Environmentalists are applauding a new law to protect western Joshua trees in California which bans tree removals without a permit and funds conservation efforts. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the Western Joshua Tree Conservation Act into law when he signed the revised state budget for fiscal year 2023–24 June 27. The law took effect July 1….

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, hundreds of Dolphins and other marine mammals along the Southern California coast have gotten sick or died this month due to toxic algae bloom. The rapid growth of the algae Pseudo-nitzschiacauses the production of a neurotoxin called domoic acid, which leads to animal strandings as the toxin is…

Multiple rare sightings of a wolverine have been reported in California’s eastern Sierra Nevada mountains. Two have been spotted in Inyo National Forest and one in Yosemite National Park. All three sightings occurred in May. “Wolverines can travel great distances, making it likely that the recent sightings are all of the same animal,” said Daniel…

Gov. Gavin Newsom announced on Tuesday a $60 million plan to build a channel to open the Yuba River up so salmon and other threatened fish species can swim along the river’s dam. The channel resembling a natural river would stretch 10 to 12 miles of habitat upstream, blocking the salmon migration route along the…

LOS ANGELES—More than two months after his death, the Southland’s most famous mountain lion, P-22, has been buried at an undisclosed location in the Santa Monica Mountains, a wildlife official said March 6. According to Beth Pratt, California regional executive director of the National Wildlife Federation, the lion was “laid to rest” in a private…

LOS ANGELES—P-22, the mountain lion who was captured Dec. 12 in a Los Feliz backyard in a severely underweight and injured condition, was euthanized Dec. 17 morning, California Department of Fish and Wildlife officials announced. “This really hurts,” the department’s Director Chuck Bonham said Saturday morning, fighting back tears. “It’s been an incredibly difficult several…

LOS ANGELES—Wildlife officials Dec. 13 will continue evaluating the health of famed Griffith Park mountain lion P-22 after the big cat’s capture in the backyard of a Los Feliz home. In a joint statement, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) and National Park Service (NPS) said the animal was successfully tranquilized on Dec….

California has to humanely euthanize approximately 350,000 catchable rainbow trout due to a bacterial outbreak, which has led to a fishing stock shortage in parts of the state, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife announced on June 20. Two facilities operated by the state agency—Black Rock and Fish Springs hatcheries in Inyo County—were detected…

SAN PEDRO, Calif.—The U.S. Coast Guard Dec. 28 announced that Southern California shoreline segments affected by an oil spill have been returned to their original condition. “The spill response will now enter a transition period; the Unified Command will monitor tarball and oiling incidents along with associated sampling results to determine the source of the oil,” according to a…

HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif.—After a new oil sheen was spotted Dec. 22 off the coast of Bolsa Chica State Beach, officials announced Dec. 23 that tarballs have also come onshore in Huntington Beach despite proactive measures. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Office of Spill Prevention said in a Twitter post that their agencies were…