1,000 more California wildfires than usual in 2014, and fire season just started [Los Angeles Times]
The
traditional fire season has only just begun, and already in California
firefighters have battled at least 1,000 more wildfires than in a typical year.
So far this year, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection has
sent crews to nearly 5,000 wildfires, which have charred a combined 92,139
acres on non-U.S. Forest Service land, according to a statewide fire activity
update issued this week….Federal forest land has already taken a huge hit in
Northern California, where a series of fires has scorched nearly 275,000 acres
combined…."These times are unprecedented here in California with respect
to fire BEHAVIOR," Cal Fire Unit Chief Mike Kaslin said last week during
an update on the King fire.
California
drought likely to persist or intensify [Desert Sun]
The
severe drought is likely to remain or intensify during the next three months in
most of California, Nevada and Oregon, according to a new forecast from the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Climate Prediction Center.
The drought is already classified "D4" as an extreme drought situation,
the worst possible, in most of Central and Northern California, said Anthony
Artusa, a NOAA meteorologist who put together the new drought outlook report
and map. "By definition, it can't get worse," Artusa said. Still,
it's too early to say how much relief the winter may bring because California
typically gets half of its annual precipitation during the three months of
December, January and February, said Jeanine Jones, deputy drought manager for
the state's Department of Water Resources. Jones also pointed out that the
accuracy of weather forecasts looking months into the future is limited.
U.S.
lemon lovers tasting bitter price shock from drought [Bloomberg News]
…A
prolonged drought in California, which grew 91 percent of U.S. lemons this
year, contributed to a surge in costs. Wholesale prices almost doubled from a
year earlier, and retail lemons are up 36 percent to $2.327 a pound in August,
the highest since the Bureau of Labor Statistics began tracking them in 1980.
At a time when big Midwest grain crops are contributing to lower global food
prices, the lack of rain in the nation’s biggest agricultural state is boosting
costs for fresh fruits. The U.S. Department of Agriculture forecasts an
increase of 5 percent to 6 percent this year, matching expected gains in meats
and eggs….Domestic lemon production in the year ended July 31 tumbled 8.8
percent to 832,000 short tons (754,800 metric tons), while the surge in prices
boosted the value of the crop by 62 percent to $647.7 million, USDA data show.
The output decline reflects smaller fruit as a result of the dry spell, said
Bob Blakely, vice president for California Citrus Mutual, an industry group in
Exeter….The crop also was hit by a freeze beginning in December that damaged
crops in the San Joaquin Valley, causing $24 million in lost revenue,
California Citrus Mutual estimates.
Preliminary
GWR source water gets OK from county water agency [Monterey Herald]
Supervisors,
other partners still must approve to kick-start binding talks
A
critical preliminary water source agreement for the Monterey Regional Water
Pollution Control Agency's groundwater replenishment project earned its first
official thumbs-up on Monday. By a unanimous vote, the Monterey County Water
Resources Agency board of directors recommended approval by the Board of
Supervisors of a memorandum of understanding setting a framework for a final
agreement on source water for the groundwater replenishment project and
distribution of recycled water….The board's approval came despite calls from
Monterey County Farm Bureau executive director Norm Groot and Salinas Valley
Water Coalition president Nancy Isakson to hold off on approving the memorandum
until Salinas Valley ag interests could review it.
http://www.montereyherald.com/localnews/ci_26585598/preliminary-gwr-source-water-gets-ok-from-county
No
shortage of public input as West Marin ranch plan moves ahead [Marin
Independent Journal]
More
than 3,000 comments poured into the Point Reyes National Seashore on a plan
that addresses the future of ranches on National Park Service land in West
Marin. Looking to provide West Marin ranches with more security and opportunity,
the park service is in the middle of a planning process for working beef cattle
and dairy ranches within the Point Reyes National Seashore. Longer leases for
ranchers is the cornerstone of the plan, dubbed the "Ranch Comprehensive
Management Plan/ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT."…It is the park service that
didn't renew a lease for the Drakes Bay Oyster Co., another business within the
seashore. Ranchers in the park worried they might be next to get the boot. But
when the order came down in November 2012 to not renew the oyster company's
lease, then-interior secretary Ken Salazar said existing ranching operations
within the national park would continue.
Survey:
California wine industry adapting to aging baby boomers, foreign competition,
drought [Sacramento Bee]
In
wine parlance, it’s called “passing the glass.” As aging baby boomers taper off
their wine consumption, the millennial generation is poised to pick up the
slack, according to a new UC Davis SURVEY of California wine executives. And
despite water shortages and increased competition from craft beers, cocktails
and imported wines, California’s wine industry is holding its own globally.
Those are among the results to be presented Tuesday at the Wine Industry
Financial Symposium in Napa….Climate change and water use will be among the
industry’s top concerns over the next five to 10 years, according to the 26
wine executives. They said they are implementing strategies to combat the
effects of drought, including use of imaging technology to minimize vineyard
water consumption, recycling water for irrigation and changing conservation
practices.
Ag
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