MY LATEST @latimes.com ‬⁩ ESSENTIAL CALIFORNIA NEWSLETTER: The Boyle Heights fire is latest pollution crisis to affect L.A.'s Eastside. Share, porfas!

Made my first national TV appearance today — talking about a battle to stop a development near Jackie and Shadow's nest!

First Tujunga peacock sighting!!

From NASA to race car driving, Sandy Steers lived an incredible life—but her greatest legacy might be turning Big Bear's bald eagles into an international phenomenon. Now, her community is rallying to complete her final conservation mission. www.latimes.com/environment/...

Why do journalists always call @weatherwest.bsky.social? “He uses language that is both precise and deep but very accessible, and that’s why you see him quoted everywhere.” www.theatlantic.com/science/2026... via @jasondovemark.bsky.social

And there you have it. The highest summer tide on record is predicted in San Francisco Bay this weekend — a direct consequence of global warming and a surging El Niño — prompting the National Weather Service to tell residents to expect coastal flooding that’s unusual for this time of year.

An early look into the fire impacts on Santa Rosa Island by @grace2e.bsky.social. There are many unknowns as specialists assess the damage, but there are already some hopeful signs. www.latimes.com/california/s...

My personal meditation on what might've been lost in the fire on Santa Rosa, five years after a magical backpacking trip. Can't stop thinking about the island's adorable foxes, chonky elephant seals, majestic Torrey pines...

"There was a lot of happy dancing in the creek.” The Santa Monica Mountains’ last steelhead trout survived the Palisades fire — and even had babies: www.latimes.com/environment/... via @lilaseidman.bsky.social

Scientists feared the Santa Monica Mountains’ last remaining endangered steelhead trout were dead, smothered by debris flows after the Palisades fire. But the fish surprised them.

Five years ago, I went on a magical backpacking trip on Santa Rosa Island. Like many, I worry what the recent fire has done to its special landscape. There's still so much we don't know. www.latimes.com/environment/...

Updated with comments from California Dept. of Fish and Wildlife: The agency "has been clear with the federal government that border wall construction poses serious risks to protected wildlife, including bighorn sheep. This is another tragic reminder of those concerns."

As dengue risk grows in California, Google is betting technology can help scale a mosquito-control strategy. The company wants to release up to 32 million sterile male mosquitoes in the Golden State over two years. www.latimes.com/environment/...

Really awful photo here of an endangered bighorn sheep carcass entangled in the wire of Trump's border wall: www.latimes.com/environment/... via @lilaseidman.bsky.social

NEW: Wildlife advocates feared razor wire along the U.S.-Mexico border would harm endangered bighorn sheep. This morning, a biologist found a dead ram tangled in the wire in Imperial County's Jacumba Wilderness. www.latimes.com/environment/...

Jane Goodall was supposed to plant the first tree at an event with kids inspired by her work to revegetate their communities after the L.A. fires. Fifteen minutes beforehand, they learned she had passed away. Story by @lilaseidman.bsky.social www.latimes.com/environment/...

One of the strangest (and funniest) things I’ve seen in a minute. Canadian geese stopped traffic in Echo Park in a quest for greener grass on the other side of the road — and one man’s valiant effort to herd them.

LA County Parks is hosting a Youth Fishing Derby on Saturday, June 6, at Don Knabe Park in Cerritos. Kids ages 5-15 are invited to come learn how to fish and compete for prizes. Be sure to bring your own fishing pole! Register: anc.apm.activecommunities.com/losangelesco...

Southern California's wandering gray wolf made it to Sequoia National Park: www.latimes.com/environment/... via @lilaseidman.bsky.social

Dead and undernourished seabirds are washing up on California beaches, and experts say an extreme marine heat wave is likely to blame, at least in part: www.latimes.com/environment/... via @susrust.bsky.social @lilaseidman.bsky.social

BEY03F, the wolf that dropped by LA County, remains a trailblazer. She's now in Sequoia National Park, where a wolf hasn't been documented in more than 100 years. What keeps her going? She's looking for a mate -- but so far has come up empty. www.latimes.com/environment/...

Ocean temperatures have skyrocketed along the California coast, and wildlife experts are alarmed by a large influx of dead and emaciated seabirds washing up on beaches. @susrust.bsky.social @lilaseidman.bsky.social www.latimes.com/environment/...

Los Angeles County is trying very hard not to have trash rivers by the time the Olympics come to town. www.latimes.com/environment/... via @lilaseidman.bsky.social

"It’s a huge, huge win for a grassroots movement." Three months after residents began waging a campaign on Instagram saying herbicides are poisoning creeks, officials announced they are halting spraying of the chemicals, for now, in waterways throughout Orange County. www.latimes.com/environment/...

this is the last photo on my parents' video birdfeeder before it was mysteriously destroyed we may never know what happened

A bill in the California Legislature would let tribes manage more than a dozen forests for climate resilience and biodiversity — rather than the current priority, commercial logging. Big hearing tomorrow: www.latimes.com/environment/... via @lilaseidman.bsky.social

Plastic bottles, candy wrappers, even shopping carts. Trash in LA’s rivers isn’t just unsightly — tons of it wash out to sea. Now there’s a plan to install “trash interceptors” in the LA and San Gabriel rivers to help stop it. bit.ly/4ujDyE0

When Disney promised to convert Autopia to electric vehicles, it wasn't just an act of corporate goodwill. Turns out California had issued an air quality "notice of violation" concerning modified engines. I've got exclusive details: www.climatecoloredgoggles.com/p/disneyland...

“It’s what we dreamed of." Four years ago I went to the North Coast to report on protests to limit logging in a redwood forest and push for tribal stewardship. Now, a bill inspired by the effort would largely deliver on those demands, remaking 14 state forests. bit.ly/4nnL4Lh

Yeah I don't like this. Animals are so amazing, surprising and endlessly interesting on their own. Why would you feel the need to deepfake them?

AI deepfakes are coming for cute wildlife videos. The stupidity is — well, it's deeply stupid. www.latimes.com/environment/... via @lilaseidman.bsky.social

A fake video of celeb bald eagle Shadow “massaging” Jackie fooled viewers online. Experts say AI wildlife videos may do more than rack up likes: They can distort how people see animals, encourage risky encounters and erode trust in what’s real. My story: bit.ly/4n8kLJ3

One of Jackie and Shadow's chicks was named Sandy, after the late executive director of the nonprofit that runs the eagle cam 🥹 www.latimes.com/california/s...

If you’re wondering what notes I’m taking

My favorite comment chain in a minute. Shout out to my Reed College defenders!

Wildlife crossings reduce road-collisions with large mammals by 83% journals.plos.org/plosone/arti... preventing potential fatal car accidents www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1...

Despite being labeled a boondoggle by right-wing critics, the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing now has an opening date. At $114 million, it’s a massive effort to save SoCal mountain lions from extinction. Here’s a look at the scale, the cost and the "cast" already moving in. bit.ly/4cQZLBK

Instead of reading the Murdoch-amplified MAGA spin on the world's largest wildlife crossing, get the real story from @lilaseidman.bsky.social: www.latimes.com/environment/...

Happy Earth Day from the largest wildlife crossing in the world — now set to open Dec. 2.

Learning to fly from the ground up: Owl sighting in Redondo Beach sparks public service announcement

This is TOMORROW! Come see me and my wonderful colleagues talk about post-fire recovery. 3:30pm @ Festival of Books @ USC.

The National Park Service broke the law when it greenlit a mining operation in the Mojave National Preserve amid a long-running dispute with agency officials that took an abrupt turn when President Trump took office, alleges a lawsuit filed today by the National Parks Conservation Assn.

Glad I went for the window seat — got a gorgeous view of the super snowy Sierras

A woman who stopped here, along Highway 1 in Mendocino County, told me it’s “where the redwoods meet the sea” — a special place. She was right.

Commercial fishing for salmon is set to resume along the California coast for the first time since 2022. After a three-year shutdown, regulators plan to allow a fishing season with strict limits. I spoke with people who fish for a living about what it means: www.latimes.com/environment/...

What will it take to turn California's Humboldt Bay into a first-of-its-kind offshore wind assembly hub? The work is already getting started at the historic logging port. Great story by @hayleysmith.bsky.social: www.latimes.com/environment/...

I feel like it would be unethical to keep this photo to myself

Gov. Newsom promised to help a Native tribe restore salmon to their ancestral river. Now California is ending the funding. "It makes the tribe feel betrayed,” Gary Mulcahy of the Winnemem Wintu Tribe told @ra-becks.bsky.social. “It’s like they just gave up.” calmatters.org/environment/...

Wolf attacks on cattle in NE California over 7 months last year reached $2.6m, @ucanr.edu research found. That includes the loss of livestock and wolf deterrents, reports @lilaseidman.bsky.social