Governor declares drought emergency over

California Gov. Jerry Brown today declared the end of the state's drought emergency:

“This drought emergency is over, but the next drought could be around the corner,” Brown said in a statement. “Conservation must remain a way of life.”

Substantial habitat loss in the Sacramento Valley

New study shows massive wetland habitat loss in California's Sacramento Valley.

Bald Eagles bouncing back in the Bay Area

Great article in the Mercury News about the rebound of Bald Eagles in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Frank Ruiz: The fate of birds and people at the Salton Sea are linked

In an opinion piece in the Desert Sun, Audubon California's Frank Ruiz notes that issues of public health and bird habitat at the Salton Sea are linked:

When people argue that we must choose between habitat for birds at the Salton Sea and efforts to control dust, I am reminded of my father and his coworkers, and their small bird in the cage (in the mines). At the Salton Sea, when we ensure that birds survive, we will also ensure that people can thrive as well.

Meet Richmond and Rosie, a nesting Osprey couple in the Bay Area

Golden Gate Audubon just installed a live web cam to follow an Osprey family nesting in Richmond. Richmond and Rosie are nesting at the Whirley crane near the Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park. Check out the camera and this great article in the East Bay Times to learn more about this exciting project.

Audubon condemns federal moves on climate policy

Audubon President David Yarnold today was quick to condemn President Donald Trump's executive order reversing a number of federal policiy addressing climate change, most notably the Clean Power Plan:

Said Yarnold, “There are numerous paths to reach a clean energy future, but none-of-the-above isn't one of them. The administration is taking off the table our most concrete plans to deal with climate change—but without a single alternative."

Here in California, officials moved quickly to make it clear that they would fight the administration's attempts to back away from this country's progress on climate change. California has aligned with several other states to threaten court action over the administration's moves.

New Online Map for Birding the Salton Sea

Despite its many conservation challenges, the Salton Sea remains a terrific place to view birds. More then 400 species can be spotted there, including a number of rarities. Check out the map below, then get out there. To download the map in English, click here. For a Spanish version of the map, click here.