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"content": "\u003cp>Over the last few decades, air in the U.S. has undergone a remarkable transformation: pollution levels of health-damaging tiny particles have dropped by roughly 40% since 2000, primarily thanks to the country’s decades-long effort to improve air quality through the Clean Air Act, a landmark environmental law.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Smoke from wildfires fueled by human-driven climate change, however, has erased roughly 25% of those air quality gains, according to \u003ca href=\"https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06522-6\">a new study\u003c/a> published Wednesday in \u003cem>Nature\u003c/em>. “We’ve seen really remarkable improvements in air quality,” says Marissa Childs, one of the authors of the study and a researcher at Harvard’s Center for the Environment. “But wildfire smoke is undoing that progress in many states.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The effects are more pronounced in Western states, where smoke-laden days have become an annual fact of life. \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2022/10/25/1131279317/pacific-northwest-schools-cancel-outdoor-activities-when-air-quality-is-unhealth\">Schools\u003c/a>\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/transcripts/550656850\"> keep kids inside during recess\u003c/a>; \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2023/08/25/1195926923/canada-wildfire-smoke-asthma-cdc-new-york-hospital-visits\">emergency rooms\u003c/a> know to prepare when wildfires break out nearby. The study found that since 2016, in states like California, Washington, and Oregon, wildfire smoke has added enough pollution to the air to wipe out nearly half of the total air quality gains made from 2000 onward.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Midwest, South, and eastern states are not immune. “This is impacting way more places than we used to think and at a larger scale,” says Childs. Even before this year’s\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2023/08/22/1195154996/some-of-canadas-wildfires-likely-made-worse-by-human-driven-climate-change\"> Canadian wildfires\u003c/a> blanketed the Eastern seaboard in thick smoke, smoke plumes regularly tanked air quality far from\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2023/06/26/1184393713/canadas-wildfires-are-part-of-a-worrying-trend-but-theyre-not-without-precedent\"> the actual wildfires\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>The Clean Air Act worked until now\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The bipartisan Clean Air Act, signed into law in 1970, has had remarkable success cleaning up \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2023/06/19/1179670466/air-pollution-satellite-baltimore-climate-change\">the nation’s air\u003c/a>. In its first few decades, levels of the six major pollutants it addressed dropped by \u003ca href=\"https://www.epa.gov/clean-air-act-overview/40th-anniversary-clean-air-act\">more than 40%\u003c/a>. Since 2000, the drop has continued nearly everywhere in the country.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote align=\"right\" size=\"medium\" citation=\"Marissa Childs, author and researcher, Harvard's Center for the Environment\"]‘We’ve seen really remarkable improvements in air quality. But wildfire smoke is undoing that progress in many states.’[/pullquote]One major target of the Clean Air Act is PM2.5 — tiny particles about 30 times smaller than the diameter of a human hair. Many different sources contribute to PM2.5 including dust, and soot from burning coal or gas. The super-small particles are also produced when anything burns such as forests, grasslands, and houses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Closing or retiring coal and gas-fired power plants cut PM2.5 levels nearby. So did improving car and truck fuel efficiency and pollution-control technologies like catalytic converters — though pollution levels near major roadways still often exceed the EPA’s daily standard. Nationally, PM2.5 levels dropped \u003ca href=\"https://www.epa.gov/air-trends/particulate-matter-pm25-trends\">another 42% between 2000 and 2022\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Overall, there was a big improvement — but it was not shared equitably,” says Tarik Benmarhnia, an environmental epidemiologist at the University of California, San Diego. Communities of colo\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2023/06/19/1179670466/air-pollution-satellite-baltimore-climate-change\">r remained exposed to higher pollution\u003c/a>,\u003ca href=\"https://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/doi/full/10.1289/EHP8584\"> even as total levels dropped\u003c/a>. Black communities in particular breathe in much more heavy pollution from \u003ca href=\"https://www.science.org/doi/full/10.1126/sciadv.abf4491\">cars, heavy industry, and construction\u003c/a> than any other groups. That’s a pattern that holds nationwide and over decades, including into today’s efforts to cut back fossil fuel pollution, which are at risk of \u003ca href=\"https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-41131-x\">continuing the disparities\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>More smoke is not good for anyone’s health\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Overall, the country’s air was getting cleaner. But Childs, who was living in California at the time watching wildfire seasons break record after record, could tell that wasn’t the whole story.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Scientists were pinpointing how climate change exacerbated the burns. The answer, they found over and over, \u003ca href=\"https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2213815120\">was a lot\u003c/a>. Hotter, drier conditions sucked more moisture out of vegetation, priming it to burn explosively and extensively when a spark happened to catch.[aside postID='science_1926793,science_1930023,news_11834305' label='Related coverage']Decades and even centuries of fire suppression — the long-held policy of the U.S. Forest Service and other agencies — also fed the wildfires. Many habitats across the Western U.S. evolved to experience frequent burns, which cleared away excess fuel, and Indigenous communities often used fire to keep those habitats open as well. Now forests are packed with \u003ca href=\"https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ecs2.3250\">many more trees\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The combination has led to wildfires that burn 10 times the acreage as 50 years ago. Massive, destructive burn years like 2020 are projected to become much more common as \u003ca href=\"https://www.nature.com/articles/s43247-021-00299-0\">climate change marches forward\u003c/a>, though \u003ca href=\"https://www.fs.usda.gov/features/professionals-prepare-for-prescribed-burn#:~:text=Prescribed%20fire%20helps%20reduce%20wildfire,less%20available%20material%20to%20burn.\">aggressive forest management\u003c/a> could blunt some of the worst outcomes,\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/transcripts/1126912268\"> research shows\u003c/a>. And wildfires are not just tied to the West. This year, wildfires burned from Canada’s East to West coasts and deep into Louisiana.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Christopher Migliaccio, an immunologist at the University of Montana, studies the impact of wildfire smoke on human health. When he moved to Montana in 2000, wildfires weren’t top-of-mind for most people. But within the past decade, “the concern has gotten huge,” he says. “And it’s gone global.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s because the health impacts leak well outside the immediate realm of the fires. Smoke, and all its fine particles, can travel thousands of miles. “When you see a wildfire smoke plume, you see that pollution. Essentially, the smoke that you’re seeing is PM2.5,” says Colleen Reid, an environmental public health expert at the University of Colorado, Boulder.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s not yet completely clear if \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2022/05/17/1099482986/eliminating-fossil-fuel-air-pollution-would-save-about-50-000-lives-study-finds\">wildfire smoke particles\u003c/a> induce different health outcomes than PM2.5 from other sources, like roadways, though \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2021/03/05/973848360/study-finds-wildfire-smoke-more-harmful-to-humans-than-pollution-from-cars\">some research points that direction\u003c/a>. But the tiny particles from fires and other pollution sources are so small they cross from lungs into the bloodstream, driving inflammation throughout the body. Even short-term exposure to wildfire smoke makes lung problems like asthma worse, as well as a panoply of other health issues, from heart attacks to neurological issues.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Migliaccio \u003ca href=\"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32764367/\">led a study\u003c/a> that followed Montanans exposed to extremely high doses of smoke for 49 straight days in 2017. It found their lung function was depressed for at least two years afterward.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 41 states, air quality had been getting better between 2000 and the 2010s. But as wildfires exploded, those improvements stopped or even reversed. Smoke was responsible for just intermittent “exceedances,” when air pollution exceeds EPA’s limits, in the early part of the record. By 2020-2022, wildfire smoke was the primary cause of bad air in four western states and a major contributor in 17 others.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Solutions are not straightforward\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Wildfires are a natural and necessary ecological reality in many parts of the country. But research predicts the frequency and size of fires will\u003ca href=\"https://www.nature.com/articles/s43247-021-00299-0\"> grow precipitously in coming decades\u003c/a>, increasing peoples’ exposure to smoke.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Clean Air Act effectively regulates point-source pollution, like soot from power plants. It is less effective at regulating risk from smoke, which drifts across state borders and affects people far from the wildfires themselves.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dialing back the climate pressures that exacerbate wildfires is critical, says Childs. But so is creating forest and fire management policies that reduce exposure to very high concentrations of smoke. That could be, somewhat counterintuitively, increasing the number of \u003cem>prescribed\u003c/em> fires, which can lessen the risk of catastrophic wildfires, though they also generate local smoke plumes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the meantime, people can take steps to protect themselves from inevitable smoke exposure, says Reid. Installing air filters in your home — and keeping them clean — can go a long way. Health experts recommend wearing N95 or KN95 masks if you have to go outdoors, and to avoid exercise in smoky air if possible.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=How+wildfire+smoke+is+erasing+years+of+progress+toward+cleaning+up+America%27s+air&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/div>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Over the last few decades, air in the U.S. has undergone a remarkable transformation: pollution levels of health-damaging tiny particles have dropped by roughly 40% since 2000, primarily thanks to the country’s decades-long effort to improve air quality through the Clean Air Act, a landmark environmental law.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Smoke from wildfires fueled by human-driven climate change, however, has erased roughly 25% of those air quality gains, according to \u003ca href=\"https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06522-6\">a new study\u003c/a> published Wednesday in \u003cem>Nature\u003c/em>. “We’ve seen really remarkable improvements in air quality,” says Marissa Childs, one of the authors of the study and a researcher at Harvard’s Center for the Environment. “But wildfire smoke is undoing that progress in many states.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The effects are more pronounced in Western states, where smoke-laden days have become an annual fact of life. \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2022/10/25/1131279317/pacific-northwest-schools-cancel-outdoor-activities-when-air-quality-is-unhealth\">Schools\u003c/a>\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/transcripts/550656850\"> keep kids inside during recess\u003c/a>; \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2023/08/25/1195926923/canada-wildfire-smoke-asthma-cdc-new-york-hospital-visits\">emergency rooms\u003c/a> know to prepare when wildfires break out nearby. The study found that since 2016, in states like California, Washington, and Oregon, wildfire smoke has added enough pollution to the air to wipe out nearly half of the total air quality gains made from 2000 onward.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Midwest, South, and eastern states are not immune. “This is impacting way more places than we used to think and at a larger scale,” says Childs. Even before this year’s\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2023/08/22/1195154996/some-of-canadas-wildfires-likely-made-worse-by-human-driven-climate-change\"> Canadian wildfires\u003c/a> blanketed the Eastern seaboard in thick smoke, smoke plumes regularly tanked air quality far from\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2023/06/26/1184393713/canadas-wildfires-are-part-of-a-worrying-trend-but-theyre-not-without-precedent\"> the actual wildfires\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>The Clean Air Act worked until now\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The bipartisan Clean Air Act, signed into law in 1970, has had remarkable success cleaning up \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2023/06/19/1179670466/air-pollution-satellite-baltimore-climate-change\">the nation’s air\u003c/a>. In its first few decades, levels of the six major pollutants it addressed dropped by \u003ca href=\"https://www.epa.gov/clean-air-act-overview/40th-anniversary-clean-air-act\">more than 40%\u003c/a>. Since 2000, the drop has continued nearly everywhere in the country.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>One major target of the Clean Air Act is PM2.5 — tiny particles about 30 times smaller than the diameter of a human hair. Many different sources contribute to PM2.5 including dust, and soot from burning coal or gas. The super-small particles are also produced when anything burns such as forests, grasslands, and houses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Closing or retiring coal and gas-fired power plants cut PM2.5 levels nearby. So did improving car and truck fuel efficiency and pollution-control technologies like catalytic converters — though pollution levels near major roadways still often exceed the EPA’s daily standard. Nationally, PM2.5 levels dropped \u003ca href=\"https://www.epa.gov/air-trends/particulate-matter-pm25-trends\">another 42% between 2000 and 2022\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Overall, there was a big improvement — but it was not shared equitably,” says Tarik Benmarhnia, an environmental epidemiologist at the University of California, San Diego. Communities of colo\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2023/06/19/1179670466/air-pollution-satellite-baltimore-climate-change\">r remained exposed to higher pollution\u003c/a>,\u003ca href=\"https://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/doi/full/10.1289/EHP8584\"> even as total levels dropped\u003c/a>. Black communities in particular breathe in much more heavy pollution from \u003ca href=\"https://www.science.org/doi/full/10.1126/sciadv.abf4491\">cars, heavy industry, and construction\u003c/a> than any other groups. That’s a pattern that holds nationwide and over decades, including into today’s efforts to cut back fossil fuel pollution, which are at risk of \u003ca href=\"https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-41131-x\">continuing the disparities\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>More smoke is not good for anyone’s health\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Overall, the country’s air was getting cleaner. But Childs, who was living in California at the time watching wildfire seasons break record after record, could tell that wasn’t the whole story.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Scientists were pinpointing how climate change exacerbated the burns. The answer, they found over and over, \u003ca href=\"https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2213815120\">was a lot\u003c/a>. Hotter, drier conditions sucked more moisture out of vegetation, priming it to burn explosively and extensively when a spark happened to catch.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Decades and even centuries of fire suppression — the long-held policy of the U.S. Forest Service and other agencies — also fed the wildfires. Many habitats across the Western U.S. evolved to experience frequent burns, which cleared away excess fuel, and Indigenous communities often used fire to keep those habitats open as well. Now forests are packed with \u003ca href=\"https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ecs2.3250\">many more trees\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The combination has led to wildfires that burn 10 times the acreage as 50 years ago. Massive, destructive burn years like 2020 are projected to become much more common as \u003ca href=\"https://www.nature.com/articles/s43247-021-00299-0\">climate change marches forward\u003c/a>, though \u003ca href=\"https://www.fs.usda.gov/features/professionals-prepare-for-prescribed-burn#:~:text=Prescribed%20fire%20helps%20reduce%20wildfire,less%20available%20material%20to%20burn.\">aggressive forest management\u003c/a> could blunt some of the worst outcomes,\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/transcripts/1126912268\"> research shows\u003c/a>. And wildfires are not just tied to the West. This year, wildfires burned from Canada’s East to West coasts and deep into Louisiana.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Christopher Migliaccio, an immunologist at the University of Montana, studies the impact of wildfire smoke on human health. When he moved to Montana in 2000, wildfires weren’t top-of-mind for most people. But within the past decade, “the concern has gotten huge,” he says. “And it’s gone global.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s because the health impacts leak well outside the immediate realm of the fires. Smoke, and all its fine particles, can travel thousands of miles. “When you see a wildfire smoke plume, you see that pollution. Essentially, the smoke that you’re seeing is PM2.5,” says Colleen Reid, an environmental public health expert at the University of Colorado, Boulder.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s not yet completely clear if \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2022/05/17/1099482986/eliminating-fossil-fuel-air-pollution-would-save-about-50-000-lives-study-finds\">wildfire smoke particles\u003c/a> induce different health outcomes than PM2.5 from other sources, like roadways, though \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2021/03/05/973848360/study-finds-wildfire-smoke-more-harmful-to-humans-than-pollution-from-cars\">some research points that direction\u003c/a>. But the tiny particles from fires and other pollution sources are so small they cross from lungs into the bloodstream, driving inflammation throughout the body. Even short-term exposure to wildfire smoke makes lung problems like asthma worse, as well as a panoply of other health issues, from heart attacks to neurological issues.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Migliaccio \u003ca href=\"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32764367/\">led a study\u003c/a> that followed Montanans exposed to extremely high doses of smoke for 49 straight days in 2017. It found their lung function was depressed for at least two years afterward.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 41 states, air quality had been getting better between 2000 and the 2010s. But as wildfires exploded, those improvements stopped or even reversed. Smoke was responsible for just intermittent “exceedances,” when air pollution exceeds EPA’s limits, in the early part of the record. By 2020-2022, wildfire smoke was the primary cause of bad air in four western states and a major contributor in 17 others.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Solutions are not straightforward\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Wildfires are a natural and necessary ecological reality in many parts of the country. But research predicts the frequency and size of fires will\u003ca href=\"https://www.nature.com/articles/s43247-021-00299-0\"> grow precipitously in coming decades\u003c/a>, increasing peoples’ exposure to smoke.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Clean Air Act effectively regulates point-source pollution, like soot from power plants. It is less effective at regulating risk from smoke, which drifts across state borders and affects people far from the wildfires themselves.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dialing back the climate pressures that exacerbate wildfires is critical, says Childs. But so is creating forest and fire management policies that reduce exposure to very high concentrations of smoke. That could be, somewhat counterintuitively, increasing the number of \u003cem>prescribed\u003c/em> fires, which can lessen the risk of catastrophic wildfires, though they also generate local smoke plumes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the meantime, people can take steps to protect themselves from inevitable smoke exposure, says Reid. Installing air filters in your home — and keeping them clean — can go a long way. Health experts recommend wearing N95 or KN95 masks if you have to go outdoors, and to avoid exercise in smoky air if possible.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=How+wildfire+smoke+is+erasing+years+of+progress+toward+cleaning+up+America%27s+air&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/div>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>[dl_subscribe]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Do cockroaches — those daring, disgusting disease vectors — have anything at all to offer us? Scientists think so. They compressed American roaches with a hydraulic press, subjecting them to the force of 900 times their body weight. Don’t worry (or do): They survived! How exactly do they do it?\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>TRANSCRIPT\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>The cockroach.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You know ‘em, you hate ‘em.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And with good reason. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They carry bacteria like salmonella on their legs. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote]\u003cbr>\nADDITIONAL RESOURCES\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/aisy.202300181\">Biomechanist and roboticist Kaushik Jayaram (@JayaramKaushik), who worked with us on our cockroach episode, also finds inspiration in the creepy, crawly spider! Specifically spider joints! Check out his work with spiders and robots in this paper!\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://academic.oup.com/jee/article/115/1/259/6469283\">Professor of Urban Entomology Chow-Yang Lee (@chowyanglee), of the University of California, Riverside, studies many critters who cohabitate with humans. He’s been looking into how certain populations of German roaches (Blattella germanica) consistently evade our pesticides. Read more here\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[/pullquote]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Roaches can cause asthma and allergies as they spread their saliva and poop around your home. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And when you try to take one out …\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>… it always seems to get away.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What makes the roach so indestructible?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The American cockroach is one of the fastest insects on the planet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It can run up to 3.4 miles per hour.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’d be like a human knocking out eight marathons over their lunch break.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It uses hooks, called tarsal claws, to flip over ledges. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And not even a wall can stop it. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Better to keep up the momentum and figure it out as you go.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The roach is both tough and flexible. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Its exoskeleton isn’t one large piece of armor, but many shield-like plates made of a tough material called chitin. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They’re held together by lots of pliable joints.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And they use all those bendy joints to fold up, origami-style, and push through impossibly small cracks … \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>…like that gap you never knew existed in your kitchen cupboard. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The cockroach can army-crawl through a space a quarter of its normal standing height. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s one reason it’s so good at surviving your thwack.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So how much pressure can the cockroach take?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Scientists at UC Berkeley found it can withstand a thwack equivalent to 900 times its body weight …\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>… and walk away unscathed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Why are researchers so interested in all this?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They think the roach, despite its ability to make us sick, can teach us to save lives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One of those researchers is now building robots the size of insects to squeeze into places you and I cannot. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Like piles of rubble left by major earthquakes or hurricanes. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And maybe down the line, much smaller versions of these robots could even enter our bodies to perform life-saving tasks! \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So, on the one hand, we want to keep these creatures out – by sealing cracks, caulking windows and storing food in airtight containers …\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>… but we also want to learn from them. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The cockroach teaches us that the key to overcoming adversity isn’t just toughness, it’s also flexibility.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Do cockroaches — those daring, disgusting disease vectors — have anything at all to offer us? Scientists think so. They compressed American roaches with a hydraulic press, subjecting them to the force of 900 times their body weight. Don’t worry (or do): They survived! How exactly do they do it?\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>TRANSCRIPT\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>The cockroach.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You know ‘em, you hate ‘em.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And with good reason. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They carry bacteria like salmonella on their legs. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cbr>\nADDITIONAL RESOURCES\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/aisy.202300181\">Biomechanist and roboticist Kaushik Jayaram (@JayaramKaushik), who worked with us on our cockroach episode, also finds inspiration in the creepy, crawly spider! Specifically spider joints! Check out his work with spiders and robots in this paper!\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://academic.oup.com/jee/article/115/1/259/6469283\">Professor of Urban Entomology Chow-Yang Lee (@chowyanglee), of the University of California, Riverside, studies many critters who cohabitate with humans. He’s been looking into how certain populations of German roaches (Blattella germanica) consistently evade our pesticides. Read more here\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Roaches can cause asthma and allergies as they spread their saliva and poop around your home. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And when you try to take one out …\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>… it always seems to get away.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What makes the roach so indestructible?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The American cockroach is one of the fastest insects on the planet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It can run up to 3.4 miles per hour.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’d be like a human knocking out eight marathons over their lunch break.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It uses hooks, called tarsal claws, to flip over ledges. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And not even a wall can stop it. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Better to keep up the momentum and figure it out as you go.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The roach is both tough and flexible. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Its exoskeleton isn’t one large piece of armor, but many shield-like plates made of a tough material called chitin. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They’re held together by lots of pliable joints.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And they use all those bendy joints to fold up, origami-style, and push through impossibly small cracks … \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>…like that gap you never knew existed in your kitchen cupboard. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The cockroach can army-crawl through a space a quarter of its normal standing height. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s one reason it’s so good at surviving your thwack.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So how much pressure can the cockroach take?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Scientists at UC Berkeley found it can withstand a thwack equivalent to 900 times its body weight …\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>… and walk away unscathed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Why are researchers so interested in all this?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They think the roach, despite its ability to make us sick, can teach us to save lives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One of those researchers is now building robots the size of insects to squeeze into places you and I cannot. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Like piles of rubble left by major earthquakes or hurricanes. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And maybe down the line, much smaller versions of these robots could even enter our bodies to perform life-saving tasks! \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So, on the one hand, we want to keep these creatures out – by sealing cracks, caulking windows and storing food in airtight containers …\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>… but we also want to learn from them. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The cockroach teaches us that the key to overcoming adversity isn’t just toughness, it’s also flexibility.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "In a Charred Moonscape, a Band of Hopeful Workers Try to Save the Joshua Tree",
"headTitle": "In a Charred Moonscape, a Band of Hopeful Workers Try to Save the Joshua Tree | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>“The Country since leaving the Colorado has been a dry rocky sandy Barren desert.”\u003c/em> — Jedediah Smith, 1826.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Early western explorers who ventured into the Mojave Desert, like Jedediah Smith, often mischaracterized it as a barren landscape, devoid of life.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yet a closer inspection of these sweeping landscapes reveals soil-hugging carpets of springtime flowers, native grasses and fragrant shrubs, alongside the more obvious cacti and succulents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Where the desert lives up to its stereotype is after a wildfire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the shadow of last month’s York Fire in California’s Mojave National Preserve, almost nothing is left amid the rocks and sand, except the charred carcasses of Mojave yuccas, Joshua trees, and chollas. The soil is a mottled brown and black, and some plants have been reduced to mere silhouettes of char on the ground.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1984232\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1984232\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/mojave-fire-duo-update_custom-a3c213912e6160eaecee2d97b08fdc7b6034e2bc-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Two photos side-by-side,burnt desert plants in an arid landscape with blue skies behind and hills on the horizon in the left photo.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1901\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/mojave-fire-duo-update_custom-a3c213912e6160eaecee2d97b08fdc7b6034e2bc-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/mojave-fire-duo-update_custom-a3c213912e6160eaecee2d97b08fdc7b6034e2bc-800x594.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/mojave-fire-duo-update_custom-a3c213912e6160eaecee2d97b08fdc7b6034e2bc-1020x757.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/mojave-fire-duo-update_custom-a3c213912e6160eaecee2d97b08fdc7b6034e2bc-160x119.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/mojave-fire-duo-update_custom-a3c213912e6160eaecee2d97b08fdc7b6034e2bc-768x570.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/mojave-fire-duo-update_custom-a3c213912e6160eaecee2d97b08fdc7b6034e2bc-1536x1141.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/mojave-fire-duo-update_custom-a3c213912e6160eaecee2d97b08fdc7b6034e2bc-2048x1521.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/mojave-fire-duo-update_custom-a3c213912e6160eaecee2d97b08fdc7b6034e2bc-1920x1426.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A scorched Joshua tree (left) and a burned barrel cactus are remnants of the York Fire. \u003ccite>(Krystal Ramirez/NPR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The moonscape is the result of a fire that burned quickly and widely, engulfing roughly 130 square miles of the preserve — including picturesque Caruthers Canyon, a boulder-strewn spot popular with campers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Caruthers Canyon is the prettiest place we had. It was a beautiful little pinyon-juniper forest up there,” says Debra Hughson, who is the preserve’s deputy superintendent. “When the pinyon-juniper burns, it doesn’t come back. Not in my lifetime. Not in your lifetime. Maybe never.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>There may be no going back\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>This latest wildfire comes as a reminder of the unpredictable future facing some of the desert’s most iconic residents. Warmer, drier temperatures are already stressing the preserve’s spindly Joshua trees. Models predict those warming trends will leave Joshua trees with fewer suitable places to live. Scroll forward in time, Hughson says, and their range shrinks: “It melts like an ice cube on a hot sidewalk.” On top of that, in recent years wide-ranging wildfires are also pushing the succulents into greater peril.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They’re already living on the edge,” Hughson says. “What we’re doing here globally is we’re cranking up the temperature, and here we’re also cranking down the rainfall, the precipitation.” Joshua trees, she explains, are having a hard time keeping up with such swift climate changes. “Then you get a major stressor like this, that just erases the chalkboard.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1984233\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1984233\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_06_custom-1bfcaa4dc80a136adcb22d55f96c66e6c9aa9524-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1705\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_06_custom-1bfcaa4dc80a136adcb22d55f96c66e6c9aa9524-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_06_custom-1bfcaa4dc80a136adcb22d55f96c66e6c9aa9524-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_06_custom-1bfcaa4dc80a136adcb22d55f96c66e6c9aa9524-1020x679.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_06_custom-1bfcaa4dc80a136adcb22d55f96c66e6c9aa9524-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_06_custom-1bfcaa4dc80a136adcb22d55f96c66e6c9aa9524-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_06_custom-1bfcaa4dc80a136adcb22d55f96c66e6c9aa9524-1536x1023.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_06_custom-1bfcaa4dc80a136adcb22d55f96c66e6c9aa9524-2048x1364.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_06_custom-1bfcaa4dc80a136adcb22d55f96c66e6c9aa9524-1920x1279.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Debra Hughson is the deputy superintendent at Mojave National Preserve. She says Joshua trees are struggling to keep up with such swift climate changes. \u003ccite>(Krystal Ramirez/NPR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>What she means is the park’s dense Joshua tree forests may never come back after a fire. A grassy savannah might rise up to replace them, with a few Joshua trees scattered throughout as a reminder of what once was.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nowhere is that potential future on greater display than along Morning Star Mine Road, which cuts across the northern reaches of the preserve. On one side of the road there is a Joshua tree forest so dense it looks like a green wall at a distance, with a rich understory of drab greenish-gray bushes. On the other side there’s a graveyard of blackened Joshua trees with sun-bleached buds. The ground is mostly bare, aside from patches of grass, and the color palette is black, white and shades of tan.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1984234\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1984234\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_09_custom-6507473b7144787a889fad9d2f2a6b59823c0e74-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1705\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_09_custom-6507473b7144787a889fad9d2f2a6b59823c0e74-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_09_custom-6507473b7144787a889fad9d2f2a6b59823c0e74-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_09_custom-6507473b7144787a889fad9d2f2a6b59823c0e74-1020x679.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_09_custom-6507473b7144787a889fad9d2f2a6b59823c0e74-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_09_custom-6507473b7144787a889fad9d2f2a6b59823c0e74-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_09_custom-6507473b7144787a889fad9d2f2a6b59823c0e74-1536x1023.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_09_custom-6507473b7144787a889fad9d2f2a6b59823c0e74-2048x1364.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_09_custom-6507473b7144787a889fad9d2f2a6b59823c0e74-1920x1279.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Plant remains hang over Valley View Ranch, one of the sites that burned in the 2020 Dome Fire at Mojave National Preserve. \u003ccite>(Krystal Ramirez/NPR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The road was a firebreak during the 2020 Dome Fire. Flames destroyed an estimated 1.3 million Joshua trees on Cima Dome, an area that was once the park’s grandest example of dense Joshua tree woodland. The area’s relatively high elevation was supposed to serve as a sort of sanctuary — a climate refuge where Joshua trees could continue to thrive amid hotter, drier conditions elsewhere in their range. Then, the fire came – an unexpected destabilizing force that casts that long-term trajectory into question.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hughson trained as a geologist. She talks about the future of the Joshua tree and what might happen at Cima Dome as if she still assesses these seismic ecological changes at the tempo of geologic time. “In the end,” she says, “the desert is going to tell us what it’s going to be and it’s going to show us what it’s going to be.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Replanting hope in the desert\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Scientists are not waiting to see what the desert becomes. They’re actively intervening with an ambitious years-long project to replant some 4,000 Joshua trees at Cima Dome.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Biological science technician Erin Knight walks through a graveyard of dead Joshua trees, near the remains of an old cattle operation called Valley View Ranch. Some of the plants have toppled to the ground. Others still stand, but they’re falling to pieces; the branches that once stretched up to the sky now dangle and sway eerily in the desert wind.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1984235\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1984235\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_05_custom-ddf67a8272af1d1f6982f41a639e917fbd5b81b8-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1705\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_05_custom-ddf67a8272af1d1f6982f41a639e917fbd5b81b8-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_05_custom-ddf67a8272af1d1f6982f41a639e917fbd5b81b8-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_05_custom-ddf67a8272af1d1f6982f41a639e917fbd5b81b8-1020x679.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_05_custom-ddf67a8272af1d1f6982f41a639e917fbd5b81b8-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_05_custom-ddf67a8272af1d1f6982f41a639e917fbd5b81b8-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_05_custom-ddf67a8272af1d1f6982f41a639e917fbd5b81b8-1536x1023.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_05_custom-ddf67a8272af1d1f6982f41a639e917fbd5b81b8-2048x1364.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_05_custom-ddf67a8272af1d1f6982f41a639e917fbd5b81b8-1920x1279.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Erin Knight is a biological science technician at the Mojave National Preserve. \u003ccite>(Krystal Ramirez/NPR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Kind of our own little chandelier here in the desert,” Knight jokes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Small chicken wire cages are scattered throughout the grove. This is where volunteers have planted baby Joshua trees, in hopes of resurrecting the century-old giants that perished here. Knight crouches down near one of the cages, and checks a numbered tag.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She says this seedling was planted on Nov. 6 last year, and a volunteer named it Bratislava — the capital of Slovakia. Unfortunately, this one’s dead, as are many others at this site. In fact, in the two years this project’s been underway, 80% of the roughly 1,900 Joshua trees planted in the burn scar of the Dome Fire have died.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1984230\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1984230\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_17-edit_custom-bbcb6de0b000d7a4b78bf4dfdc7a988596b6668a-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1705\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_17-edit_custom-bbcb6de0b000d7a4b78bf4dfdc7a988596b6668a-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_17-edit_custom-bbcb6de0b000d7a4b78bf4dfdc7a988596b6668a-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_17-edit_custom-bbcb6de0b000d7a4b78bf4dfdc7a988596b6668a-1020x679.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_17-edit_custom-bbcb6de0b000d7a4b78bf4dfdc7a988596b6668a-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_17-edit_custom-bbcb6de0b000d7a4b78bf4dfdc7a988596b6668a-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_17-edit_custom-bbcb6de0b000d7a4b78bf4dfdc7a988596b6668a-1536x1023.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_17-edit_custom-bbcb6de0b000d7a4b78bf4dfdc7a988596b6668a-2048x1364.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_17-edit_custom-bbcb6de0b000d7a4b78bf4dfdc7a988596b6668a-1920x1279.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Charred carcasses of Mojave yuccas, Joshua trees and chollas are seen at the edge of the York Fire in San Bernardino County, California, inside Mojave National Preserve. \u003ccite>(Krystal Ramirez/NPR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Unfortunately, restoring Joshua trees is more of an art than a science, and sometimes it works out really well and sometimes it doesn’t,” Hughson says. Some of the baby Joshua trees have been eaten, especially those without a cage. Others die of thirst, though volunteers and scientists at the preserve make their best efforts to water the baby seedlings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s been hundreds and hundreds of volunteers that have participated. We even had a camel train packing water into these,” Hughson says. Restoration work in the desert, she explains, is not for the faint of heart.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1984236\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1984236\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_14_custom-3ed023c31490c2b4a8b0f4afe63ddd822f9ecd46-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1705\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_14_custom-3ed023c31490c2b4a8b0f4afe63ddd822f9ecd46-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_14_custom-3ed023c31490c2b4a8b0f4afe63ddd822f9ecd46-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_14_custom-3ed023c31490c2b4a8b0f4afe63ddd822f9ecd46-1020x679.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_14_custom-3ed023c31490c2b4a8b0f4afe63ddd822f9ecd46-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_14_custom-3ed023c31490c2b4a8b0f4afe63ddd822f9ecd46-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_14_custom-3ed023c31490c2b4a8b0f4afe63ddd822f9ecd46-1536x1023.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_14_custom-3ed023c31490c2b4a8b0f4afe63ddd822f9ecd46-2048x1364.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_14_custom-3ed023c31490c2b4a8b0f4afe63ddd822f9ecd46-1920x1279.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Supervisory park ranger Sierra Willoughby waters a baby Joshua tree, named ‘Lychee,’ inside its protective cage. \u003ccite>(Krystal Ramirez/NPR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“It’s a tale of failed experiments,” Hughson says. “Go look at the literature on restoration in the desert, especially the Mojave Desert. And OK, ‘Well, this didn’t work.’ Another paper on, ‘Well, that didn’t work.’ ‘OK, well, we tried this, and we failed miserably.’ And the stories of success are very rare.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, hundreds of these Joshua tree seedlings have survived. Knight’s colleague Ryan McRae found one nearby. It’s only a few inches tall, and looks like the top of a baby pineapple. Knight looks up its name, and says it’s called “Lychee.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1984237\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1984237\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_59_custom-a8038b813b6ae0c89086f9158f89aaae227e6e4d-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1705\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_59_custom-a8038b813b6ae0c89086f9158f89aaae227e6e4d-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_59_custom-a8038b813b6ae0c89086f9158f89aaae227e6e4d-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_59_custom-a8038b813b6ae0c89086f9158f89aaae227e6e4d-1020x679.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_59_custom-a8038b813b6ae0c89086f9158f89aaae227e6e4d-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_59_custom-a8038b813b6ae0c89086f9158f89aaae227e6e4d-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_59_custom-a8038b813b6ae0c89086f9158f89aaae227e6e4d-1536x1023.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_59_custom-a8038b813b6ae0c89086f9158f89aaae227e6e4d-2048x1364.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_59_custom-a8038b813b6ae0c89086f9158f89aaae227e6e4d-1920x1279.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A surviving Joshua tree inside the Mojave National Preserve. \u003ccite>(Krystal Ramirez/NPR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>It’s still tiny, and McRae points out one of the huge challenges of restoring a forest with two-inch-tall seedlings. “These Joshua trees only grow about 1.5 to 2 inches per year. So if you can imagine a 10-foot-tall tree or so, you can get an idea of how many years or decades it would take to get to that height.” At a conservative 1.5 inches per year — it would take at least 80 years to return this area back to the way it was before the fire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We probably won’t see it in any of our lives,” Knight says.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Preparing for the future\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Kelso is an old railroad town in another corner of the park near a giant field of sand dunes. Behind a 1920s schoolhouse, there’s a small beige building with two bright teal doors reading BOYS and GIRLS. There’s no sign from the outside, but the GIRLS room is now a makeshift field lab.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1984238\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1984238\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_40_custom-002484d6c789abb2a9ed1eb900b6a035bd37bd13-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1705\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_40_custom-002484d6c789abb2a9ed1eb900b6a035bd37bd13-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_40_custom-002484d6c789abb2a9ed1eb900b6a035bd37bd13-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_40_custom-002484d6c789abb2a9ed1eb900b6a035bd37bd13-1020x679.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_40_custom-002484d6c789abb2a9ed1eb900b6a035bd37bd13-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_40_custom-002484d6c789abb2a9ed1eb900b6a035bd37bd13-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_40_custom-002484d6c789abb2a9ed1eb900b6a035bd37bd13-1536x1023.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_40_custom-002484d6c789abb2a9ed1eb900b6a035bd37bd13-2048x1364.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_40_custom-002484d6c789abb2a9ed1eb900b6a035bd37bd13-1920x1279.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Seed technician Christina Sanchez stands outside the old restroom that’s been converted into a seed lab, behind the historic Kelso schoolhouse. \u003ccite>(Krystal Ramirez/NPR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“This is our seed lab,” says Christina Sanchez, a seed technician. “This is where we’re sorting all of the Joshua tree seeds, and where we store them before they go to the nursery.” The nursery is a facility near Lake Mead, where rows of pots contain baby Joshua tree sprouts, ready to be transplanted into the wild.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sanchez pulls over a big bucket, full of cream-colored Joshua tree fruits she and her team have collected. She takes one out and shakes it: “Sounds like a little rattle,” she says. The seeds are about the size of roma tomatoes, but they’re brittle and hard. She breaks one open with a crack, and reveals the black hockey-puck-like seeds inside.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A curious contraption that looks like a cross between an ant farm and a pinball machine hooks up to a shop vac blower. It’s a seed cleaning machine, and when Sanchez switches on the blower, the seeds flutter through the chutes inside.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1984239\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1984239\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/mojave-fire-trio_custom-0b8a68fcf7b1839732e5970ecf3b645e51c7554e-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1812\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/mojave-fire-trio_custom-0b8a68fcf7b1839732e5970ecf3b645e51c7554e-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/mojave-fire-trio_custom-0b8a68fcf7b1839732e5970ecf3b645e51c7554e-800x566.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/mojave-fire-trio_custom-0b8a68fcf7b1839732e5970ecf3b645e51c7554e-1020x722.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/mojave-fire-trio_custom-0b8a68fcf7b1839732e5970ecf3b645e51c7554e-160x113.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/mojave-fire-trio_custom-0b8a68fcf7b1839732e5970ecf3b645e51c7554e-768x544.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/mojave-fire-trio_custom-0b8a68fcf7b1839732e5970ecf3b645e51c7554e-1536x1087.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/mojave-fire-trio_custom-0b8a68fcf7b1839732e5970ecf3b645e51c7554e-2048x1449.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/mojave-fire-trio_custom-0b8a68fcf7b1839732e5970ecf3b645e51c7554e-1920x1359.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Clockwise from top left: Sanchez opens Joshua tree seed pods. Right: She then separates the seeds with a seed cleaning machine. Bottom left: Sanchez shows a handful of seeds after they have been separated. \u003ccite>(Krystal Ramirez/NPR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>From here, she’ll dump the viable seeds into big jars, labeled with the collection site, and put them in a big chest freezer. The freezer is already half full of jars brimming with some 300,000 Joshua tree seeds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is the future of the species,” Sanchez says. “This deep freezer here, this is holding our future.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many of the Joshua tree seedlings planted so far have died, raising the question whether collecting and storing seeds is a gesture of hope.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re going to lose a species if we don’t try,” she says. “We just gotta keep trying.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1984240\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1984240\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_52_custom-5e07e098f0aa839d06d569bafc0c04cc54a3d7ed-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1705\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_52_custom-5e07e098f0aa839d06d569bafc0c04cc54a3d7ed-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_52_custom-5e07e098f0aa839d06d569bafc0c04cc54a3d7ed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_52_custom-5e07e098f0aa839d06d569bafc0c04cc54a3d7ed-1020x679.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_52_custom-5e07e098f0aa839d06d569bafc0c04cc54a3d7ed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_52_custom-5e07e098f0aa839d06d569bafc0c04cc54a3d7ed-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_52_custom-5e07e098f0aa839d06d569bafc0c04cc54a3d7ed-1536x1023.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_52_custom-5e07e098f0aa839d06d569bafc0c04cc54a3d7ed-2048x1364.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_52_custom-5e07e098f0aa839d06d569bafc0c04cc54a3d7ed-1920x1279.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sanchez stands next to a chest freezer holding a jar of Joshua tree seeds that were harvested prior to the York Fire. The freezer is already half full of jars brimming with roughly 300,000 Joshua tree seeds. \u003ccite>(Krystal Ramirez/NPR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Debra Hughson acknowledges that the replanting effort is just a “drop in the ocean,” given the massive losses of Joshua trees here in recent years. “That’s a few hundred we’ve managed, in a landscape that had 1.3 million,” she says. “So you can do the math.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Numbers aside, Hughson expresses skepticism that people really have much of a role in “rebuilding” wilderness. “I don’t think that wilderness areas can be built. They can be designated, but nature created it,” she says. “We seem to be capable of destroying it … but we can’t create something that we don’t really even understand.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1984241\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1984241\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_11_custom-02457637f193030b8433188b613f4e908e2d1e06-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1705\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_11_custom-02457637f193030b8433188b613f4e908e2d1e06-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_11_custom-02457637f193030b8433188b613f4e908e2d1e06-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_11_custom-02457637f193030b8433188b613f4e908e2d1e06-1020x679.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_11_custom-02457637f193030b8433188b613f4e908e2d1e06-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_11_custom-02457637f193030b8433188b613f4e908e2d1e06-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_11_custom-02457637f193030b8433188b613f4e908e2d1e06-1536x1023.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_11_custom-02457637f193030b8433188b613f4e908e2d1e06-2048x1364.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_11_custom-02457637f193030b8433188b613f4e908e2d1e06-1920x1279.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A Banana yucca sprouts in the burned landscape near Valley View Ranch. \u003ccite>(Krystal Ramirez/NPR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Even so, the replanting project continues in October. The goal is to get 2,000 more Joshua trees in the ground over the next two years, and as before, \u003ca href=\"https://www.nps.gov/moja/getinvolved/cima-dome-joshua-tree-forest-restoration.htm\">the preserve is relying on wilderness-savvy volunteers\u003c/a>. That human aspect, Hughson says, might be one of the most compelling reasons to do what seems very difficult, if not near impossible, on an ecological scale.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It makes us feel better. You know, psychologically, there were a lot of people that got a lot of good feelings and satisfaction from helping with the Joshua tree planting,” she says. “And to try to help makes you feel better about yourself and more hopeful about the future. And that in itself is a valuable thing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=In+a+charred+moonscape%2C+a+band+of+hopeful+workers+try+to+save+the+Joshua+tree&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/div>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "After flames destroyed 1.3 million Joshua trees in Mojave National Preserve, biologists began replanting seedlings. But many have died, and now another fire has torched more of the iconic succulents. ",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>“The Country since leaving the Colorado has been a dry rocky sandy Barren desert.”\u003c/em> — Jedediah Smith, 1826.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Early western explorers who ventured into the Mojave Desert, like Jedediah Smith, often mischaracterized it as a barren landscape, devoid of life.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yet a closer inspection of these sweeping landscapes reveals soil-hugging carpets of springtime flowers, native grasses and fragrant shrubs, alongside the more obvious cacti and succulents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Where the desert lives up to its stereotype is after a wildfire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the shadow of last month’s York Fire in California’s Mojave National Preserve, almost nothing is left amid the rocks and sand, except the charred carcasses of Mojave yuccas, Joshua trees, and chollas. The soil is a mottled brown and black, and some plants have been reduced to mere silhouettes of char on the ground.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1984232\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1984232\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/mojave-fire-duo-update_custom-a3c213912e6160eaecee2d97b08fdc7b6034e2bc-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Two photos side-by-side,burnt desert plants in an arid landscape with blue skies behind and hills on the horizon in the left photo.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1901\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/mojave-fire-duo-update_custom-a3c213912e6160eaecee2d97b08fdc7b6034e2bc-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/mojave-fire-duo-update_custom-a3c213912e6160eaecee2d97b08fdc7b6034e2bc-800x594.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/mojave-fire-duo-update_custom-a3c213912e6160eaecee2d97b08fdc7b6034e2bc-1020x757.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/mojave-fire-duo-update_custom-a3c213912e6160eaecee2d97b08fdc7b6034e2bc-160x119.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/mojave-fire-duo-update_custom-a3c213912e6160eaecee2d97b08fdc7b6034e2bc-768x570.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/mojave-fire-duo-update_custom-a3c213912e6160eaecee2d97b08fdc7b6034e2bc-1536x1141.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/mojave-fire-duo-update_custom-a3c213912e6160eaecee2d97b08fdc7b6034e2bc-2048x1521.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/mojave-fire-duo-update_custom-a3c213912e6160eaecee2d97b08fdc7b6034e2bc-1920x1426.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A scorched Joshua tree (left) and a burned barrel cactus are remnants of the York Fire. \u003ccite>(Krystal Ramirez/NPR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The moonscape is the result of a fire that burned quickly and widely, engulfing roughly 130 square miles of the preserve — including picturesque Caruthers Canyon, a boulder-strewn spot popular with campers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Caruthers Canyon is the prettiest place we had. It was a beautiful little pinyon-juniper forest up there,” says Debra Hughson, who is the preserve’s deputy superintendent. “When the pinyon-juniper burns, it doesn’t come back. Not in my lifetime. Not in your lifetime. Maybe never.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>There may be no going back\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>This latest wildfire comes as a reminder of the unpredictable future facing some of the desert’s most iconic residents. Warmer, drier temperatures are already stressing the preserve’s spindly Joshua trees. Models predict those warming trends will leave Joshua trees with fewer suitable places to live. Scroll forward in time, Hughson says, and their range shrinks: “It melts like an ice cube on a hot sidewalk.” On top of that, in recent years wide-ranging wildfires are also pushing the succulents into greater peril.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They’re already living on the edge,” Hughson says. “What we’re doing here globally is we’re cranking up the temperature, and here we’re also cranking down the rainfall, the precipitation.” Joshua trees, she explains, are having a hard time keeping up with such swift climate changes. “Then you get a major stressor like this, that just erases the chalkboard.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1984233\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1984233\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_06_custom-1bfcaa4dc80a136adcb22d55f96c66e6c9aa9524-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1705\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_06_custom-1bfcaa4dc80a136adcb22d55f96c66e6c9aa9524-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_06_custom-1bfcaa4dc80a136adcb22d55f96c66e6c9aa9524-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_06_custom-1bfcaa4dc80a136adcb22d55f96c66e6c9aa9524-1020x679.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_06_custom-1bfcaa4dc80a136adcb22d55f96c66e6c9aa9524-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_06_custom-1bfcaa4dc80a136adcb22d55f96c66e6c9aa9524-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_06_custom-1bfcaa4dc80a136adcb22d55f96c66e6c9aa9524-1536x1023.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_06_custom-1bfcaa4dc80a136adcb22d55f96c66e6c9aa9524-2048x1364.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_06_custom-1bfcaa4dc80a136adcb22d55f96c66e6c9aa9524-1920x1279.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Debra Hughson is the deputy superintendent at Mojave National Preserve. She says Joshua trees are struggling to keep up with such swift climate changes. \u003ccite>(Krystal Ramirez/NPR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>What she means is the park’s dense Joshua tree forests may never come back after a fire. A grassy savannah might rise up to replace them, with a few Joshua trees scattered throughout as a reminder of what once was.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nowhere is that potential future on greater display than along Morning Star Mine Road, which cuts across the northern reaches of the preserve. On one side of the road there is a Joshua tree forest so dense it looks like a green wall at a distance, with a rich understory of drab greenish-gray bushes. On the other side there’s a graveyard of blackened Joshua trees with sun-bleached buds. The ground is mostly bare, aside from patches of grass, and the color palette is black, white and shades of tan.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1984234\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1984234\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_09_custom-6507473b7144787a889fad9d2f2a6b59823c0e74-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1705\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_09_custom-6507473b7144787a889fad9d2f2a6b59823c0e74-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_09_custom-6507473b7144787a889fad9d2f2a6b59823c0e74-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_09_custom-6507473b7144787a889fad9d2f2a6b59823c0e74-1020x679.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_09_custom-6507473b7144787a889fad9d2f2a6b59823c0e74-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_09_custom-6507473b7144787a889fad9d2f2a6b59823c0e74-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_09_custom-6507473b7144787a889fad9d2f2a6b59823c0e74-1536x1023.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_09_custom-6507473b7144787a889fad9d2f2a6b59823c0e74-2048x1364.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_09_custom-6507473b7144787a889fad9d2f2a6b59823c0e74-1920x1279.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Plant remains hang over Valley View Ranch, one of the sites that burned in the 2020 Dome Fire at Mojave National Preserve. \u003ccite>(Krystal Ramirez/NPR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The road was a firebreak during the 2020 Dome Fire. Flames destroyed an estimated 1.3 million Joshua trees on Cima Dome, an area that was once the park’s grandest example of dense Joshua tree woodland. The area’s relatively high elevation was supposed to serve as a sort of sanctuary — a climate refuge where Joshua trees could continue to thrive amid hotter, drier conditions elsewhere in their range. Then, the fire came – an unexpected destabilizing force that casts that long-term trajectory into question.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hughson trained as a geologist. She talks about the future of the Joshua tree and what might happen at Cima Dome as if she still assesses these seismic ecological changes at the tempo of geologic time. “In the end,” she says, “the desert is going to tell us what it’s going to be and it’s going to show us what it’s going to be.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Replanting hope in the desert\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Scientists are not waiting to see what the desert becomes. They’re actively intervening with an ambitious years-long project to replant some 4,000 Joshua trees at Cima Dome.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Biological science technician Erin Knight walks through a graveyard of dead Joshua trees, near the remains of an old cattle operation called Valley View Ranch. Some of the plants have toppled to the ground. Others still stand, but they’re falling to pieces; the branches that once stretched up to the sky now dangle and sway eerily in the desert wind.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1984235\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1984235\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_05_custom-ddf67a8272af1d1f6982f41a639e917fbd5b81b8-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1705\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_05_custom-ddf67a8272af1d1f6982f41a639e917fbd5b81b8-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_05_custom-ddf67a8272af1d1f6982f41a639e917fbd5b81b8-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_05_custom-ddf67a8272af1d1f6982f41a639e917fbd5b81b8-1020x679.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_05_custom-ddf67a8272af1d1f6982f41a639e917fbd5b81b8-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_05_custom-ddf67a8272af1d1f6982f41a639e917fbd5b81b8-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_05_custom-ddf67a8272af1d1f6982f41a639e917fbd5b81b8-1536x1023.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_05_custom-ddf67a8272af1d1f6982f41a639e917fbd5b81b8-2048x1364.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_05_custom-ddf67a8272af1d1f6982f41a639e917fbd5b81b8-1920x1279.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Erin Knight is a biological science technician at the Mojave National Preserve. \u003ccite>(Krystal Ramirez/NPR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Kind of our own little chandelier here in the desert,” Knight jokes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Small chicken wire cages are scattered throughout the grove. This is where volunteers have planted baby Joshua trees, in hopes of resurrecting the century-old giants that perished here. Knight crouches down near one of the cages, and checks a numbered tag.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She says this seedling was planted on Nov. 6 last year, and a volunteer named it Bratislava — the capital of Slovakia. Unfortunately, this one’s dead, as are many others at this site. In fact, in the two years this project’s been underway, 80% of the roughly 1,900 Joshua trees planted in the burn scar of the Dome Fire have died.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1984230\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1984230\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_17-edit_custom-bbcb6de0b000d7a4b78bf4dfdc7a988596b6668a-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1705\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_17-edit_custom-bbcb6de0b000d7a4b78bf4dfdc7a988596b6668a-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_17-edit_custom-bbcb6de0b000d7a4b78bf4dfdc7a988596b6668a-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_17-edit_custom-bbcb6de0b000d7a4b78bf4dfdc7a988596b6668a-1020x679.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_17-edit_custom-bbcb6de0b000d7a4b78bf4dfdc7a988596b6668a-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_17-edit_custom-bbcb6de0b000d7a4b78bf4dfdc7a988596b6668a-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_17-edit_custom-bbcb6de0b000d7a4b78bf4dfdc7a988596b6668a-1536x1023.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_17-edit_custom-bbcb6de0b000d7a4b78bf4dfdc7a988596b6668a-2048x1364.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_17-edit_custom-bbcb6de0b000d7a4b78bf4dfdc7a988596b6668a-1920x1279.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Charred carcasses of Mojave yuccas, Joshua trees and chollas are seen at the edge of the York Fire in San Bernardino County, California, inside Mojave National Preserve. \u003ccite>(Krystal Ramirez/NPR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Unfortunately, restoring Joshua trees is more of an art than a science, and sometimes it works out really well and sometimes it doesn’t,” Hughson says. Some of the baby Joshua trees have been eaten, especially those without a cage. Others die of thirst, though volunteers and scientists at the preserve make their best efforts to water the baby seedlings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s been hundreds and hundreds of volunteers that have participated. We even had a camel train packing water into these,” Hughson says. Restoration work in the desert, she explains, is not for the faint of heart.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1984236\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1984236\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_14_custom-3ed023c31490c2b4a8b0f4afe63ddd822f9ecd46-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1705\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_14_custom-3ed023c31490c2b4a8b0f4afe63ddd822f9ecd46-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_14_custom-3ed023c31490c2b4a8b0f4afe63ddd822f9ecd46-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_14_custom-3ed023c31490c2b4a8b0f4afe63ddd822f9ecd46-1020x679.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_14_custom-3ed023c31490c2b4a8b0f4afe63ddd822f9ecd46-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_14_custom-3ed023c31490c2b4a8b0f4afe63ddd822f9ecd46-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_14_custom-3ed023c31490c2b4a8b0f4afe63ddd822f9ecd46-1536x1023.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_14_custom-3ed023c31490c2b4a8b0f4afe63ddd822f9ecd46-2048x1364.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_14_custom-3ed023c31490c2b4a8b0f4afe63ddd822f9ecd46-1920x1279.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Supervisory park ranger Sierra Willoughby waters a baby Joshua tree, named ‘Lychee,’ inside its protective cage. \u003ccite>(Krystal Ramirez/NPR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“It’s a tale of failed experiments,” Hughson says. “Go look at the literature on restoration in the desert, especially the Mojave Desert. And OK, ‘Well, this didn’t work.’ Another paper on, ‘Well, that didn’t work.’ ‘OK, well, we tried this, and we failed miserably.’ And the stories of success are very rare.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, hundreds of these Joshua tree seedlings have survived. Knight’s colleague Ryan McRae found one nearby. It’s only a few inches tall, and looks like the top of a baby pineapple. Knight looks up its name, and says it’s called “Lychee.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1984237\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1984237\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_59_custom-a8038b813b6ae0c89086f9158f89aaae227e6e4d-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1705\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_59_custom-a8038b813b6ae0c89086f9158f89aaae227e6e4d-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_59_custom-a8038b813b6ae0c89086f9158f89aaae227e6e4d-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_59_custom-a8038b813b6ae0c89086f9158f89aaae227e6e4d-1020x679.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_59_custom-a8038b813b6ae0c89086f9158f89aaae227e6e4d-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_59_custom-a8038b813b6ae0c89086f9158f89aaae227e6e4d-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_59_custom-a8038b813b6ae0c89086f9158f89aaae227e6e4d-1536x1023.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_59_custom-a8038b813b6ae0c89086f9158f89aaae227e6e4d-2048x1364.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_59_custom-a8038b813b6ae0c89086f9158f89aaae227e6e4d-1920x1279.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A surviving Joshua tree inside the Mojave National Preserve. \u003ccite>(Krystal Ramirez/NPR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>It’s still tiny, and McRae points out one of the huge challenges of restoring a forest with two-inch-tall seedlings. “These Joshua trees only grow about 1.5 to 2 inches per year. So if you can imagine a 10-foot-tall tree or so, you can get an idea of how many years or decades it would take to get to that height.” At a conservative 1.5 inches per year — it would take at least 80 years to return this area back to the way it was before the fire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We probably won’t see it in any of our lives,” Knight says.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Preparing for the future\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Kelso is an old railroad town in another corner of the park near a giant field of sand dunes. Behind a 1920s schoolhouse, there’s a small beige building with two bright teal doors reading BOYS and GIRLS. There’s no sign from the outside, but the GIRLS room is now a makeshift field lab.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1984238\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1984238\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_40_custom-002484d6c789abb2a9ed1eb900b6a035bd37bd13-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1705\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_40_custom-002484d6c789abb2a9ed1eb900b6a035bd37bd13-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_40_custom-002484d6c789abb2a9ed1eb900b6a035bd37bd13-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_40_custom-002484d6c789abb2a9ed1eb900b6a035bd37bd13-1020x679.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_40_custom-002484d6c789abb2a9ed1eb900b6a035bd37bd13-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_40_custom-002484d6c789abb2a9ed1eb900b6a035bd37bd13-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_40_custom-002484d6c789abb2a9ed1eb900b6a035bd37bd13-1536x1023.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_40_custom-002484d6c789abb2a9ed1eb900b6a035bd37bd13-2048x1364.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_40_custom-002484d6c789abb2a9ed1eb900b6a035bd37bd13-1920x1279.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Seed technician Christina Sanchez stands outside the old restroom that’s been converted into a seed lab, behind the historic Kelso schoolhouse. \u003ccite>(Krystal Ramirez/NPR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“This is our seed lab,” says Christina Sanchez, a seed technician. “This is where we’re sorting all of the Joshua tree seeds, and where we store them before they go to the nursery.” The nursery is a facility near Lake Mead, where rows of pots contain baby Joshua tree sprouts, ready to be transplanted into the wild.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sanchez pulls over a big bucket, full of cream-colored Joshua tree fruits she and her team have collected. She takes one out and shakes it: “Sounds like a little rattle,” she says. The seeds are about the size of roma tomatoes, but they’re brittle and hard. She breaks one open with a crack, and reveals the black hockey-puck-like seeds inside.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A curious contraption that looks like a cross between an ant farm and a pinball machine hooks up to a shop vac blower. It’s a seed cleaning machine, and when Sanchez switches on the blower, the seeds flutter through the chutes inside.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1984239\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1984239\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/mojave-fire-trio_custom-0b8a68fcf7b1839732e5970ecf3b645e51c7554e-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1812\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/mojave-fire-trio_custom-0b8a68fcf7b1839732e5970ecf3b645e51c7554e-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/mojave-fire-trio_custom-0b8a68fcf7b1839732e5970ecf3b645e51c7554e-800x566.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/mojave-fire-trio_custom-0b8a68fcf7b1839732e5970ecf3b645e51c7554e-1020x722.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/mojave-fire-trio_custom-0b8a68fcf7b1839732e5970ecf3b645e51c7554e-160x113.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/mojave-fire-trio_custom-0b8a68fcf7b1839732e5970ecf3b645e51c7554e-768x544.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/mojave-fire-trio_custom-0b8a68fcf7b1839732e5970ecf3b645e51c7554e-1536x1087.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/mojave-fire-trio_custom-0b8a68fcf7b1839732e5970ecf3b645e51c7554e-2048x1449.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/mojave-fire-trio_custom-0b8a68fcf7b1839732e5970ecf3b645e51c7554e-1920x1359.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Clockwise from top left: Sanchez opens Joshua tree seed pods. Right: She then separates the seeds with a seed cleaning machine. Bottom left: Sanchez shows a handful of seeds after they have been separated. \u003ccite>(Krystal Ramirez/NPR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>From here, she’ll dump the viable seeds into big jars, labeled with the collection site, and put them in a big chest freezer. The freezer is already half full of jars brimming with some 300,000 Joshua tree seeds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is the future of the species,” Sanchez says. “This deep freezer here, this is holding our future.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many of the Joshua tree seedlings planted so far have died, raising the question whether collecting and storing seeds is a gesture of hope.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re going to lose a species if we don’t try,” she says. “We just gotta keep trying.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1984240\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1984240\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_52_custom-5e07e098f0aa839d06d569bafc0c04cc54a3d7ed-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1705\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_52_custom-5e07e098f0aa839d06d569bafc0c04cc54a3d7ed-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_52_custom-5e07e098f0aa839d06d569bafc0c04cc54a3d7ed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_52_custom-5e07e098f0aa839d06d569bafc0c04cc54a3d7ed-1020x679.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_52_custom-5e07e098f0aa839d06d569bafc0c04cc54a3d7ed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_52_custom-5e07e098f0aa839d06d569bafc0c04cc54a3d7ed-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_52_custom-5e07e098f0aa839d06d569bafc0c04cc54a3d7ed-1536x1023.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_52_custom-5e07e098f0aa839d06d569bafc0c04cc54a3d7ed-2048x1364.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_52_custom-5e07e098f0aa839d06d569bafc0c04cc54a3d7ed-1920x1279.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sanchez stands next to a chest freezer holding a jar of Joshua tree seeds that were harvested prior to the York Fire. The freezer is already half full of jars brimming with roughly 300,000 Joshua tree seeds. \u003ccite>(Krystal Ramirez/NPR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Debra Hughson acknowledges that the replanting effort is just a “drop in the ocean,” given the massive losses of Joshua trees here in recent years. “That’s a few hundred we’ve managed, in a landscape that had 1.3 million,” she says. “So you can do the math.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Numbers aside, Hughson expresses skepticism that people really have much of a role in “rebuilding” wilderness. “I don’t think that wilderness areas can be built. They can be designated, but nature created it,” she says. “We seem to be capable of destroying it … but we can’t create something that we don’t really even understand.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1984241\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1984241\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_11_custom-02457637f193030b8433188b613f4e908e2d1e06-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1705\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_11_custom-02457637f193030b8433188b613f4e908e2d1e06-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_11_custom-02457637f193030b8433188b613f4e908e2d1e06-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_11_custom-02457637f193030b8433188b613f4e908e2d1e06-1020x679.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_11_custom-02457637f193030b8433188b613f4e908e2d1e06-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_11_custom-02457637f193030b8433188b613f4e908e2d1e06-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_11_custom-02457637f193030b8433188b613f4e908e2d1e06-1536x1023.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_11_custom-02457637f193030b8433188b613f4e908e2d1e06-2048x1364.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/2023-08-joshuatressjojavedesert-kramirez_11_custom-02457637f193030b8433188b613f4e908e2d1e06-1920x1279.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A Banana yucca sprouts in the burned landscape near Valley View Ranch. \u003ccite>(Krystal Ramirez/NPR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Even so, the replanting project continues in October. The goal is to get 2,000 more Joshua trees in the ground over the next two years, and as before, \u003ca href=\"https://www.nps.gov/moja/getinvolved/cima-dome-joshua-tree-forest-restoration.htm\">the preserve is relying on wilderness-savvy volunteers\u003c/a>. That human aspect, Hughson says, might be one of the most compelling reasons to do what seems very difficult, if not near impossible, on an ecological scale.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It makes us feel better. You know, psychologically, there were a lot of people that got a lot of good feelings and satisfaction from helping with the Joshua tree planting,” she says. “And to try to help makes you feel better about yourself and more hopeful about the future. And that in itself is a valuable thing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=In+a+charred+moonscape%2C+a+band+of+hopeful+workers+try+to+save+the+Joshua+tree&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/div>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Ocean temperatures have been extremely hot this summer, wreaking havoc on some of the world’s highly vulnerable coral reefs. With marine heat waves only expected to get worse as the climate changes, scientists are increasingly focusing on an emergency plan: collecting coral specimens and safeguarding them onshore.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A library of corals, brought in from the wild, could be an insurance policy in the face of climate change, providing the genetic material to restore the reefs of the future. For long-term storage, some corals could end up in the deep freezer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Scientists are working on preserving corals by cryogenically freezing them. In a new study, a team from the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, UC Berkeley and the University of Hawaii at Manoa report they \u003ca href=\"https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-40500-w\">successfully brought a coral fragment back to life\u003c/a> after freezing it at -196 degrees Celsius.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The world’s coral reefs face an existential threat from climate change, if humans don’t reduce emissions from burning fossil fuels. The reefs’ vital ecosystems support about a quarter of all marine life and provide coastal protection from waves and storm surge.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cryopreservation, as the freezing technique is known, could provide a safe haven for the broad range genetic material across coral species, which could be key to adapting to future conditions. In Florida, as water temperatures rose to 100 degrees Fahrenheit this summer, restoration teams raced to collect coral specimens and put them in onshore tanks to preserve the unique individuals of the reef.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have to gut through this,” says Mary Hagedorn, senior scientist at Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute and the University of Hawaii at Manoa. “We have to do whatever is necessary to maintain the ecosystems on our planet.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Deep freezing coral\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>As a cryo-preservationist, Hagedorn gets questions that border science fiction, where humans seek to preserve themselves for centuries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They think of head freezers,” she says, laughing. “They think of all this weird stuff.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Instead, her work is much closer to human fertility treatments, where eggs and sperm are frozen to use later. Marine scientists have used the technique on coral sperm and young coral larvae, but freezing a living animal is much more complex.[pullquote align=\"right\" size=\"medium\" citation=\"Mary Hagedorn, senior scientist, National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute and the University of Hawaii\"]‘We have to gut through this. … We have to do whatever is necessary to maintain the ecosystems on our planet.’[/pullquote]Collecting coral sperm is tricky, however, since most corals only spawn only one or two days a year. Since they’re fastened to the sea floor, they release their genetic material all at once in big underwater clouds. To capture it, scientists have to be in the right place at the right time, often in remote and challenging conditions. Preserving living pieces of coral would allow more opportunities to collect specimens.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That would allow us to go out almost every day of the year and collect material throughout the world,” Hagedorn says. “It would speed up our ability to secure the genetic diversity of corals.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With coral fragments from Hawaii, Hagedorn and her colleagues froze them at extremely cold temperatures in special chambers that prevent damaging ice crystals from forming. They were then able to thaw them and show the corals were still alive.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Making the corals healthy again after thawing is the next challenge, especially given that corals have roommates. Photosynthetic algae live in their tissue, creating food for the coral. But when stressed, the corals lose their algae, turning them white. Hagedorn says goring forward, restoring the algae will be key to reviving coral that can reproduce again.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Genetic library of coral\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>As marine heat waves become more common and intense, a global effort is underway to preserve the genetic diversity of corals. The \u003ca href=\"https://nationalzoo.si.edu/center-for-species-survival/coral-biobank-alliance\">Coral Biobank Alliance\u003c/a> is seeking to collect specimens from all over the world. Hagedorn says cryopreservation could be a vital strategy for building a library of corals, which hopefully one day could repopulate reefs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Noah’s ark only brought two,” she says. “We’re doing way more than that.”[aside label=\"Related Stories\" postID=\"science_29852,science_29756,science_14466\"]Reefs can recover from a bleaching event, but repeated marine heat waves make it less likely for corals to survive or reproduce successfully. The oceans are also acidifying as they absorb carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels, which can harm corals and make it difficult for them to build their skeletons.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Corals will continue to die and unless we are replacing them with restoration, there won’t be corals available in the future, even if we were to fix all of the threats,” says Jennifer Moore, coral recovery coordinator with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As temperatures peaked on Florida’s reefs this summer, Moore says some corals died outright from the heat. Research teams raced to preserve specimens from key coral species, collecting 150 elkhorn coral and 300 staghorn coral samples.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That’s less than one percent of their previous population,” she says. “So we’re already in a diminished state of genetic diversity. We can’t afford to lose anything that we have.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Having those specimens could help breed the reefs of the future, since it’s unknown what combination of genes could make corals more resistant to the threats they may face, be it heat or disease.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Moore says cryopreservation could be a key piece of the puzzle in bringing reefs back. But the success of restoration depends on curbing the emissions from burning fossil fuels.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It is not a foregone conclusion,” Moore says. “There are still things that can be done to combat climate change so that we are not forced to be on a trajectory to a place where there are no more coral reefs.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=One+way+to+save+coral+reefs%3F+Deep+freeze+them+for+the+future&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/div>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The world’s coral reefs face an existential threat from climate change, if humans don’t reduce emissions from burning fossil fuels. The reefs’ vital ecosystems support about a quarter of all marine life and provide coastal protection from waves and storm surge.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cryopreservation, as the freezing technique is known, could provide a safe haven for the broad range genetic material across coral species, which could be key to adapting to future conditions. In Florida, as water temperatures rose to 100 degrees Fahrenheit this summer, restoration teams raced to collect coral specimens and put them in onshore tanks to preserve the unique individuals of the reef.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have to gut through this,” says Mary Hagedorn, senior scientist at Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute and the University of Hawaii at Manoa. “We have to do whatever is necessary to maintain the ecosystems on our planet.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Deep freezing coral\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>As a cryo-preservationist, Hagedorn gets questions that border science fiction, where humans seek to preserve themselves for centuries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They think of head freezers,” she says, laughing. “They think of all this weird stuff.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Instead, her work is much closer to human fertility treatments, where eggs and sperm are frozen to use later. Marine scientists have used the technique on coral sperm and young coral larvae, but freezing a living animal is much more complex.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Collecting coral sperm is tricky, however, since most corals only spawn only one or two days a year. Since they’re fastened to the sea floor, they release their genetic material all at once in big underwater clouds. To capture it, scientists have to be in the right place at the right time, often in remote and challenging conditions. Preserving living pieces of coral would allow more opportunities to collect specimens.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That would allow us to go out almost every day of the year and collect material throughout the world,” Hagedorn says. “It would speed up our ability to secure the genetic diversity of corals.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With coral fragments from Hawaii, Hagedorn and her colleagues froze them at extremely cold temperatures in special chambers that prevent damaging ice crystals from forming. They were then able to thaw them and show the corals were still alive.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Making the corals healthy again after thawing is the next challenge, especially given that corals have roommates. Photosynthetic algae live in their tissue, creating food for the coral. But when stressed, the corals lose their algae, turning them white. Hagedorn says goring forward, restoring the algae will be key to reviving coral that can reproduce again.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Genetic library of coral\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>As marine heat waves become more common and intense, a global effort is underway to preserve the genetic diversity of corals. The \u003ca href=\"https://nationalzoo.si.edu/center-for-species-survival/coral-biobank-alliance\">Coral Biobank Alliance\u003c/a> is seeking to collect specimens from all over the world. Hagedorn says cryopreservation could be a vital strategy for building a library of corals, which hopefully one day could repopulate reefs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Noah’s ark only brought two,” she says. “We’re doing way more than that.”\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Reefs can recover from a bleaching event, but repeated marine heat waves make it less likely for corals to survive or reproduce successfully. The oceans are also acidifying as they absorb carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels, which can harm corals and make it difficult for them to build their skeletons.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Corals will continue to die and unless we are replacing them with restoration, there won’t be corals available in the future, even if we were to fix all of the threats,” says Jennifer Moore, coral recovery coordinator with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As temperatures peaked on Florida’s reefs this summer, Moore says some corals died outright from the heat. Research teams raced to preserve specimens from key coral species, collecting 150 elkhorn coral and 300 staghorn coral samples.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That’s less than one percent of their previous population,” she says. “So we’re already in a diminished state of genetic diversity. We can’t afford to lose anything that we have.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Having those specimens could help breed the reefs of the future, since it’s unknown what combination of genes could make corals more resistant to the threats they may face, be it heat or disease.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Moore says cryopreservation could be a key piece of the puzzle in bringing reefs back. But the success of restoration depends on curbing the emissions from burning fossil fuels.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It is not a foregone conclusion,” Moore says. “There are still things that can be done to combat climate change so that we are not forced to be on a trajectory to a place where there are no more coral reefs.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=One+way+to+save+coral+reefs%3F+Deep+freeze+them+for+the+future&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/div>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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1693578600000
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"title": "As Klamath Dams Come Down, a Once-in-a-Generation River Restoration Begins",
"headTitle": "As Klamath Dams Come Down, a Once-in-a-Generation River Restoration Begins | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>[dropcap]O[/dropcap]shun O’Rourke waded into the dark green water, splashing toward a net that her colleagues gently closed around a cluster of finger-length fish.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Klamath River is wide and still here, making its final turn north to the coast as it winds through the Yurok reservation in Humboldt County. About 150 baby chinook salmon, on their long journey to the Pacific, were resting in cool waters that poured down from the forest.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>O’Rourke’s colleagues hoisted the net into a mesh-sided bin in the shallows to sort through their catch, in search of young chinook to test for a parasite \u003ca href=\"https://microbiology.oregonstate.edu.prod.acquia.cosine.oregonstate.edu/research/aquatic-microbiology-ecology/monitoring-studies\">that can rot fish from the inside\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Two years ago, during a deepening drought, most \u003ca href=\"https://kbmp.net/images/stories/pdf/KFHAT/2022/Final_KR21_Report_1-31-22.pdf\">salmon captured for testing (PDF)\u003c/a> during peak migration were infected with the lethal parasite. One tribal leader called it “\u003ca href=\"https://www.yuroktribe.org/post/catastrophic-juvenile-fish-kill-unfolds-in-real-time-on-the-klamath-river#:~:text=On%20May%204%2C%202021%2C%20the,will%20be%20dead%20within%20days.\">an absolute worst-case scenario\u003c/a>” for the Yurok, who rely on salmon for their food, culture and economy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>O’Rourke and fisheries biologist Leanne Knutson laid out 20 small dead fish on paper towels, then wrapped them in plastic to send to a lab that will check for the parasite. The rest were released back into the river, where they will swim for days to reach the ocean.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A few years from now, when these fish return as adults ready to spawn, it will be to a Klamath remade.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“These ones will return either as 3- or 4-year-olds,” O’Rourke said, standing barefoot on the riverbank flecked with fool’s gold and crossed by an otter’s footprints. “And the dams will be gone.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For \u003ca href=\"https://www.pacificorp.com/content/dam/pcorp/documents/en/pacificorp/energy/hydro/klamath-river/relicensing/klamath-final-license-application/Appendix_E_6D_Historic_Context.pdf\">more than a hundred years (PDF)\u003c/a>, dams have \u003ca href=\"https://www.fws.gov/sites/default/files/documents/Full%20SDOR%20accessible%20022216.pdf\">stilled the Klamath’s flows (PDF)\u003c/a>, jeopardizing the salmon and other fish, and creating \u003ca href=\"https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/688342\">ideal conditions for the parasite to spread\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But now these vestiges of an early \u003ca href=\"https://energyhistory.yale.edu/the-big-dam-era/\">20th-century approach to water and power\u003c/a> are being dismantled: The \u003ca href=\"https://www.usgs.gov/centers/california-water-science-center/science/klamath-dam-removal-studies#:~:text=Klamath%20River%2C%20California&text=The%20planned%20removal%20of%20four,restoration%20efforts%20in%20US%20history.\">world’s largest dam removal project\u003c/a> is now underway on the Klamath River.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By \u003ca href=\"https://klamathrenewal.org/project-materials/\">the end of 2024\u003c/a>, four aging hydroelectric dams spanning the California-Oregon state line will be gone. One hundred thousand cubic yards of concrete, 1.3 million cubic yards of earth and 2,000 tons of steel will be hauled out of the river’s path.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tribal members, researchers, rural residents near the dams, conservationists and the fishing industry are all anxiously waiting to see how this river, dammed for decades, will change — and with it, its fish, wildlife and human neighbors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s an existential question for rivers, especially in a region where water left in nature is often deemed wasted: “Once a river is dammed, is it damned forever?” \u003ca href=\"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6327834/\">experts ask\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So many uncertainties remain as the Klamath reemerges: Will sediment from the demolition harm the river and its inhabitants? Will healthy numbers of salmon finally return? Will it flood its banks more readily? What will the riverfront look like?\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1984165\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1984165\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/072023_Yurok-Salmon-Counting_SN_CM_12-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/072023_Yurok-Salmon-Counting_SN_CM_12-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/072023_Yurok-Salmon-Counting_SN_CM_12-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/072023_Yurok-Salmon-Counting_SN_CM_12-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/072023_Yurok-Salmon-Counting_SN_CM_12-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/072023_Yurok-Salmon-Counting_SN_CM_12-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/072023_Yurok-Salmon-Counting_SN_CM_12-1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/072023_Yurok-Salmon-Counting_SN_CM_12.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Young chinook salmon are collected for lab testing on the Klamath River near Weitchpec on July 20, 2023. \u003ccite>(Semantha Norris/CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1984188\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1985px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1984188 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/calmatters1.png\" alt=\"On left: Gilbert Myers, Oshun O’Rourke, Keenan O’Rourke and Leanne Knutson. In middle: Keenan O’Rourke. On right: The technicians open a probe to collect tracking data. \" width=\"1985\" height=\"434\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/calmatters1.png 1985w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/calmatters1-800x175.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/calmatters1-1020x223.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/calmatters1-160x35.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/calmatters1-768x168.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/calmatters1-1536x336.png 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/calmatters1-1920x420.png 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1985px) 100vw, 1985px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Fisheries biologists and technicians from the Yurok Tribe’s Klamath program are collecting salmon on the Klamath River. On left: Gilbert Myers, Oshun O’Rourke, Keenan O’Rourke and Leanne Knutson. In middle: Keenan O’Rourke. On right: The technicians open a probe to collect tracking data. \u003ccite>(Semantha Norris/CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>For O’Rourke, 31, a Yurok tribal member, the Klamath is more than a study subject — it’s home for her and her team, and the lifeblood of their tribe, which has inhabited this region since time immemorial. From the research boat, she gestures to the stretch of river where she grew up in her ancestral village, fishing with her father.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>O’Rourke is hopeful that tearing down the dams will mean her son will have salmon to fish, too. But, as a scientist, she plans to investigate, seeking evidence that the river will rebound for the next generation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s hard to say for sure,” she said, “what things will be like in the future.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘To fix a place and right past wrongs’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The Klamath is often described \u003ca href=\"https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/west-coast/habitat-conservation/klamath-river-basin\">as an upside-down river\u003c/a>. It’s born in the high deserts of eastern Oregon \u003ca href=\"https://www.usbr.gov/watersmart/bsp/docs/klamath/fullreport.pdf\">as a trickle (PDF)\u003c/a>, and by the time it reaches the Pacific more than 250 miles later, it swells with water drained from more than 12,000 square miles of land, spanning \u003ca href=\"https://www.usbr.gov/watersmart/bsp/docs/klamath/fullreport.pdf\">five national forests and seven counties across two states (PDF)\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s a stretch of river, crossing the California-Oregon state line, where feral horses pick their way up pine-studded slopes and osprey nest on power poles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This is where, \u003ca href=\"https://www.pacificorp.com/content/dam/pcorp/documents/en/pacificorp/energy/hydro/klamath-river/relicensing/klamath-final-license-application/Appendix_E_6D_Historic_Context.pdf\">in 1918 (PDF)\u003c/a>, a power company began operating the first of its hydroelectric dams on the river to light the \u003ca href=\"https://www.pacificorp.com/content/dam/pcorp/documents/en/pacificorp/energy/hydro/klamath-river/relicensing/klamath-final-license-application/Appendix_E_6D_Historic_Context.pdf\">towns and power the farms, mines and mills (PDF)\u003c/a> of California’s far north and Oregon beyond.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This is where dam construction dispossessed \u003ca href=\"https://www.pacificorp.com/content/dam/pcorp/documents/en/pacificorp/energy/hydro/klamath-river/relicensing/klamath-final-license-application/Exhibit_E_Cultural_Resources.pdf\">the Shasta people (PDF)\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.usgs.gov/centers/california-water-science-center/science/klamath-dam-removal-studies#overview\">blockaded salmon runs and stewed the river’s water\u003c/a> into a warm, algal brew — drawing decades of activism from tribes and conservationists.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And this is where demolition has begun.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For more than 20 years, four hydroelectric dams on the Klamath have been \u003ca href=\"https://bringthesalmonhome.org/understanding-dam-removal/\">at the center of a fight\u003c/a> to restore the river.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1984171\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1984171\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071723_Dam-Tour-and-Copco-Lake_SN_CM_05-2-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071723_Dam-Tour-and-Copco-Lake_SN_CM_05-2-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071723_Dam-Tour-and-Copco-Lake_SN_CM_05-2-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071723_Dam-Tour-and-Copco-Lake_SN_CM_05-2-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071723_Dam-Tour-and-Copco-Lake_SN_CM_05-2-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071723_Dam-Tour-and-Copco-Lake_SN_CM_05-2-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071723_Dam-Tour-and-Copco-Lake_SN_CM_05-2-1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071723_Dam-Tour-and-Copco-Lake_SN_CM_05-2.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A view of Iron Gate dam, one of 3 hydroelectric dams being removed on the Klamath River, on July 17, 2023.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1984190\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1990px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1984190 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/calmatters2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1990\" height=\"642\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/calmatters2.png 1990w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/calmatters2-800x258.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/calmatters2-1020x329.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/calmatters2-160x52.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/calmatters2-768x248.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/calmatters2-1536x496.png 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/calmatters2-1920x619.png 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1990px) 100vw, 1990px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">On left: Copco Number 1 Dam. On right: Copco Number 2 Dam. \u003ccite>(Semantha Norris/CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The dams weren’t built to store water for drinking, irrigation, or to stop floods. They generated electricity for PacifiCorp, a subsidiary of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Energy, producing less than 2% of its customers’ power supply.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On one side are Native tribes in California and Oregon, conservationists and the fishing industry — all fighting to restore native salmon, steelhead and Pacific lamprey that have dwindled \u003ca href=\"https://klamathrenewal.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/A7-Full-SDOR-accessible-022216.pdf\">under the combined threats (PDF)\u003c/a> of changing ocean conditions, farming and ranching, timber harvesting, mining, overfishing and dams.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On the other side are \u003ca href=\"https://lamalfa.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/rep-lamalfa-comments-on-klamath-dam-removal-announcement\">nearby residents and their politicians\u003c/a>, who see demolition as another way for state and federal agencies to impose their environmental wills on their rural way of life.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And in the middle is PacifiCorp. The company had planned to \u003ca href=\"https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/west-coast/habitat-conservation/hydroelectric-management-and-dam-removal-activities\">continue operating the dams to generate electricity after its license expired in 2006\u003c/a>. But by 2010, facing growing protests and \u003ca href=\"https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/IF/IF11616\">hundreds of millions of dollars\u003c/a> in federally mandated updates to make them less dangerous to fish, PacifiCorp agreed to demolish them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1984172\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1984172 size-medium\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071923_Yurok-Bug-Sampling_SN_CM_28-800x1200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"1200\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071923_Yurok-Bug-Sampling_SN_CM_28-800x1200.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071923_Yurok-Bug-Sampling_SN_CM_28-1020x1530.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071923_Yurok-Bug-Sampling_SN_CM_28-160x240.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071923_Yurok-Bug-Sampling_SN_CM_28-768x1152.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071923_Yurok-Bug-Sampling_SN_CM_28-1024x1536.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071923_Yurok-Bug-Sampling_SN_CM_28.jpg 1333w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Klamath River near Happy Camp on July 19, 2023. \u003ccite>(Semantha Norris/CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Deals between the company, California, Oregon, the Secretary of the Interior and others were struck, blocked in Congress, and remade until, last \u003ca href=\"https://resources.ca.gov/Newsroom/Page-Content/News-List/Federal-Energy-regulator-gives-final-go-ahead-for-historic-Klamath-Dam-removal-plan\">November, when federal energy regulators gave their final blessing\u003c/a> to demolish the dams.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s about damn time we got this done,” California Gov. Gavin Newsom \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7rACSwN4g4\">said in December at the fish hatchery below Iron Gate dam\u003c/a>, the most downstream of the dams slated for demolition.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California taxpayers will cover $250 million of the roughly $450–$500 million bill with funds from the Proposition 1 water bond approved by voters in 2014. Another $200 million comes from \u003ca href=\"https://www.pacificorp.com/content/dam/pcorp/documents/en/pacificorp/energy/hydro/klamath-river/khsa-implementation/implementation-plans/2021-10-21_2020-KHSA-Impl-Rpt.pdf\">surcharges that PacifiCorp customers (PDF)\u003c/a>, mostly in Oregon, have already paid.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For California officials, the cost of demolishing a private company’s infrastructure is worth the benefit of a more free-flowing river.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Sometimes, the need to do something so bold — to fix a place and right past wrongs — means you have to sit down and just be pragmatic on how you’re going to get a deal done,” \u003ca href=\"https://wildlife.ca.gov/Director\">Chuck Bonham\u003c/a>, director of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, told CalMatters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Native tribes and scientists see demolition as a victory for the river’s first peoples and the fish they depend on for their food, cultures and livelihoods. Chinook populations have crashed, so much so that the 2023 \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/water/2023/03/california-salmon-fishery-shut-down/\">fishing season was cancelled statewide\u003c/a>. The river’s spring-run chinook are listed as threatened under California endangered species law, while coho are listed under both the state and federal laws.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1984191\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1984191 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071823_Karuk-Fish-Tagging_SN_CM_01-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071823_Karuk-Fish-Tagging_SN_CM_01-1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071823_Karuk-Fish-Tagging_SN_CM_01-1-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071823_Karuk-Fish-Tagging_SN_CM_01-1-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071823_Karuk-Fish-Tagging_SN_CM_01-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071823_Karuk-Fish-Tagging_SN_CM_01-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071823_Karuk-Fish-Tagging_SN_CM_01-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071823_Karuk-Fish-Tagging_SN_CM_01-1-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mike Polmateer, a Karuk fisheries field supervisor, at Horse Creek along the Klamath River. \u003ccite>(Semantha Norris/CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Removing the dams is expected to reopen more than 400 miles of habitat for steelhead and other threatened and iconic fish, and restore flows that can better flush away toxic algae and disease.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But \u003ca href=\"https://www.siskiyoucountywaterusersassociation.org/\">residents\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.co.siskiyou.ca.us/sites/default/files/fileattachments/natural_resources/page/7851/nr-20190313_siskiyou_county_comments_definite_plan.pdf\">officials (PDF)\u003c/a> in Siskiyou County worry about the sediment that the project will unleash into the river and the consequences of losing a reservoir to re-feed groundwater wells, fight fires and recreate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Landowners mourn lakeside property that will no longer be waterfront as reservoirs vanish and the exposed land becomes the property of the state of California or a designated third party.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1984150\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1984150\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/072023_Yurok-Salmon-Counting_SN_CM_25-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/072023_Yurok-Salmon-Counting_SN_CM_25-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/072023_Yurok-Salmon-Counting_SN_CM_25-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/072023_Yurok-Salmon-Counting_SN_CM_25-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/072023_Yurok-Salmon-Counting_SN_CM_25-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/072023_Yurok-Salmon-Counting_SN_CM_25-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/072023_Yurok-Salmon-Counting_SN_CM_25-1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/072023_Yurok-Salmon-Counting_SN_CM_25.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">‘It’s hard to say for sure what things will be like in the future,’ said Oshun O’Rourke, a senior fisheries biologist with the Yurok Tribe who is shown near a study site along the Klamath River near Weitchpec. \u003ccite>(Semantha Norris/CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>What is clear is that the Klamath won’t return to the river it once was. Designated as a wild and scenic river, the Klamath has long been the nexus of some of the \u003ca href=\"https://islandpress.org/books/water-war-klamath-basin\">West’s fiercest water wars\u003c/a>, and removing PacifiCorp’s hydroelectric dams ends only some of the battles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Other dams will remain upriver in Oregon, where the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation controls flows from Upper Klamath Lake — portioning out too little water to satisfy tribes, wildlife refuges, lake, river, farms and fish. The battle over water allocation will continue, as will the \u003ca href=\"https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/drought/scott_shasta_rivers/docs/2023/petition-minimum-flows.pdf\">fights over tributaries (PDF)\u003c/a> downstream of the dams.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The work is not done, by any means,” O’Rourke said, the Klamath River rushing beside her. “There’s still so much to do after the dams come out.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>As construction begins, ‘there is no going back’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The smallest of the four dams, the \u003ca href=\"https://klamathrenewal.org/the-project/\">33-foot Copco Number 2\u003c/a>, located in Siskiyou County, is already almost gone. Water rushed past it by mid-July, and only a concrete and steel structure on the river’s bank remained visible from above.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Quite a remarkable sight to see and feeling to feel,” said Mark Bransom, CEO of the Klamath River Renewal Corporation, the nonprofit formed to oversee the removal effort. “Knowing that we’ve broken ground and allowed for the river to start that healing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This time last year, Bransom said, the riverbed was dry, the water diverted to generate power. Trees now crowd the canyon floor where they sprouted from a riverbed long absent its river.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By October of 2024, the river will flow freely past the other three dams as well — the J.C. Boyle dam in Oregon and the Copco Number 1 and Iron Gate dams in California’s Siskiyou County.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At this point, Bransom said, “there is no going back.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1984151\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1984151\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071723_Dam-Tour-and-Copco-Lake_SN_CM_25-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071723_Dam-Tour-and-Copco-Lake_SN_CM_25-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071723_Dam-Tour-and-Copco-Lake_SN_CM_25-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071723_Dam-Tour-and-Copco-Lake_SN_CM_25-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071723_Dam-Tour-and-Copco-Lake_SN_CM_25-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071723_Dam-Tour-and-Copco-Lake_SN_CM_25-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071723_Dam-Tour-and-Copco-Lake_SN_CM_25-1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071723_Dam-Tour-and-Copco-Lake_SN_CM_25.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mark Bransom, chief executive officer of the Klamath River Renewal Corporation, stands above the Copco Number 1 Dam, one of four hydroelectric dams being removed on the Klamath River. \u003ccite>(Semantha Norris/CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Driving around the mirror-still reservoirs reveals clusters of activity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Neon-vested workers on the hillsides collect seeds to replant the bare landscape exposed by drained reservoirs. Overlooking Copco Number 1 dam, the pop-pop-pop of target practice in the distance is audible over the din of drilling for a new groundwater monitoring well.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>From a hillside above Iron Gate dam, Bransom explains the \u003ca href=\"https://klamathrenewal.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/LKP-FERC-Definite-Plan.pdf\">vast undertaking (PDF)\u003c/a> that is unmaking four dams and a century of environmental interference.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Starting in January 2024, contractor \u003ca href=\"https://www.kiewit.com/pages/opportunities/klamath-river-renewal-project/\">Kiewit Infrastructure West\u003c/a> will use explosives to blast out concrete walls beneath the spillway at J.C. Boyle dam in Oregon and remove the last plug of concrete from a tunnel drilled into the Copco Number 1 dam downstream. Water will flow into Iron Gate reservoir.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A yellow front-end loader trundles to a tunnel at the base of the Iron Gate dam, next to the spillway. This tunnel is where every drop of muddy water will pour into the river starting in January, draining Iron Gate reservoir by up to about 5 feet a day.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>About 20 million cubic yards of sediment have collected behind the dams over decades — enough to fill about 2 million dump trucks, though only about a quarter to a third of it is expected to end up in the river, Bransom said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The sediment can choke salmon and other life, and cause oxygen levels in the river to drop. But the work will be timed to avoid migrations, and the ill effects are expected to diminish with time and distance. Federal officials report that ultimately the new conditions will be beneficial to the river and its fish.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>From June through October, excavators will dig into the earthen parts of J.C. Boyle dam in Oregon and use the material to fill in an eroded riverbank and the canal diverting water to the powerhouse.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-1984152\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/Klamath-River_dam-removal-scaled-1-800x618.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"618\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/Klamath-River_dam-removal-scaled-1-800x618.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/Klamath-River_dam-removal-scaled-1-1020x788.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/Klamath-River_dam-removal-scaled-1-160x124.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/Klamath-River_dam-removal-scaled-1-768x593.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/Klamath-River_dam-removal-scaled-1-1536x1187.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/Klamath-River_dam-removal-scaled-1-2048x1582.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/Klamath-River_dam-removal-scaled-1-1920x1484.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Contractors will use explosives to break up the concrete of the Copco Number 1 dam into chunks and cart it away. Iron Gate will be unzipped from top to bottom by excavators that will deposit the earth in the spillway and a scar left by the dam’s construction.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://klamathrenewal.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Klamath_Brochure_Restoring_Habitat_May2021.pdf\">Restoration (PDF)\u003c/a> will also start when the reservoirs are drained, replanting the newly exposed land and restoring habitat.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Looking down at Iron Gate dam, where water still churns from the turbines generating power, Bransom said he thinks of the river as a creature exploring new territory.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m most curious and excited to basically watch the river emerge, and to see where the river wants to find its way back through this area where it’s been so constrained for 100 years,” Bransom said. “There’ll be some curiosities and trepidation, but it will be only forward progress.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Neighbors living in limbo\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>In the meantime, newlyweds Francis Gill and Danny Fontaine are living in limbo in the Copco Lake community, built on the reservoir, soon to vanish, formed by the Copco Number 1 dam.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gill, chief of the Copco Lake volunteer fire department, and Fontaine, a realtor, own a home, rental properties, the long-empty Copco Lake store and a workshop next door. Gill estimates that around 75 to 85 people live in the community full time — double that when those with vacation homes are there.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At Gill and Fontaine’s workshop, a sign on the wall lists Lake Rules. “Go barefoot,” reads one. “Jump off the dock.” But the water has already lowered enough during deconstruction that the dock now rests on the reservoir’s grassy bank, foreshadowing the future.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1984192\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1984192 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/calmatters3.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"653\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/calmatters3.png 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/calmatters3-800x261.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/calmatters3-1020x333.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/calmatters3-160x52.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/calmatters3-768x251.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/calmatters3-1536x502.png 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/calmatters3-1920x627.png 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Francis Gill, left, and his husband Danny Fontaine, right, in front of their lakefront property on Copco Lake on July 17, 2023. Their property will no longer be lakeside when the dams come down, since the reservoir will disappear. \u003ccite>(Semantha Norris/CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>At first, when the deal was finalized, they were angry — a feeling that \u003ca href=\"https://lamalfa.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/congressmen-lamalfa-and-bentz-klamath-dams-are-engines-of-energy-and\">reverberates across Siskiyou County\u003c/a>, which has long chafed against the reach of state and federal agencies meddling with local industries. County residents \u003ca href=\"https://ballotpedia.org/Klamath_River_Dam_Removal_Advisory_Vote,_Measure_G_(November_2010)\">overwhelmingly voted to keep the dams\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, with dam removal starting in earnest, Gill and Fontaine are feeling more resigned.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s kind of like a facelift,” Fontaine said. “What’s it going to look like? I hope it looks good!”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Do I really trust this doctor?” Gill joked.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/waterrights/water_issues/programs/water_quality_cert/lower_klamath_ferc14803_deir.html\">State\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://klamathrenewal.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/22_0826-3006_P-14803-Final-EIS-Lower-Klamath-Hydrpelectric-Project.pdf\">federal (PDF)\u003c/a> environmental assessments spell out the potential impacts on local residents, including the loss of lakewater for firefighting, some unstable lakeside slopes and a drop in groundwater levels.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Downstream of the dams, floodwaters could rise as much as 20 inches higher during extreme, 100-year floods, with levels dropping back down to normal 19 miles downstream, \u003ca href=\"https://klamathrenewal.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/22_0826-3006_P-14803-Final-EIS-Lower-Klamath-Hydrpelectric-Project.pdf\">according to federal projections (PDF)\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some of the money in the budget — the dam removal corporation won’t say how much — has been set aside for \u003ca href=\"https://klamathmitigation.org/faqs\">an independently managed mitigation fund\u003c/a> that residents can apply to, provided they agree not to sue. CalFire \u003ca href=\"https://klamathrenewal.org/fire-management-plan/\">has also signed off\u003c/a> on a plan \u003ca href=\"https://klamathrenewal.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Fire-Plan-Dec-2022-FERC-14803.pdf\">to address local firefighting capacity (PDF)\u003c/a>, which includes dry hydrants and a camera network to spot fires.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gill and Fontaine fear they will lose access to the water their community was built around. They are holding out hope that at least the river will be close, feeling for the bottom of the lake when they go swimming and measuring it with a depth probe, looking for the river’s original channel. Fontaine thinks he discovered it while swimming off of the store’s boat ramp.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It was kind of exciting, that maybe it could be right there. But we don’t know,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1984155\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1984155\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071723_Dam-Tour-and-Copco-Lake_SN_CM_31-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071723_Dam-Tour-and-Copco-Lake_SN_CM_31-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071723_Dam-Tour-and-Copco-Lake_SN_CM_31-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071723_Dam-Tour-and-Copco-Lake_SN_CM_31-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071723_Dam-Tour-and-Copco-Lake_SN_CM_31-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071723_Dam-Tour-and-Copco-Lake_SN_CM_31-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071723_Dam-Tour-and-Copco-Lake_SN_CM_31-1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071723_Dam-Tour-and-Copco-Lake_SN_CM_31.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Docks lay on the banks of a receding shoreline of Copco Lake on July 17, 2023. This land will soon be riverfront as the reservoir disappears when the dams are removed. \u003ccite>(Semantha Norris/CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>They are clear-eyed about the algae that turns the lake green every summer. But the two aren’t convinced that removing the dams will fix it. Gill said he heard that before the dams were constructed, the river would slow to a trickle between puddles of algae in the summer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The river’s flows will \u003ca href=\"https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/waterrights/water_issues/programs/water_quality_cert/docs/lower_klamath_ferc14803_deir/3_6.pdf\">continue to be controlled by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (PDF)\u003c/a>, which declined to answer CalMatters’ questions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The original locals, the Shasta Indian Nation, also have mixed feelings about the dam removal. Though they support the river’s restoration, they’re bracing for what deconstruction and drainage will reveal. Dispossessed by the dam’s construction, the Shasta Indian Nation now faces disturbance once again of burials and other cultural sites.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There are consequences with the construction of the dams,” said \u003ca href=\"https://www.shastaindiannation.org/tribal-council.html\">Sami Jo Difuntorum\u003c/a>, culture preservation officer of the Shasta Indian Nation. “And now with the dams coming out, we have consequences that are unique to our people — the disruption and disturbance to our sacred sites.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘More than just a river to us’: Awaiting return of healthy salmon\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Richard Marshall, president of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.siskiyoucountywaterusersassociation.org/board\">Siskiyou County Water Users Association\u003c/a>, which opposes dam removal, doubts the disruption will be worth it. The idea that demolition is going to “automatically create salmon,” he said, “is simply not true.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Marshall suspects that warm water upriver, underwater barriers to fish migration and predators have always made the upper basin inhospitable to salmon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Federal scientists disagree. They \u003ca href=\"https://fisheries.org/docs/fisheries_magazine_archive/fisheries_3004.pdf\">point to historical descriptions of chinook (PDF)\u003c/a>, steelhead, coho salmon and lamprey above the dams. A photograph from the Klamath County Historical Society from 1891 shows men in suits, ties and hats displaying their salmon catch on the Link River, which flows from Upper Klamath Lake.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s a matter of timing, said Jim Simondet, Klamath branch supervisor for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s fisheries division. Temperatures should be cold enough and flows sufficient for spring-run chinook salmon, \u003ca href=\"https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=109405&inline\">a state-protected species\u003c/a>, to migrate above the dams in the spring, but should also support fall-run chinook migrating after the heat of the summer subsides.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Simondet said scientists will be keeping a close watch for any bottlenecks that might prevent fish from reaching the upper basin.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s a lot of fish that are bumping their heads up against Iron Gate Dam currently,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The river’s coho salmon, listed as threatened at the \u003ca href=\"https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=109405&inline\">state and federal level\u003c/a>, are also expected to use about 70 miles of habitat above the former dam sites after demolition, Simondet said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1984156\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1984156\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071823_Karuk-Fish-Tagging_SN_CM_16-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071823_Karuk-Fish-Tagging_SN_CM_16-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071823_Karuk-Fish-Tagging_SN_CM_16-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071823_Karuk-Fish-Tagging_SN_CM_16-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071823_Karuk-Fish-Tagging_SN_CM_16-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071823_Karuk-Fish-Tagging_SN_CM_16-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071823_Karuk-Fish-Tagging_SN_CM_16-1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071823_Karuk-Fish-Tagging_SN_CM_16.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Juvenile coho salmon collected for tagging in Horse Creek along the Klamath River. \u003ccite>(Semantha Norris/CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Mike Polmateer is helping the Karuk tribe track them — if and when they do return.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We believe wholeheartedly that once the dams come down, the fish will return,” said Polmateer, a field supervisor with the Karuk Tribal Fisheries Program. The Karuk and the Yurok downriver are the largest tribes in California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Polmateer is also a traditional fisherman and a fatawana, which he describes as a medicine man. He’s been protesting the dams for years, after a \u003ca href=\"https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/waterrights/water_issues/programs/bay_delta/california_waterfix/exhibits/docs/PCFFA&IGFR/part2/pcffa_155.pdf\">massive fish die-off on the lower Klamath in 2002 (PDF)\u003c/a> catalyzed the \u003ca href=\"https://bringthesalmonhome.org/understanding-dam-removal/\">movement to restore the river\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That’s still the water that runs through my veins. We only want it to be taken care of,” Polmateer said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1984157\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1984157\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071823_Karuk-Fish-Tagging_SN_CM_02-800x534.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071823_Karuk-Fish-Tagging_SN_CM_02-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071823_Karuk-Fish-Tagging_SN_CM_02-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071823_Karuk-Fish-Tagging_SN_CM_02-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071823_Karuk-Fish-Tagging_SN_CM_02-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071823_Karuk-Fish-Tagging_SN_CM_02-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071823_Karuk-Fish-Tagging_SN_CM_02-1920x1281.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071823_Karuk-Fish-Tagging_SN_CM_02.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mike Polmateer, a fisheries field supervisor and member of the Karuk tribe, at a pond built as a refuge for coho. \u003ccite>(Semantha Norris/CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1984193\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1984193\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/calmatters-4.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"635\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/calmatters-4.png 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/calmatters-4-800x254.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/calmatters-4-1020x324.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/calmatters-4-160x51.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/calmatters-4-768x244.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/calmatters-4-1536x488.png 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/calmatters-4-1920x610.png 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Left: Juvenile coho salmon are weighed and measured before tagging in Horse Creek. Right: Fisheries technician Clay Tuttle injects a tag into a coho salmon. \u003ccite>(Semantha Norris/CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Highway 96 unfurls along the river from the dry volcanic slopes downstream of the dams to wooded canyons downriver. And just off the highway, tucked away down a bumpy dirt road where horned cattle rest in the shade, is a clear blue pond built as a refuge for young coho salmon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Polmateer meets his team there — three younger men in wetsuits who wade into the pond to capture the small silver fish for tagging.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The operation takes seconds: The fish, less than three inches long, are sedated in a bucket of water laced with clove oil and something more, then weighed, measured and scanned for existing tags. Then, a deft poke into the fish’s abdomen with a needle, and a tag, no bigger than a grain of rice, is slipped inside.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tagged, these coho can be tracked on their way to the ocean and as they return, after the dams are gone.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Polmateer, now 63, will be retired by then, but he hopes that his crew, the next generation, will continue the work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s more than just a river to us. It’s more than just something that harbors fish,” Polmateer said. “It’s who we are as a people. We’re fix-the-world-people, Karuk people are.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Hunting bugs — a critical link in the river’s food web\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Green gobbets of algae raced down the Klamath about 11 miles downriver of Iron Gate dam. Big rigs roared in the opposite direction on Interstate 5 above, rumbling towards Oregon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And in the middle of the river, water up to his knees, stood Yurok fisheries technician Gilbert Meyers, a net plunged into the gravel and muck. A team of researchers was there to take the river’s pulse.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One way to do that, said Meyers’ boss, Jamie Holt, is by capturing bugs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Fish eat bugs, so it directly equates to fish food,” said Holt, a senior fisheries technician with the Yurok Tribe’s Klamath program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1984160\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1984160\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071923_Yurok-Bug-Sampling_SN_CM_02-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071923_Yurok-Bug-Sampling_SN_CM_02-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071923_Yurok-Bug-Sampling_SN_CM_02-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071923_Yurok-Bug-Sampling_SN_CM_02-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071923_Yurok-Bug-Sampling_SN_CM_02-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071923_Yurok-Bug-Sampling_SN_CM_02-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071923_Yurok-Bug-Sampling_SN_CM_02-1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071923_Yurok-Bug-Sampling_SN_CM_02.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Gilbert Myers, a fisheries technician with the Yurok Tribe, collects mayflies and other aquatic bugs from the Klamath River near I-5 on July 19, 2023. \u003ccite>(Semantha Norris/CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1984197\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1984197\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/calmatters5.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"649\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/calmatters5.png 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/calmatters5-800x260.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/calmatters5-1020x331.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/calmatters5-160x52.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/calmatters5-768x249.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/calmatters5-1536x498.png 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/calmatters5-1920x623.png 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Left: Dragonfly larvae collected from the Klamath River. Right: A fly perched on a branch at Tree of Heaven Campground.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Monitoring which insects like mayflies, caddisflies and salmon flies are living where, and in what numbers, offers a real-time view into the river’s health before and after the dams come down. The work, \u003ca href=\"https://sites.google.com/view/lusardi-lab/research?pli=1\">a collaboration with UC Davis and California Trout\u003c/a>, spans the basin, fingerprinting conditions on the Klamath over time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The crew’s next sampling location, at a campground downriver, is more scenic than the site under I-5. But here, too, algae clogs the sampling nets.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A flotilla of children on rafts have scared away the fish the team tries to survey, and they break for food — salmon that Yurok fisheries technician Keenan O’Rourke caught, smoked and jarred last summer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This year, salmon projections are so dismal that federal officials and the Yurok tribe canceled commercial and subsistence fisheries, a devastating decision for people with an average income of \u003ca href=\"https://censusreporter.org/profiles/25200US4760R-yurok-reservation/\">less than $21,000 a year\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1984163\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1984163\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071923_Yurok-Bug-Sampling_SN_CM_12-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071923_Yurok-Bug-Sampling_SN_CM_12-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071923_Yurok-Bug-Sampling_SN_CM_12-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071923_Yurok-Bug-Sampling_SN_CM_12-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071923_Yurok-Bug-Sampling_SN_CM_12-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071923_Yurok-Bug-Sampling_SN_CM_12-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071923_Yurok-Bug-Sampling_SN_CM_12-1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071923_Yurok-Bug-Sampling_SN_CM_12.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jamie Holt, a Yurok senior fisheries technician, examines insects taken from the Klamath River on July 19, 2023. \u003ccite>(Semantha Norris/CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Holt warns that the dam removal won’t be a panacea as the federal government will still control flows upriver. But she’s optimistic about all the ways it will improve the river’s health. “It’s just going to harbor far more life … It’s going to hatch all kinds of bugs, which grow bigger fish,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Holt’s been hearing about demolition of the dams for so long that it doesn’t seem real that they’ll soon be gone.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I kind of joked around for a lot of years that I’ll believe it when I’m floating over where they used to stand,” she said. “And it still kind of holds.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "As four aging hydroelectric dams are demolished, tribes and communities along the Klamath River wait anxiously to see what the future holds. “Once a river is dammed, is it damned forever?” experts ask.",
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"description": "As four aging hydroelectric dams are demolished, tribes and communities along the Klamath River wait anxiously to see what the future holds. “Once a river is dammed, is it damned forever?” experts ask.",
"title": "As Klamath Dams Come Down, a Once-in-a-Generation River Restoration Begins | KQED",
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"headline": "As Klamath Dams Come Down, a Once-in-a-Generation River Restoration Begins",
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"nprByline": "\u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/author/rachel-becker/\">Rachel Becker\u003c/a>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__dropcapShortcode__dropcap\">O\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>shun O’Rourke waded into the dark green water, splashing toward a net that her colleagues gently closed around a cluster of finger-length fish.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Klamath River is wide and still here, making its final turn north to the coast as it winds through the Yurok reservation in Humboldt County. About 150 baby chinook salmon, on their long journey to the Pacific, were resting in cool waters that poured down from the forest.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>O’Rourke’s colleagues hoisted the net into a mesh-sided bin in the shallows to sort through their catch, in search of young chinook to test for a parasite \u003ca href=\"https://microbiology.oregonstate.edu.prod.acquia.cosine.oregonstate.edu/research/aquatic-microbiology-ecology/monitoring-studies\">that can rot fish from the inside\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Two years ago, during a deepening drought, most \u003ca href=\"https://kbmp.net/images/stories/pdf/KFHAT/2022/Final_KR21_Report_1-31-22.pdf\">salmon captured for testing (PDF)\u003c/a> during peak migration were infected with the lethal parasite. One tribal leader called it “\u003ca href=\"https://www.yuroktribe.org/post/catastrophic-juvenile-fish-kill-unfolds-in-real-time-on-the-klamath-river#:~:text=On%20May%204%2C%202021%2C%20the,will%20be%20dead%20within%20days.\">an absolute worst-case scenario\u003c/a>” for the Yurok, who rely on salmon for their food, culture and economy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>O’Rourke and fisheries biologist Leanne Knutson laid out 20 small dead fish on paper towels, then wrapped them in plastic to send to a lab that will check for the parasite. The rest were released back into the river, where they will swim for days to reach the ocean.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A few years from now, when these fish return as adults ready to spawn, it will be to a Klamath remade.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“These ones will return either as 3- or 4-year-olds,” O’Rourke said, standing barefoot on the riverbank flecked with fool’s gold and crossed by an otter’s footprints. “And the dams will be gone.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For \u003ca href=\"https://www.pacificorp.com/content/dam/pcorp/documents/en/pacificorp/energy/hydro/klamath-river/relicensing/klamath-final-license-application/Appendix_E_6D_Historic_Context.pdf\">more than a hundred years (PDF)\u003c/a>, dams have \u003ca href=\"https://www.fws.gov/sites/default/files/documents/Full%20SDOR%20accessible%20022216.pdf\">stilled the Klamath’s flows (PDF)\u003c/a>, jeopardizing the salmon and other fish, and creating \u003ca href=\"https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/688342\">ideal conditions for the parasite to spread\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But now these vestiges of an early \u003ca href=\"https://energyhistory.yale.edu/the-big-dam-era/\">20th-century approach to water and power\u003c/a> are being dismantled: The \u003ca href=\"https://www.usgs.gov/centers/california-water-science-center/science/klamath-dam-removal-studies#:~:text=Klamath%20River%2C%20California&text=The%20planned%20removal%20of%20four,restoration%20efforts%20in%20US%20history.\">world’s largest dam removal project\u003c/a> is now underway on the Klamath River.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By \u003ca href=\"https://klamathrenewal.org/project-materials/\">the end of 2024\u003c/a>, four aging hydroelectric dams spanning the California-Oregon state line will be gone. One hundred thousand cubic yards of concrete, 1.3 million cubic yards of earth and 2,000 tons of steel will be hauled out of the river’s path.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tribal members, researchers, rural residents near the dams, conservationists and the fishing industry are all anxiously waiting to see how this river, dammed for decades, will change — and with it, its fish, wildlife and human neighbors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s an existential question for rivers, especially in a region where water left in nature is often deemed wasted: “Once a river is dammed, is it damned forever?” \u003ca href=\"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6327834/\">experts ask\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So many uncertainties remain as the Klamath reemerges: Will sediment from the demolition harm the river and its inhabitants? Will healthy numbers of salmon finally return? Will it flood its banks more readily? What will the riverfront look like?\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1984165\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1984165\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/072023_Yurok-Salmon-Counting_SN_CM_12-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/072023_Yurok-Salmon-Counting_SN_CM_12-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/072023_Yurok-Salmon-Counting_SN_CM_12-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/072023_Yurok-Salmon-Counting_SN_CM_12-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/072023_Yurok-Salmon-Counting_SN_CM_12-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/072023_Yurok-Salmon-Counting_SN_CM_12-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/072023_Yurok-Salmon-Counting_SN_CM_12-1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/072023_Yurok-Salmon-Counting_SN_CM_12.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Young chinook salmon are collected for lab testing on the Klamath River near Weitchpec on July 20, 2023. \u003ccite>(Semantha Norris/CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1984188\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1985px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1984188 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/calmatters1.png\" alt=\"On left: Gilbert Myers, Oshun O’Rourke, Keenan O’Rourke and Leanne Knutson. In middle: Keenan O’Rourke. On right: The technicians open a probe to collect tracking data. \" width=\"1985\" height=\"434\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/calmatters1.png 1985w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/calmatters1-800x175.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/calmatters1-1020x223.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/calmatters1-160x35.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/calmatters1-768x168.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/calmatters1-1536x336.png 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/calmatters1-1920x420.png 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1985px) 100vw, 1985px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Fisheries biologists and technicians from the Yurok Tribe’s Klamath program are collecting salmon on the Klamath River. On left: Gilbert Myers, Oshun O’Rourke, Keenan O’Rourke and Leanne Knutson. In middle: Keenan O’Rourke. On right: The technicians open a probe to collect tracking data. \u003ccite>(Semantha Norris/CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>For O’Rourke, 31, a Yurok tribal member, the Klamath is more than a study subject — it’s home for her and her team, and the lifeblood of their tribe, which has inhabited this region since time immemorial. From the research boat, she gestures to the stretch of river where she grew up in her ancestral village, fishing with her father.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>O’Rourke is hopeful that tearing down the dams will mean her son will have salmon to fish, too. But, as a scientist, she plans to investigate, seeking evidence that the river will rebound for the next generation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s hard to say for sure,” she said, “what things will be like in the future.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘To fix a place and right past wrongs’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The Klamath is often described \u003ca href=\"https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/west-coast/habitat-conservation/klamath-river-basin\">as an upside-down river\u003c/a>. It’s born in the high deserts of eastern Oregon \u003ca href=\"https://www.usbr.gov/watersmart/bsp/docs/klamath/fullreport.pdf\">as a trickle (PDF)\u003c/a>, and by the time it reaches the Pacific more than 250 miles later, it swells with water drained from more than 12,000 square miles of land, spanning \u003ca href=\"https://www.usbr.gov/watersmart/bsp/docs/klamath/fullreport.pdf\">five national forests and seven counties across two states (PDF)\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s a stretch of river, crossing the California-Oregon state line, where feral horses pick their way up pine-studded slopes and osprey nest on power poles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This is where, \u003ca href=\"https://www.pacificorp.com/content/dam/pcorp/documents/en/pacificorp/energy/hydro/klamath-river/relicensing/klamath-final-license-application/Appendix_E_6D_Historic_Context.pdf\">in 1918 (PDF)\u003c/a>, a power company began operating the first of its hydroelectric dams on the river to light the \u003ca href=\"https://www.pacificorp.com/content/dam/pcorp/documents/en/pacificorp/energy/hydro/klamath-river/relicensing/klamath-final-license-application/Appendix_E_6D_Historic_Context.pdf\">towns and power the farms, mines and mills (PDF)\u003c/a> of California’s far north and Oregon beyond.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This is where dam construction dispossessed \u003ca href=\"https://www.pacificorp.com/content/dam/pcorp/documents/en/pacificorp/energy/hydro/klamath-river/relicensing/klamath-final-license-application/Exhibit_E_Cultural_Resources.pdf\">the Shasta people (PDF)\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.usgs.gov/centers/california-water-science-center/science/klamath-dam-removal-studies#overview\">blockaded salmon runs and stewed the river’s water\u003c/a> into a warm, algal brew — drawing decades of activism from tribes and conservationists.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And this is where demolition has begun.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For more than 20 years, four hydroelectric dams on the Klamath have been \u003ca href=\"https://bringthesalmonhome.org/understanding-dam-removal/\">at the center of a fight\u003c/a> to restore the river.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1984171\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1984171\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071723_Dam-Tour-and-Copco-Lake_SN_CM_05-2-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071723_Dam-Tour-and-Copco-Lake_SN_CM_05-2-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071723_Dam-Tour-and-Copco-Lake_SN_CM_05-2-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071723_Dam-Tour-and-Copco-Lake_SN_CM_05-2-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071723_Dam-Tour-and-Copco-Lake_SN_CM_05-2-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071723_Dam-Tour-and-Copco-Lake_SN_CM_05-2-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071723_Dam-Tour-and-Copco-Lake_SN_CM_05-2-1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071723_Dam-Tour-and-Copco-Lake_SN_CM_05-2.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A view of Iron Gate dam, one of 3 hydroelectric dams being removed on the Klamath River, on July 17, 2023.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1984190\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1990px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1984190 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/calmatters2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1990\" height=\"642\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/calmatters2.png 1990w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/calmatters2-800x258.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/calmatters2-1020x329.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/calmatters2-160x52.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/calmatters2-768x248.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/calmatters2-1536x496.png 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/calmatters2-1920x619.png 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1990px) 100vw, 1990px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">On left: Copco Number 1 Dam. On right: Copco Number 2 Dam. \u003ccite>(Semantha Norris/CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The dams weren’t built to store water for drinking, irrigation, or to stop floods. They generated electricity for PacifiCorp, a subsidiary of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Energy, producing less than 2% of its customers’ power supply.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On one side are Native tribes in California and Oregon, conservationists and the fishing industry — all fighting to restore native salmon, steelhead and Pacific lamprey that have dwindled \u003ca href=\"https://klamathrenewal.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/A7-Full-SDOR-accessible-022216.pdf\">under the combined threats (PDF)\u003c/a> of changing ocean conditions, farming and ranching, timber harvesting, mining, overfishing and dams.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On the other side are \u003ca href=\"https://lamalfa.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/rep-lamalfa-comments-on-klamath-dam-removal-announcement\">nearby residents and their politicians\u003c/a>, who see demolition as another way for state and federal agencies to impose their environmental wills on their rural way of life.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And in the middle is PacifiCorp. The company had planned to \u003ca href=\"https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/west-coast/habitat-conservation/hydroelectric-management-and-dam-removal-activities\">continue operating the dams to generate electricity after its license expired in 2006\u003c/a>. But by 2010, facing growing protests and \u003ca href=\"https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/IF/IF11616\">hundreds of millions of dollars\u003c/a> in federally mandated updates to make them less dangerous to fish, PacifiCorp agreed to demolish them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1984172\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1984172 size-medium\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071923_Yurok-Bug-Sampling_SN_CM_28-800x1200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"1200\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071923_Yurok-Bug-Sampling_SN_CM_28-800x1200.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071923_Yurok-Bug-Sampling_SN_CM_28-1020x1530.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071923_Yurok-Bug-Sampling_SN_CM_28-160x240.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071923_Yurok-Bug-Sampling_SN_CM_28-768x1152.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071923_Yurok-Bug-Sampling_SN_CM_28-1024x1536.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071923_Yurok-Bug-Sampling_SN_CM_28.jpg 1333w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Klamath River near Happy Camp on July 19, 2023. \u003ccite>(Semantha Norris/CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Deals between the company, California, Oregon, the Secretary of the Interior and others were struck, blocked in Congress, and remade until, last \u003ca href=\"https://resources.ca.gov/Newsroom/Page-Content/News-List/Federal-Energy-regulator-gives-final-go-ahead-for-historic-Klamath-Dam-removal-plan\">November, when federal energy regulators gave their final blessing\u003c/a> to demolish the dams.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s about damn time we got this done,” California Gov. Gavin Newsom \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7rACSwN4g4\">said in December at the fish hatchery below Iron Gate dam\u003c/a>, the most downstream of the dams slated for demolition.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California taxpayers will cover $250 million of the roughly $450–$500 million bill with funds from the Proposition 1 water bond approved by voters in 2014. Another $200 million comes from \u003ca href=\"https://www.pacificorp.com/content/dam/pcorp/documents/en/pacificorp/energy/hydro/klamath-river/khsa-implementation/implementation-plans/2021-10-21_2020-KHSA-Impl-Rpt.pdf\">surcharges that PacifiCorp customers (PDF)\u003c/a>, mostly in Oregon, have already paid.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For California officials, the cost of demolishing a private company’s infrastructure is worth the benefit of a more free-flowing river.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Sometimes, the need to do something so bold — to fix a place and right past wrongs — means you have to sit down and just be pragmatic on how you’re going to get a deal done,” \u003ca href=\"https://wildlife.ca.gov/Director\">Chuck Bonham\u003c/a>, director of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, told CalMatters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Native tribes and scientists see demolition as a victory for the river’s first peoples and the fish they depend on for their food, cultures and livelihoods. Chinook populations have crashed, so much so that the 2023 \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/water/2023/03/california-salmon-fishery-shut-down/\">fishing season was cancelled statewide\u003c/a>. The river’s spring-run chinook are listed as threatened under California endangered species law, while coho are listed under both the state and federal laws.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1984191\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1984191 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071823_Karuk-Fish-Tagging_SN_CM_01-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071823_Karuk-Fish-Tagging_SN_CM_01-1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071823_Karuk-Fish-Tagging_SN_CM_01-1-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071823_Karuk-Fish-Tagging_SN_CM_01-1-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071823_Karuk-Fish-Tagging_SN_CM_01-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071823_Karuk-Fish-Tagging_SN_CM_01-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071823_Karuk-Fish-Tagging_SN_CM_01-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071823_Karuk-Fish-Tagging_SN_CM_01-1-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mike Polmateer, a Karuk fisheries field supervisor, at Horse Creek along the Klamath River. \u003ccite>(Semantha Norris/CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Removing the dams is expected to reopen more than 400 miles of habitat for steelhead and other threatened and iconic fish, and restore flows that can better flush away toxic algae and disease.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But \u003ca href=\"https://www.siskiyoucountywaterusersassociation.org/\">residents\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.co.siskiyou.ca.us/sites/default/files/fileattachments/natural_resources/page/7851/nr-20190313_siskiyou_county_comments_definite_plan.pdf\">officials (PDF)\u003c/a> in Siskiyou County worry about the sediment that the project will unleash into the river and the consequences of losing a reservoir to re-feed groundwater wells, fight fires and recreate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Landowners mourn lakeside property that will no longer be waterfront as reservoirs vanish and the exposed land becomes the property of the state of California or a designated third party.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1984150\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1984150\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/072023_Yurok-Salmon-Counting_SN_CM_25-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/072023_Yurok-Salmon-Counting_SN_CM_25-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/072023_Yurok-Salmon-Counting_SN_CM_25-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/072023_Yurok-Salmon-Counting_SN_CM_25-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/072023_Yurok-Salmon-Counting_SN_CM_25-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/072023_Yurok-Salmon-Counting_SN_CM_25-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/072023_Yurok-Salmon-Counting_SN_CM_25-1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/072023_Yurok-Salmon-Counting_SN_CM_25.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">‘It’s hard to say for sure what things will be like in the future,’ said Oshun O’Rourke, a senior fisheries biologist with the Yurok Tribe who is shown near a study site along the Klamath River near Weitchpec. \u003ccite>(Semantha Norris/CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>What is clear is that the Klamath won’t return to the river it once was. Designated as a wild and scenic river, the Klamath has long been the nexus of some of the \u003ca href=\"https://islandpress.org/books/water-war-klamath-basin\">West’s fiercest water wars\u003c/a>, and removing PacifiCorp’s hydroelectric dams ends only some of the battles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Other dams will remain upriver in Oregon, where the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation controls flows from Upper Klamath Lake — portioning out too little water to satisfy tribes, wildlife refuges, lake, river, farms and fish. The battle over water allocation will continue, as will the \u003ca href=\"https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/drought/scott_shasta_rivers/docs/2023/petition-minimum-flows.pdf\">fights over tributaries (PDF)\u003c/a> downstream of the dams.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The work is not done, by any means,” O’Rourke said, the Klamath River rushing beside her. “There’s still so much to do after the dams come out.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>As construction begins, ‘there is no going back’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The smallest of the four dams, the \u003ca href=\"https://klamathrenewal.org/the-project/\">33-foot Copco Number 2\u003c/a>, located in Siskiyou County, is already almost gone. Water rushed past it by mid-July, and only a concrete and steel structure on the river’s bank remained visible from above.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Quite a remarkable sight to see and feeling to feel,” said Mark Bransom, CEO of the Klamath River Renewal Corporation, the nonprofit formed to oversee the removal effort. “Knowing that we’ve broken ground and allowed for the river to start that healing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This time last year, Bransom said, the riverbed was dry, the water diverted to generate power. Trees now crowd the canyon floor where they sprouted from a riverbed long absent its river.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By October of 2024, the river will flow freely past the other three dams as well — the J.C. Boyle dam in Oregon and the Copco Number 1 and Iron Gate dams in California’s Siskiyou County.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At this point, Bransom said, “there is no going back.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1984151\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1984151\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071723_Dam-Tour-and-Copco-Lake_SN_CM_25-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071723_Dam-Tour-and-Copco-Lake_SN_CM_25-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071723_Dam-Tour-and-Copco-Lake_SN_CM_25-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071723_Dam-Tour-and-Copco-Lake_SN_CM_25-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071723_Dam-Tour-and-Copco-Lake_SN_CM_25-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071723_Dam-Tour-and-Copco-Lake_SN_CM_25-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071723_Dam-Tour-and-Copco-Lake_SN_CM_25-1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071723_Dam-Tour-and-Copco-Lake_SN_CM_25.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mark Bransom, chief executive officer of the Klamath River Renewal Corporation, stands above the Copco Number 1 Dam, one of four hydroelectric dams being removed on the Klamath River. \u003ccite>(Semantha Norris/CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Driving around the mirror-still reservoirs reveals clusters of activity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Neon-vested workers on the hillsides collect seeds to replant the bare landscape exposed by drained reservoirs. Overlooking Copco Number 1 dam, the pop-pop-pop of target practice in the distance is audible over the din of drilling for a new groundwater monitoring well.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>From a hillside above Iron Gate dam, Bransom explains the \u003ca href=\"https://klamathrenewal.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/LKP-FERC-Definite-Plan.pdf\">vast undertaking (PDF)\u003c/a> that is unmaking four dams and a century of environmental interference.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Starting in January 2024, contractor \u003ca href=\"https://www.kiewit.com/pages/opportunities/klamath-river-renewal-project/\">Kiewit Infrastructure West\u003c/a> will use explosives to blast out concrete walls beneath the spillway at J.C. Boyle dam in Oregon and remove the last plug of concrete from a tunnel drilled into the Copco Number 1 dam downstream. Water will flow into Iron Gate reservoir.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A yellow front-end loader trundles to a tunnel at the base of the Iron Gate dam, next to the spillway. This tunnel is where every drop of muddy water will pour into the river starting in January, draining Iron Gate reservoir by up to about 5 feet a day.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>About 20 million cubic yards of sediment have collected behind the dams over decades — enough to fill about 2 million dump trucks, though only about a quarter to a third of it is expected to end up in the river, Bransom said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The sediment can choke salmon and other life, and cause oxygen levels in the river to drop. But the work will be timed to avoid migrations, and the ill effects are expected to diminish with time and distance. Federal officials report that ultimately the new conditions will be beneficial to the river and its fish.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>From June through October, excavators will dig into the earthen parts of J.C. Boyle dam in Oregon and use the material to fill in an eroded riverbank and the canal diverting water to the powerhouse.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-1984152\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/Klamath-River_dam-removal-scaled-1-800x618.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"618\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/Klamath-River_dam-removal-scaled-1-800x618.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/Klamath-River_dam-removal-scaled-1-1020x788.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/Klamath-River_dam-removal-scaled-1-160x124.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/Klamath-River_dam-removal-scaled-1-768x593.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/Klamath-River_dam-removal-scaled-1-1536x1187.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/Klamath-River_dam-removal-scaled-1-2048x1582.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/Klamath-River_dam-removal-scaled-1-1920x1484.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Contractors will use explosives to break up the concrete of the Copco Number 1 dam into chunks and cart it away. Iron Gate will be unzipped from top to bottom by excavators that will deposit the earth in the spillway and a scar left by the dam’s construction.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://klamathrenewal.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Klamath_Brochure_Restoring_Habitat_May2021.pdf\">Restoration (PDF)\u003c/a> will also start when the reservoirs are drained, replanting the newly exposed land and restoring habitat.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Looking down at Iron Gate dam, where water still churns from the turbines generating power, Bransom said he thinks of the river as a creature exploring new territory.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m most curious and excited to basically watch the river emerge, and to see where the river wants to find its way back through this area where it’s been so constrained for 100 years,” Bransom said. “There’ll be some curiosities and trepidation, but it will be only forward progress.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Neighbors living in limbo\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>In the meantime, newlyweds Francis Gill and Danny Fontaine are living in limbo in the Copco Lake community, built on the reservoir, soon to vanish, formed by the Copco Number 1 dam.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gill, chief of the Copco Lake volunteer fire department, and Fontaine, a realtor, own a home, rental properties, the long-empty Copco Lake store and a workshop next door. Gill estimates that around 75 to 85 people live in the community full time — double that when those with vacation homes are there.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At Gill and Fontaine’s workshop, a sign on the wall lists Lake Rules. “Go barefoot,” reads one. “Jump off the dock.” But the water has already lowered enough during deconstruction that the dock now rests on the reservoir’s grassy bank, foreshadowing the future.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1984192\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1984192 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/calmatters3.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"653\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/calmatters3.png 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/calmatters3-800x261.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/calmatters3-1020x333.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/calmatters3-160x52.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/calmatters3-768x251.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/calmatters3-1536x502.png 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/calmatters3-1920x627.png 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Francis Gill, left, and his husband Danny Fontaine, right, in front of their lakefront property on Copco Lake on July 17, 2023. Their property will no longer be lakeside when the dams come down, since the reservoir will disappear. \u003ccite>(Semantha Norris/CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>At first, when the deal was finalized, they were angry — a feeling that \u003ca href=\"https://lamalfa.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/congressmen-lamalfa-and-bentz-klamath-dams-are-engines-of-energy-and\">reverberates across Siskiyou County\u003c/a>, which has long chafed against the reach of state and federal agencies meddling with local industries. County residents \u003ca href=\"https://ballotpedia.org/Klamath_River_Dam_Removal_Advisory_Vote,_Measure_G_(November_2010)\">overwhelmingly voted to keep the dams\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, with dam removal starting in earnest, Gill and Fontaine are feeling more resigned.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s kind of like a facelift,” Fontaine said. “What’s it going to look like? I hope it looks good!”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Do I really trust this doctor?” Gill joked.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/waterrights/water_issues/programs/water_quality_cert/lower_klamath_ferc14803_deir.html\">State\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://klamathrenewal.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/22_0826-3006_P-14803-Final-EIS-Lower-Klamath-Hydrpelectric-Project.pdf\">federal (PDF)\u003c/a> environmental assessments spell out the potential impacts on local residents, including the loss of lakewater for firefighting, some unstable lakeside slopes and a drop in groundwater levels.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Downstream of the dams, floodwaters could rise as much as 20 inches higher during extreme, 100-year floods, with levels dropping back down to normal 19 miles downstream, \u003ca href=\"https://klamathrenewal.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/22_0826-3006_P-14803-Final-EIS-Lower-Klamath-Hydrpelectric-Project.pdf\">according to federal projections (PDF)\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some of the money in the budget — the dam removal corporation won’t say how much — has been set aside for \u003ca href=\"https://klamathmitigation.org/faqs\">an independently managed mitigation fund\u003c/a> that residents can apply to, provided they agree not to sue. CalFire \u003ca href=\"https://klamathrenewal.org/fire-management-plan/\">has also signed off\u003c/a> on a plan \u003ca href=\"https://klamathrenewal.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Fire-Plan-Dec-2022-FERC-14803.pdf\">to address local firefighting capacity (PDF)\u003c/a>, which includes dry hydrants and a camera network to spot fires.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gill and Fontaine fear they will lose access to the water their community was built around. They are holding out hope that at least the river will be close, feeling for the bottom of the lake when they go swimming and measuring it with a depth probe, looking for the river’s original channel. Fontaine thinks he discovered it while swimming off of the store’s boat ramp.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It was kind of exciting, that maybe it could be right there. But we don’t know,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1984155\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1984155\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071723_Dam-Tour-and-Copco-Lake_SN_CM_31-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071723_Dam-Tour-and-Copco-Lake_SN_CM_31-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071723_Dam-Tour-and-Copco-Lake_SN_CM_31-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071723_Dam-Tour-and-Copco-Lake_SN_CM_31-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071723_Dam-Tour-and-Copco-Lake_SN_CM_31-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071723_Dam-Tour-and-Copco-Lake_SN_CM_31-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071723_Dam-Tour-and-Copco-Lake_SN_CM_31-1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071723_Dam-Tour-and-Copco-Lake_SN_CM_31.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Docks lay on the banks of a receding shoreline of Copco Lake on July 17, 2023. This land will soon be riverfront as the reservoir disappears when the dams are removed. \u003ccite>(Semantha Norris/CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>They are clear-eyed about the algae that turns the lake green every summer. But the two aren’t convinced that removing the dams will fix it. Gill said he heard that before the dams were constructed, the river would slow to a trickle between puddles of algae in the summer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The river’s flows will \u003ca href=\"https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/waterrights/water_issues/programs/water_quality_cert/docs/lower_klamath_ferc14803_deir/3_6.pdf\">continue to be controlled by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (PDF)\u003c/a>, which declined to answer CalMatters’ questions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The original locals, the Shasta Indian Nation, also have mixed feelings about the dam removal. Though they support the river’s restoration, they’re bracing for what deconstruction and drainage will reveal. Dispossessed by the dam’s construction, the Shasta Indian Nation now faces disturbance once again of burials and other cultural sites.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There are consequences with the construction of the dams,” said \u003ca href=\"https://www.shastaindiannation.org/tribal-council.html\">Sami Jo Difuntorum\u003c/a>, culture preservation officer of the Shasta Indian Nation. “And now with the dams coming out, we have consequences that are unique to our people — the disruption and disturbance to our sacred sites.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘More than just a river to us’: Awaiting return of healthy salmon\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Richard Marshall, president of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.siskiyoucountywaterusersassociation.org/board\">Siskiyou County Water Users Association\u003c/a>, which opposes dam removal, doubts the disruption will be worth it. The idea that demolition is going to “automatically create salmon,” he said, “is simply not true.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Marshall suspects that warm water upriver, underwater barriers to fish migration and predators have always made the upper basin inhospitable to salmon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Federal scientists disagree. They \u003ca href=\"https://fisheries.org/docs/fisheries_magazine_archive/fisheries_3004.pdf\">point to historical descriptions of chinook (PDF)\u003c/a>, steelhead, coho salmon and lamprey above the dams. A photograph from the Klamath County Historical Society from 1891 shows men in suits, ties and hats displaying their salmon catch on the Link River, which flows from Upper Klamath Lake.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s a matter of timing, said Jim Simondet, Klamath branch supervisor for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s fisheries division. Temperatures should be cold enough and flows sufficient for spring-run chinook salmon, \u003ca href=\"https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=109405&inline\">a state-protected species\u003c/a>, to migrate above the dams in the spring, but should also support fall-run chinook migrating after the heat of the summer subsides.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Simondet said scientists will be keeping a close watch for any bottlenecks that might prevent fish from reaching the upper basin.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s a lot of fish that are bumping their heads up against Iron Gate Dam currently,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The river’s coho salmon, listed as threatened at the \u003ca href=\"https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=109405&inline\">state and federal level\u003c/a>, are also expected to use about 70 miles of habitat above the former dam sites after demolition, Simondet said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1984156\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1984156\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071823_Karuk-Fish-Tagging_SN_CM_16-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071823_Karuk-Fish-Tagging_SN_CM_16-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071823_Karuk-Fish-Tagging_SN_CM_16-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071823_Karuk-Fish-Tagging_SN_CM_16-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071823_Karuk-Fish-Tagging_SN_CM_16-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071823_Karuk-Fish-Tagging_SN_CM_16-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071823_Karuk-Fish-Tagging_SN_CM_16-1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071823_Karuk-Fish-Tagging_SN_CM_16.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Juvenile coho salmon collected for tagging in Horse Creek along the Klamath River. \u003ccite>(Semantha Norris/CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Mike Polmateer is helping the Karuk tribe track them — if and when they do return.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We believe wholeheartedly that once the dams come down, the fish will return,” said Polmateer, a field supervisor with the Karuk Tribal Fisheries Program. The Karuk and the Yurok downriver are the largest tribes in California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Polmateer is also a traditional fisherman and a fatawana, which he describes as a medicine man. He’s been protesting the dams for years, after a \u003ca href=\"https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/waterrights/water_issues/programs/bay_delta/california_waterfix/exhibits/docs/PCFFA&IGFR/part2/pcffa_155.pdf\">massive fish die-off on the lower Klamath in 2002 (PDF)\u003c/a> catalyzed the \u003ca href=\"https://bringthesalmonhome.org/understanding-dam-removal/\">movement to restore the river\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That’s still the water that runs through my veins. We only want it to be taken care of,” Polmateer said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1984157\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1984157\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071823_Karuk-Fish-Tagging_SN_CM_02-800x534.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071823_Karuk-Fish-Tagging_SN_CM_02-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071823_Karuk-Fish-Tagging_SN_CM_02-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071823_Karuk-Fish-Tagging_SN_CM_02-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071823_Karuk-Fish-Tagging_SN_CM_02-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071823_Karuk-Fish-Tagging_SN_CM_02-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071823_Karuk-Fish-Tagging_SN_CM_02-1920x1281.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071823_Karuk-Fish-Tagging_SN_CM_02.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mike Polmateer, a fisheries field supervisor and member of the Karuk tribe, at a pond built as a refuge for coho. \u003ccite>(Semantha Norris/CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1984193\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1984193\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/calmatters-4.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"635\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/calmatters-4.png 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/calmatters-4-800x254.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/calmatters-4-1020x324.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/calmatters-4-160x51.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/calmatters-4-768x244.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/calmatters-4-1536x488.png 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/calmatters-4-1920x610.png 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Left: Juvenile coho salmon are weighed and measured before tagging in Horse Creek. Right: Fisheries technician Clay Tuttle injects a tag into a coho salmon. \u003ccite>(Semantha Norris/CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Highway 96 unfurls along the river from the dry volcanic slopes downstream of the dams to wooded canyons downriver. And just off the highway, tucked away down a bumpy dirt road where horned cattle rest in the shade, is a clear blue pond built as a refuge for young coho salmon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Polmateer meets his team there — three younger men in wetsuits who wade into the pond to capture the small silver fish for tagging.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The operation takes seconds: The fish, less than three inches long, are sedated in a bucket of water laced with clove oil and something more, then weighed, measured and scanned for existing tags. Then, a deft poke into the fish’s abdomen with a needle, and a tag, no bigger than a grain of rice, is slipped inside.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tagged, these coho can be tracked on their way to the ocean and as they return, after the dams are gone.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Polmateer, now 63, will be retired by then, but he hopes that his crew, the next generation, will continue the work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s more than just a river to us. It’s more than just something that harbors fish,” Polmateer said. “It’s who we are as a people. We’re fix-the-world-people, Karuk people are.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Hunting bugs — a critical link in the river’s food web\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Green gobbets of algae raced down the Klamath about 11 miles downriver of Iron Gate dam. Big rigs roared in the opposite direction on Interstate 5 above, rumbling towards Oregon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And in the middle of the river, water up to his knees, stood Yurok fisheries technician Gilbert Meyers, a net plunged into the gravel and muck. A team of researchers was there to take the river’s pulse.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One way to do that, said Meyers’ boss, Jamie Holt, is by capturing bugs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Fish eat bugs, so it directly equates to fish food,” said Holt, a senior fisheries technician with the Yurok Tribe’s Klamath program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1984160\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1984160\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071923_Yurok-Bug-Sampling_SN_CM_02-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071923_Yurok-Bug-Sampling_SN_CM_02-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071923_Yurok-Bug-Sampling_SN_CM_02-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071923_Yurok-Bug-Sampling_SN_CM_02-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071923_Yurok-Bug-Sampling_SN_CM_02-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071923_Yurok-Bug-Sampling_SN_CM_02-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071923_Yurok-Bug-Sampling_SN_CM_02-1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071923_Yurok-Bug-Sampling_SN_CM_02.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Gilbert Myers, a fisheries technician with the Yurok Tribe, collects mayflies and other aquatic bugs from the Klamath River near I-5 on July 19, 2023. \u003ccite>(Semantha Norris/CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1984197\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1984197\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/calmatters5.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"649\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/calmatters5.png 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/calmatters5-800x260.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/calmatters5-1020x331.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/calmatters5-160x52.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/calmatters5-768x249.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/calmatters5-1536x498.png 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/calmatters5-1920x623.png 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Left: Dragonfly larvae collected from the Klamath River. Right: A fly perched on a branch at Tree of Heaven Campground.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Monitoring which insects like mayflies, caddisflies and salmon flies are living where, and in what numbers, offers a real-time view into the river’s health before and after the dams come down. The work, \u003ca href=\"https://sites.google.com/view/lusardi-lab/research?pli=1\">a collaboration with UC Davis and California Trout\u003c/a>, spans the basin, fingerprinting conditions on the Klamath over time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The crew’s next sampling location, at a campground downriver, is more scenic than the site under I-5. But here, too, algae clogs the sampling nets.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A flotilla of children on rafts have scared away the fish the team tries to survey, and they break for food — salmon that Yurok fisheries technician Keenan O’Rourke caught, smoked and jarred last summer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This year, salmon projections are so dismal that federal officials and the Yurok tribe canceled commercial and subsistence fisheries, a devastating decision for people with an average income of \u003ca href=\"https://censusreporter.org/profiles/25200US4760R-yurok-reservation/\">less than $21,000 a year\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1984163\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1984163\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071923_Yurok-Bug-Sampling_SN_CM_12-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071923_Yurok-Bug-Sampling_SN_CM_12-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071923_Yurok-Bug-Sampling_SN_CM_12-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071923_Yurok-Bug-Sampling_SN_CM_12-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071923_Yurok-Bug-Sampling_SN_CM_12-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071923_Yurok-Bug-Sampling_SN_CM_12-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071923_Yurok-Bug-Sampling_SN_CM_12-1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/071923_Yurok-Bug-Sampling_SN_CM_12.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jamie Holt, a Yurok senior fisheries technician, examines insects taken from the Klamath River on July 19, 2023. \u003ccite>(Semantha Norris/CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Holt warns that the dam removal won’t be a panacea as the federal government will still control flows upriver. But she’s optimistic about all the ways it will improve the river’s health. “It’s just going to harbor far more life … It’s going to hatch all kinds of bugs, which grow bigger fish,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Holt’s been hearing about demolition of the dams for so long that it doesn’t seem real that they’ll soon be gone.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I kind of joked around for a lot of years that I’ll believe it when I’m floating over where they used to stand,” she said. “And it still kind of holds.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "Climate Change Makes Wildfires in California More Extreme",
"headTitle": "Climate Change Makes Wildfires in California More Extreme | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>During some of the worst hours in Camp Fire, which in 2018 burned the town of Paradise, California to the ground, the fire was growing so fast it \u003ca href=\"https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/09/us/california-wildfires-superlatives-wcx/index.html\">ate up 10,000 acres\u003c/a> within just 90 minutes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wildfires like the\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2018/11/13/667315613/californias-camp-fire-becomes-the-deadliest-in-state-history\"> Camp\u003c/a> Fire that intensify and spread enormously within a\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2019/11/09/777801169/the-camp-fire-destroyed-11-000-homes-a-year-later-only-11-have-been-rebuilt\"> single day, hour, or even minutes\u003c/a>, keep fire experts up at night. Now a \u003ca href=\"https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06444-3\">new study\u003c/a>, published Wednesday in \u003cem>Nature\u003c/em>, uses a machine-learning model to show that climate change has nudged the risk of fast-spreading fires up by about 25% on average in California. That’s compared to a time before humans heated up Earth’s atmosphere by burning vast amounts of fossil fuels.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re seeing the impact of climate change for the first time on that high-resolution fire behavior,” says Patrick Brown, the study’s lead author and a climate scientist at Berkeley’s Breakthrough Institute.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The dangers didn’t increase evenly. Of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.fire.ca.gov/our-impact/statistics\">18,000 California fires\u003c/a> that sprang to life from 2003 to 2020, 380 of them included at least one day when they grew by at least 10,000 acres — an area as big as most of Manhattan. Climate change ramped up the likelihood of that growth for most of the fires–but not all of them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The team found there were critical thresholds governing fire behavior. For fires burning near the thresholds, climate change could tip them into a more dangerous state.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s kind of like if you’re wondering if growing a couple inches will help you dunk,” Brown explains. If you’re really tall already, he says, a few extra inches won’t make a big difference. But if you’re 5′ 10″, a little boost could get you over the rim. “We see the same thing with wildfires. If you’re right on the precipice of these thresholds, then warming causes them to cross over that threshold and increase the risk of danger,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>The atmosphere is a thirstier sponge\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The thresholds were primarily associated with the \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2012/08/24/159848194/in-southwest-worst-case-fire-scenario-plays-out\">vapor pressure deficit\u003c/a>, a fancy term for how air pulls water out of dead or live plants and other burnable materials. Hotter air –one of the hallmarks of human-caused climate change–sucks moisture more strongly out of those pieces of potential tinder. \u003ca href=\"https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/2019EF001210\">Years of prior research\u003c/a> has shown that fires can grow much bigger and more intense when they have plenty of dry, crispy fuel to burn, a factor heavily influenced by big vapor pressure deficits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The new research substantiates those earlier findings, showing fires to be nearly five times likely to burn explosively if those thresholds were crossed. But when the weather was already extremely hot and dry, or by contrast very moist, climate change’s extra nudge didn’t make as big a difference to fire behavior.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As much influence as a heated-up atmosphere can have, it’s far from the only factor at play. “Explosive growth of fires is almost always in some way correlated with high winds,” which whips small fires into enormous ones, points out Max Moritz, a fire expert at the University of California, Santa Barbara, who wasn’t involved in the study.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Where fires start, and how, affects their behavior as well. Fires act differently in forests than in grass or shrublands, or in areas full of houses. “The things we need to continue to keep in mind are the factors alongside climate that are equally if not more important: how is the land use going to change, and how is vegetation going to change?,” says Alexandra Syphard, a fire scientist with the Corvallis, Oregon-based nonprofit Conservation Biology Institute.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The researchers trained a machine learning model on California’s 18,000 fires over the past two decades and the weather conditions under which they burned so that the model could pick out the weather factors that influence fire behavior. Using climate models, they simulated that same world, but minus human-caused climate change. Then they compared fire behavior in the simulated, un-warmed world with the real, overheated one.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Controlling risks for the future\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Risks of explosively growing fires are almost certainly going up, the research found, even if global emissions are reduced quickly and decisively. Global temperatures will continue to rise even after emissions slow or stop, continuing to push fires into more dangerous territory. The number of fast-growing fires could almost double by the end of the century, the researchers found.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But, says Brown, those climate-driven increases in risk can be nearly — or entirely — offset by smarter management of the non-climate parts of the fire story. Clearing extra fuel from \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2022/08/27/1119428879/why-suppressing-wildfires-may-be-making-the-western-fire-crisis-worse\">overcrowded forests\u003c/a> via strategies like\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/pictureshow/2022/06/07/1101257256/neighbors-use-prescribed-fire-to-restore-great-plains-grasslands\"> prescribed fire\u003c/a>, for example, means there’s less fuel to burn. More than \u003ca href=\"https://agu.confex.com/agu/fm20/meetingapp.cgi/Paper/765573\">80% of U.S. fires\u003c/a> are started by people, and those fires burn\u003ca href=\"https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1617394114\"> faster and wider than naturally ignited ones\u003c/a>. Getting that number in check could greatly lessen risks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To Mortiz, the challenge now is partly about considering climate’s influence on wildfire risk while figuring out how to minimize the risks of fire for \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2022/05/16/1098813861/wildfire-home-real-estate-risk-climate-change\">people and their homes\u003c/a> and communities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>His research group has looked at how human-scale decisions, like neighborhood design or house placement, affects \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2020/10/21/924507691/millions-of-homes-are-at-risk-of-wildfires-but-its-rarely-disclosed\">wildfire risks to communities\u003c/a>. “We realized the strength of housing densities on fire activity rivals the strength of climate variables in some parts of California,” he says. Those choices are well within peoples’ ability to control, through zoning policy, or building codes, or \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1941685/this-california-neighborhood-was-built-to-survive-a-wildfire-and-it-worked\">fire-smart neighborhood design\u003c/a>. “We have to be more holistic in our understanding of ‘risk,’ to look at the human side as well,” Mortiz says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=Climate+change+makes+wildfires+in+California+more+explosive+&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/div>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>During some of the worst hours in Camp Fire, which in 2018 burned the town of Paradise, California to the ground, the fire was growing so fast it \u003ca href=\"https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/09/us/california-wildfires-superlatives-wcx/index.html\">ate up 10,000 acres\u003c/a> within just 90 minutes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wildfires like the\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2018/11/13/667315613/californias-camp-fire-becomes-the-deadliest-in-state-history\"> Camp\u003c/a> Fire that intensify and spread enormously within a\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2019/11/09/777801169/the-camp-fire-destroyed-11-000-homes-a-year-later-only-11-have-been-rebuilt\"> single day, hour, or even minutes\u003c/a>, keep fire experts up at night. Now a \u003ca href=\"https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06444-3\">new study\u003c/a>, published Wednesday in \u003cem>Nature\u003c/em>, uses a machine-learning model to show that climate change has nudged the risk of fast-spreading fires up by about 25% on average in California. That’s compared to a time before humans heated up Earth’s atmosphere by burning vast amounts of fossil fuels.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re seeing the impact of climate change for the first time on that high-resolution fire behavior,” says Patrick Brown, the study’s lead author and a climate scientist at Berkeley’s Breakthrough Institute.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The dangers didn’t increase evenly. Of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.fire.ca.gov/our-impact/statistics\">18,000 California fires\u003c/a> that sprang to life from 2003 to 2020, 380 of them included at least one day when they grew by at least 10,000 acres — an area as big as most of Manhattan. Climate change ramped up the likelihood of that growth for most of the fires–but not all of them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The team found there were critical thresholds governing fire behavior. For fires burning near the thresholds, climate change could tip them into a more dangerous state.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s kind of like if you’re wondering if growing a couple inches will help you dunk,” Brown explains. If you’re really tall already, he says, a few extra inches won’t make a big difference. But if you’re 5′ 10″, a little boost could get you over the rim. “We see the same thing with wildfires. If you’re right on the precipice of these thresholds, then warming causes them to cross over that threshold and increase the risk of danger,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>The atmosphere is a thirstier sponge\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The thresholds were primarily associated with the \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2012/08/24/159848194/in-southwest-worst-case-fire-scenario-plays-out\">vapor pressure deficit\u003c/a>, a fancy term for how air pulls water out of dead or live plants and other burnable materials. Hotter air –one of the hallmarks of human-caused climate change–sucks moisture more strongly out of those pieces of potential tinder. \u003ca href=\"https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/2019EF001210\">Years of prior research\u003c/a> has shown that fires can grow much bigger and more intense when they have plenty of dry, crispy fuel to burn, a factor heavily influenced by big vapor pressure deficits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The new research substantiates those earlier findings, showing fires to be nearly five times likely to burn explosively if those thresholds were crossed. But when the weather was already extremely hot and dry, or by contrast very moist, climate change’s extra nudge didn’t make as big a difference to fire behavior.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As much influence as a heated-up atmosphere can have, it’s far from the only factor at play. “Explosive growth of fires is almost always in some way correlated with high winds,” which whips small fires into enormous ones, points out Max Moritz, a fire expert at the University of California, Santa Barbara, who wasn’t involved in the study.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Where fires start, and how, affects their behavior as well. Fires act differently in forests than in grass or shrublands, or in areas full of houses. “The things we need to continue to keep in mind are the factors alongside climate that are equally if not more important: how is the land use going to change, and how is vegetation going to change?,” says Alexandra Syphard, a fire scientist with the Corvallis, Oregon-based nonprofit Conservation Biology Institute.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The researchers trained a machine learning model on California’s 18,000 fires over the past two decades and the weather conditions under which they burned so that the model could pick out the weather factors that influence fire behavior. Using climate models, they simulated that same world, but minus human-caused climate change. Then they compared fire behavior in the simulated, un-warmed world with the real, overheated one.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Controlling risks for the future\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Risks of explosively growing fires are almost certainly going up, the research found, even if global emissions are reduced quickly and decisively. Global temperatures will continue to rise even after emissions slow or stop, continuing to push fires into more dangerous territory. The number of fast-growing fires could almost double by the end of the century, the researchers found.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But, says Brown, those climate-driven increases in risk can be nearly — or entirely — offset by smarter management of the non-climate parts of the fire story. Clearing extra fuel from \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2022/08/27/1119428879/why-suppressing-wildfires-may-be-making-the-western-fire-crisis-worse\">overcrowded forests\u003c/a> via strategies like\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/pictureshow/2022/06/07/1101257256/neighbors-use-prescribed-fire-to-restore-great-plains-grasslands\"> prescribed fire\u003c/a>, for example, means there’s less fuel to burn. More than \u003ca href=\"https://agu.confex.com/agu/fm20/meetingapp.cgi/Paper/765573\">80% of U.S. fires\u003c/a> are started by people, and those fires burn\u003ca href=\"https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1617394114\"> faster and wider than naturally ignited ones\u003c/a>. Getting that number in check could greatly lessen risks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To Mortiz, the challenge now is partly about considering climate’s influence on wildfire risk while figuring out how to minimize the risks of fire for \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2022/05/16/1098813861/wildfire-home-real-estate-risk-climate-change\">people and their homes\u003c/a> and communities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>His research group has looked at how human-scale decisions, like neighborhood design or house placement, affects \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2020/10/21/924507691/millions-of-homes-are-at-risk-of-wildfires-but-its-rarely-disclosed\">wildfire risks to communities\u003c/a>. “We realized the strength of housing densities on fire activity rivals the strength of climate variables in some parts of California,” he says. Those choices are well within peoples’ ability to control, through zoning policy, or building codes, or \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1941685/this-california-neighborhood-was-built-to-survive-a-wildfire-and-it-worked\">fire-smart neighborhood design\u003c/a>. “We have to be more holistic in our understanding of ‘risk,’ to look at the human side as well,” Mortiz says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=Climate+change+makes+wildfires+in+California+more+explosive+&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/div>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Here's When to See the Rare Super Blue Moon 2023",
"headTitle": "Here’s When to See the Rare Super Blue Moon 2023 | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>Amateur astronomers and idiom lovers will both have reason to rejoice this week: It’s the once in a blue moon when an \u003cem>actual \u003c/em>blue moon will rise in the sky.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And it’s not just any blue moon. It’s a rare blue supermoon. The Earth’s lunar sidekick will seem extra big and bright as it reaches its fullest stage on Wednesday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We won’t see this particular lunar twofer again until 2037, so here’s what you need to know to make the most of it.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>First things first: What is a supermoon?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>A perigean full moon, better known as a supermoon, happens when the moon is full during the closest point in its orbit around Earth.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/2367/the-next-full-moon-is-a-supermoon-and-a-blue-moon/\">According to NASA\u003c/a>, the moon’s typical orbit ranges between 226,000 and 251,000 miles from Earth, but variances can bring it a bit closer or farther away. Only the closest three or four approaches each year qualify as supermoons.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2023/08/02/1191532619/sturgeon-supermoon-images\">last supermoon fell earlier this month, on Aug. 2\u003c/a>, inspiring photographers from all over the world to document the big and bright spectacle, from New York’s moody skyline to light-filled late night soccer matches in South Africa.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yet the supermoon coming up this week will be even bigger and brighter — the biggest and brightest of 2023 — because the moon will be “exceptionally close” to Earth at 222,043 miles, according to \u003ca href=\"https://www.almanac.com/content/full-moon-august\">The Old Farmer’s Almanac \u003c/a>— nearly 17,000 miles closer than average.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This means it’ll appear “about 8% larger than a normal full moon and 15% brighter than a normal full moon,” according to Dave Teske, the lunar topographic studies coordinator for the Association of Lunar and Planetary Observers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And while that might not make a hugely discernible difference to the naked eye, it’ll still be a sight to behold.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As Teske put it, “It’ll be big and bright and beautiful.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>But it’s not just a supermoon. It’s a blue supermoon\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>While the term “supermoon” references the moon’s orbit in relation to Earth, a blue moon has to do with frequency. Confusingly, it doesn’t have anything to do with color, either (though there was one time \u003ca href=\"https://www.nasa.gov/vision/universe/watchtheskies/07jul_bluemoon.html\">when a blue moon actually turned blue\u003c/a>).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The moon takes 27.3 days to orbit the Earth, but because of how the sun’s light hits the celestial body, it takes 29.5 days to complete its \u003ca href=\"https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/moon-phases/en/#:~:text=The%20Moon%20displays%20these%20eight,to%20the%20next%20new%20moon.\">lunar cycle\u003c/a> from one new moon to the next. So it’s rare for us on Earth to see two full moons in the span of a single month. When we do, we call it a “blue moon.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The term “blue moon” is also used in some circles to describe the \u003ca href=\"https://blogs.nasa.gov/Watch_the_Skies/2021/08/20/august-2021-brings-rare-seasonal-blue-moon/\">third of four full moons\u003c/a> in an astrological season.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And the idiom “once in a blue moon” is used to describe a rare but nonetheless recurring event. But according to NASA, blue moons aren’t actually all that rare, recurring every 2.5 years or so.[aside postID='science_1983728,science_1982244,news_11945083' label='Related coverage']A blue supermoon, however, happens far less frequently. The last blue supermoon was in December 2009, and the next one won’t be until January 2037, \u003ca href=\"https://moon.nasa.gov/news/197/super-blue-moons-your-questions-answered/\">NASA reports.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>When and where can I see it?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>This year’s blue supermoon will officially turn full at 9:36 p.m. ET on Aug. 30, \u003ca href=\"https://www.space.com/biggest-full-moon-of-2023\">according to Space.com\u003c/a>, but to the naked eye, it’ll look just as full from Tuesday night to Friday morning, with the shaded strip appearing so narrow as to be virtually imperceptible.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And, if it’s an especially big moon you’re after, consider catching the moonrise in the east or moonset in the west. Experts say this is when foreground objects combine with a low-hanging moon to create the “moon illusion” — the time when the moon tends to look the largest.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>(You can check the local rising and setting times for your area using the \u003ca href=\"https://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/RS_OneDay\">U.S. Navy’s Moonrise calendar\u003c/a>).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Anyone looking to take in more detail of the lunar surface could use binoculars, a telescope, or an astrophotography lens. But astronomers like Teske say those tools aren’t necessary for a moving experience.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Get out there and observe it. Just enjoy the beautiful view of the moon,” he said. “Really think about what you’re seeing out there.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After all, this isn’t just a hunk of rock orbiting the Earth about a quarter of a million miles away. It could be the next frontier.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Just in the last week, \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2023/08/23/1195411957/india-joins-an-elite-club-as-first-to-land-a-spacecraft-near-the-moons-south-pol\">the Indian Space Agency\u003c/a> successfully landed a spacecraft on the moon’s south pole, where frozen water craters could fuel future missions. Japan’s space agency, \u003ca href=\"https://www.reuters.com/technology/space/japan-space-agency-suspends-launch-attempt-rocket-carrying-moon-lander-2023-08-28/\">JAXA, nearly launched a moon lander\u003c/a> (but postponed the moonshot due to strong winds).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And the private company SpaceX paired with NASA to \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2023/08/26/1195668373/nasa-spacex-crew-7-launch-international-space-station-iss\">dock a crew of astronauts at the International Space Station\u003c/a>, in order to perform experiments that might one day make it easier to travel to the moon and back.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re doing things with the moon now that are building this slow and steady public interest,” said Noah Petro, a research scientist with NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Petro said that the value of supermoons like these is that they “allow us to take a moment and revel, and enjoy that nearest neighbor and space.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s not so far away that we can’t see it. It’s effectively right there in our backyard,” he added.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>One note of caution: This moon could bring an elevated risk for flooding\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>But those looking to observe the moon from a beach should consider checking conditions first.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The close proximity of the moon means that for several days this week, the range of tides will be greater than normal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The moon will exert 48% more tidal force during the spring tides of Aug. 30 compared with two weeks earlier, \u003ca href=\"https://www.space.com/biggest-full-moon-of-2023\">according to Space.com\u003c/a>. Higher tides could get more high, which could cause some coastal flooding.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That risk will be especially heightened along the gulf coast of Florida, where \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/live-updates/hurricane-idalia-path-florida\">Hurricane Idalia\u003c/a> is expected to make landfall early Wednesday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/people/963390115/dustin-jones\">\u003cem>NPR’s Dustin Jones\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> contributed reporting. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=It%27s+big%21+It%27s+bright%21+It%27s+a+rare+blue+supermoon%21+Here%27s+how+to+check+it+out&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/div>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "The Earth's lunar sidekick will appear extra big and bright as it reaches its fullest stage on Wednesday. It's not just the biggest supermoon this year, it's also a rare blue supermoon.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Amateur astronomers and idiom lovers will both have reason to rejoice this week: It’s the once in a blue moon when an \u003cem>actual \u003c/em>blue moon will rise in the sky.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And it’s not just any blue moon. It’s a rare blue supermoon. The Earth’s lunar sidekick will seem extra big and bright as it reaches its fullest stage on Wednesday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We won’t see this particular lunar twofer again until 2037, so here’s what you need to know to make the most of it.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>First things first: What is a supermoon?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>A perigean full moon, better known as a supermoon, happens when the moon is full during the closest point in its orbit around Earth.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/2367/the-next-full-moon-is-a-supermoon-and-a-blue-moon/\">According to NASA\u003c/a>, the moon’s typical orbit ranges between 226,000 and 251,000 miles from Earth, but variances can bring it a bit closer or farther away. Only the closest three or four approaches each year qualify as supermoons.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2023/08/02/1191532619/sturgeon-supermoon-images\">last supermoon fell earlier this month, on Aug. 2\u003c/a>, inspiring photographers from all over the world to document the big and bright spectacle, from New York’s moody skyline to light-filled late night soccer matches in South Africa.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yet the supermoon coming up this week will be even bigger and brighter — the biggest and brightest of 2023 — because the moon will be “exceptionally close” to Earth at 222,043 miles, according to \u003ca href=\"https://www.almanac.com/content/full-moon-august\">The Old Farmer’s Almanac \u003c/a>— nearly 17,000 miles closer than average.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This means it’ll appear “about 8% larger than a normal full moon and 15% brighter than a normal full moon,” according to Dave Teske, the lunar topographic studies coordinator for the Association of Lunar and Planetary Observers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And while that might not make a hugely discernible difference to the naked eye, it’ll still be a sight to behold.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As Teske put it, “It’ll be big and bright and beautiful.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>But it’s not just a supermoon. It’s a blue supermoon\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>While the term “supermoon” references the moon’s orbit in relation to Earth, a blue moon has to do with frequency. Confusingly, it doesn’t have anything to do with color, either (though there was one time \u003ca href=\"https://www.nasa.gov/vision/universe/watchtheskies/07jul_bluemoon.html\">when a blue moon actually turned blue\u003c/a>).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The moon takes 27.3 days to orbit the Earth, but because of how the sun’s light hits the celestial body, it takes 29.5 days to complete its \u003ca href=\"https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/moon-phases/en/#:~:text=The%20Moon%20displays%20these%20eight,to%20the%20next%20new%20moon.\">lunar cycle\u003c/a> from one new moon to the next. So it’s rare for us on Earth to see two full moons in the span of a single month. When we do, we call it a “blue moon.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The term “blue moon” is also used in some circles to describe the \u003ca href=\"https://blogs.nasa.gov/Watch_the_Skies/2021/08/20/august-2021-brings-rare-seasonal-blue-moon/\">third of four full moons\u003c/a> in an astrological season.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And the idiom “once in a blue moon” is used to describe a rare but nonetheless recurring event. But according to NASA, blue moons aren’t actually all that rare, recurring every 2.5 years or so.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>A blue supermoon, however, happens far less frequently. The last blue supermoon was in December 2009, and the next one won’t be until January 2037, \u003ca href=\"https://moon.nasa.gov/news/197/super-blue-moons-your-questions-answered/\">NASA reports.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>When and where can I see it?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>This year’s blue supermoon will officially turn full at 9:36 p.m. ET on Aug. 30, \u003ca href=\"https://www.space.com/biggest-full-moon-of-2023\">according to Space.com\u003c/a>, but to the naked eye, it’ll look just as full from Tuesday night to Friday morning, with the shaded strip appearing so narrow as to be virtually imperceptible.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And, if it’s an especially big moon you’re after, consider catching the moonrise in the east or moonset in the west. Experts say this is when foreground objects combine with a low-hanging moon to create the “moon illusion” — the time when the moon tends to look the largest.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>(You can check the local rising and setting times for your area using the \u003ca href=\"https://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/RS_OneDay\">U.S. Navy’s Moonrise calendar\u003c/a>).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Anyone looking to take in more detail of the lunar surface could use binoculars, a telescope, or an astrophotography lens. But astronomers like Teske say those tools aren’t necessary for a moving experience.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Get out there and observe it. Just enjoy the beautiful view of the moon,” he said. “Really think about what you’re seeing out there.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After all, this isn’t just a hunk of rock orbiting the Earth about a quarter of a million miles away. It could be the next frontier.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Just in the last week, \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2023/08/23/1195411957/india-joins-an-elite-club-as-first-to-land-a-spacecraft-near-the-moons-south-pol\">the Indian Space Agency\u003c/a> successfully landed a spacecraft on the moon’s south pole, where frozen water craters could fuel future missions. Japan’s space agency, \u003ca href=\"https://www.reuters.com/technology/space/japan-space-agency-suspends-launch-attempt-rocket-carrying-moon-lander-2023-08-28/\">JAXA, nearly launched a moon lander\u003c/a> (but postponed the moonshot due to strong winds).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And the private company SpaceX paired with NASA to \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2023/08/26/1195668373/nasa-spacex-crew-7-launch-international-space-station-iss\">dock a crew of astronauts at the International Space Station\u003c/a>, in order to perform experiments that might one day make it easier to travel to the moon and back.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re doing things with the moon now that are building this slow and steady public interest,” said Noah Petro, a research scientist with NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Petro said that the value of supermoons like these is that they “allow us to take a moment and revel, and enjoy that nearest neighbor and space.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s not so far away that we can’t see it. It’s effectively right there in our backyard,” he added.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>One note of caution: This moon could bring an elevated risk for flooding\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>But those looking to observe the moon from a beach should consider checking conditions first.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The close proximity of the moon means that for several days this week, the range of tides will be greater than normal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The moon will exert 48% more tidal force during the spring tides of Aug. 30 compared with two weeks earlier, \u003ca href=\"https://www.space.com/biggest-full-moon-of-2023\">according to Space.com\u003c/a>. Higher tides could get more high, which could cause some coastal flooding.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That risk will be especially heightened along the gulf coast of Florida, where \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/live-updates/hurricane-idalia-path-florida\">Hurricane Idalia\u003c/a> is expected to make landfall early Wednesday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/people/963390115/dustin-jones\">\u003cem>NPR’s Dustin Jones\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> contributed reporting. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=It%27s+big%21+It%27s+bright%21+It%27s+a+rare+blue+supermoon%21+Here%27s+how+to+check+it+out&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/div>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "COVID-19's Evolving Threat: Understanding the Impact of the Eris Variant",
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"content": "\u003cp>Once again, COVID-19 has not taken a summer vacation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://data.wastewaterscan.org/\">Wastewater measurements\u003c/a> reveal a swell in virus levels across the Bay Area and the state.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11957790/the-new-covid-eris-variant-and-rising-cases-what-you-need-to-know\">“Eris,” or EG.5 is the dominant strain in the U.S. right now\u003c/a> and is driving the local activity, too. The variant does not seem to be any more dangerous than previous variants, but it is more transmissible.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The interesting thing is: COVID hasn’t really changed too much, since winter to now,” said Peter Chin-Hong, infectious disease specialist at UCSF. “It’s just been variations on the theme.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That could be changing. A subvariant that’s just beginning to surface may be the best yet at evading immunity. Scientists for the Centers for Disease and Prevention are watching \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/respiratory-viruses/whats-new/covid-19-variant.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">BA.286\u003c/a> because it has even greater potential to escape the antibodies that protect people from getting sick, even if you’ve recently tested positive or been vaccinated. It is too early to know if it causes more serious illness. There are only a handful of cases in the U.S.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This is the fourth summer in a row that COVID-19 has spread rapidly in California. Health experts offer several explanations for the recent uptick. People may be seeking relief from scorching temperatures by staying inside air-conditioned spaces. For most folks life is back to normal, so large gatherings have resumed in full force. And, immunity may be declining because the last vaccine campaign was in the fall.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All of these factors, in addition to a wily virus, are likely why scientists are not seeing a predictable seasonal pattern like influenza, which typically strikes when it’s cold. It’s not clear when COVID-19 will settle into an annual surge.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’d hope it would be a once-a-year virus,” said Chin-Hong. “But it just seems that the summer increase in cases is something that we continue to see.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Virus levels are still lower than earlier surges. And it’s worth noting that the wastewater data is pretty noisy.[aside label=\"Related Stories\" postID=\"science_1984081,news_11957790,forum_2010101894165\"]At a sewage plant in Redwood City, levels are spiking, but declining in San Francisco’s Oceanside neighborhood and falling dramatically at similar facilities in Sunnyvale and Palo Alto.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Los Angeles is seeing a slow rise, while virus levels started to slowly fall off in Sacramento recently.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Given the current numbers, Chin-Hong does recommend taking additional precautions. He suggested people who are immunocompromised and those over the age of 65 consider masking indoors, given their higher susceptibility to severe illness.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Everyone else may want to weigh the consequences of falling ill at this time. Can you miss work? Do you have a special occasion on the books that you’d have to miss if you were isolated for five days, which public health officials still recommend people do after a positive test? Then it may be a good time to err on the safe side if you don’t want to end up at home alone. You could carry your well-fitting N95 mask in case you find yourself in a crowded indoor space.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The public will have the opportunity to fortify immunity soon. A new booster shot will likely be available in late September, designed to target the variants in wide circulation now.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Feeling like a pin cushion? There’s good news for those suffering from booster fatigue. Scientists are working on a \u003ca href=\"https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/research-context-progress-toward-universal-vaccines\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">universal vaccine\u003c/a>, which, in theory, would allow one-stop shopping. Unlike current vaccines, which offer protection against one or several strains of a disease, universal vaccines are designed to teach the immune system to defend against all versions of a pathogen — even versions that don’t exist yet. This is possible by targeting an element of the pathogen that is the same across all strains and types.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That is the holy grail,” said Chin-Hong. “I think we will probably get something in the next two-to-three years. They are also working on that for influenza.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the meantime, he says, we could see a combination vaccine that provides protection for COVID-19 and influenza as early as next year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "While Bay Area virus levels are still lower than earlier surges, it may be time to take precautions. Plus, a universal vaccine is in the works.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Once again, COVID-19 has not taken a summer vacation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://data.wastewaterscan.org/\">Wastewater measurements\u003c/a> reveal a swell in virus levels across the Bay Area and the state.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11957790/the-new-covid-eris-variant-and-rising-cases-what-you-need-to-know\">“Eris,” or EG.5 is the dominant strain in the U.S. right now\u003c/a> and is driving the local activity, too. The variant does not seem to be any more dangerous than previous variants, but it is more transmissible.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The interesting thing is: COVID hasn’t really changed too much, since winter to now,” said Peter Chin-Hong, infectious disease specialist at UCSF. “It’s just been variations on the theme.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That could be changing. A subvariant that’s just beginning to surface may be the best yet at evading immunity. Scientists for the Centers for Disease and Prevention are watching \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/respiratory-viruses/whats-new/covid-19-variant.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">BA.286\u003c/a> because it has even greater potential to escape the antibodies that protect people from getting sick, even if you’ve recently tested positive or been vaccinated. It is too early to know if it causes more serious illness. There are only a handful of cases in the U.S.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This is the fourth summer in a row that COVID-19 has spread rapidly in California. Health experts offer several explanations for the recent uptick. People may be seeking relief from scorching temperatures by staying inside air-conditioned spaces. For most folks life is back to normal, so large gatherings have resumed in full force. And, immunity may be declining because the last vaccine campaign was in the fall.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All of these factors, in addition to a wily virus, are likely why scientists are not seeing a predictable seasonal pattern like influenza, which typically strikes when it’s cold. It’s not clear when COVID-19 will settle into an annual surge.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’d hope it would be a once-a-year virus,” said Chin-Hong. “But it just seems that the summer increase in cases is something that we continue to see.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Virus levels are still lower than earlier surges. And it’s worth noting that the wastewater data is pretty noisy.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>At a sewage plant in Redwood City, levels are spiking, but declining in San Francisco’s Oceanside neighborhood and falling dramatically at similar facilities in Sunnyvale and Palo Alto.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Los Angeles is seeing a slow rise, while virus levels started to slowly fall off in Sacramento recently.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Given the current numbers, Chin-Hong does recommend taking additional precautions. He suggested people who are immunocompromised and those over the age of 65 consider masking indoors, given their higher susceptibility to severe illness.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Everyone else may want to weigh the consequences of falling ill at this time. Can you miss work? Do you have a special occasion on the books that you’d have to miss if you were isolated for five days, which public health officials still recommend people do after a positive test? Then it may be a good time to err on the safe side if you don’t want to end up at home alone. You could carry your well-fitting N95 mask in case you find yourself in a crowded indoor space.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The public will have the opportunity to fortify immunity soon. A new booster shot will likely be available in late September, designed to target the variants in wide circulation now.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Feeling like a pin cushion? There’s good news for those suffering from booster fatigue. Scientists are working on a \u003ca href=\"https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/research-context-progress-toward-universal-vaccines\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">universal vaccine\u003c/a>, which, in theory, would allow one-stop shopping. Unlike current vaccines, which offer protection against one or several strains of a disease, universal vaccines are designed to teach the immune system to defend against all versions of a pathogen — even versions that don’t exist yet. This is possible by targeting an element of the pathogen that is the same across all strains and types.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That is the holy grail,” said Chin-Hong. “I think we will probably get something in the next two-to-three years. They are also working on that for influenza.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the meantime, he says, we could see a combination vaccine that provides protection for COVID-19 and influenza as early as next year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "COVID-19, a Disease With Tricks Up Its Sleeve, Hasn’t Fallen Into a Seasonal Pattern — Yet",
"headTitle": "COVID-19, a Disease With Tricks Up Its Sleeve, Hasn’t Fallen Into a Seasonal Pattern — Yet | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>To most people on the planet, the COVID-19 pandemic is over. But for many scientists who have been tracking the largest global infectious disease event in the era of molecular biology, there is still a step that the virus that caused it, SARS-CoV-2, hasn’t yet taken. It has not fallen into a predictable seasonal pattern of the type most respiratory pathogens follow.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Influenza strikes — at least in temperate climates — in the winter months, with activity often peaking in January or February. In the pre-COVID times, that was also true for RSV — respiratory syncytial virus — and a number of other bugs that inflict cold- and flu-like illnesses. Some respiratory pathogens seem to prefer fall or spring. Even measles, when that disease circulated widely, had a seasonality in our part of the world, typically striking in late winter or early spring.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To be sure, you can contract these viruses at any time of the year. But transmission takes off during a particular pathogen’s season. (The COVID pandemic knocked a number of these bugs \u003ca href=\"https://www.statnews.com/2022/05/25/viruses-that-were-on-hiatus-during-covid-are-back-and-behaving-in-unexpected-ways/\">out of their regular orbits\u003c/a>, though they may be heading back to more normal transmission patterns. The next few months should be telling.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s been widely expected that SARS-2 will ease into that type of a transmission pattern, once human immune systems and the virus reach a sort of detente. But most experts STAT spoke to about this question said that, so far, the virus has not obliged. Their views differ on the margins. Some expect seasonality to set in soon while others don’t venture to guess when the virus will settle into a seasonal pattern.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I don’t see clear seasonality for SARS-CoV-2 yet,” Kanta Subbarao, director of the World Health Organization’s Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Influenza at the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity in Melbourne, Australia, said via email. Subbarao is also chair of the WHO’s technical advisory group on COVID-19 vaccine composition, an independent panel that recommends which version or versions of SARS-2 should be included in updated COVID vaccines.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Michael Osterholm, director of the University of Minnesota’s Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, agreed. “There just isn’t a definable pattern yet that would call this a seasonal virus. That’s not to suggest it might not be some day.”[pullquote align=\"right\" size=\"medium\" citation=\"Ben Cowling, infectious diseases epidemiologist, University of Hong Kong\"]‘At the moment I don’t think COVID is predictable but it is showing all the signs of becoming the fifth ‘human coronavirus’ along with OC43, NL63, 229E and HKU1.’[/pullquote]Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO’s technical lead for COVID, told STAT in a recent interview that the lack of seasonality is clear. “We expect there to be some seasonality in the coming years. Just based on people’s behavior, perhaps, just because it’s respiratory,” she said. Van Kerkhove does, though, think there are hints of a transmission pattern that is coming into view, something she and others refer to as “periodicity.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If you kind of squint, you could see a little, you know, in different places,” Van Kerkhove said. “I think you can see sort of waves of infection every five, six months or so depending on the population. But that isn’t at a national level. … And it’s not hemispheric.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Questions posed over SARS-2’s lack of seasonality aren’t purely academic. Knowing when to expect a disease is critical for health care labor force planning. The tsunami of RSV-infected babies struggling to breathe in the late summer and early fall of 2022 was made worse by the fact that hospitals weren’t as prepared as they could have been; they normally see RSV peaks in the winter months. Likewise, knowing when to expect SARS-2 surges helps the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention time the rollout of COVID booster shots. The protection against infection generated by the vaccines wanes quickly, so giving them too soon or too late would undermine the efficacy of this countermeasure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Van Kerkhove thinks waning immunity in the population is the reason for the periodic swells of transmission. Protection against severe disease — whether induced by infection, vaccination, or the two combined — appears to hold up reasonably well. But when it comes to SARS-2, protection against basic infection is short-lived. That’s not a surprise given what’s known about the four human coronaviruses that predate the arrival of SARS-2. A study in the Netherlands that followed healthy volunteers for more than 35 years found that people can be reinfected with human coronaviruses within about a year after infection, and sometimes after a mere six months. With SARS-2, there are reports of intervals that are shorter still.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Michael Mina, an infectious diseases epidemiologist who previously taught at the Harvard School of Public Health, is a bit of an outlier in this conversation. He believes SARS-2 has been displaying seasonal behavior for a while, though what he describes sounds like the periodicity that Van Kerkhove and some other experts speak of.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mina thinks of seasonality in terms of predictability, “that certain periods of time are going to see increases and decreases, but not necessarily that it has to just be winter or summer.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I don’t think I use the word wrong but I don’t think it’s well defined one way or the other,” he noted.[aside label=\"Related Stories\" postID=\"news_11957790,news_11954507,forum_2010101894165\"]Ben Cowling, an infectious diseases epidemiologist at the University of Hong Kong, also thinks seasonality and predictability are intertwined. He doesn’t think SARS-2 is there yet — but believes it’s on its way.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“At the moment I don’t think COVID is predictable but it is showing all the signs of becoming the fifth ‘human coronavirus’ along with OC43, NL63, 229E and HKU1,” he said in an email, ticking off the names of the four human coronaviruses that predated SARS-2.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Osterholm doesn’t agree, arguing that even if they follow a pattern, swells of COVID cases at different points in a year doesn’t equate to seasonality. Furthermore, he noted that the patterns we’ve seen to date have been largely tied to the emergence of new variants, like Beta, Delta, and Omicron, with large surges of infections when those versions of SARS-2 arrived in the spring, summer, and late autumn of 2021 respectively.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It wasn’t tied to some kind of environmental conditions. And that’s what you often think of with seasonality,” Osterholm said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s thought that with new viruses, the vast number of susceptible people allows a virus to override conditions that would constrain more established pathogens — kids being out of school, unfavorable atmospheric conditions — and transmit at a time when it normally should not be able to. Epidemiologists refer to this override capacity as the “force of infection.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That, in turn, can impact the ability of other pathogens to transmit during their accustomed times, as was the case with COVID’s disruption of flu and RSV. “When a virus is in a pandemic mode, there are forces occurring that we just don’t understand,” Osterholm said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There are a number of theories about why some viruses hew to a seasonal pattern. It’s thought an interplay of factors is at work. Some have been mapped out, others remain in the realm of the unexplained.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some relate to human activities, like school, that bring together lots of children, who are \u003ca href=\"https://www.statnews.com/2020/02/27/coronavirus-kids-what-role-transmission/\">expert at amplifying\u003c/a> respiratory pathogens. Or holiday travel, potentially. Marion Koopmans, head of virology at Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, noted that \u003ca href=\"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8324533/\">a study\u003c/a> published in Nature suggested that a surge in Covid cases in the summer of 2020 in Europe was likely due to people vacationing. “Without detailed analysis, I do not think we can rule out that what we see is ‘holiday traffic,’” Koopmans said, referring to the upticks of cases that have been reported every Northern Hemisphere summer since 2020.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Environmental factors are also thought to be at play. The lack of humidity in the air in cold winters affects the integrity of mucus membranes, and it allows viruses to \u003ca href=\"https://journals.plos.org/plospathogens/article?id=10.1371/journal.ppat.1003194\">survive better\u003c/a> outside a human host. People in temperate climates crowd together indoors during the winter, often in settings where air quality is suboptimal. Interestingly, the defined flu seasons that the Northern and Southern Hemispheres experience are not observed in tropical climates, where transmission occurs on a more \u003ca href=\"https://www.embopress.org/doi/full/10.15252/emmm.202115352\">year-round basis\u003c/a>, without the sharp peaks seen in temperate zones.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There is now a much stronger evidence base on the impact of climate variables (esp. temperature, humidity) on pathogen survival and how this translates to an impact on transmission in the population,” Nick Grassly, an infectious diseases modeler at the school of public health at Imperial College London, said in an email. “The focus has been much more on environmental drivers (particularly humidity, temperature, rainfall, etc.) than human behavior.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Grassly is one of the people who thinks SARS-2 seasonality is falling into place, noting that the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation — Britain’s equivalent of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, an expert committee that helps the CDC craft vaccination use guidelines — is now recommending a targeted \u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.uk/government/news/jcvi-advises-an-autumn-covid-19-vaccine-booster\">autumn COVID vaccination campaign\u003c/a> for high-risk individuals, in anticipation of a surge of COVID activity this winter. A similar, though more broadly aimed campaign is planned for the United States.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It remains possible that a new variant showing substantial immune escape could spread rapidly, even in summer, and so disrupt seasonal patterns and planning,” Grassly noted. “I think it is hard to estimate the probability that this happens, but it would deviate from the recent pattern of successive Omicron variants which have emerged without large increases in overall incidence.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Stanley Perlman, a coronavirus expert whose bona fides in the field stretch back to the pre-SARS-1 days, agrees with Grassly.[pullquote align=\"right\" size=\"medium\" citation=\"Marion Koopmans, head of virology, Erasmus Medical Center\"]‘I think that — at this stage — all we can say is that we can assume that there are some seasonal effects … but that we really cannot say the circulation of these viruses is predictable yet, at least not like we have come to know for flu.’[/pullquote]“I think for all these viruses” — human coronaviruses — “they probably circulate all year round. But you get large numbers of infections in the late fall, winter, when people are inside, and they spread. That’s what this virus seems to be doing,” said Perlman, a professor of microbiology and immunology at the University of Iowa. “As opposed to last summer, the number of cases is way down this summer. And the prediction is they will increase in the late fall, winter again.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A break from seasonal transmission of respiratory pathogens can be a sign something is amiss, with off-season spread having been observed during flu pandemics going back to the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918. The first observed cases in that pandemic occurred in the spring, at a time when flu season would normally have concluded. The 1957 pandemic began in Asia in February of that year, but the virus arrived in, and started spreading through, the United States, during the summer. The 1968 pandemic began in July. The 2009 H1N1 pandemic was first detected in April and the pandemic’s major wave ran through the summer, peaked in September and trailed off in October.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Pandemic influenza doesn’t follow a seasonal pattern in any way, shape or form,” said Osterholm.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It remains to be seen when it will be apparent that SARS-2 has lost its override capabilities, when we’ll feel confident that we know when to expect — plus or minus a month or two — COVID’s annual onslaught.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think that — at this stage — all we can say is that we can assume that there are some seasonal effects (since we know seasonality does have an effect on other respiratory infections, both by effects on virus stability and on the host) but that we really cannot say the circulation of these viruses is predictable yet, at least not like we have come to know for flu,” Koopmans wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was originally published by \u003ca href=\"https://www.statnews.com/\">STAT\u003c/a>, an online publication of Boston Globe Media that covers health, medicine, and scientific discovery.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>To most people on the planet, the COVID-19 pandemic is over. But for many scientists who have been tracking the largest global infectious disease event in the era of molecular biology, there is still a step that the virus that caused it, SARS-CoV-2, hasn’t yet taken. It has not fallen into a predictable seasonal pattern of the type most respiratory pathogens follow.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Influenza strikes — at least in temperate climates — in the winter months, with activity often peaking in January or February. In the pre-COVID times, that was also true for RSV — respiratory syncytial virus — and a number of other bugs that inflict cold- and flu-like illnesses. Some respiratory pathogens seem to prefer fall or spring. Even measles, when that disease circulated widely, had a seasonality in our part of the world, typically striking in late winter or early spring.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To be sure, you can contract these viruses at any time of the year. But transmission takes off during a particular pathogen’s season. (The COVID pandemic knocked a number of these bugs \u003ca href=\"https://www.statnews.com/2022/05/25/viruses-that-were-on-hiatus-during-covid-are-back-and-behaving-in-unexpected-ways/\">out of their regular orbits\u003c/a>, though they may be heading back to more normal transmission patterns. The next few months should be telling.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s been widely expected that SARS-2 will ease into that type of a transmission pattern, once human immune systems and the virus reach a sort of detente. But most experts STAT spoke to about this question said that, so far, the virus has not obliged. Their views differ on the margins. Some expect seasonality to set in soon while others don’t venture to guess when the virus will settle into a seasonal pattern.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I don’t see clear seasonality for SARS-CoV-2 yet,” Kanta Subbarao, director of the World Health Organization’s Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Influenza at the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity in Melbourne, Australia, said via email. Subbarao is also chair of the WHO’s technical advisory group on COVID-19 vaccine composition, an independent panel that recommends which version or versions of SARS-2 should be included in updated COVID vaccines.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Michael Osterholm, director of the University of Minnesota’s Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, agreed. “There just isn’t a definable pattern yet that would call this a seasonal virus. That’s not to suggest it might not be some day.”\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "‘At the moment I don’t think COVID is predictable but it is showing all the signs of becoming the fifth ‘human coronavirus’ along with OC43, NL63, 229E and HKU1.’",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO’s technical lead for COVID, told STAT in a recent interview that the lack of seasonality is clear. “We expect there to be some seasonality in the coming years. Just based on people’s behavior, perhaps, just because it’s respiratory,” she said. Van Kerkhove does, though, think there are hints of a transmission pattern that is coming into view, something she and others refer to as “periodicity.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If you kind of squint, you could see a little, you know, in different places,” Van Kerkhove said. “I think you can see sort of waves of infection every five, six months or so depending on the population. But that isn’t at a national level. … And it’s not hemispheric.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Questions posed over SARS-2’s lack of seasonality aren’t purely academic. Knowing when to expect a disease is critical for health care labor force planning. The tsunami of RSV-infected babies struggling to breathe in the late summer and early fall of 2022 was made worse by the fact that hospitals weren’t as prepared as they could have been; they normally see RSV peaks in the winter months. Likewise, knowing when to expect SARS-2 surges helps the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention time the rollout of COVID booster shots. The protection against infection generated by the vaccines wanes quickly, so giving them too soon or too late would undermine the efficacy of this countermeasure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Van Kerkhove thinks waning immunity in the population is the reason for the periodic swells of transmission. Protection against severe disease — whether induced by infection, vaccination, or the two combined — appears to hold up reasonably well. But when it comes to SARS-2, protection against basic infection is short-lived. That’s not a surprise given what’s known about the four human coronaviruses that predate the arrival of SARS-2. A study in the Netherlands that followed healthy volunteers for more than 35 years found that people can be reinfected with human coronaviruses within about a year after infection, and sometimes after a mere six months. With SARS-2, there are reports of intervals that are shorter still.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Michael Mina, an infectious diseases epidemiologist who previously taught at the Harvard School of Public Health, is a bit of an outlier in this conversation. He believes SARS-2 has been displaying seasonal behavior for a while, though what he describes sounds like the periodicity that Van Kerkhove and some other experts speak of.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mina thinks of seasonality in terms of predictability, “that certain periods of time are going to see increases and decreases, but not necessarily that it has to just be winter or summer.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I don’t think I use the word wrong but I don’t think it’s well defined one way or the other,” he noted.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Ben Cowling, an infectious diseases epidemiologist at the University of Hong Kong, also thinks seasonality and predictability are intertwined. He doesn’t think SARS-2 is there yet — but believes it’s on its way.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“At the moment I don’t think COVID is predictable but it is showing all the signs of becoming the fifth ‘human coronavirus’ along with OC43, NL63, 229E and HKU1,” he said in an email, ticking off the names of the four human coronaviruses that predated SARS-2.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Osterholm doesn’t agree, arguing that even if they follow a pattern, swells of COVID cases at different points in a year doesn’t equate to seasonality. Furthermore, he noted that the patterns we’ve seen to date have been largely tied to the emergence of new variants, like Beta, Delta, and Omicron, with large surges of infections when those versions of SARS-2 arrived in the spring, summer, and late autumn of 2021 respectively.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It wasn’t tied to some kind of environmental conditions. And that’s what you often think of with seasonality,” Osterholm said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s thought that with new viruses, the vast number of susceptible people allows a virus to override conditions that would constrain more established pathogens — kids being out of school, unfavorable atmospheric conditions — and transmit at a time when it normally should not be able to. Epidemiologists refer to this override capacity as the “force of infection.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That, in turn, can impact the ability of other pathogens to transmit during their accustomed times, as was the case with COVID’s disruption of flu and RSV. “When a virus is in a pandemic mode, there are forces occurring that we just don’t understand,” Osterholm said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There are a number of theories about why some viruses hew to a seasonal pattern. It’s thought an interplay of factors is at work. Some have been mapped out, others remain in the realm of the unexplained.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some relate to human activities, like school, that bring together lots of children, who are \u003ca href=\"https://www.statnews.com/2020/02/27/coronavirus-kids-what-role-transmission/\">expert at amplifying\u003c/a> respiratory pathogens. Or holiday travel, potentially. Marion Koopmans, head of virology at Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, noted that \u003ca href=\"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8324533/\">a study\u003c/a> published in Nature suggested that a surge in Covid cases in the summer of 2020 in Europe was likely due to people vacationing. “Without detailed analysis, I do not think we can rule out that what we see is ‘holiday traffic,’” Koopmans said, referring to the upticks of cases that have been reported every Northern Hemisphere summer since 2020.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Environmental factors are also thought to be at play. The lack of humidity in the air in cold winters affects the integrity of mucus membranes, and it allows viruses to \u003ca href=\"https://journals.plos.org/plospathogens/article?id=10.1371/journal.ppat.1003194\">survive better\u003c/a> outside a human host. People in temperate climates crowd together indoors during the winter, often in settings where air quality is suboptimal. Interestingly, the defined flu seasons that the Northern and Southern Hemispheres experience are not observed in tropical climates, where transmission occurs on a more \u003ca href=\"https://www.embopress.org/doi/full/10.15252/emmm.202115352\">year-round basis\u003c/a>, without the sharp peaks seen in temperate zones.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There is now a much stronger evidence base on the impact of climate variables (esp. temperature, humidity) on pathogen survival and how this translates to an impact on transmission in the population,” Nick Grassly, an infectious diseases modeler at the school of public health at Imperial College London, said in an email. “The focus has been much more on environmental drivers (particularly humidity, temperature, rainfall, etc.) than human behavior.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Grassly is one of the people who thinks SARS-2 seasonality is falling into place, noting that the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation — Britain’s equivalent of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, an expert committee that helps the CDC craft vaccination use guidelines — is now recommending a targeted \u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.uk/government/news/jcvi-advises-an-autumn-covid-19-vaccine-booster\">autumn COVID vaccination campaign\u003c/a> for high-risk individuals, in anticipation of a surge of COVID activity this winter. A similar, though more broadly aimed campaign is planned for the United States.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It remains possible that a new variant showing substantial immune escape could spread rapidly, even in summer, and so disrupt seasonal patterns and planning,” Grassly noted. “I think it is hard to estimate the probability that this happens, but it would deviate from the recent pattern of successive Omicron variants which have emerged without large increases in overall incidence.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Stanley Perlman, a coronavirus expert whose bona fides in the field stretch back to the pre-SARS-1 days, agrees with Grassly.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“I think for all these viruses” — human coronaviruses — “they probably circulate all year round. But you get large numbers of infections in the late fall, winter, when people are inside, and they spread. That’s what this virus seems to be doing,” said Perlman, a professor of microbiology and immunology at the University of Iowa. “As opposed to last summer, the number of cases is way down this summer. And the prediction is they will increase in the late fall, winter again.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A break from seasonal transmission of respiratory pathogens can be a sign something is amiss, with off-season spread having been observed during flu pandemics going back to the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918. The first observed cases in that pandemic occurred in the spring, at a time when flu season would normally have concluded. The 1957 pandemic began in Asia in February of that year, but the virus arrived in, and started spreading through, the United States, during the summer. The 1968 pandemic began in July. The 2009 H1N1 pandemic was first detected in April and the pandemic’s major wave ran through the summer, peaked in September and trailed off in October.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Pandemic influenza doesn’t follow a seasonal pattern in any way, shape or form,” said Osterholm.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It remains to be seen when it will be apparent that SARS-2 has lost its override capabilities, when we’ll feel confident that we know when to expect — plus or minus a month or two — COVID’s annual onslaught.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think that — at this stage — all we can say is that we can assume that there are some seasonal effects (since we know seasonality does have an effect on other respiratory infections, both by effects on virus stability and on the host) but that we really cannot say the circulation of these viruses is predictable yet, at least not like we have come to know for flu,” Koopmans wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was originally published by \u003ca href=\"https://www.statnews.com/\">STAT\u003c/a>, an online publication of Boston Globe Media that covers health, medicine, and scientific discovery.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>[dl_subscribe]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem> Covered in a shiny bubble, the alkali fly scuba dives into the harsh waters of California’s Mono Lake. Thanks to an abundance of hair and water-repellent wax, this remarkable insect remains dry while embarking on a quest for tasty algae and a place to lay its eggs.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>TRANSCRIPT\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>This fly is the Jacques Cousteau of flies. It dives where no other insect dares, in its very own scuba gear.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It risks it all for food and a place to lay its eggs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The alkali fly thrives in waters three times saltier than the ocean, here in California’s Mono Lake. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote]\u003cbr>\nADDITIONAL RESOURCES\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Discover more about Mono Lake and the efforts of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.monolake.org/\">Mono Lake Committee\u003c/a> to protect the lake, restore its tributary streams and educate the next generation about wise water use.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[/pullquote] \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It lives among these otherworldly towers of limestone deposits called tufas. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Those same minerals make the water inhospitable for almost every other form of life. Like if someone made a soup of table salt, baking soda, and soda ash, an abrasive stain remover. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the alkali fly? It loves it. Scientists call this kind of creature an extremophile. It survives in an extreme environment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As a larva, it spends all its time underwater. It gets oxygen through its skin.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These special kidneys, called lime glands, pump excess salts out of its body. It’s a process called osmoregulation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When it grows up, it gets its wings, but it loses those lime glands and can’t breathe under the surface.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So this extremophile employs an extreme solution: a shimmering bubble shield enclosing its entire body. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The only things sticking out are its eyes … and its claws.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As it dives from the surface, it captures air between its body and hairs, like its very own oxygen tank. And the fly isn’t actually getting wet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It can do this thanks to its charming looks. It’s far hairier than your average fly. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Check out its shaggy wings, fluffy legs, and bristly abdomen. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These hairs, and the fly’s body, are covered in water-repellent wax. It’s a lot of product, but these waxy hairs are crucial to the fly’s survival. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here’s an animal that doesn’t have as many hairs: This red ant wandered too close to the lake’s edge. Now, it can handle some amount of freshwater, but the mineral-rich Mono Lake water bogs it down.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mono Lake’s water is some of the \u003cem>wettest \u003c/em>water in the world. Yeah, you heard me right.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You see, all water sticks to itself; that’s why rain comes down in neat droplets. But the minerals in Mono Lake water make it even stickier. It feels slippery and soapy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Check out the wing of this house fly when it touches a droplet of pure water. The wing pulls away from the drop easily. But when it touches water with the same compounds as Mono Lake? It sticks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So your standard fly, frog, even fish avoids the lake at all costs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The only other life down here is brine shrimp and one type of microscopic worm. That leaves nearly all the delicious algae for the alkali fly. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The fly sticks out its proboscis and slurps it up where the algae collects on tufas. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But this diving fly is not invincible. The water levels of Mono Lake are getting lower. We divert water from the streams that feed the lake, and rising temperatures mean it’s drying up faster than before. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This makes the lake more salty, and those larvae that spend their days underwater can only handle so much. Fewer of them are growing into adults.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Maybe you’re thinking, “So what, it’s just a few flies!” But these swarms help feed millions of birds as they migrate across the Americas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While the alkali fly may seem audacious, even indestructible, it still relies on a delicate balance to survive.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It lives among these otherworldly towers of limestone deposits called tufas. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Those same minerals make the water inhospitable for almost every other form of life. Like if someone made a soup of table salt, baking soda, and soda ash, an abrasive stain remover. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the alkali fly? It loves it. Scientists call this kind of creature an extremophile. It survives in an extreme environment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As a larva, it spends all its time underwater. It gets oxygen through its skin.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These special kidneys, called lime glands, pump excess salts out of its body. It’s a process called osmoregulation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When it grows up, it gets its wings, but it loses those lime glands and can’t breathe under the surface.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So this extremophile employs an extreme solution: a shimmering bubble shield enclosing its entire body. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The only things sticking out are its eyes … and its claws.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As it dives from the surface, it captures air between its body and hairs, like its very own oxygen tank. And the fly isn’t actually getting wet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It can do this thanks to its charming looks. It’s far hairier than your average fly. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Check out its shaggy wings, fluffy legs, and bristly abdomen. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These hairs, and the fly’s body, are covered in water-repellent wax. It’s a lot of product, but these waxy hairs are crucial to the fly’s survival. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here’s an animal that doesn’t have as many hairs: This red ant wandered too close to the lake’s edge. Now, it can handle some amount of freshwater, but the mineral-rich Mono Lake water bogs it down.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mono Lake’s water is some of the \u003cem>wettest \u003c/em>water in the world. Yeah, you heard me right.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You see, all water sticks to itself; that’s why rain comes down in neat droplets. But the minerals in Mono Lake water make it even stickier. It feels slippery and soapy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Check out the wing of this house fly when it touches a droplet of pure water. The wing pulls away from the drop easily. But when it touches water with the same compounds as Mono Lake? It sticks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So your standard fly, frog, even fish avoids the lake at all costs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The only other life down here is brine shrimp and one type of microscopic worm. That leaves nearly all the delicious algae for the alkali fly. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The fly sticks out its proboscis and slurps it up where the algae collects on tufas. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But this diving fly is not invincible. The water levels of Mono Lake are getting lower. We divert water from the streams that feed the lake, and rising temperatures mean it’s drying up faster than before. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This makes the lake more salty, and those larvae that spend their days underwater can only handle so much. Fewer of them are growing into adults.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Maybe you’re thinking, “So what, it’s just a few flies!” But these swarms help feed millions of birds as they migrate across the Americas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While the alkali fly may seem audacious, even indestructible, it still relies on a delicate balance to survive.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>When recycled for drinking, the millions of gallons of water that Bay Area residents flush down toilets and showers every day could be cleaner than the pristine \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11948948/the-past-present-and-future-of-the-hetch-hetchy-reservoir\">Hetch Hetchy water that flows from many taps in the region\u003c/a>, according to a top California water official.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Both are drinkable and pure,” said Darrin Polhemus, deputy director of the drinking water division of the state’s Water Resources Control Board. Recycled water for human consumption, he added, will be so clean that workers will have to add minerals to it, because the purification process strips the water of necessary minerals that make it drinkable.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But recycling the region’s used water for drinking, a process called “direct potable reuse,” is not happening anywhere in the Bay Area — at least not yet. Polhemus’ agency, however, is working to change that by drawing up \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1983699/from-sewage-to-drinking-glass-californias-plan-to-recycle-water\">rules for how local water agencies can pump ultra-purified water straight into the pipes that connect to people’s homes\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Water agencies that opt in early would either have to build entirely new water recycling plants, join forces with other water companies, or add water reuse capabilities to their operations. The entirely optional regulations could be official next year and, within half a decade, some agencies may be using the technique to help drought-proof their water portfolios.[pullquote size=\"medium\" align=\"right\" citation=\"Darrin Polhemus, deputy director, California’s Division of Drinking Water\"]‘It’s going to be purified water that’s going to have the highest level of treatment ever, and it will be monitored at the beginning, middle and end.’[/pullquote]“It’s going to be purified water that’s going to have the highest level of treatment ever, and it will be monitored at the beginning, middle and end of the purification process,” Polhemus said. “It is the highest treated water we’re ever going to produce in the state.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some water and climate experts believe recycling wastewater for human use is a climate adaptation strategy that, if employed wisely, could be a remedy for both future water shortages and the toxic algae blooms that have begun to perennially plague the San Francisco Bay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The impacts of climate change need solutions commensurate to the issue, and water recycling for human use is the reimagining we need,” said William Abraham Tarpeh, an assistant professor of chemical engineering at Stanford University.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1983962\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1983962\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/RS67925_230814-SiliconValleyWaterPurification-41-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"A large room full of industrial equipment and a poster of a person holding a glass of clear water.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/RS67925_230814-SiliconValleyWaterPurification-41-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/RS67925_230814-SiliconValleyWaterPurification-41-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/RS67925_230814-SiliconValleyWaterPurification-41-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/RS67925_230814-SiliconValleyWaterPurification-41-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/RS67925_230814-SiliconValleyWaterPurification-41-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/RS67925_230814-SiliconValleyWaterPurification-41-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/RS67925_230814-SiliconValleyWaterPurification-41-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A photo hangs above the microfiltration systems at Silicon Valley Advanced Water Purification Center in San José on Aug. 14, 2023. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The purification process in a nutshell: Once soiled water swirls down the drain or toilet and reaches a wastewater plant or recycling facility, it is forced through a series of tiny tubes, pipes and filters and hit with ultraviolet light and other treatments like reverse osmosis and hydrogen peroxide, to strain and scrub out bacteria and parasites.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It is beat up a lot. It’s the same technology used to desalinate ocean water,” said Lakeisha Bryant, a spokesperson for the Santa Clara Valley Water District, which operates the \u003ca href=\"https://www.valleywater.org/your-water/recycled-and-purified-water\">Silicon Valley Advanced Water Treatment Purification Center\u003c/a> in San José. Similar to most other agencies in Northern California, the water purified in the facility is currently only used for things like landscape irrigation, cleaning buildings, industrial cooling, some agriculture and toilet flushing — but not human consumption. Some agencies even sell the recycled wastewater to oil refineries to generate steam to make fuel. Others hope to pump it deep into the earth to recharge depleted aquifers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Valley Water aims to use recycled wastewater for at least 10% of the county’s total water demands by 2025, \u003ca class=\"c-link\" href=\"https://www.valleywater.org/your-water/recycled-and-purified-water\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-stringify-link=\"https://www.valleywater.org/your-water/recycled-and-purified-water\" data-sk=\"tooltip_parent\">its website states\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And while none of that will be for human consumption, the agency is also attempting a small-scale pilot project to bottle water for human use over the next year in preparation for the new statewide rules.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1984038\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/RS68046_230814-SiliconValleyWaterPurification-58-BL-qut.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1984038\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/RS68046_230814-SiliconValleyWaterPurification-58-BL-qut.jpg\" alt=\"A young Black woman standing in a factory holds a bottle of water. \" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/RS68046_230814-SiliconValleyWaterPurification-58-BL-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/RS68046_230814-SiliconValleyWaterPurification-58-BL-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/RS68046_230814-SiliconValleyWaterPurification-58-BL-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/RS68046_230814-SiliconValleyWaterPurification-58-BL-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/RS68046_230814-SiliconValleyWaterPurification-58-BL-qut-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/RS68046_230814-SiliconValleyWaterPurification-58-BL-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Lakeisha Bryant, of Valley Water, samples a bottle of recycled water at Silicon Valley Advanced Water Purification Center in San José on Aug. 14, 2023. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“It will be good enough for people to drink, and that will be a huge game changer when it comes to public perception,” said Lei Hong, operations manager at the South Bay plant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In addition to the state’s impending water recycling guidelines, another impending regulation, set to roll out next spring, will have far-reaching effects in the Bay Area. All 37 wastewater treatment plants across the region will be required, via a permitting process, to reduce the sheer volume of treated wastewater they pump into the bay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The plethora of microscopic elements — like nitrogen and phosphorus — in that water is a smorgasbord for the single-tailed algae that \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1983775/as-algal-bloom-returns-to-the-bay-is-swimming-safe-for-humans-and-pets\">darkened the water rusty brown in parts of the bay the past two summers\u003c/a>, and last year killed thousands of fish.[aside label='More Stories on Algae Bloom' tag='algae-bloom']Eileen White, executive officer of the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board, which will issue the permits, said the new rules could force wastewater agencies to reduce their output of this algae food by as much as 50%, with the goal of eliminating the nutrient “buffet” that algae love feeding on.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That exact percentage, however, is still an open point of debate. White’s team is meeting with water agencies across the region and said they will use the best science to determine the exact percentage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re looking at very significant reductions given what occurred last summer,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Just 10% of all the water that flows into wastewater plants in the region today is recycled, White said, noting that while her board has encouraged local water agencies to increase their recycling capacity, there is currently no direct requirement to do so.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lorien Fono, the executive director of the Bay Area Clean Water Agencies, which represents the five largest wastewater treatment agencies in the Bay Area, said there are significant barriers to turning wastewater into drinking water. The big one: price.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It can cost more than $1 billion to establish one water recycling project, a cost many agencies consider prohibitive, even with the help of available state and federal grants. Space for the new plants and jurisdictional issues are also major roadblocks. Only some wastewater agencies are water suppliers, so there would need to be collaboration across separate agencies and private companies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Recycled water is in its infancy in our region,” Fono said. She said the barriers, mostly cost and limited land, don’t make the Bay Area an ideal place for water recycling for human consumption.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For many agencies, geography is also a major limitation for expanding water recycling capacity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1984037\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/RS67927_230814-SiliconValleyWaterPurification-51-BL-qut.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1984037\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/RS67927_230814-SiliconValleyWaterPurification-51-BL-qut.jpg\" alt='A purple sign on a metal post reads, \"Recycled Water in Use.\" Reeds and dead tan grass are behind it.' width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/RS67927_230814-SiliconValleyWaterPurification-51-BL-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/RS67927_230814-SiliconValleyWaterPurification-51-BL-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/RS67927_230814-SiliconValleyWaterPurification-51-BL-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/RS67927_230814-SiliconValleyWaterPurification-51-BL-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/RS67927_230814-SiliconValleyWaterPurification-51-BL-qut-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/RS67927_230814-SiliconValleyWaterPurification-51-BL-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A sign says, ‘Recycled Water in Use’ outside of the Silicon Valley Advanced Water Purification Center in San José on Aug. 14, 2023. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Amit Mutsuddy, director of wastewater for the East Bay Utility District, whose plant is sandwiched between three freeways, said he doesn’t think direct potable reuse is a likely option because of the hefty price tag and limited space.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are landlocked, so we cannot expand,” he said, adding the agency is experimenting with other practices to decrease nutrients.[pullquote size=\"medium\" align=\"right\" citation=\"Lei Hong, operations manager, Santa Clara Valley Water District\"]‘It will be good enough for people to drink, and that will be a huge game changer when it comes to public perception.’[/pullquote]Mutsuddy’s site continuously pumps treated wastewater into the bay, several hundred feet from the shore, via a metal pipe 30 feet under the water. Much of that could be returned to the water supply, if recycling became a feasible option.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is an incredibly important moment,” said Meagan Mauter, a Stanford University environmental engineering professor, whose lab focuses, in part, on using renewable energy to meet the extensive power demands of wastewater treatment plants.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We need to move towards the mentality that this is what the region needs to be thinking about in order to ensure the resiliency and affordability of our water supplies,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>When recycled for drinking, the millions of gallons of water that Bay Area residents flush down toilets and showers every day could be cleaner than the pristine \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11948948/the-past-present-and-future-of-the-hetch-hetchy-reservoir\">Hetch Hetchy water that flows from many taps in the region\u003c/a>, according to a top California water official.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Both are drinkable and pure,” said Darrin Polhemus, deputy director of the drinking water division of the state’s Water Resources Control Board. Recycled water for human consumption, he added, will be so clean that workers will have to add minerals to it, because the purification process strips the water of necessary minerals that make it drinkable.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But recycling the region’s used water for drinking, a process called “direct potable reuse,” is not happening anywhere in the Bay Area — at least not yet. Polhemus’ agency, however, is working to change that by drawing up \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1983699/from-sewage-to-drinking-glass-californias-plan-to-recycle-water\">rules for how local water agencies can pump ultra-purified water straight into the pipes that connect to people’s homes\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Water agencies that opt in early would either have to build entirely new water recycling plants, join forces with other water companies, or add water reuse capabilities to their operations. The entirely optional regulations could be official next year and, within half a decade, some agencies may be using the technique to help drought-proof their water portfolios.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“It’s going to be purified water that’s going to have the highest level of treatment ever, and it will be monitored at the beginning, middle and end of the purification process,” Polhemus said. “It is the highest treated water we’re ever going to produce in the state.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some water and climate experts believe recycling wastewater for human use is a climate adaptation strategy that, if employed wisely, could be a remedy for both future water shortages and the toxic algae blooms that have begun to perennially plague the San Francisco Bay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The impacts of climate change need solutions commensurate to the issue, and water recycling for human use is the reimagining we need,” said William Abraham Tarpeh, an assistant professor of chemical engineering at Stanford University.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1983962\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1983962\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/RS67925_230814-SiliconValleyWaterPurification-41-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"A large room full of industrial equipment and a poster of a person holding a glass of clear water.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/RS67925_230814-SiliconValleyWaterPurification-41-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/RS67925_230814-SiliconValleyWaterPurification-41-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/RS67925_230814-SiliconValleyWaterPurification-41-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/RS67925_230814-SiliconValleyWaterPurification-41-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/RS67925_230814-SiliconValleyWaterPurification-41-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/RS67925_230814-SiliconValleyWaterPurification-41-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/RS67925_230814-SiliconValleyWaterPurification-41-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A photo hangs above the microfiltration systems at Silicon Valley Advanced Water Purification Center in San José on Aug. 14, 2023. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The purification process in a nutshell: Once soiled water swirls down the drain or toilet and reaches a wastewater plant or recycling facility, it is forced through a series of tiny tubes, pipes and filters and hit with ultraviolet light and other treatments like reverse osmosis and hydrogen peroxide, to strain and scrub out bacteria and parasites.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It is beat up a lot. It’s the same technology used to desalinate ocean water,” said Lakeisha Bryant, a spokesperson for the Santa Clara Valley Water District, which operates the \u003ca href=\"https://www.valleywater.org/your-water/recycled-and-purified-water\">Silicon Valley Advanced Water Treatment Purification Center\u003c/a> in San José. Similar to most other agencies in Northern California, the water purified in the facility is currently only used for things like landscape irrigation, cleaning buildings, industrial cooling, some agriculture and toilet flushing — but not human consumption. Some agencies even sell the recycled wastewater to oil refineries to generate steam to make fuel. Others hope to pump it deep into the earth to recharge depleted aquifers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Valley Water aims to use recycled wastewater for at least 10% of the county’s total water demands by 2025, \u003ca class=\"c-link\" href=\"https://www.valleywater.org/your-water/recycled-and-purified-water\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-stringify-link=\"https://www.valleywater.org/your-water/recycled-and-purified-water\" data-sk=\"tooltip_parent\">its website states\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And while none of that will be for human consumption, the agency is also attempting a small-scale pilot project to bottle water for human use over the next year in preparation for the new statewide rules.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1984038\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/RS68046_230814-SiliconValleyWaterPurification-58-BL-qut.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1984038\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/RS68046_230814-SiliconValleyWaterPurification-58-BL-qut.jpg\" alt=\"A young Black woman standing in a factory holds a bottle of water. \" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/RS68046_230814-SiliconValleyWaterPurification-58-BL-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/RS68046_230814-SiliconValleyWaterPurification-58-BL-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/RS68046_230814-SiliconValleyWaterPurification-58-BL-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/RS68046_230814-SiliconValleyWaterPurification-58-BL-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/RS68046_230814-SiliconValleyWaterPurification-58-BL-qut-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/RS68046_230814-SiliconValleyWaterPurification-58-BL-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Lakeisha Bryant, of Valley Water, samples a bottle of recycled water at Silicon Valley Advanced Water Purification Center in San José on Aug. 14, 2023. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“It will be good enough for people to drink, and that will be a huge game changer when it comes to public perception,” said Lei Hong, operations manager at the South Bay plant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In addition to the state’s impending water recycling guidelines, another impending regulation, set to roll out next spring, will have far-reaching effects in the Bay Area. All 37 wastewater treatment plants across the region will be required, via a permitting process, to reduce the sheer volume of treated wastewater they pump into the bay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The plethora of microscopic elements — like nitrogen and phosphorus — in that water is a smorgasbord for the single-tailed algae that \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1983775/as-algal-bloom-returns-to-the-bay-is-swimming-safe-for-humans-and-pets\">darkened the water rusty brown in parts of the bay the past two summers\u003c/a>, and last year killed thousands of fish.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Eileen White, executive officer of the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board, which will issue the permits, said the new rules could force wastewater agencies to reduce their output of this algae food by as much as 50%, with the goal of eliminating the nutrient “buffet” that algae love feeding on.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That exact percentage, however, is still an open point of debate. White’s team is meeting with water agencies across the region and said they will use the best science to determine the exact percentage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re looking at very significant reductions given what occurred last summer,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Just 10% of all the water that flows into wastewater plants in the region today is recycled, White said, noting that while her board has encouraged local water agencies to increase their recycling capacity, there is currently no direct requirement to do so.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lorien Fono, the executive director of the Bay Area Clean Water Agencies, which represents the five largest wastewater treatment agencies in the Bay Area, said there are significant barriers to turning wastewater into drinking water. The big one: price.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It can cost more than $1 billion to establish one water recycling project, a cost many agencies consider prohibitive, even with the help of available state and federal grants. Space for the new plants and jurisdictional issues are also major roadblocks. Only some wastewater agencies are water suppliers, so there would need to be collaboration across separate agencies and private companies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Recycled water is in its infancy in our region,” Fono said. She said the barriers, mostly cost and limited land, don’t make the Bay Area an ideal place for water recycling for human consumption.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For many agencies, geography is also a major limitation for expanding water recycling capacity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1984037\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/RS67927_230814-SiliconValleyWaterPurification-51-BL-qut.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1984037\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/RS67927_230814-SiliconValleyWaterPurification-51-BL-qut.jpg\" alt='A purple sign on a metal post reads, \"Recycled Water in Use.\" Reeds and dead tan grass are behind it.' width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/RS67927_230814-SiliconValleyWaterPurification-51-BL-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/RS67927_230814-SiliconValleyWaterPurification-51-BL-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/RS67927_230814-SiliconValleyWaterPurification-51-BL-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/RS67927_230814-SiliconValleyWaterPurification-51-BL-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/RS67927_230814-SiliconValleyWaterPurification-51-BL-qut-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/RS67927_230814-SiliconValleyWaterPurification-51-BL-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A sign says, ‘Recycled Water in Use’ outside of the Silicon Valley Advanced Water Purification Center in San José on Aug. 14, 2023. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Amit Mutsuddy, director of wastewater for the East Bay Utility District, whose plant is sandwiched between three freeways, said he doesn’t think direct potable reuse is a likely option because of the hefty price tag and limited space.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are landlocked, so we cannot expand,” he said, adding the agency is experimenting with other practices to decrease nutrients.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Mutsuddy’s site continuously pumps treated wastewater into the bay, several hundred feet from the shore, via a metal pipe 30 feet under the water. Much of that could be returned to the water supply, if recycling became a feasible option.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is an incredibly important moment,” said Meagan Mauter, a Stanford University environmental engineering professor, whose lab focuses, in part, on using renewable energy to meet the extensive power demands of wastewater treatment plants.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We need to move towards the mentality that this is what the region needs to be thinking about in order to ensure the resiliency and affordability of our water supplies,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "Wildfire Prevention Strategies Maui Can Adopt From California",
"headTitle": "Wildfire Prevention Strategies Maui Can Adopt From California | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>As the community in West Maui begins a slow recovery after the deadliest U.S. wildfire in the last century, one of the biggest questions is how a similar tragedy can be prevented.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hawaii may not have to look far. Other states, like California, have adopted strategies that are known to reduce the risk that a wildfire will spread.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many of them are no secret to Hawaii state officials. The government’s own reports have shown that West Maui is at severe risk for wildfire, its foothills covered in dry, invasive grasses that are highly flammable. Previous recommendations included improving evacuation plans, managing dry vegetation around towns and clearing defensible space around houses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Other Western states have mandated those policies after their own histories with destructive wildfires. Despite the recommendations, Hawaii fire experts say little was accomplished to do wildfire prevention in West Maui. Like so many communities, it struggled to find funding to clear large areas of vegetation and maintain them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>No precautions are guaranteed to stop a fire, especially in extreme winds. However, fire experts say the tragedy shows communities cannot ignore their own warnings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“My hope would be that what just happened in Hawaii is really a wake-up call, so that any state that has fire risk of this sort is planning ahead to keep their citizens safe,” says Michael Wara, director of the Climate and Energy Policy Program at the Woods Institute for the Environment at Stanford University.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As Hawaii takes a close look at its wildfire policies, there are three core strategies it could adopt.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Use better evacuation technology\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>For many residents in downtown Lahaina, the only warning to leave was seeing the flames race toward their home. In the aftermath of the fire, many are angry that the town’s network of warning sirens weren’t turned on.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If I would have heard the siren that morning, I would have at least prepared, packed something in my car, called my parents,” says Alex Calma, a Lahaina resident who lost his home.[aside postID='news_11957996,science_1983909' label='Related coverage']Instead, he and his neighbors drove away with little time to spare, jamming one of the only roads out of town.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Government officials instead turned on the Wireless Emergency Alert system, which blasts a message to people’s phones, like AMBER Alerts for missing children. Many residents NPR spoke to didn’t receive it. High winds, power outages and flames took out the cell service network. A similar thing happened in \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/california-wildfires/article/County-officials-failed-to-use-cell-phone-alerts-13400300.php\">California’s deadly Camp Fire in 2018\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Look at how often it doesn’t work — how often cell phone towers like in Paradise and Maui get burned right away,” says Thomas Cova, a professor of geography who studies evacuations at the University of Utah. “That’s the first thing that happens is the fire burns the cell phone tower.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Maui officials defended their choice not to turn on the sirens, saying the public would have been confused. People, they say, associate the sirens with tsunami warnings and could have run into the hills instead. That’s despite the fact that it was the direction the flames were coming from.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To clarify the alerts, a number of cities have installed new siren networks that can also broadcast voice messages, like \u003ca href=\"https://www.cityofmillvalley.org/213/Warnings-Alerts\">Mill Valley, California\u003c/a>, where wildfires are a danger. In Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kpb.us/emergency-mgmt/oem/50-borough/emergency-management/491-sirens\">sirens play pre-recorded messages\u003c/a> to tell residents what kind of threat they’re alerting about, like a volcano, tsunami or storm, then instruct residents to tune into the radio for more details.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Disaster response experts stress that cities need to have multiple strategies to alert and evacuate people safely, especially ones that don’t rely entirely on cell networks.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Pass a requirement to clear flammable brush and grass\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>As one of the people who has worked to prevent fires near Lahaina, it’s not easy for Gordon Firestein to look at the view from his house: a dark black burn scar and the blue Pacific Ocean beyond.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1983985\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1983985\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/gordon-fire-eb3237a6ffc83a4ee304e8e5be8e5a0e5920fb93-800x600.jpg\" alt=\"A man wearing a light brown t-shirt and sunglasses stands in front of a mountain shadowed by white clouds above it. In the background there are a few palm trees, with a view of the ocean, dry grass, and plants.\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/gordon-fire-eb3237a6ffc83a4ee304e8e5be8e5a0e5920fb93-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/gordon-fire-eb3237a6ffc83a4ee304e8e5be8e5a0e5920fb93-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/gordon-fire-eb3237a6ffc83a4ee304e8e5be8e5a0e5920fb93-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/gordon-fire-eb3237a6ffc83a4ee304e8e5be8e5a0e5920fb93-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/gordon-fire-eb3237a6ffc83a4ee304e8e5be8e5a0e5920fb93.jpg 1499w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">For years, Gordon Firestein has worked with neighbors to make Lahaina safer from wildfires. He’s hopeful the state will pass mandatory policies to clear vegetation. \u003ccite>(Lauren Sommer/NPR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Once a California resident, Firestein moved to West Maui 15 years ago and found the golden hillsides were all too reminiscent of his home state. Former sugarcane fields have been abandoned and overrun with invasive grasses. He banded together with a few neighbors to join \u003ca href=\"https://www.nfpa.org/Public-Education/Fire-causes-and-risks/Wildfire/Firewise-USA\">the FireWise program\u003c/a>. Run by the nonprofit National Fire Protection Association, it provides a blueprint for communities to become better prepared for wildfires.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Firestein says they’ve educated neighbors about trimming the dry vegetation directly around a home to create defensible space. But Hawaii doesn’t have mandatory rules that compel homeowners to do it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>States like California \u003ca href=\"https://www.readyforwildfire.org/prepare-for-wildfire/get-ready/defensible-space/\">require homeowners in high risk areas to clear brush\u003c/a> and inspections are done by both city and state fire agencies. In San Diego, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1943058/whos-checking-homes-for-flammable-brush-in-some-high-risk-areas-maybe-no-one\">if a homeowner doesn’t comply, the city hires a contractor\u003c/a> to do the work and puts a lien on the property to recoup the cost.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I certainly hope that’s part of the post-fire process — that we begin to look seriously at California, for example, as a model,” Firestein says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Larger areas at the edges of towns also need to be cleared of dry grass to act as a buffer against fire. On the outskirts of Lahaina, rows of houses are nestled in the hills. After the fire, some residents said the problem had been ignored for years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We need some accountability,” says Chris Arnold, a Lahaina resident who lost his home. “Give us some fire breaks and I don’t want to hear any more excuses.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1983986\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1983986\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/lahaina-town-a3deb94d8652b208c556c0430e55fb6d74640ba4-800x600.jpg\" alt=\"Image shows destruction caused in a town after a wildfire. \" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/lahaina-town-a3deb94d8652b208c556c0430e55fb6d74640ba4-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/lahaina-town-a3deb94d8652b208c556c0430e55fb6d74640ba4-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/lahaina-town-a3deb94d8652b208c556c0430e55fb6d74640ba4-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/lahaina-town-a3deb94d8652b208c556c0430e55fb6d74640ba4-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/lahaina-town-a3deb94d8652b208c556c0430e55fb6d74640ba4-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/lahaina-town-a3deb94d8652b208c556c0430e55fb6d74640ba4.jpg 1598w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">After the destruction in Lahaina, Hawaii, fire experts say they’re hopeful the state will take a hard look at its wildfire policies. \u003ccite>(Deanne Fitzmaurice for NPR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Almost a decade ago, a \u003ca href=\"https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5254fbe2e4b04bbc53b57821/t/54ff533ee4b0d8debf83ed8d/1426019167515/Western+Maui+CWPP+Final+with+Appendices.pdf\">community protection plan (PDF)\u003c/a> was written for Western Maui, which found wildfire was an extreme risk there. It recommended managing invasive grasses, creating defensible space and working with private landowners to create fire breaks. Another \u003ca href=\"https://www.mauicounty.gov/DocumentCenter/View/129493/Report-on-Wildfire-Prevention--Cost-Recovery-on-Maui---Part-1-Report--Exhibits-A-B-33-MB\">Maui county report (PDF)\u003c/a> two years ago made similar recommendations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some of the projects were completed, but not the majority, especially given that grasses grow back and must be maintained every year. West Maui, like other fire-prone regions, has struggled to find the funding to manage vegetation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The scope and level and amount that needed to get done was never really reached, because we actually really never found funds or capacity to do the full scale of what we’d like to have done,” says Elizabeth Pickett with the Hawaii Wildfire Management Organization, a nonprofit that helped write the plan.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Rebuild homes to resist wildfire embers\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Residents who fled Lahaina describe leaving in a rain of embers from the sky. In most wildfires, houses catch on fire because of these embers, not because of the advancing flames.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2019/04/02/704854496/step-1-build-a-house-step-2-set-it-on-fire\">Fire researchers have documented\u003c/a> how embers can get caught on wood-shingled roofs and siding, fall into gutters with leaves or even get blown into attic vents, igniting the building from the inside.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California and a handful of other states have \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2020/11/25/936685629/rebuilding-after-a-wildfire-most-states-dont-require-fire-resistant-materials\">passed wildfire building codes\u003c/a>, requiring new homes to use fire-resistant materials if they’re built in risky areas. The rules cover roofs, siding, windows and ventilation, since attic vents can be protected by covering them with a fine mesh screen. Research shows for new construction, \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2022/07/28/1114242871/fireproofing-your-home-isnt-very-expensive-but-few-states-require-it\">it’s not substantially more expensive\u003c/a> to build that way.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While residents in Lahaina will have the option to build this way, fire experts say using mandatory building codes ensures all new buildings have a better chance of surviving and are less likely to spread fire to other structures. For older homes that are already built, some communities \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2020/10/21/924507691/millions-of-homes-are-at-risk-of-wildfires-but-its-rarely-disclosed\">offer home inspections\u003c/a> to give homeowners a specific list of recommendations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Communities need to start investing in those strategies and perhaps recognizing that everyone is in this together, that people need to be given assistance to do these things,” Wara says. “They also need to be pushed to take the steps that will protect the whole community from a wildfire.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wildfire building codes \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2020/11/25/936685629/rebuilding-after-a-wildfire-most-states-dont-require-fire-resistant-materials\">have faced pushback in some states\u003c/a> that have proposed them, especially from home building associations. Fire experts in Hawaii say they’re hopeful that, given the heavy toll of Maui’s fires, lawmakers will embrace change.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I really want to believe that we will rally the way that we do so well as an island state and use this toward progress, improvement, and all the things that felt too big to deal with,” Pickett says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=3+strategies+Maui+can+adopt+from+other+states+to+help+prevent+dangerous+wildfires+&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/div>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "In preparing for future fires, Maui doesn't have to look far. States like California have passed wildfire policies to reduce the risk that a community will be destroyed. ",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>As the community in West Maui begins a slow recovery after the deadliest U.S. wildfire in the last century, one of the biggest questions is how a similar tragedy can be prevented.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hawaii may not have to look far. Other states, like California, have adopted strategies that are known to reduce the risk that a wildfire will spread.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many of them are no secret to Hawaii state officials. The government’s own reports have shown that West Maui is at severe risk for wildfire, its foothills covered in dry, invasive grasses that are highly flammable. Previous recommendations included improving evacuation plans, managing dry vegetation around towns and clearing defensible space around houses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Other Western states have mandated those policies after their own histories with destructive wildfires. Despite the recommendations, Hawaii fire experts say little was accomplished to do wildfire prevention in West Maui. Like so many communities, it struggled to find funding to clear large areas of vegetation and maintain them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>No precautions are guaranteed to stop a fire, especially in extreme winds. However, fire experts say the tragedy shows communities cannot ignore their own warnings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“My hope would be that what just happened in Hawaii is really a wake-up call, so that any state that has fire risk of this sort is planning ahead to keep their citizens safe,” says Michael Wara, director of the Climate and Energy Policy Program at the Woods Institute for the Environment at Stanford University.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As Hawaii takes a close look at its wildfire policies, there are three core strategies it could adopt.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Use better evacuation technology\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>For many residents in downtown Lahaina, the only warning to leave was seeing the flames race toward their home. In the aftermath of the fire, many are angry that the town’s network of warning sirens weren’t turned on.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If I would have heard the siren that morning, I would have at least prepared, packed something in my car, called my parents,” says Alex Calma, a Lahaina resident who lost his home.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Instead, he and his neighbors drove away with little time to spare, jamming one of the only roads out of town.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Government officials instead turned on the Wireless Emergency Alert system, which blasts a message to people’s phones, like AMBER Alerts for missing children. Many residents NPR spoke to didn’t receive it. High winds, power outages and flames took out the cell service network. A similar thing happened in \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/california-wildfires/article/County-officials-failed-to-use-cell-phone-alerts-13400300.php\">California’s deadly Camp Fire in 2018\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Look at how often it doesn’t work — how often cell phone towers like in Paradise and Maui get burned right away,” says Thomas Cova, a professor of geography who studies evacuations at the University of Utah. “That’s the first thing that happens is the fire burns the cell phone tower.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Maui officials defended their choice not to turn on the sirens, saying the public would have been confused. People, they say, associate the sirens with tsunami warnings and could have run into the hills instead. That’s despite the fact that it was the direction the flames were coming from.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To clarify the alerts, a number of cities have installed new siren networks that can also broadcast voice messages, like \u003ca href=\"https://www.cityofmillvalley.org/213/Warnings-Alerts\">Mill Valley, California\u003c/a>, where wildfires are a danger. In Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kpb.us/emergency-mgmt/oem/50-borough/emergency-management/491-sirens\">sirens play pre-recorded messages\u003c/a> to tell residents what kind of threat they’re alerting about, like a volcano, tsunami or storm, then instruct residents to tune into the radio for more details.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Disaster response experts stress that cities need to have multiple strategies to alert and evacuate people safely, especially ones that don’t rely entirely on cell networks.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Pass a requirement to clear flammable brush and grass\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>As one of the people who has worked to prevent fires near Lahaina, it’s not easy for Gordon Firestein to look at the view from his house: a dark black burn scar and the blue Pacific Ocean beyond.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1983985\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1983985\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/gordon-fire-eb3237a6ffc83a4ee304e8e5be8e5a0e5920fb93-800x600.jpg\" alt=\"A man wearing a light brown t-shirt and sunglasses stands in front of a mountain shadowed by white clouds above it. In the background there are a few palm trees, with a view of the ocean, dry grass, and plants.\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/gordon-fire-eb3237a6ffc83a4ee304e8e5be8e5a0e5920fb93-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/gordon-fire-eb3237a6ffc83a4ee304e8e5be8e5a0e5920fb93-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/gordon-fire-eb3237a6ffc83a4ee304e8e5be8e5a0e5920fb93-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/gordon-fire-eb3237a6ffc83a4ee304e8e5be8e5a0e5920fb93-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/gordon-fire-eb3237a6ffc83a4ee304e8e5be8e5a0e5920fb93.jpg 1499w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">For years, Gordon Firestein has worked with neighbors to make Lahaina safer from wildfires. He’s hopeful the state will pass mandatory policies to clear vegetation. \u003ccite>(Lauren Sommer/NPR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Once a California resident, Firestein moved to West Maui 15 years ago and found the golden hillsides were all too reminiscent of his home state. Former sugarcane fields have been abandoned and overrun with invasive grasses. He banded together with a few neighbors to join \u003ca href=\"https://www.nfpa.org/Public-Education/Fire-causes-and-risks/Wildfire/Firewise-USA\">the FireWise program\u003c/a>. Run by the nonprofit National Fire Protection Association, it provides a blueprint for communities to become better prepared for wildfires.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Firestein says they’ve educated neighbors about trimming the dry vegetation directly around a home to create defensible space. But Hawaii doesn’t have mandatory rules that compel homeowners to do it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>States like California \u003ca href=\"https://www.readyforwildfire.org/prepare-for-wildfire/get-ready/defensible-space/\">require homeowners in high risk areas to clear brush\u003c/a> and inspections are done by both city and state fire agencies. In San Diego, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1943058/whos-checking-homes-for-flammable-brush-in-some-high-risk-areas-maybe-no-one\">if a homeowner doesn’t comply, the city hires a contractor\u003c/a> to do the work and puts a lien on the property to recoup the cost.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I certainly hope that’s part of the post-fire process — that we begin to look seriously at California, for example, as a model,” Firestein says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Larger areas at the edges of towns also need to be cleared of dry grass to act as a buffer against fire. On the outskirts of Lahaina, rows of houses are nestled in the hills. After the fire, some residents said the problem had been ignored for years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We need some accountability,” says Chris Arnold, a Lahaina resident who lost his home. “Give us some fire breaks and I don’t want to hear any more excuses.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1983986\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1983986\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/lahaina-town-a3deb94d8652b208c556c0430e55fb6d74640ba4-800x600.jpg\" alt=\"Image shows destruction caused in a town after a wildfire. \" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/lahaina-town-a3deb94d8652b208c556c0430e55fb6d74640ba4-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/lahaina-town-a3deb94d8652b208c556c0430e55fb6d74640ba4-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/lahaina-town-a3deb94d8652b208c556c0430e55fb6d74640ba4-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/lahaina-town-a3deb94d8652b208c556c0430e55fb6d74640ba4-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/lahaina-town-a3deb94d8652b208c556c0430e55fb6d74640ba4-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/08/lahaina-town-a3deb94d8652b208c556c0430e55fb6d74640ba4.jpg 1598w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">After the destruction in Lahaina, Hawaii, fire experts say they’re hopeful the state will take a hard look at its wildfire policies. \u003ccite>(Deanne Fitzmaurice for NPR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Almost a decade ago, a \u003ca href=\"https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5254fbe2e4b04bbc53b57821/t/54ff533ee4b0d8debf83ed8d/1426019167515/Western+Maui+CWPP+Final+with+Appendices.pdf\">community protection plan (PDF)\u003c/a> was written for Western Maui, which found wildfire was an extreme risk there. It recommended managing invasive grasses, creating defensible space and working with private landowners to create fire breaks. Another \u003ca href=\"https://www.mauicounty.gov/DocumentCenter/View/129493/Report-on-Wildfire-Prevention--Cost-Recovery-on-Maui---Part-1-Report--Exhibits-A-B-33-MB\">Maui county report (PDF)\u003c/a> two years ago made similar recommendations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some of the projects were completed, but not the majority, especially given that grasses grow back and must be maintained every year. West Maui, like other fire-prone regions, has struggled to find the funding to manage vegetation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The scope and level and amount that needed to get done was never really reached, because we actually really never found funds or capacity to do the full scale of what we’d like to have done,” says Elizabeth Pickett with the Hawaii Wildfire Management Organization, a nonprofit that helped write the plan.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Rebuild homes to resist wildfire embers\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Residents who fled Lahaina describe leaving in a rain of embers from the sky. In most wildfires, houses catch on fire because of these embers, not because of the advancing flames.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2019/04/02/704854496/step-1-build-a-house-step-2-set-it-on-fire\">Fire researchers have documented\u003c/a> how embers can get caught on wood-shingled roofs and siding, fall into gutters with leaves or even get blown into attic vents, igniting the building from the inside.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California and a handful of other states have \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2020/11/25/936685629/rebuilding-after-a-wildfire-most-states-dont-require-fire-resistant-materials\">passed wildfire building codes\u003c/a>, requiring new homes to use fire-resistant materials if they’re built in risky areas. The rules cover roofs, siding, windows and ventilation, since attic vents can be protected by covering them with a fine mesh screen. Research shows for new construction, \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2022/07/28/1114242871/fireproofing-your-home-isnt-very-expensive-but-few-states-require-it\">it’s not substantially more expensive\u003c/a> to build that way.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While residents in Lahaina will have the option to build this way, fire experts say using mandatory building codes ensures all new buildings have a better chance of surviving and are less likely to spread fire to other structures. For older homes that are already built, some communities \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2020/10/21/924507691/millions-of-homes-are-at-risk-of-wildfires-but-its-rarely-disclosed\">offer home inspections\u003c/a> to give homeowners a specific list of recommendations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Communities need to start investing in those strategies and perhaps recognizing that everyone is in this together, that people need to be given assistance to do these things,” Wara says. “They also need to be pushed to take the steps that will protect the whole community from a wildfire.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wildfire building codes \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2020/11/25/936685629/rebuilding-after-a-wildfire-most-states-dont-require-fire-resistant-materials\">have faced pushback in some states\u003c/a> that have proposed them, especially from home building associations. Fire experts in Hawaii say they’re hopeful that, given the heavy toll of Maui’s fires, lawmakers will embrace change.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I really want to believe that we will rally the way that we do so well as an island state and use this toward progress, improvement, and all the things that felt too big to deal with,” Pickett says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=3+strategies+Maui+can+adopt+from+other+states+to+help+prevent+dangerous+wildfires+&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/div>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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}
},
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"id": "bbc-world-service",
"title": "BBC World Service",
"info": "The day's top stories from BBC News compiled twice daily in the week, once at weekends.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 9pm-10pm, TUE-FRI 1am-2am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/BBC-World-Service-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
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"meta": {
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},
"link": "/radio/program/bbc-world-service",
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"rss": "https://podcasts.files.bbci.co.uk/p02nq0gn.rss"
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},
"californiareport": {
"id": "californiareport",
"title": "The California Report",
"tagline": "California, day by day",
"info": "KQED’s statewide radio news program providing daily coverage of issues, trends and public policy decisions.",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-California-Report-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/californiareport",
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 8
},
"link": "/californiareport",
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}
},
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"id": "californiareportmagazine",
"title": "The California Report Magazine",
"tagline": "Your state, your stories",
"info": "Every week, The California Report Magazine takes you on a road trip for the ears: to visit the places and meet the people who make California unique. The in-depth storytelling podcast from the California Report.",
"airtime": "FRI 4:30pm-5pm, 6:30pm-7pm, 11pm-11:30pm",
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"order": 10
},
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM3NjkwNjk1OTAz",
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},
"city-arts": {
"id": "city-arts",
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"info": "A one-hour radio program to hear celebrated writers, artists and thinkers address contemporary ideas and values, often discussing the creative process. Please note: tapes or transcripts are not available",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/05/cityartsandlecture-300x300.jpg",
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"airtime": "SUN 1pm-2pm, TUE 10pm, WED 1am",
"meta": {
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"source": "City Arts & Lectures"
},
"link": "https://www.cityarts.net",
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"rss": "https://www.cityarts.net/feed/"
}
},
"closealltabs": {
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"order": 1
},
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"title": "Code Switch / Life Kit",
"info": "\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em>, which listeners will hear in the first part of the hour, has fearless and much-needed conversations about race. Hosted by journalists of color, the show tackles the subject of race head-on, exploring how it impacts every part of society — from politics and pop culture to history, sports and more.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em>, which will be in the second part of the hour, guides you through spaces and feelings no one prepares you for — from finances to mental health, from workplace microaggressions to imposter syndrome, from relationships to parenting. The show features experts with real world experience and shares their knowledge. Because everyone needs a little help being human.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510312/codeswitch\">\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/lifekit\">\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />",
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"meta": {
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"id": "commonwealth-club",
"title": "Commonwealth Club of California Podcast",
"info": "The Commonwealth Club of California is the nation's oldest and largest public affairs forum. As a non-partisan forum, The Club brings to the public airwaves diverse viewpoints on important topics. The Club's weekly radio broadcast - the oldest in the U.S., dating back to 1924 - is carried across the nation on public radio stations and is now podcasting. Our website archive features audio of our recent programs, as well as selected speeches from our long and distinguished history. This podcast feed is usually updated twice a week and is always un-edited.",
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"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Commonwealth-Club-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
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"meta": {
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"source": "Commonwealth Club of California"
},
"link": "/radio/program/commonwealth-club",
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5jb21tb253ZWFsdGhjbHViLm9yZy9hdWRpby9wb2RjYXN0L3dlZWtseS54bWw",
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"id": "forum",
"title": "Forum",
"tagline": "The conversation starts here",
"info": "KQED’s live call-in program discussing local, state, national and international issues, as well as in-depth interviews.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 9am-11am, 10pm-11pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Forum-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Forum with Mina Kim and Alexis Madrigal",
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 9
},
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM5NTU3MzgxNjMz",
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"freakonomics-radio": {
"id": "freakonomics-radio",
"title": "Freakonomics Radio",
"info": "Freakonomics Radio is a one-hour award-winning podcast and public-radio project hosted by Stephen Dubner, with co-author Steve Levitt as a regular guest. It is produced in partnership with WNYC.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/05/freakonomicsRadio.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://freakonomics.com/",
"airtime": "SUN 1am-2am, SAT 3pm-4pm",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "WNYC"
},
"link": "/radio/program/freakonomics-radio",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/freakonomics-radio/id354668519",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/WNYC-Podcasts/Freakonomics-Radio-p272293/",
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},
"fresh-air": {
"id": "fresh-air",
"title": "Fresh Air",
"info": "Hosted by Terry Gross, \u003cem>Fresh Air from WHYY\u003c/em> is the Peabody Award-winning weekday magazine of contemporary arts and issues. One of public radio's most popular programs, Fresh Air features intimate conversations with today's biggest luminaries.",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=214089682&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
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"info": "A live production of NPR and WBUR Boston, in collaboration with stations across the country, Here & Now reflects the fluid world of news as it's happening in the middle of the day, with timely, in-depth news, interviews and conversation. Hosted by Robin Young, Jeremy Hobson and Tonya Mosley.",
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"hidden-brain": {
"id": "hidden-brain",
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"info": "Shankar Vedantam uses science and storytelling to reveal the unconscious patterns that drive human behavior, shape our choices and direct our relationships.",
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"airtime": "SUN 7pm-8pm",
"meta": {
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"source": "NPR"
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"link": "/radio/program/hidden-brain",
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"how-i-built-this": {
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"title": "How I Built This with Guy Raz",
"info": "Guy Raz dives into the stories behind some of the world's best known companies. How I Built This weaves a narrative journey about innovators, entrepreneurs and idealists—and the movements they built.",
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"airtime": "SUN 7:30pm-8pm",
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"link": "/radio/program/how-i-built-this",
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"hyphenacion": {
"id": "hyphenacion",
"title": "Hyphenación",
"tagline": "Where conversation and cultura meet",
"info": "What kind of no sabo word is Hyphenación? For us, it’s about living within a hyphenation. Like being a third-gen Mexican-American from the Texas border now living that Bay Area Chicano life. Like Xorje! Each week we bring together a couple of hyphenated Latinos to talk all about personal life choices: family, careers, relationships, belonging … everything is on the table. ",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Hyphenacion_FinalAssets_PodcastTile.png",
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"order": 15
},
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},
"jerrybrown": {
"id": "jerrybrown",
"title": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown",
"tagline": "Lessons from a lifetime in politics",
"info": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown brings listeners the wisdom of the former Governor, Mayor, and presidential candidate. Scott Shafer interviewed Brown for more than 40 hours, covering the former governor's life and half-century in the political game – and Brown has some lessons he'd like to share. ",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-Political-Mind-of-Jerry-Brown-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
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"order": 18
},
"link": "/podcasts/jerrybrown",
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},
"latino-usa": {
"id": "latino-usa",
"title": "Latino USA",
"airtime": "MON 1am-2am, SUN 6pm-7pm",
"info": "Latino USA, the radio journal of news and culture, is the only national, English-language radio program produced from a Latino perspective.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/latinoUsa.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://latinousa.org/",
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"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/latino-usa",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=79681317&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510016/podcast.xml"
}
},
"marketplace": {
"id": "marketplace",
"title": "Marketplace",
"info": "Our flagship program, helmed by Kai Ryssdal, examines what the day in money delivered, through stories, conversations, newsworthy numbers and more. Updated Monday through Friday at about 3:30 p.m. PT.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 4pm-4:30pm, MON-WED 6:30pm-7pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Marketplace-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.marketplace.org/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "American Public Media"
},
"link": "/radio/program/marketplace",
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"rss": "https://feeds.publicradio.org/public_feeds/marketplace-pm/rss/rss"
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},
"masters-of-scale": {
"id": "masters-of-scale",
"title": "Masters of Scale",
"info": "Masters of Scale is an original podcast in which LinkedIn co-founder and Greylock Partner Reid Hoffman sets out to describe and prove theories that explain how great entrepreneurs take their companies from zero to a gazillion in ingenious fashion.",
"airtime": "Every other Wednesday June 12 through October 16 at 8pm (repeats Thursdays at 2am)",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "https://mastersofscale.com/",
"meta": {
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"source": "WaitWhat"
},
"link": "/radio/program/masters-of-scale",
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"apple": "http://mastersofscale.app.link/",
"rss": "https://rss.art19.com/masters-of-scale"
}
},
"mindshift": {
"id": "mindshift",
"title": "MindShift",
"tagline": "A podcast about the future of learning and how we raise our kids",
"info": "The MindShift podcast explores the innovations in education that are shaping how kids learn. Hosts Ki Sung and Katrina Schwartz introduce listeners to educators, researchers, parents and students who are developing effective ways to improve how kids learn. We cover topics like how fed-up administrators are developing surprising tactics to deal with classroom disruptions; how listening to podcasts are helping kids develop reading skills; the consequences of overparenting; and why interdisciplinary learning can engage students on all ends of the traditional achievement spectrum. This podcast is part of the MindShift education site, a division of KQED News. KQED is an NPR/PBS member station based in San Francisco. You can also visit the MindShift website for episodes and supplemental blog posts or tweet us \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/MindShiftKQED\">@MindShiftKQED\u003c/a> or visit us at \u003ca href=\"/mindshift\">MindShift.KQED.org\u003c/a>",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Mindshift-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED MindShift: How We Will Learn",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/mindshift/",
"meta": {
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 12
},
"link": "/podcasts/mindshift",
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM1NzY0NjAwNDI5",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/464615685/mind-shift-podcast",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/stories-teachers-share",
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}
},
"morning-edition": {
"id": "morning-edition",
"title": "Morning Edition",
"info": "\u003cem>Morning Edition\u003c/em> takes listeners around the country and the world with multi-faceted stories and commentaries every weekday. Hosts Steve Inskeep, David Greene and Rachel Martin bring you the latest breaking news and features to prepare you for the day.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 3am-9am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Morning-Edition-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/programs/morning-edition/",
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"link": "/radio/program/morning-edition"
},
"onourwatch": {
"id": "onourwatch",
"title": "On Our Watch",
"tagline": "Deeply-reported investigative journalism",
"info": "For decades, the process for how police police themselves has been inconsistent – if not opaque. In some states, like California, these proceedings were completely hidden. After a new police transparency law unsealed scores of internal affairs files, our reporters set out to examine these cases and the shadow world of police discipline. On Our Watch brings listeners into the rooms where officers are questioned and witnesses are interrogated to find out who this system is really protecting. Is it the officers, or the public they've sworn to serve?",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/On-Our-Watch-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "On Our Watch from NPR and KQED",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/onourwatch",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 11
},
"link": "/podcasts/onourwatch",
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