skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Wednesday, December 6, 2023

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Making holiday travel manageable for those with a chronic health issue; University presidents testify on the rise of anti-semitism on college campuses; Tommy Tuberville's blockade on military promotions is mostly over.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Sen. Tommy Tuberville ends his hold on military promotions, the Senate's leadership is divided on a House Border Bill and college presidents testify about anti-semitism on campus.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Texas welcomes more visitors near Big Bend but locals worry the water won't last, those dependent on Colorado's Dolores River fear the same but have found common ground solutions, and a new film highlights historical healthcare challenges in rural Appalachia.

Kelp Restoration Makes Progress in Northern California

play audio
Play

Thursday, August 18, 2022   

Small sections of the kelp forests off the Mendocino coast are starting to recover with improved environmental conditions, thanks to a conservation program which sent divers to remove 45,000 pounds of purple sea urchins.

The urchins have devastated the once massive bull kelp forests, leaving a lifeless barren behind.

Dan Abbott, kelp forest program director for the Reef Check Foundation, said it is the first large-scale kelp-restoration project of its kind in northern California.

"It's not back to where it was, say pre-2015," Abbott acknowledged. "It's still only about 20% of the historical average. But again, it's only like a year and a half in. And it's a very encouraging result."

The purple sea-urchin population has exploded in the last eight years or so, partially because a wasting disease has decimated their chief predator, the sea star. In addition, the area has no sea otters to keep the urchins in check, because the otters were hunted to extinction in the early 1900s.

Sheila Semans, director of the Noyo Center for Marine Science in Fort Bragg, said the kelp forests there have recovered 5 to 10 percent - and serve as crucial habitat for hundreds of species.

"The sea lions hunt in it, the abalone eat it, the rockfish hide in it," Semans outlined. "There's just so many ecosystem services that it provides. On top of that, it sequesters carbon, and it buffers wave action along the coast."

The Noyo Center also is working to create a new fishery for purple urchins, which can be fattened up in an aquaculture facility and sold. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife said it plans to develop a comprehensive statewide Kelp Recovery and Management Plan over the next five to 10 years.

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


get more stories like this via email
more stories
A recent survey by the Anti-Defamation League found nearly three in four Jewish students in the U.S. have experienced or witnessed antisemitism this school year. The Education Department's Office for Civil Rights has also opened investigations into alleged Islamophobic incidents at least a half-dozen colleges and universities. (Adobe Stock)

play sound

College presidents testified before a congressional committee Tuesday on the rise of antisemitism on college campuses since the Oct. 7 Hamas-led …


Social Issues

play sound

There are some bright spots in beefing up local news coverage, but a new report says in North Dakota and elsewhere, there are still big concerns …

Health and Wellness

play sound

Holiday stress is a concern for most people, but when you mix in travel plans and chronic health issues, those worries might be elevated. A …


The average cost in Ohio for college tuition and fees is around $10,049 per year, according to the Education Data Initiative. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

A new report from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau finds the repayment process for federal student loans has been filled with errors…

Social Issues

play sound

More than 3,500 foster children are available for adoption in Ohio, and state agencies are connecting with local faith congregations to help recruit …

A CARE Court treatment plan lasts up to two years and can assist with housing, medical care, addiction treatment, counseling, and more. (SB Arts Media/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

The state's largest county has just opened the new CARE Court system, designed to get help for severely mentally ill people in Los Angeles. CARE …

Environment

play sound

A Knoxville-based environmental group is voicing health and safety concerns about the development of a landfill for radioactive waste from the Y12 Ura…

Social Issues

play sound

California tribes are headed to the White House Tribal Nations Summit tomorrow, where they will ask Congress and the Biden administration to create …

 

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