california

Join our newsletter

The best of EcoWatch, right in your inbox. Sign up for our email newsletter!

    Second Atmospheric River Storm Brings Heavy Rain, Flooding and Mudslides to Southern California

    Second Atmospheric River Storm Brings Heavy Rain, Flooding and Mudslides to Southern California

    The powerful atmospheric river storm that arrived in California on Sunday continued to bring heavy rain, flooding and mudslides to the southern parts of the state Monday. Parts of California and Arizona were under high wind, flood and winter storm warnings yesterday, with residents encouraged to limit driving, authorities said, as Reuters reported. The storm […]

    Sea Otters Helped Minimize Kelp Forest Loss in California, Study Finds

    Sea Otters Helped Minimize Kelp Forest Loss in California, Study Finds

    Researchers at the Monterey Bay Aquarium in Monterey, California have linked sea otters to healthy kelp forests off the West Coast. According to a new study published in the journal PLOS Climate, the recovery of Southern sea otters (Enhydra lutris nereis) in central California happened at the same time that kelp forests in the same […]

    California Mountain Lion Population Is Thousands Fewer Than Previously Estimated

    California Mountain Lion Population Is Thousands Fewer Than Previously Estimated

    The first large-scale study of mountain lion numbers in California has been completed by scientists from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW); the nonprofits Audubon Canyon Ranch and the Institute for Wildlife Studies; University of California, Santa Cruz; and University of California, Davis. The population estimate of between 3,200 and 4,500 cougars is […]

    Divers Find Plastic Litter Accumulating in Lake Tahoe

    Divers Find Plastic Litter Accumulating in Lake Tahoe

    Researchers completing the first dive survey of Lake Tahoe have found an accumulation of plastic litter in a small section of the lake. Lake Tahoe, which lies on the border of California and Nevada, is the 10th deepest lake in the world. Last year, researchers from the Desert Research Institute and University of California Davis […]

    California Approves Rules for Converting Sewage Into Drinking Water

    California Approves Rules for Converting Sewage Into Drinking Water

    In a unanimous vote, the California State Water Resources Control Board has approved its first standards for converting sewage waste into drinking water that can be piped directly into the taps of households and businesses. It’s a historic moment for a state plagued by drought and water shortages. “A city produces wastewater during a drought, […]

    Yosemite National Park to Require Reservations in 2024

    Yosemite National Park to Require Reservations in 2024

    The National Park Service recently announced that next year, visitors to Yosemite National Park in California will need to reserve their entry for several spring and fall visits and all peak summer visits to aid with congestion. The pilot reservation system will be similar to the “Peak Hours” reservation system used in 2022, which required […]