Sierra News Archives

4/20/2002
Herbicde disrupts sexual growth of frogs
The widely used weed killer atrazine has been shown by researchers at UC Berkeley to cause male frogs to become hermaphrodites. This may be an important clue to the worldwide decline of many amphibian species. "There seems to be no atrazine-free environment," according to Tyrone B. Hayes of the University of California, Berkeley.
See article in Science News.

3/27/2002
Ruling called aid to species protection
U.S. told to respond faster to petitions
[Affects several proposed endangered species listing, including the Sierra mountain yellow legged frog.]

Bob Egelko, SF Chronicle Staff Writer Saturday, March 23, 2002

A federal appeals court has breathed new life into the Endangered Species Act by requiring the government to act within a year when a private citizen seeks protection for plants or animals, an environmental advocate said yesterday. Continued

3/7/2002 NOAA discussion indicates that conditions often associated with a return of El Nino are forming in the Tropical Pacific. An El Nino event ofen brings record rain and snow to California and the Sierra. You can also check an excellent article by NASA explaining how El Nino forms and speculating on its return: A Curious Pacific Wave.

1/25/2002 Announcing the Sierra Nevada Science Symposium 2002 Science for Management and Conservation
October 7, 2002 to October 10, 2002
North Tahoe Conference Center, Kings Beach, CA
Continued

12/15/2001 (From the San Francisco Chronicle):
Toad, Frog Decisions Postponed
Federal officials have violated legal deadlines for deciding on protections for two dwindling California amphibian species, according to a federal judge, who nonetheless agreed to give them more time. Continued

11/1/2001 A federal judge in the Northern District of California ordered a 20 percent reduction in recreational use by commercial pack stations within portions of California's High Sierra that the U.S. Forest Service has identified as problem areas where "current use is affecting resource quality." Plaintiffs were the High Sierra Hikers Association, Wilderness Watch and Forest Service Employees for Environmental Ethics. The full decision can be read at High Sierra Hikers, et al. v. Powell case # C-00-1239-EDL.