From the UC Blogosphere...

Tulare County supervisors support commercial pack animals in national parks

The Tulare County Board of Supervisors voted to support a bill introduced by Congressman Devin Nunes, R-Tulare, allowing businesses that rent pack mules and horses to operate in Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks while a new wilderness plan is implemented, according to the Visalia Times-Delta.

In 2009 a High Sierra Hikers Association sued the National Park Service for failing to conduct an adequate environmental impact analysis of its wilderness plan. As a result of the suit, a judge ruled that the service no longer has the authority to issue permits to the companies that rent pack animals.

Before the supervisors' vote, Jim Sullins, director of UC Cooperation Extension in Tulare and Kings counties, said years of research done by UC Davis and UC Cooperative Extension wasn't included in the U.S. Park Service's response to the lawsuit.

National Park Service photo.

Nature's Poetry

If you head over to the 137th annual Dixon May Fair, the state's oldest continuous fair,  you'll see a flurry of...

This butterfly painting, in the Fine Arts and Photography Building is the work of retired teacher Ethel Calvello of Dixon. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

This butterfly painting, in the Fine Arts and Photography Building, is the work of retired teacher Ethel Calvello of Dixon. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Butterfly necklace by Marcella Segard of Fairfield is in the Interior Living Showcase Building. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Butterfly necklace by Marcella Segard of Fairfield is in the Interior Living Showcase Building. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

This owl butterfly is from the Bohart Museum of Entomology. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

This owl butterfly is from the Bohart Museum of Entomology. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

UC Cooperative Extension advisor helped Solvang family start a new business

Mark Gaskell, UC Cooperative Extension advisor in Santa Barbara County, is credited in the Santa Inez Valley Journal for helping a retired couple start a new business. Gaskell is an expert in small-scale farming.

The article said Leonard and Nancy Morrell were unsure what to do with their 2.5-acre farm in Solvang after their kids were raised and they retired from their jobs. Leonard read a research paper by Gaskell that suggested the area provided excellent conditions to grow blackberries and raspberries.

“It just seemed like something that I’d like to do,” Leonard said of his initial reaction. “(Gaskell) came down from Santa Maria and he helped me set it up and everything. That was kind of the beginning.”

Now 12 years later, the Morrells have turned their modest berry farm into a family business, selling fresh berries and berry jam at the Solvang farmers market.

Why Honey Bees Stop the (Waggle) Dancing

A honey bee foraging in a lavender patch encounters a jumping spider and narrowly avoids becoming prey.HB returns to the...

Honey bee head-butts her dancing sister to warn of danger. (Photo Courtesy of James Nieh)

Honey bee head-butts her dancing sister to warn of danger. (Photo Courtesy of James Nieh)

Jumping spider waiting for prey. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Jumping spider waiting for prey. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

California Red Scale Degree Days Update

First generation California red scale crawlers emerge at 550 degree days (DD).  As of Monday, Kern County had accumulated 483 DD, and so the crawlers will begin emerging next week.  Tulare County accumulated 443 DD and crawlers should emerge in the next 10-14 days.  Fresno and Madera crawlers will emerge after that. See my web site for graphs of the progress of the degree days and a comparison to the 30 year average (we are about a week later than normal). http://ucanr.org/sites/KACCitrusEntomology/Home/California_Red_Scale/Degree_Days_885/

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