Conservation program has restored one fourth of CA wetlands

The Sacramento BeeMay. 31, 2012There is plenty of reason for California to celebrate National Wetlands Month now before May gives way to summer days. The Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP), a Farm Bill Conservation program, is marking its 20th anniversary and in those two decades the program in California has managed to protect and restore over 120,000 acres of historical wetlands that are home to Read More…

Water and California’s economy

California Water BlogBy Elena M. LopezMay 30, 2012 Today, PPIC released “Water and the California Economy,” a report that presents the consensus view of 15 experts* on the role of water in California’s economy, key areas of economic vulnerability, and the priorities that policymakers, business leaders, and water managers must address to ensure that the state’s water system does not Read More…

Keeping pike out of salmon country: pend oreille netting effort puts…

The Columbia Basin BulletinMay 4, 2012A full-fledged effort to knock back non-native northern pike populations in eastern Washington’s Box Canyon reservoir on the Pend Oreille River has proved a success so far. More than 4,552 fish have been removed this spring via a concentrated netting effort in sloughy, side-channel spawning areas that the predatory fish are known to haunt.  The idea is Read More…

New biological opinion by 2013?

Herald and NewsMay 3, 2012A new biological opinion that dictates how water is allocated for endangered fish in the Klamath Basin could be implemented before the next irrigation season, said one of the nation’s top water officials Thursday during a visit to Klamath Falls.Federal officials are looking to develop a single, coordinated biological opinion to replace two, often conflicting, opinions Read More…

Laos: no work on Xayaburi dam until green concerns solved

The NationBy Supalak GanjanakhundeeMay 4, 2012Laos said yesterday it would not make a final decision on construction of the Xayaburi dam in the main stream body of the Mekong River before approval by the international community and countries in the Lower Mekong basin over environment concerns.Work on the site by the Thai construction company Ch Karnchang was just preparation, mostly in the Read More…

Stream temperatures don’t parallel warming climate trend

Red OrbitMay 3, 2012A new analysis of streams in the western United States with long-term monitoring programs has found that despite a general increase in air temperatures over the past several decades, streams are not necessarily warming at the same rate.Several factors may influence the discrepancy, researchers say, including snowmelt, interaction with groundwater, flow and discharge rates, Read More…

Federal scientists disagree on why Atlantic cod struggled to recover

CanadaBy Randy BoswellMay 3, 2012Two teams of federal fisheries scientists are clashing over their interpretations of why Atlantic cod struggled to recover following the population's devastating collapse in the early 1990s, raising fresh questions about the best way to sustain the resource in the future.Less than a year ago, a high-profile study published by Department of Fisheries and Oceans Read More…

Sustainable fisheries fund launched

Fish News EUMay 2, 2012The Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP) has announced the formation of a new fund to support fisheries improvement projects (FIPs) around the world. The fund will be used to: Work with producers and the seafood supply chain to initiate the development of more FIPs in critical areas. Train producers and exporters on how to lead and report on their FIPs, and Read More…

Killer fish looked half shark, half tuna

Discovery NewsBy Jennifer Viegas May 2, 2012The appropriately named Rebellatrix, a shark-like predatory fish that partly resembled tuna, terrorized ocean dwellers 240 million years ago.Rebellatrix, meaning the rebel coelacanth, is described in the latest issue of the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. Coelacanths are iconic fishes today, well known as living fossils. Coelacanths are thought of Read More…

Reef sharks and humans don’t mix

The New York TimesBy Douglas M. MainMay 2, 2012Sharks may have more reason to fear people than ever. In reefs surrounding Pacific islands inhabited by people, there are 90 to 97 percent fewer sharks than in similar areas without people, according to a study in the journal Conservation Biology.“Wherever there are humans, the reef shark numbers are much, much lower,” said one of the study’s Read More…