note of the housing encroachment.
The other big problem ??? 😕 People are just simply loving Nature to Death 😔
Image - Billy Savanh / Flickr
The original photo at the top of this post was not a well known protected preserve or tourist area for viewing wildflowers. It was a dot on the Cahuilla Reservation map. But other not so well know location are getting publicity exposure through social media now days. The Vance Creek Bridge in Washington in the photo on the right is a favorite with celebrity Instagrammers. This too was once an off the beaten path location which is no longer well hidden. Such secret hidden areas do however run the risk of ruin because of modern technology. Why do I say that ? Well here's one example, read this article: INSTAGRAM IS LOVING NATURE TO DEATH. As the article put it plainly,
"Lesser-known lookouts are suffering under the weight of sudden online fame. Five years ago, Horseshoe Bend saw only a thousand visitors in a year. But this year, over 4,000 people a day have come to see the bend, take selfies at the rim, and dangle their feet over the exposed edge. Social media gets blamed for everything — but this time, it really is Instagram’s fault."
You should know that the region of Horseshoe Bend referenced is on the Colorado River and is also right next to the Bears Ears National Monument, a place which almost no one outside of the area really knew about prior to the original debate publicity in 2016. Now almost everyone knows about it and the increased traffic jams are living proof more and more are finding out about it. With industrial recreational corporate giants like Patagonia, Black Diamond and North Face on the prowl nothing is sacred or secret anymore. Their goal is not so much about preserve as it is to promote. Seriously folks, the business schemes of all industrial recreational giants are growing. Add a greenwash label to your industrial receational business model and you're declared righteous by environmental groups because you're not like those conventional dirty oil, gas and mining companies. Eco-Tourism is now being hailed as a planet's saviour. But interestingly, these dirty industries have no interest in Bears Ears National Monument. But industrial recreation also ruins the landscape. If you think this will never happen to California's designated wildflower Preserve areas, think again.
In the Spring of 2017 thousands of people descended on Southern California's wildflower fields (most of these were the protected preserves), where the disastrous environmental impact was evident as large swaths of wildflowers were flattened by selfie-seekers, instagram celebrity wannabes who blazed new trails through the wildflowers on a daily basis. Why would nature lovers do such a thing ??? For one they've been encouraged by leaders/owners of environmental non-profit organizations who post pretty little photos on their Facebook & other social media accounts and reassuring their followers that all was well with Nature because it's still resilient even after five years of devastating megadrought in California. Another factor is that the majority of viewers also want instant Facebook, Instagram, Google Plus or Twitter fame. And finding that one perfect shot may require lots of trampling. But hit that perfect shot and post it on your social media site profile and you're an instant viral photo celebrity. Take note of the damage that results when over aggressive nature enthusiasts go overboard in the pursuit of that viral photo which will provide them with social media celebrity fame in this very well done illustrative video.
When it comes to onlooker reactions to spectacular videos or photos, a good example comes from an earlier video of a Firenado filmed this past July 2018 on Youtube taken in Blythe California and there's one comment under the Youtube video by an anonymous user which illustrates perfectly what motivates so many to pursue the same goal:
"This..... is.... AWESOME! C'mon, when does one capture such quality images like this... once in a lifetime. Simply wow."
But What About Those Protected Wildflower Preserves ? Aren't They Safe havens too ? 😳
Image from Mike Rich
Lately the Eco-Activism groups have been up in arms and on the warpath again. Their collective voices are outraged once more. Why ? The mission this time is to stop those evil Oil Companies from drilling for gas and oil on the Carrizo Plains. Others are up in arms over keeping the Tejon Ranch from building a housing tract complex known as the Centennial Development. Of course the area is a well known wildflower viewing region with the most famous spot known as the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve State Natural Reserve. Tejon Ranch is just west of this California wildflower reserve by about 15 miles or so. But is the threat to such protected areas really coming from conventional development schemes ? Both regions (Carrizo & Antelope) are heavily invested (or infested) with massive alternative energy schemes known as Solar Farms. These often are given a free pass. But there is also another even more sutle danger and you can see it here in the socks and hiking boots of the Nature lover above right who may come visit. Cheatgrass stickers and seeds of other invasives annual non-native plant species are an even bigger threat as you can see from the very top photo above where cheatgrass encroachment is flowing into wildflower habitat like an overwhelming montrous unstoppable Tsunami wave.
But the wild beauty that brought so many here to these wildflower locations in the first place will soon be gone. Social media certainly gets blamed for many things these days, but this time, it really is their fault for encouraging this kind of stardom behaviour. Even if the natural attractions aren’t suffering from social media crowds, they still have to keep a lookout for the infamous social media Graffiti Artists, offroader stunts, etc. But rather than continue on with my rant about this anymore, I'll admit that I'm not really trying to discourage anyone from enjoying the outdoors. But here's a good piece written about what Jackson Hole Wyoming is trying to do to encourage responsible behaviour in the wildlands.
Image & Article by Larissa Faw, November 19th 2018
"Wyoming's Jackson Hole Travel and Tourism Board (JHTTB) is launching what it calls a first-of-its-kind campaign to educate people about how social media, specifically Instagram, is causing travelers to unintentionally abuse precious natural areas in pursuit of the perfect image.
The Tag Responsibly message, developed with Colle McVoy, provides Instagram users about to geotag Jackson Hole’s pristine natural amenities with the alternative, generic location tag: "Tag Responsibly, Keep Jackson Hole Wild."
You can read the rest of the article in Media Post:
Invasion Alert! The western juniper (juniperus occidentalis) 😬😱😨
Image - earthbeours.dom
The beautiful ancient looking tree above is named the Bennett Juniper and it's believed to be the oldest specimen of Juniperus occidentalis known, estimated at about 2200 years old, which is down from an earlier 3000 year age calculation. Still, this tree germinated back in BCE. It's located in the Stanislaus National Forest of California. Its height is 78 feet with an average crown spread of 56 feet. The diameter at breast height (4.5 feet above ground) is 12.7 feet. So it makes it tough to understand the present alarmist reaction to a tree being called invasive in it's native home range. As you can see in the photo at right, there are a number of trees encroaching on what use to be grasslands. It's not only the Western Juniper that is demonized, but also the Eastern Red Cedar, Ashe Juniper and even the common Pinyon Pine. Ranchers mostly dislike it. They claim the Junipers encroach and destroy grasslands for their grazing operations. Other say it is a greedy water gulping worthless tree. They even provide old historical photos of the landscape vegetation cover from many years ago of an exacting location and what it looks like today as proof of invasion. Take a look below.
Images - conifers.org
Image - Karen Bryz (2014)
The so-called Juniper invasion here is a comparison of historical and recent photos taken on the Keystone Ranch east of Prineville, Oregon. There are a number of reasons for the spread like Climate Change, blame given to lack of fire within these ecosystems, but also Juniper seeds don't blow in the wind, they are infact eaten by an incredible variety of birds which later poop them out elsewhere. Like these bluebirds above right. I was reading an article on what trees Oregonians favoured the most when it comes to trees. The Ponderosa Pine and Douglas Firs led the charge for being the most popular as well as Redwoods. I dare say though that if it were their precious Douglas Fir, Ponderosa Pine or Redwoods which were invading and encroching onto the grassland landscape, nobody would really be freaking out over a so-called invasion. Human Beings have a tendency to judge things in Nature the same way they judge other human beings. What they value as worth is what they find pleasing to the eye, taste or some other personal preferences within the five senses. Money can be made off those species for their natural resources, which would infer Junipers, Cypress, Pinyon, etc are worthless and valueless in their eyes. Yet not everyone sees these trees this way. Take for example this research done by Bob Harms from the University of Texas in Austin. Bob Harms found out that the native Texas Ashe Juniper (also demonized as a grassland invader), actually has worth as a nurse plant for Texas Madrone (Arbutus zalapensis).
Images - Bob Harms
The Texas Madrone is yet another beautiful and desirable tree, but of course if your business is in the cattle industry, then maybe not so much. Like most nurse plants, it would mean that Ashe Juniper probably also provides a symbiotic relationship through the mycorrhizal fungal network. Plau like most nurse plants, they probably also provide an excellent source for hydraulic lift and redistribution of water from deep subsoil layers during the hotter Summer months to other plant's seedlings. And if the hydraulics work one direction, they probably have the ability to reverse that service downwards during the wetter season. Winter rainfall quite possibly may be further facilitated into deeper subsoil layers by these woody plants. Here's what Bob Harms says in his own words about the Junipers ability as a nurse plant as well as an important wildlife food & nesting source.
"I do not view the native junipers on our land as an undesirable invasive species, but rather as a plant that offers numerous benefits not generally appreciated, even beyond providing important nesting materials for the Golden-cheeked Warbler and a winter food source for birds and mammals. Many areas of our once overgrazed ranchland are gradually being restored thanks to the mulch from our junipers, surviving on bare calcareous slopes that otherwise would have suffered even greater erosion. The view of cedars replacing open fields of grass must be balanced against that of native grasses and numerous other plants gaining a foothold thanks to the mulch and shade that otherwise would be absent. And in fact, only overgrazed fields are at great risk of juniper invasion."
Of course this doesn't mean that Ranchers and other land managers will buy into the wildlife and nurse plant importance of Junipers. Worldview and Political Ideology are strong religious dogmas which are strongly entrenched into the pysche of Juniper haters. Environmentalists aren't often much help either. Take the video below. While they do draw attention to a practice of bulldozer and chain ripping of Pinyon & Juniper habitat (something I also dislike), they then proceed to fingerpoint at a much hated opponent's Political Party as the enemy. Fact is the present administration is not at fault since this practice goes all the way back to the 1990s. The moment they blame game an opposing ideology, you soon realize it's not about protecting Nature, but rather scoring Brownie Points in the hopes of acquiring political power and hanging onto it. If you are a non-profit environmental organization, then the vicious attacks are used as ammunition for membership drive for the cause and monetary donations. As soon as the hysterical outrage has been milked for all it's financial worth, they move onto something else. Sadly, Nature still comes in last no matter who believes they won the fight. Watch this SUWA video and you soon realize it's never been about Nature as much as created hatred towards the present ruling authority.
Sagebrush Steppe Treatment Evaluation Project
What Eco-Activism fails to ever provide the Public with are real world viable solutions to real world needs for raw building materials and food. Demonizing other people whose worldview they hate and blaming them for what ails Nature is not the answer. Nobody responds favourably to in your face civil disobedient Activism. Seriously folks (NatureLovers), in any matter of controversy life that may involve you personally, have You ever responded favourably to someone else's point of view when they were in your face, used foul language, personal derogatory insults or violent attacks on your property or bodily harm ??? Of course not, but this method and playbook strategy is generally what we see today on the Nightly News reports. What they need to do instead is convince the landowners there's gotta be a better more responsible way of making money with land where Pinyons & Junipers also reside. On the other side of the coin, can any landowners consider the waste they have when utilizing prescribed burns after dragging a chain by Bulldozer ??? It's a waste of a valuable wood products resource and one that is basically free and pays for it's removal as opposed to just paying for it to be removed. Even if they do this themselves, there are major financial cost setbacks. Clearly appealing to their sensitivity to ecology and wildlife doesn't always work, so why not try the money angle approach as the better choice ? On that note, I'll now post a number of videos below which provide excellent explanation on how some inventive entrepreneurial people have done just that. The first videos simply go about the challenges many are facing with the increase of trees into their grassland ranges. One has an opinion of a Rancher from his prespective. Another provides an example of a small lumber mill business operator who deals specifically with Juniper wood products. Finally there is another business venture which back east actually logs large forests for wood stove pellets to be shipped all the way to the United Kingdom to service the pellet stove industry there which promotes itself as one of the eco-green solutions for alternative engery. Actually it's anything but sustainable eco-green.
The Quiet Invasion... Managing Juniper in Eastern Oregon Part 1
The Quiet Invasion - Control or Prescribed Burns, part 2
The Quiet Invasion- The Rancher Perspective
Alternative Sustainable Use forWestern Juniper for Profit
The Lethal Dangers of Wood Pellets - Especially When Shipping Overseas (Sweden)
How Wood Pellets are Manufactured
Wood Pellet Stoves are becoming more and more popular. My brother has one. Having had a conventional wood burning stove on my property for 20+ years high up in the San Jacinto Mountains above Palm Springs, California and heating my house that way, I did save money, but it was also hard back breaking work doing Fall preparation and messy both outside and inside. But it seems reasonable that there could be a market for some pellet mills somewhere in the western states. Maybe a couple of Mills. I mean what a waste burning is and I'm not exactly on board with the "burn baby burn" people either. I just don't get this incessant love affair with fire. Yes, fire is natural, it occurs in nature. But not at the rates these guys want to shove down everyone's throat. 90% of wildfires today are human caused, the other 10% come from lightning or Volcanoes. I don't care that Indians (Native Americans) did it. They are and always have been human beings equal to everyone else on the planet. They used fire to exploit the environment for it's resouces. They used it for war. They used it to run buffalo (Bison) off cliffs, often more than they could use despite the narrative of taking only what they need. That's what being a human being is all about. Anyway, below is an interesting bit I've included with a guy who did his own energy calculations and money savings. Enjoy!
Important Note: I don't endorse any of these activist non-profit sites. They do provide some interesting info, but support, follow and donate at your own risk.
A well intentioned Rewilding Movement motivated more by heart felt emotion than real world boots on the ground research based on logic and our present Climate Change reality
Photo: Craig Kohlruss
I've previously written about the disaster presently going on in California forests where millions upon millions of dead and dying conifers, oaks and other trees are the result of intense drought exacerbated by Climate Change.
But now there is word out that some ecology rewilding groups wish to reintroduce the Grizzly Bear back into the state of California again. The state once had a unique California Grizzly bear species, but humans forced it's extinction. I believe the last one was killed somewhere back in the 1920s. Here are some important pertinent quotes from the "Bozeman Daily Chronicle" on potential for rewilding efforts:
"The Center for Biological Diversity has collected some 20,000 signatures on an online petition urging the state Fish and Game Commission to consider studying the feasibility of reintroducing the grizzly, which is listed a federal threatened species."
"The group also is doing social media ads for its campaign in preparation for presenting a formal petition to the commission in a few months."
"Environmentalists call the messages part of a broader national campaign of “rewilding” areas to restore large carnivores such as bears, wolves, badgers and otters and protecting large connected habitats for them."
"Large predators and large habitats, rewilding advocates say, are essential to keeping ecosystems healthy."
Okay, I get this. I totally understand the reasons and emotions behind the well intentioned idea. But careful forethought and planning need to be done before any rash decision making for reintroduction of the non-native variety of Grizzly Bear into California. I say 'non-native', because the actual unique native California Grizzly has been extinct for almost a century now. Any bears will have to be captured in Idaho, Montana or Wyoming. Just like plant systems, there is unique species specific importance for localized seed when you attempt replanting any disturbed area. It should be no different with wildlife. To their credit, the Center for Biodiversity called for a feasibility study. Frankly, it shouldn't actually take that much time and money to figure out whether or not this could succeed. Follow me below on this, but first, here is another online journal link on the subject from California.
What about the eco-green ecosystem reality on the ground in California ???
(Dan Honda, Bay Area News Group)
Take a quick close look at the two minute video above of the millions upon millions of dead and dying trees occuring in this Sierra Nevadas of California flyover. This is actually just one small speck when compared to the overall massive picture of dead and dying trees all across the west. Now look at the photo at right of a Grizzly Bear. There now, this is the ideal type of habitat a real Grizzly will be looking for, but there is not much of that left in California, The movement to reintroduce the Grizzly Bear back into it's once former range within California is doomed to failure before it starts. But how can that be possible ? It isn't so much that the negative would be that there are so many people (there is), but rather it's about their diet. What will they feed on ? Does the video above of the millions of dead and dying trees reveal a landscape of plenty ? Of course not. But for a moment, take the example of other call to re-engineer again a Mammoth from the DNA found in one of the many frozen carcasses over the years from Siberia.
Image - Matt Dunham/AP
Even if they could play Jurassic Park Geneticist by reconstructing the DNA of frozen Woolly Mammoths and combining it somehow with the DNA of a living Asian Elephant today, Sci-Fi World aside, if (and that's a big if) they could actually do this, what kind of world would they be bringing these creatures back to ? This planet is ruined and there is hardly enough sustainable wild habitat for even the large animals in Africa anymore. Most likely it would be an artificial Animal Park with the poor animals being fit with radio collars and wearing ear tags. Seriously though, is that what people really what ? Getting back to Grizzlies though. Once again I get all the emotion and heartfelt desires, but they have to be logical about this. These animals will go where there is food and that means people. Already there are conflicts in many places with black bears not being able to forage out in the wild and entering suburban areas. Then there are the issues of available waterways like streams and rivers. Grizzlies love both and need fishing, but that is also in doubt when it comes to California. I never thought I would see this day when California would lose most of it's historical forests.
Major Challenges with Food and Foreaging Natural Resources within California
When you think of big brown bears like Grizzlies, what else does this bring to mind ? Salmon runs and fishing. At one time way back in history, the native California Grizzly Bears were King throughout California all the way down into Baja California. Juan Bautista de Anza the Spanish Explorer in 1774 & 76 and Fray Pedro Font who accompanied him on the trek, both wrote about Bears (Los Osos) in their expedition diary journals when they passed through Southern California. Sightings were along water courses like the San Jacinto River in Hemet/San Jacinto Valley. Other sightings were after they had crossed the Santa Ana River and heading west through the I-10 corridor region of Ontario, Pomona & San Dimas. Many rivers flowed year round in those days from the northern canyons of present day Angeles National Forests. The rivers ran full all year and contained large populations of the native and now almost extinct Steelhead Trout or Salmon. Perfect Grizzly habitat in those days as even the forest tree lines were far lower in mountain elevation than they are today. Wetlands, marshes and large scale riparian woodlands were everywhere as well from the descriptive writings of Pedro Font and Juan Bautista de Anza where they often mentioned having to avoid them in many places which required long detours. The next recorded Grizzly sightings were towards Ventura/Santa Basbara, but especially further north in the river floodplain and delta region of the Santa Maria river south of San Luis Obispo where numerous bears gathered for fishing.
Sadly, all these once pristine wild scenes are all barely a memory now. Most of those former rivers and streams are dry sandy rocky washes now. Dams were built way upstream and rainfall now days is almost nothing. Any periodic flooding comes from street runoff and other human industrial infrastructural development. Southern California will never ever again support any Grizzly population, not even a small one. The Sierras are also doubtful as millions upon million of various species of trees die off. Northern California would be the only choice, but it would still have to be large deep isolated wilderness and there is not much of that in a state of millions of humans, even as they move into more rural areas. Plus the Grizzlies would never be content to stay put there, especially with any food resources being almost nill. People are where the food is and that is where the failure of reintroduction would come in.
Grizzlies, Salmon & other wildlife require healthy viable green vegetative ecosystems
I've touched on dead and dying trees by the millions upon millions, but all success hinges on this. For all the wildlife concerned. It's not a matter of replanting. You need healthy normal climate dynamics to return for that and at present this seems unlikely. Much talk is being done to save the dead forest snags from big timber interests and other opposing scientists are in favour of logging anyway to fuel energy plants with wood to reduce coal. The argument being that these trees will burn and pump CO2 in to the atmosphere anyway if they stay put and are later consumed by wildfire. But will just leaving these trees really encourage the forest to return naturally on it's own ? I doubt it. There is a problem with regards where the viable seed will come from. Many of these trees were sick and thristy long before the bark beetles finished the job. When trees are stressed, they pump what little water resources there are into defensive survival mode as opposed to offensive seed production. So it's highly doubtful there was much of a viable wild seed bank out there in many areas where these trees died. If there were cones, then most of the cones would have opened up and released seed when they died and dried out. Any seedlings which may have resulted would most likely never had a chance in the present drought and if made if to sapling stage, then any resulting wildfire cooks that rehab. The much praised and celebrated fire ecology rebirth strategy becomes toast in such dead forest wildfire because there is no viable seed to kickstart the renewal process. Consider that these forests are dying on a massive wholesale scale. Replanting is also another option, but will that succeed ? Not without climate correction to bring back a normal rainfall pattern. This too seems unlikely. Also consider from what sources would the seed for seedlings come from. Most often today from out of state. Specific habitats require seed from those regions. Much failure has been experienced where region specific seed has not been used. This is even true of chaparral restoration projects.
Artemisia tridentata. Photo by Sue Weis, Inyo National Forest.
Many restoration projects for Silver Sagebrush habitat restoration have failed because of well intentioned people have used seed from wrong species. Same goes for forest restoration.
A good example of the importance of site specific species to any region is in several Silver Sagebrush restoration programs. While once I was researching about a native (Giant Palouse Earthworm)of eastern Washington which apparently thrives in native bunch graaslands and Silver Sagebrush Steppes, I stumbled upon the reference to a region where replanted Silver Sagebrush had failed because it was not the specific type of Artemisis to the area. If I can find that reference I'll come back and post it here later. Much of this region has been converted to dryland farming with millions of acres in wheat production. But a reference to habitat restoration of Silver Sagebrush Steppe in this region mentioned failure of Artemisia establishment because the wrong species was used. They all died. Many Silver Sagebrush restoration initiatives have ended in failure because several factors for regeneration have been ignored. And successional management models have identified these as underlying causes of failure as good site availability, species availability, and species performance.
Image: Northwest Conifers
White Pine (Pinus strobus)
My point here is that any region's specific tree seed source (Ponderosa, Fir, Oak etc) needs to be used to avoid failure in replanting California mountains. And it's a big if. But like I said, if climatic conditions are not restored soon, failure even with the correct seedlings will fail big time. This is what will be the biggest challenge not only to Grizzly bear, but also Salmon and other wildlife. Remember, although people may view Grizzlies as vicious carnivores, Grizzly bears are actually omnivores, and their diet can vary widely. They may eat seeds, berries, roots, grasses, fungi, deer, elk, fish, dead animals and insects. All these important food resources also need a healthy viable forested ecosystem. Remember the issues with White Pine decline and Grizzly Bear survival ? So vital is White Pine in their diet that massive decimation of White Pine by a blister rust pathogen has had major negative effect on Grizzly populations.
Beetle killed trees in Colorado's Never Summer Mountains
This photo above is from Colorado Rockies where millions of acreage of unhealthy forest trees are also under attack from Bark Beetles. Bears here along with other wildlife are struggling. Does anyone actually believe that California forests would be anymore inviting to a hungry Grizzly ? Frankly, forget the danger to people scenario for a moment. I think it's just as unfair and unkind towards the non-native Grizzly Bears to insert them into such a lousy habitat. It'll be nothing more than eye candy for eco-activists. There is no Quickie Nirvana here folks.
Update: September 12th, 2016
Hungry bears focus on gaining as much fat as possible before winter hibernation
"They become very food obsessed. It's really all around gaining as much fat as possible, right before the winter," said conservationist Kevin Van Tighem.
Wonder how desparately food obsessed native Rocky Mountain Grizzlies will be if introduced into non-native degraded habitats in the drought stressed extremes of California ???
