As hikers in the forests of northern California and elsewhere, we often walk through national forests and we see the areas that have been logged. Yes, they are unsightly. And yes, often they are clear cuts. But timber can be harvested sustainably, and it can be done in a manner that minimizes environmental impacts. Timber […]
Help Save Noyo River Redwoods with Save the Redwoods League
The Save The Redwoods League has been a major force behind protecting stands of old growth redwood trees, and now they are fighting for the Noyo River Redwoods. Many of the state parks you hike in California’s coastal counties are there because of the tireless efforts of the league. And now they have a new […]
Funny Spoof on BP Oil Spill
British Petroleum has created one of the major environmental disasters of the century. Doesn’t mean we can’t have a laugh… Courtesy of UCB Comedy. Brought to my attention by Tom Chandler at Trout Underground. Your thoughts?
Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement Talk: March 24th in Mount Shasta
The Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement has been the source of much talk and controversy in far northern California and southern Oregon. California Trout will hold an informational meeting about the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement on Wednesday, March 24th, 2010, 7. p.m., at Lalo’s Restaurant on North Mount Shasta Boulevard in Mount Shasta. Here’s a press […]
Wilderness Land Trust Protects 320 Acres in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest
The Wilderness Land Trust just reported two important land acquisitions in two of my favorite California wilderness areas: the Trinity Alps Wilderness and the Mount Shasta Wilderness, which both have a lot of hiking trails. The Wilderness Land Trust, and similar organizations such as the Siskiyou Land Trust, purchase property and help protect wild lands […]
Environmental Resources Programs at College of the Siskiyous in Weed, California
As most regular readers of the Northern California Hiking Trails blog know, I live in Siskiyou County near Mount Shasta, one of the major hiking heavens of the western United States. There’s an excellent opportunity for outdoors lovers who want to learn an environmentally friendly profession to move to this area and get a specific […]
Revisiting Non-Native Fish in Northern California Mountain Lakes
Last November I wrote about the California Department of Fish and Game restocking ban of non-native fish in the high mountain lakes of Northern California. It generated heated debate. Many day-hikers and backpackers love to make fishing a part of the backtrails experience. I just found this press release from the US Forest Service Pacific […]
Snow Pack Update for the Mount Shasta Region
Some good news about all the rough weather we had in early March–the snow pack in the Mount Shasta region is way up from the dismal numbers of earlier in the winter. Here’s the main snow pack info courtesy of the Mount Shasta Herald: The Fire Management Department of the Shasta McCloud Management Unit collected […]
Lassen Volcanic National Park Snowpack Way Below Normal
Snow levels (snowpack or snow pack) in Lassen Volcanic National Park are far below normal for this time of year in 2009. It’s no surprise to any of us who live in Northern California mountains or visit them on a regular basis: snowpack is way below normal. I live on the north side of Mount […]
Warming Climate Blamed for Increased Mortality in High-Elevation Western Forests
The journal Science, one of the biggies in the science world, just published an article in its most recent issue about the cause of the increased death rates of trees in the Sierra Nevada and elsewhere in high-mountain areas of western states. From Tom Knudson’s article in the Sacramento Bee: Tree mortality rates have doubled […]
Fish Restocking Ban in Northern California Lakes: 2008
Over the last few days the California Department of Fish and Game has been required to stop stocking non-native fish in many lakes in Northern California, including a lot of those high mountain lakes in the Sierra Nevada, Trinity Alps, Trinity Divide, Russian Wilderness, and other places we all love to hike. The reason? To […]
Climate Change Evidence: Beetles Affected in the Trinity Alps
I’ve recently blogged about the effects of climate change on California coastal hiking trails, and how climate change is affecting animals in the Sierra Nevada and glaciers in Yosemite National Park. I just found an article about the findings of Dave Kavanaugh, the Senior Curator of Entomology at the California Academy of Sciences. Dr. Kavanaugh […]
Climate Change in Yosemite National Park
I wrote last month about climate change in the Sierra Nevada. Now Tom Knudson of the Sierra Summit blog has put together a very interesting podcast about global warming in the Sierras, specifically the high mountains in the Yosemite National Park area. Tom talks with researchers who discuss the long-term climate change in the Sierra […]
Little Smokey the Bear: Improving from 2008 Wildfire Injuries
Little Smokey is a bear who was rescued from the devastating wildfires that ravaged the Shasta-Trinity National Forest last summer. He’s improving and plans are underway for his release back into the wilderness: Lil’ Smokey was found by a firefighter in the Shasta trinity national forest with burns on his paws and ears. Amazingly, he […]
Removing Dams from the Klamath River?
For those of you who don’t know, the manipulation and use of Klamath River water in southern Oregon and far Northern California has been very contentious in recent years, and has involved several groups, including farmers, Native American tribes, environmentalists, fishermen, Pacific Power, and of course, the government at the local, state, and national levels. […]
Northern California Climate Change Website
Here at the Northern California Hiking Trails blog, we care about climate change. From the increased intensity of wildfires to the longer hiking season, climate change matters to hikers. I’ve written recently about how climate change is affecting critters in the high Sierra Nevada and how it is actually leading to larger glaciers on Mount Shasta. Heck, warming […]
Climate Change in the Sierra Nevada
While driving to the gala of the Mount Shasta Film Festival last night, I heard a piece on National Public Radio about how the warming climate is forcing some species in the High Sierra around Yosemite to higher elevations. Low and behold, I find this morning that Tom Knudson’s Sierra Summit blog at the Sacramento Bee has […]
