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Posts published by “Alastair Bland”

Kelp Forests Surging Back

An unexpected darkness has recently fallen over the seafloor of the Northern California coast – the shadows cast by bull kelp. The giant marine alga nearly vanished after a perfect storm of environmental and ecological…

Twist in the Tunnels Plan

When Gov. Jerry Brown announced two weeks ago at an Oakland press conference that he would radically downsize a 100,000-acre wetland restoration job, environmentalists and water policy activists blew the foul whistle. The habitat enhancement…

Almond Acreage Booms 

The drought has reduced California’s water supply to an all-time low, prompting officials to mandate strict cutbacks in urban communities. Farmers, who went unaffected by the regulations, have said they have already made enough sacrifices…

Of Sardines & Sea Lions, Fishermen & NGOs

In Southern and Central California, nearly 2,000 California sea lion pups have struggled ashore this winter, starving and lost because the ocean has been unable to provide enough calories for their mothers to adequately feed…

Trucking Hatchery Salmon

Last summer, Berkeley fisherman Mike Hudson enjoyed some of the most profitable salmon fishing he had seen in a decade. Dense schools of big fish congregated along the Bay Area coast through the spring and…

Medi-Cal Is Failing

About 160,000 people in the Sacramento area are uninsured even though they could be signed up for the state’s low-income healthcare plan, Medi-Cal. Instead, they are paying bills from their own pockets, or incurring costs…

The Many Species Of Chinook Salmon

Salmon are one of nature’s miracles, a resource of protein and nitrogen that feeds entire ecosystems, both marine and terrestrial. Far inland, within river basins of the Pacific Northwest, their biomass nourishes the soil, while…

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