Posted by: Sandy Steinman | January 4, 2026

No more free entry: National parks reinstating fees on these days in 2026

KRON reports

Several changes are coming to the country’s beloved national parks in 2026, including a new list of free admission days. The Trump administration announced all parks will be offering free admission to U.S. residents on President Donald Trump’s birthday, but five other formerly free days are being dropped.

Last year, Martin Luther King Jr. Day (the third Monday of January), the first day of National Park Week (in April), Juneteenth (on June 19), the anniversary of the Great American Outdoors Act (Aug. 4) and National Public Lands Day (fourth Saturday of September) were all free admission days for visitors. Starting in 2026, admission fees will be charged on those five holidays.

Free admission is now offered to U.S. residents on eight holidays:

 
  • Feb. 16: Presidents Day
  • May 25: Memorial Day
  • June 14: Flag Day and Trump’s birthday
  • July 3-5: Independence Day weekend
  • Aug. 25: 110th birthday of the National Park Service
  • Sept. 17: Constitution Day
  • Oct. 27: Theodore Roosevelt’s birthday
  • Nov. 11: Veterans Day

Fee-free days used to allow free entry to all visitors, but starting in 2026 the fee will only be waived for U.S. residents. International visitors will not only have to pay the entrance fee, but also new nonresident fees.

Starting in January, international guests will be charged a $100 per-person fee at the entrance gate of 10 of the most-visited national parks, unless they have an America the Beautiful pass.

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | January 4, 2026

Regional Parks Botanic Garden Photos 12/30/25

Photographed in the East Bay Regional Parks Botanic Garden in Tilden Park in Berkeley, CA on December 30 2025.

The Regional Parks Botanic Garden is a California native plant garden. It is located within Tilden Park in the hills above Berkeley, California, It is a 10-acre garden includes many of the state’s rare and endangered plants and a place for visitors to wander among trees, shrubs, flowers, and grasses from plant communities throughout the state. There are free weekend and holiday tours.  Admission and parking are free. For more information about the garden visit the Friends of the Regional Parks Botanic Garden.

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | January 4, 2026

East Bay Regional Parks Upcoming Events

See the calendar of upcoming events for the East Bay Regional Parks at https://www.ebparks.org/calendar

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Posted in Park, Walks & Hikes | Tags:

Posted by: Sandy Steinman | January 4, 2026

What’s Killing These Oak Trees in the Midwest? Conservationists Believe Drifting Herbicides Are to Blame

Smithsonian Magazine reported

After the herbicide dicamba exploded in popularity among industrial farmers in 2017, some Illinois residents noticed curled and discolored leaves on native oak trees.
Scientists and conservationists are gathering data in hopes of advocating for restrictions on herbicide use, such as tighter regulations on spraying in high winds.

Read on www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/whats-killing-these-oak-trees-in-the-midwest-conservationists-believe-drifting-herbicides-are-to-blame-180987817/

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | January 3, 2026

Santa Cruz Fungus Fair Jan 9-11 !

From Fungus Federation of Santa Cruz

General Information

Did you know that without fungus, we’d have no bread, cheese, beer, or wine? Or that anti-cholesterol medicine was developed from mushrooms?

Come to the Santa Cruz Fungus Fair to learn fascinating and fun facts about beautiful and diverse species of mushrooms! View remarkable mushroom arts and crafts, taste unusual and exceptionally good fungal fare, and experience FFSC’s overriding mission: “We keep the fun in fungus!”

This unique Santa Cruz area tradition draws thousands of visitors each January. Advance tickets usually go on sale by early December.

Buy tickets now for the 2026 Fair, Jan 9-11 !

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | January 3, 2026

Scientists discover 20 new deep-reef species

Academy scientists discover 20 new deep-reef species and reveal evidence of ocean warming in the ‘twilight zone’
Nearly a decade of data collected from dives to 300+ feet will help inform global conservation efforts for these understudied coral reefs

Read more Academy scientists discover 20 new deep-reef species and reveal evidence of ocean warming in the ‘twilight zone’ – California Academy of Sciences

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | January 3, 2026

Upcoming Bay Nature Events

See the schedule of upcoming Bay Nature Events mailchi.mp/baynature/march-11

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | January 3, 2026

The deep ocean is fixing carbon in ways no one expected

ScienceDaily reported

A new study reveals that unexpected microbes are quietly fixing carbon in the dark depths of the ocean

Researchers have uncovered surprising evidence that the deep ocean’s carbon-fixing engine works very differently than long assumed. While ammonia-oxidizing archaea were thought to dominate carbon fixation in the sunless depths, experiments show that other microbes—especially heterotrophs—are doing far more of the work than expected. This discovery reshapes our understanding of how carbon moves through the deep ocean and stabilizes Earth’s climate.

Read more The deep ocean is fixing carbon in ways no one expected

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | January 2, 2026

Winged Migration Festival – SATURDAY JAN. 31 & SUNDAY FEB. 1 

MORE HIKES! MORE ACTIVITIES! BIGGER VENUE! MORE PARKING!

 SATURDAY JAN. 31 & SUNDAY FEB. 1 
10AM TIL 4PM + AREA HIKES TO BE ANNOUNCED 
 JOIN US AT BUILDING 69, NEXT TO THE COAL SHEDS AT THE INTERSECTION OF  4TH STREET & WATERFRONT AVE ON MARE ISLAND, VALLEJO, CA 

Learn more Winged Migration Expo | Pacific Flyway | Vallejo, CA

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | January 2, 2026

Wayne Roderick Lectures

from the Regional Parks Botanic Garden

Join us for our popular Wayne Roderick Lecture series on a broad array of topics related to plants and natural history. The talks take place on Saturday mornings starting at 10:30 a.m. in the Botanic Garden Visitor Center auditorium. These presentations are enjoyable for beginners and professionals alike. All lectures are free and open to the public.

 
Wayne Roderick Lecture: Patagonian Flora Highlights
Bart O’Brien, RPBG Director, will speak on flora highlights from his trip to Patagonia.
 
Wayne Roderick Lecture: Images and Tales from Iceland
RPBG docent Laura Miller will recount her recent Iceland adventure.
 
Wayne Roderick Lecture: The Watershed Project; Wildcat Creek & More
Ethan Rayner, restoration and volunteer manager at the Watershed Project, will talk on the current Wildcat Creek study.
 
Wayne Roderick Lecture: The Path to Speciation
Ben Anderson, RPBG gardener, will address the evolution of botanic diversity.
 
Wayne Roderick Lecture: Lichens
Join Jepson Herbarium Curator of Lichenology, Dr. Klara Scharnagl who will provide an introduction to the lichens around us.

— Read on nativeplants.org/events-and-classes/wayne-roderick-lectures/

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | January 2, 2026

Drones Help Identify Viruses in Whales

The New York Times reported

“In northern Norway, scientists detected a disease-causing virus in humpback whales by flying drones over them. It is the first time the virus, known as cetacean morbillivirus, has been identified in Arctic waters”

Read on https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/02/science/arctic-drones-whales-virus.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | January 2, 2026

Upcoming UC Berkeley Botanical Garden Events

See the events calendar for the UC Berkeley Botanical Garden at Garden Events

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | January 2, 2026

5 great forests for birds

From Cornell Lab of  Ornithology:
Interesting video/story on 5 great forests in Latin America:
– Selva Maya
– La Moskitia
– Indio Maiz-Tortuguero
– La Amistad
– El Darien
Click here

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | January 1, 2026

Upcoming CNPS Events

See the calendar of upcoming events of the California Native Plants Society at https://www.cnps.org/events

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | January 1, 2026

Upcoming CNPS Events

See the calendar of upcoming events of the California Native Plants Society at https://www.cnps.org/events

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Posted in Talks | Tags:

Posted by: Sandy Steinman | January 1, 2026

Anza-Borrego Desert Natural History Association Upcoming Events

See upcoming events calendar of hikes and programs at https://www.abdnha.org/calendar1.htm.

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Posted in Park, Walks & Hikes, Wildflowers and Other Plants, Talks, Desert, Astronomy | Tags:

Posted by: Sandy Steinman | January 1, 2026

Discovery of a unique animal with a secret ability

Earth.com

On a routine wildlife survey in a forest reserve in southwest China, scientists caught a weasel that turned out to be a species no one had recorded before. The animal, now named Mustela mopbie, is the newest member of a famously elusive group of small carnivores.

Read more at Routine expedition ended with the discovery of a unique animal with a secret ability

 

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | January 1, 2026

Tracking the First Breeding Pair of Secretarybirds: WhatWe’re Learning

HawkWatch International reported

Director of International Programs, Dr. MeganMurgatroyd, watched the map as a female Secretarybird she tagged with a transmitter moved further and further away from her nest. “I thought she had abandoned the nest,” Meg shared. 

Over the following days, her movements revealed an unexpected pattern: repeated foraging trips of up to 30 kilometers, followed by consistent returns to the nest. Meanwhile, the male remained close. For the first time, scientists weren’t relying on chance observations or indirect evidence. They were watching the lives of breeding Secretarybirds unfold in real time.

Read more Tracking the First Breeding Pair of Secretarybirds: WhatWe’re Learning – HawkWatch International

Tracking the First Breeding Pair of Secretarybirds: What We’re Learning

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | December 31, 2025

Sunset at Elsie Roemer

Photographed Elsie B. Roemer Bird Sanctuary in Alameda, CA on Wed. December 30, 2025.

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | December 31, 2025

Dodo bird’s closest living relative spotted in remote South Pacific rainforest

The Independent  reported

A manumea, the closest living relative of the extinct dodo bird, has been sighted for the first time since 2013, raising hope that the critically endangered species can be saved from extinction.

The Samoa Conservation Society’s latest field survey, conducted from 17 October to 13 November, recorded at least five sightings of Didunculus strigirostris in the South Pacific nation’s rainforest.

Read more Dodo bird’s closest living relative spotted in remote South Pacific rainforest | The Independent

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | December 31, 2025

‘No one knows where it came from’: first wild beaver spotted in Norfolk in 500

The Guardian reported

A wild beaver has been spotted in Norfolk for the first time since beavers were hunted to extinction in England at the beginning of the 16th century.

It was filmed dragging logs and establishing a lodge in a “perfect beaver habitat” on the River Wensum at Pensthorpe, a nature reserve near Fakenham in Norfolk.

Read on www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/dec/07/no-one-knows-where-it-came-from-first-wild-beaver-spotted-in-norfolk-for-400-years

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | December 30, 2025

Who lived in the Sahara desert the last time it was green and lush?

Earth.com reported

About 7,000 years ago, two women were laid to rest in a rocky shelter in today’s southwestern Libya. Their remains have now yielded the first ancient human genomes ever recovered from the central Sahara.

An international study finds that these women carried a long isolated North African lineage now erased as a separate group. Their DNA also helps redraw the map of how people moved, or did not move, across a greener Sahara.

Read on www.earth.com/news/about-7000-years-ago-sahara-desert-was-green-takarkori-rock-shelter-discovery/

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | December 29, 2025

Stingless bees from the Amazon granted legal rights in world first

The Guardian reported

Planet’s oldest bee species and primary pollinators were under threat from deforestation and competition from ‘killer bees’

Read on www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/dec/29/stingless-bees-from-the-amazon-granted-legal-rights-in-world-first

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | December 29, 2025

Pioneering Climate Solutions in Los Angeles and Beyond

The Nature Conservancy reported

TNC has supported prioritizing restoration projects along the L.A. River that enhance habitat, prevent housing displacement, provide public access to parks and open space, and promote climate resilience. We aspire to create a highly visible new model for urban restoration where habitat, water treatment, public access and climate resilience combine in one place to demonstrate what the future of the L.A. River and surrounding region could be.

Read more at Pioneering Climate Solutions in Los Angeles and Beyond

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | December 28, 2025

Trump Guts Protections for Greater Sage Grouse in Eight Western States

Center for Biological Diversity reported

The Trump administration released final plans today that strip protections for the imperiled greater sage grouse on about 50 million acres of federal public lands across eight Western states. Previous proposals over the past decade were intended to prevent extinction of the iconic dancing bird.

Read on biologicaldiversity.org/w/news/press-releases/trump-guts-protections-for-greater-sage-grouse-in-eight-western-states-2025-12-22/

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | December 28, 2025

Peru’s Río Abiseo park yields new marsupial, hinting at more undiscovered species

Monga Bay reported

In 2018, Brazilian biologist Silvia Pavan traveled to Río Abiseo National Park, in Peru’s San Martín region, following the trail of a squirrel species first described from there in the 1990s. At the time, Pavan was collecting genetic samples to study the evolution of South American squirrels. She decided to organize an expedition to Río

 Continue reading at Peru’s Río Abiseo park yields new marsupial, hinting at more undiscovered specie

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Posted in Animals

Posted by: Sandy Steinman | December 27, 2025

A native prairie bird lost federal protection. People are still trying to save it on private land

IPM Newsroom reported

The lesser prairie chicken was once a common sight in the southern Great Plains, but its numbers are dwindling. Even so, it lost federal protections earlier this year for a second time. Now states and landowners are overseeing conservation efforts

Read more at A native prairie bird lost federal protection. People are still trying to save it on private land – IPM Newsroom
A native prairie bird lost federal protection. People are still trying to save it on private land

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | December 26, 2025

Rockslide closes main route (140) to Yosemite in both directions. No timetable for reopening

MSN reported

The highway is closed in both directions, the CHP said.

Read on www.msn.com/en-us/travel/parks/rockslide-closes-main-route-to-yosemite-in-both-directions-no-timetable-for-reopening/ar-AA1T5smY

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Posted in Drives, Park | Tags:

Posted by: Sandy Steinman | December 26, 2025

Lethal dose of plastic for seabirds and marine animals ‘much smaller than expected’

Monga Bay reported

  • A new study looking at the impacts of plastic ingestion by seabird, sea turtles and marine mammals found that relatively small amounts of consumed plastic can be deadly.
  • The research analyzed the necropsy results for more than 10,000 animals and quantified the amount of plastic that could prove deadly as well as the types of plastic with the biggest impact, which included synthetic rubber, soft plastics (such as plastic bags and wrappers) and discarded plastic fishing gear.
  • Overall, one in five of the deceased animals had consumed plastic (affecting 50% of all studied sea turtles, 35% of seabirds and 12% of marine mammals); nearly half of the species studied were considered threatened or near threatened on the IUCN Red List.
  • The researchers didn’t consider other health impacts of plastic, such as chemical exposure and entanglement, which led the lead author to conclude the study likely underestimates the “existential threat that plastic pollution poses to ocean wildlife.”

Read on news.mongabay.com/2025/11/lethal-dose-of-plastic-for-seabirds-and-marine-animals-much-smaller-than-expected/

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Posted in Animals, Environment | Tags: ,

Posted by: Sandy Steinman | December 25, 2025

New fairy lantern plant discovered at popular Malaysian park

EarthSky reported

A naturalist in Malaysia discovered a new fairy lantern plant. Scientists named it Thismia selangorensis.
The tiny, delicate species is extremely rare, with fewer than 20 known plants.
Scientists warn it is critically endangered and needs careful protection

Read on earthsky.org/earth/fairy-lantern-plant-discovered-malaysian-park/

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Posted in Wildflowers and Other Plants | Tags: ,

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