Environment 9-11
The U.S. Forest Service on 9/3 released a report on the Gap Fire compiled by the Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) team. The 40-page document indicated that more than three-fourths of the 9,544 acres burned by the Gap suffered either moderate- or high-severity burns and that these areas could benefit from hydromulch-a mixture of shredded wood, paper, and gum-based tackifier-to stabilize soil and help promote growth of natural weeds. (/baerreport)
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A juvenile great white shark was released from captivity into the offshore waters of the Santa Barbara Channel this week. Set free by the folks from the Monterey Bay Aquarium on 9/7, the young shark was brought to the aquarium less than two week ago from Santa Monica Bay. But after only eating one meal in 11 days, authorities decided it was best to return the 4.5-foot apex predator back to the wild.
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In the wake of a California condor chick’s emergency surgery to have trash removed from its stomach, Santa Barbara-based ForestWatch announced its volunteers removed 175 pounds of microtrash, including 20 pounds of lead-tainted bullet shells and bullets, from the parent condors’ likely foraging site, Whitaker Peak summit on the Sespe Wilderness boundary. The effort brings the volunteers’ total to 900 pounds of microtrash collected to date.
