Long Beach reopened after sewage spill!

It's safe to go swimming at Long Beach, if you dare, according to the city.
At about 1:45 today, Friday, Aug. 15, a near 4-mile stretch of Long Beach was reopened after a 20,000-gallon sewage spill closed off the various beaches earlier in the week.
“Beaches are now open and there are no advisories in effect,” said a voice message on hotline recording for the Long Beach Department of Health and Human Services.
The beach, from 1st Street to 72nd street, remained closed for about three days after a sewer line broke in Watts, leaving sewage to flow into the Los Angeles River and out into the ocean.
The city's health officer, Dr. Helene Calvet issued a beach closure on Tuesday, Aug. 12, and was waiting for a second round of test results for state standards on Friday before opening the beach again.
The sewage spill that closed such "chronically polluted" beaches such as Mother's Beach, was the fifth time Long Beach has experienced a sewage spill since January. It was the second largest spill recorded this year as well.
For more information, call the Department’s Water Quality Information Line, 570.4199, or visit www.longbeach.gov/health and click on "Services" and then "Recreational Water Quality."

'Aquatic insects' thrive on Catalina Island

Fleas, ticks, and ants are common in households during the summer, and with the hot weather today, they might be making you mad, along with your cats and dogs.
But another world of insects also exists on the surface of the ocean, in small ponds, estuaries, lakes and reserves.
Don't worry, most of them don't bite.
These insects feed off of algae and floating organisms found in stagnant waters.
They are a little more colorful, and have been around for a long time— more than 100 million years, since the age of the dinosaurs.
Although they looked a little different back then, the insects haven't changed much, after all, most insects breed in water anyway, such as mosquitoes that can carry disease and West Nile virus.
"Aquatic insects" can be found off of Catalina Island, according to Carlos de la Rosa, a biologist for the Catalina Island Conservancy who posted a detailed slide show on the conservancy's Web site.
De la Rosa says insects in general have a short life spans and "live fast and die young."
Most butterflies, for example, live only a few weeks to a few months.
However, there are insects, like an African queen termite, that can live up to 50 years.
Among the short-lifers, "aquatic insects" are the champions.
Some, like mayflies, caddisflies and non-biting Mosquito-like midges that come out during the night, only live for a few hours as adults – barely enough time to find a mate and produce the next generation. These aquatic insects live dual lives, though, de la Rosa wrote.
Known scientifically as Chironomidae, the non-biting midges have differences in the sexes, like most insects, where the male has feathery antennas and external organs and the female has a rounder body.
Most of these common aquatic insects are well-known to fly-fishermen who use fake rubber lures that look like the real thing to reel in fresh-water fish.
Besides occasional fish, other species that feed off of aquatic insects are frogs, spiders and birds.
Other aquatic insect species that breathe air and then dive into the water include diving beetles and water boatmans.

20,000-gallon sewage spill closes Long Beach

An exceeding 20,000-gallon sewage spill closed almost 4 miles of beach on Tuesday, city officials warned, which is the fifth and second largest sewage spill for Long Beach this year.
This time, a broken sewer line near Watts out poured sewage that flows down the Los Angeles River from Compton Creeks, affecting the beach from 1st place to 72nd place, according to the Long Beach Health Department press release.
The spill was reported by the Los Angeles County Health Department at about 3:10 p.m. Tuesday afternoon.
Dr. Helene Calvet, the city's health officer, closed the beach to water-based recreational activities "to protect the public from serious illness due to exposure from untreated sewage," according to a city statement.
The water will be tested by the Health Department to determine its bacterial content and when the levels are low enough for the beaches to be reopened.
For further information, call the water department hotline at 562-570-4199 or go to www.longbeach.gov/health.

California brown pelicans take flight

My trip to Two Harbors Catalina last weekend was a safe voyage.
We had fare winds, a nice breeze, and little or no white caps out on the seas. Despite a few jolts in the night, the rocking wakes just put us right to sleep, for the most part.
Although we didn't spot any dolphins, one thing that was interesting was an enormous amount of California brown pelicans this year, to go along with the overabundance reported recently since the government banned the use of DDT, a chemical used as a pesticide that depleted the already thin shells of pelicans and other birds.
Here is a story about this reported in the Long Beach Press-Telegram.
Also, I spotted about three bat rays this time, which seem to be breeding over from the natural habitat sanctuary reserve at the USC Marine Lab.
Overall, a stellar vacation...as usual.

Aftershocks still rock Southern California

Nearly two days after the southland experienced what was thought to be the "big one," Orange County residents felt something go bump in the night last night.
A 3.5 earthquake centered west of Petrolia rumbled the area Wednesday night, July 31, at about 7:30 p.m., according to the U.S. Geological Survey that lists a number of quakes in Southern California and Nevada. A 4.2 had hit the same area on Tuesday.
An aftershock of 3.0 near Yorba Linda occurred on Tuesday, caused by the Chino Hills 5.4 earthquake that rattled Southern California that same day.
According to the site, there have been 15 small-size earthquakes starting at 3.0 from July 25.

Seal Beach wildlife hangs on the balance

The sun peeked its way through the overcast skyline, as vacationers flocked to the Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station early in the morning last Saturday.
“I want to see how our tax dollars are being spent,” said one visitor.
Droves of onlookers expected to get an up-close glimpse of wildlife during the base’s free tour, held on the last Saturday of each month.
Volunteers wearing beige vests then went over a few rules: no smoking, no cameras and, most recently, no cell-phone cameras.
The security regulations are due to the wildlife’s relationship with the Navy base, used as a holding ground for ammunitions.
This hidden natural habitat, known as the Seal Beach National Wildlife Refuge, which takes up one fifth of the 5,000-acre Navy base, is one of the last remaining protected areas for bird species.
Predators in peril
But some biologists and specialists say a declining amount of predators, such as red-tailed hawks, cooper’s hawks and American kestrels, throughout Southern California, could threaten the very existence of this vast ecosystem.
“It’s puzzling,” said Pete Bloom, a biologist for the Audubon California Starr Ranch Sanctuary. “Certain species have declined dramatically.”
Although no official numbers have been recorded, data shows the dwindling amounts of “Birds of Prey” could be caused by a variety of environmental concerns, Bloom said.
Fewer protected habitats because of fires and development, climate change caused by global warming, West Nile virus outbreaks and less prey are all factors in the shortened number of nests over the last few decades.
However, Navy biologist Bob Schallman said the problem is more of a regional issue.
“Open space at the Seal Beach refuge continues to provide suitable breeding and foraging areas for a wide variety of bird species, including raptors,” Schallman said. “The Navy and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service staff continue to work together to monitor the health of the station's bird population through regular surveys and studies.”
Schallman said this year has been a banner year for California least terns, small sand-dwelling birds that are currently on the endangered species list.
The count, about 207 nests, matched or exceeded the base’s all time high this year, he said. The increase in population is mainly due to more protection from volunteers and more small fish to feed off.
The nests are protected on an island formerly used as a testing sight for NASA projects.
Least terns are then expected to leave in August.
Prey also in danger
But, the Navy continues to have challenges with predators targeting these young birds, resulting in relatively low fledgling numbers compared to previous years, he said.
A number of potential predatory species on the base that feed on the terns likely include the great blue heron, northern harrier, common raven and American kestrel.
Volunteers from the Friends of Seal Beach National Wildlife Refuge's "Eyes on the Colony" program have provided assistance to the Navy and the USFWS staff in monitoring the tern-breeding site for these predators, providing quick notification when predators target the site.
Some of these predators are sometimes displaced or treated in the hands of veterinarian Scott Weldy, who works for a wildlife hospital in Lake Forest.
While he admits Seal Beach is not a good representation of sampling, Weldy has seen a difference in both the kinds of predators that are brought into his hospital and the amount.
“I can tell you the numbers are a general anecdote,” he said. “Hopefully, it’s not a representation of them dying, but in general, numbers have significantly dropped down.”
Weldy works with federal and state wildlife officials on birds of prey where he treats each one in cages until they can be re-released or relocated.
He said a better representation of whether predator birds are declining would be to take a survey from all of the biologists over the state, look at the nest sightings and see how many babies fledge out of that site.
In general, however, birds during this time of year aren’t as abundant as in other months.
“Winter is the best time to see a lot of birds,” said John Fitch, a volunteer who has been monitoring birds since 1988 and helps protect least terns on the base.
The marshland provides food and a way of life for almost 200,000 shore birds on a day-to-day basis during those times.
Predators, he said, add up to about 4,000.
Marsh lands disappearing
“We have only 2 to 5 percent of marsh left in Southern California,” he said. “We got more and more red tails that will start hunting in here.”
In addition, the Seal Beach wildlife refuge is home to one of the last remaining burrowing owls in Orange County. With about eight to 12 owls, the Navy has set up protected artificial burrows on the north side of the base.
Kristen Bender, president of the Friends of the Seal Beach National Wildlife Refuge, said she considers the refuge a jewel for all types of wildlife in the midst of coastal development. She said without the shallow nutrient waters of the wetlands, local fish off the coast wouldn’t have a place to lay eggs.
“If the marshes go, then so goes the fish,” Bender said. “This is vastly more productive than a marina.”
To learn more about the Naval base wildlife tours log on to http://www.pelicanvan.org/ or call (562) 598-1024.

Junk is on its way!!!

Our guys are determined, that is, Joel and Marcus, two environmentalists who took to the seas of the Pacific to make a point about the pollution our plastic contamination is causing on our much needed ocean environment.
I have faith in both these men, who, with the help of hundreds of people, are making a difference.
It sounds like fun, but right now they have passed Isla De Guadeloupe, the farthest south island off the west coast. They're heading for the Big Island of Hawaii, now only surviving off of cans of beans and corn on a make-shift boat made of 15,00 plastic bottles, Cessna fuselage and a sail, named JUNK.
The energy that these two have is fueled by the pure will to spread the word about environmental causes, such as the fact that tons of plastic is dropped into our ocean currents each year.
That is ridiculous!!!
We need to reduce, reuse, and recycle, which is in order for a reason.
I applaud these guys for not only making our generation of people look good, but also for telling the world, scientifically, what is going on.
Cheers!