Sierra Sun Interview

The editor of the Sierra Sun was interviewed on KCBS radio today. The reporter was working the "heavy snow/ spring skiing angle". It became evident that yes, there is a whole lot of snow on the ground around the Lake Tahoe resort area. The resorts have almost completely committed to a lengthy extension of the current season, staying open until at least May 15th. Squaw vallet will stay open until May 30, with the possibility of a 4th of July special.
Gov. Jerry Brown declared california's drought officially over. Perhaps we'll be able to enjoy a "normal " summer without the daily rags screaming for conservation, bemoaning some poor animal somewhere whose tongue is swollen for lack of moisture, or some poor fish who can't spawn or migrate or swim unconstrained. It becomes quite tedious to read the pleading and whining about the lack of water. The poor farmer, the thirsty cities, the poor.........., the smelt, the salmon, the bass, the trout, and on and on and on.
Maybe we can get by this year until October or even November. Wouldn't that be nice, boys and girls? Of course it would.

Read an interesting article about conservation on Santa Cruz Island, part of Channel Islands National Park, 20 miles off the coast of southern California. Having spent quite a bit of time there abouts, it provided an update on conditions since the feds took over management some years ago. It is a rarely visited park due to its offshore location and its lack of big draws, ie. tourist attractions. Hiking opportunities abound, great camping can be had, and a very peaceful environmental experience is affordable to all.
Fishing is good, and snorkeling is fine as long as you not spooked by the occasional shark fin cutting the water nearby.
The Nature Conservancy, the mag,for spring 2011, also had an intersting article about Tahoe's most interesting local, the American Black Bear. Yes, those multi-colored ambling oafs are "black" bears, aka Ursus americanus. They cover a wide range,from Northern Mexico to northern Alaska. They live on average about 10 years. They don't cover as much range as their cousins, the Brown bears(grizzlies,etc) who can be found on several continents. The blacl bear is the smaller of the two species, thankfully.
The issue also highlighted a find in Peru, on a Conservancy expedition-an armored cat fish that eats wood. Yes, eats wood. See page 14 for photo- an ugly thing, like most catfish.
The featured article discusses the lands of Costa Rica, one of our Latin American neighbors.