Tuesday, March 21, 2023

Play

Texas lawmakers consider legislation to prevent cities from self-governance, Connecticut considers policy options to alleviate an eviction crisis, and Ohio residents await community water systems.

Play

Gov. Ron DeSantis breaks his silence on Trump's potential indictment and attacks Manhattan prosecutors, President Biden vetoes his first bill to protect socially conscious retirement investing, and the Supreme Court hears a case on Native American water rights.

Play

The 41st state has opted into Medicaid which could be a lifeline for rural hospitals in North Carolina, homelessness barely rose in the past two years but the work required to hold the numbers increased, and destruction of the "Sagebrush Sea" from Oregon to Wyoming is putting protection efforts for an itty-bitty bunny on the map.

California’s Estuaries Go Virtual This Summer

Play

Monday, June 15, 2020   

IMPERIAL BEACH, Calif. -- The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way families, educators and students can experience state parks -- through expanded online programs.

The Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve, on the U.S.-Mexican border south of San Diego, showcases the salt marsh where the Tijuana River meets the Pacific Ocean.

Education coordinator Anne Marie Tipton says the reserve's virtual field trips teach classrooms around the state about the estuary's role in the environment.

"It filters out pollution, and it will also buffer storms," she points out. "It's a nursery for the ocean. We actually are a nursery for halibut. And we sequester or grab carbon out of the atmosphere. "

California has lost 90% of its wetlands to development. The reserve is an important stop on the Pacific Flyway and shelters 370 species of birds. The visitor center is closed due to the pandemic, but trails are still open.

Check out the reserve's Facebook page to sign up for virtual junior ranger programs.

Tipton says the salt marsh in the estuary boosts the fight against climate change.

"They grab that carbon through photosynthesis better than any other plant community in the world because no one eats it," she explains. "It doesn't burn. The salt water impedes methane production, which is a big heat-trapping gas. Salt marshes are really the unsung heroes of the world. "

California's two other National Estuarine Research Reserves at Elkhorn Slough near Monterey Bay and in San Francisco Bay also offer virtual programs this summer.

Support for this reporting was provided by The Pew Charitable Trusts.


get more stories like this via email

The VOTES Act also ensures the Commonwealth joins the Electronic Registration Information Center, or ERIC, a multi-state consortium which aims to keep voter registration rolls up to date, encourage voter registration and prevent voter fraud. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

Voting rights advocates in Massachusetts are applauding Governor Maura Healey's budgetary backing of new policies stemming from last year's passage of…


Environment

Climate-change groups are calling attention to the environmental destruction linked to the wood pellet industry - even as California is considering a …

Social Issues

Many Nebraskans know how crucial a family caregiver is to one of their family members. Now AARP research has put a dollar value on that unpaid care - …


Going back generations, many Indigenous cultures developed strong ties with bison and relied upon them for sustenance, shelter, and cultural and religious practices. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

South Dakota is home to one of the nation's largest American Indian reservations, and the area is part of a movement among tribal nations to take …

Health and Wellness

As the cost of food, medicine and rent continues to climb, new data shows the benefits miners receive are now 40% less than what they received in 1969…

Stedman farmer Demi Tucker has been growing mushrooms on her family's land for the past few years. (Demi Tucker)

Environment

With the cost of farmland up by more than 8% percent in North Carolina, the state's Black farmers are struggling to purchase additional acreage or …

Environment

By Zachary Shepherd and Kelsey Paulus for Kent State News Lab.Broadcast version by Nadia Ramlagan reporting for the Kent State-Ohio News Connection Co…

Social Issues

Republican-sponsored bills and amendments in the Legislature would eliminate the Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth. More than 1.5-million …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021