By Nicole Carion

Spring and early summer is the peak time for much of California’s wildlife to bear their young. With this in mind, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife is asking well-intentioned members of the public to leave young wildlife alone.

It may be hard to resist scooping up a young wild animal that looks vulnerable and abandoned, but intervention may cause more harm than good. Young animals removed from their natural environment typically do not survive. Those that do make it may not develop the skills necessary to survive on their own in natural habitat. When this happens, the only alternative is a life of captivity in artificial conditions.

It is a common mistake to believe a young animal, especially a fawn, has been abandoned when found alone. But even if the mother has not been observed in the area for a long period of time, chances are she is off foraging, or is nearby, waiting for you to leave.

Such behavior is common across many species. A female mountain lion may spend as much as 50 percent of her time away from her kittens.

Fledglings, or young partially feathered birds, found alone and hopping along the ground in the spring or summer, are actually trying to learn to fly. Though it is tempting to pick them up, what they really need is space and time to master flying. The best course of action is not to draw attention to them. You can help by keeping pets away until the bird has left the area.

If a young animal is in distress, or you are unsure, contact a wildlife rehabilitation facility and speak to personnel for advice.

Most wildlife rehabilitators are only allowed to possess small mammals and birds. Although some wildlife rehabilitators are allowed to accept fawns, injured or sick adult deer should be reported directly to CDFW for public safety reasons. Injured, orphaned or sick bears, elk, bighorn sheep, pronghorn antelope, wild pigs or mountain lions should also be reported to CDFW directly.

Anyone who removes a young animal from the wild is required to notify CDFW or take the animal to a state and federally permitted wildlife rehabilitator within 48 hours. These animals may need specialized care and feeding that is best done by trained wildlife care specialists.

It is important to note that wild animals – even young ones – can cause serious injury with their sharp claws, hooves and teeth, especially when injured and scared. They may also carry ticks, fleas and lice, and can transmit diseases to humans, including rabies and tularemia.

Nicole Carion works for the CDFW wildlife branch.

By David R. Baker, San Francisco Chronicle
 
Now that California fire investigators have finally started naming the causes of last fall’s deadly wildfires, the fate of the state’s largest utility — Pacific Gas and Electric Co. — hangs in the balance.

PG&E already faces more than 100 lawsuits blaming it for the fires that swept through Northern California in early October, torching nearly 8,900 buildings and killing 45 people. Late last month, CalFire issued reports on four of the least damaging fires, saying all had been caused by branches or entire trees hitting PG&E power lines during a wind storm.

In three of the instances, investigators concluded that PG&E may not have followed state regulations on trimming trees near electrical lines. They referred their findings to the district attorneys of Butte and Nevada counties for review.

Read the whole story

By Seth Borenstein, San Francisco Chronicle

Record heat returned to the United States with a vengeance in May.

May warmed to a record average 65.4 degrees in the Lower 48 states, breaking the high of 64.7 set in 1934, according to federal weather figures released Wednesday. May was 5.2 degrees above the 20th century’s average for the month.

Weather stations in the nation broke or tied nearly 8,600 daily heat records in May, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported. It hit 100 in Minneapolis on May 28, the earliest the city has seen triple digits.

Read the whole story

By Benjamin Spillman, Reno Gazette-Journal

Republican Sen. Dean Heller is seeking to leverage one-party control of Congress and the White House with an idea for a bill that would block future wilderness designations in Nevada.

Heller, who is running for re-election and considered the most vulnerable Republican in the Senate, says he plans to introduce legislation “within weeks” that would strip protections from potentially dozens of designated wilderness study areas.

A wilderness advocate who has worked with Nevada’s federal delegation on conservation legislation called Heller’s idea a “radical departure” from prior, bipartisan public lands bills. 

Read the whole story

·      Truckee is looking for Keep Truckee Green ambassadors this summer. Volunteers will be educating residents and visitors about recycling and composting during Truckee Thursday events. Sign up online.

·      Singer, songwriter Matisyahu will be at MontBleu in Stateline on Aug. 4 at 8pm.

·      The draft land use regulations for commercial cannabis delivery services will be reviewed by the Truckee Town Council on June 12. The meeting is from 6-10pm at 10183 Truckee Airport Road, Truckee.

·      On June 2, 130 volunteers picked up 1,360 pounds of trash in Kings Beach, Crystal Bay, Carnelian Bay, and Tahoe Vista at the annual North Tahoe Clean Up Day.

·      Zephyr Cove Library will be showing “Black Panther” (rated PG-13) on June 16 at 2pm on a big screen in the meeting room. Free popcorn will be provided.

A Nevada Department of Wildlife urban wildlife coordinator will teach people how to handle wildlife encounters, whether it be while camping, hiking or in your own backyard.

There will be lessons on what to do and how to react to wild animals; from raccoons and coyotes to bears and mountain lions. This family-friendly event is free, and park entrance fees will be waived for attendees.

The program will be at Spooner Lake State Park on June 12 at 7pm.

Sign-ups are encouraged, but not required, by calling 775.749.5980.

By Kelli Kennedy, AP
 
It’s one thing when hotels open fitness centers, but quite another when fitness centers open hotels.

Luxe gym Equinox is opening a hotel in New York’s new Hudson Yards neighborhood next year in a move that embodies the evolution of wellness travel.

Most hotels have beefed up fitness options — you can book rooms with stationary bikes and rent workout clothes — but wellness travel has become much more than just keeping fit while on the road. Increasingly it’s become the point of the journey. And it’s bringing in big dollars.

Read the whole story

Nikki Baggot

South Lake Tahoe resident Jordana Nicole Baggot died May 24, 2018, after suffering a brain aneurysm 20 days earlier. She was 42.

Nikki was born in Phoenix on Jan. 28, 1976, where she lived the first 18 years of her life. She graduated from Arcadia High School in Phoenix and then went to Northern Arizona University. She earned a degree in hotel-restaurant management.

Upon graduation, she moved to South Lake Tahoe, where she lived the remaining 20 years of her life. She worked 16 years at Harveys.

Nikki’s passion was competitive horseback riding. Pony was one of her first words. She attended horse shows with her grandparents at age 2. As a teenager she was the Zone 8 Southwest Regional Junior Hunter Champion. Nikki was also a competitive horse rider in the Reno-Tahoe community. She first found her horse home with Foxwood Farms, riding their prized Irish Warm Bloods. In 2005, Nikki purchased Coronea Ailis Ridsh. She rode her mare Devana, aka Chocolate Kiss, and a gelding Cornea Son, aka Jeff, in regional hunter and equestrian classes. Nikki remained loyal to her show riding while her horse Ali was growing up at Franktown Meadows. She won numerous showing honors and yearly end of season awards including the Let’s Show Ruby Mountain Classic Team Challenge. She was an active founding member of the Shadowood Farm Saddle Club while riding the Big Easy, aka Wally. She received many high ribbons.

Her other main interests were her various Rottweiler dogs, the numerous flowers in her lovely garden, and frequent travel to Mexico.

She is survived by her mother and father, Linda and Atmore Baggot of Mesa, Ariz.; brother Arlyn Baggot of Lincoln; sister Laura Pheil of Santa Rosa; niece Claire Baggot; and nephews Thomas Baggot and Travis Pheil.

A celebration of life service will be on June 16 at 10:30am at Lake Tahoe Community Church, 2733 Lake Tahoe Blvd., South Lake Tahoe.

Flowers may be sent directly to the church at the address above.

To the community,

On June 4, Heavenly Mountain Resort hosted the Monday meal through their sponsorship of an Adopt A Day of Nourishment. The evening’s meal was the third dinner that Heavenly hosted this year and they will be hosting an additional three more through the remainder of the year.  

Their sponsorships are funded through Vail’s EpicPromise Grant program and Heavenly always sends an awesome group of Heavenly team members to help the B&B volunteers with the meals.

For the evening of June 4, Heavenly’s product sales and services team members Kelly Carmichael, manager; Megan Madrid, senior manager; and Cody Rothaus, supervisor; were joined by James Kayser, kids ski school manager. These four brought a wonderful energy to the event and helped not only with the meal’s setup, serving and cleaning, but also helped the dishwasher with drying all the equipment/utensils used at the dinner.

“It was an honor to have an opportunity to serve our community,” said Madrid. She has attended several Heavenly AAD meals and finds them to be “something out of the norm.”  

B&B’s Adopt A Day program is unusual in that our donors are able to participate and experience the impact that their donation has on the quality of food prepared for our dinner guests. B&B is very fortunate and appreciates the wonderful relationship that we have with Heavenly and its giving team members.

Carol Gerard, Bread & Broth

Health officials are reminding individuals to take precautions when entering cabins, trailers and other buildings that may be infested with rodents.

A Placer County resident recently died from hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS).

HPS is caused by a virus that people can get through contact with the urine, droppings or saliva of wild rodents, primarily deer mice. Breathing small particles of mouse urine or droppings that have become airborne is the most common means of infection. The illness begins with fever, headache, and muscle aches and progresses rapidly to severe difficulty breathing and, in some cases, death.

According the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), a total of 75 HPS cases were reported in the state from February 1980 through November 2017. About a third of HPS cases identified in California have been fatal.

The last known case of hantavirus in El Dorado County occurred in 2007. That person recovered. Prompt diagnosis and medical treatment increase an individual’s chances of recovery.

To prevent HPS, the CDPH recommends the following precautions:

• Avoid contact with all wild rodents, their droppings, and nesting materials.
• Before entering an enclosed area that may be infested with rodents, allow it to air out for at least 30 minutes.
• Do not dry sweep or vacuum areas that rodents have potentially contaminated.
• Surfaces that rodents may have contaminated with urine or droppings should be made wet with a 10 percent bleach solution or a commercial disinfectant following label directions, then mopped up.
  Promptly dispose of all cleaning materials when done, and thoroughly wash hands and clothes.
• Examine the outsides of all buildings and seal any holes or other openings that would let rodents get inside.
• Store all food items securely in rodent-proof containers