Conservation In the News

Below are links to important articles that appear in various media, including our own newsletter, the Avocet.

Species Preservation

Burrowing owls being driven close to extinction by development pressures may have a chance of survival under a new plan that aims to preserve 300 acres of owl habitat inside Mountain View's Shoreline Park.
Mountain View Voice, April 2012. Read.

Life is not easy for the small flock of burrowing owls who live on a small patch of habitat in the midst of Google offices, the Shoreline Golf Links, and the thousands of visitors who venture to the recreation area at the end of Shoreline Boulevard.
Mountain View Voice, April 2012. Read.

Like many groups of old-time Silicon Valley residents before them, the burrowing owl is being forced out of the Bay Area, a victim of the latest technology boom.
The Wall Street Journal, October 2011. Read (PDF).

As Mountain View's population of burrowing owls is dwindling, authorities are being prodded to approve a new plan to save them. Despite a successful breeding season this year, it appears that the owls are barely hanging on.
Mountain View Voice, September 2011. Read.

Our Burrowing Owl documentary wins award. Caroline Armer's and Jonathan Armer's documentary Reversing the Trend wins top documentary award from CreaTV in the Student: 13-18 category!
CreaTV San Jose, January 2011. Read.

The [Mountain View] City Council unanimously approved a 6.5-acre recreation facility. The rub is that it sits on foraging grounds for the rare burrowing owl.
Mountain View Voice, September 2010. Read.

Shani Kleinhaus, SCVAS Environmental Advocate, is selected to receive a Together Green grant from National Audubon Society to involve immigrant communities in the preservation and enhancement of Burrowing Owls habitat at Mountain View's Shoreline Park. August 2010. Read.

Solar Energy

Superior Court Judge Robert O'Farrell ruled in favor of San Benito County in a lawsuit brought by Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society and others challenging the county's approval of the proposed solar farm in Panoche Valley and its Environmental Impact Report.
The Avocet, September 2011. Read more.

When Kim Williams looks out at [Panoche Valley] from her lowslung ranch house, she sees an area rich with wildlife that is helping support her grass-fed chicken farm, her neighbor's cattle operations and her peaceful way of life. She supports solar energy on a small scale.
Forex, January 2011. Read.

Following the approval of a conditional use permit and other authorizations for the Panoche Valley Solar Project, Save Panoche Valley and Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society joined in filing a petition in Superior Court challenging the certification of the Panoche Valley project Environmental Impact Report.
Audubon California, December 2010. Read.

Picture important areas that birds depend on: Carrizo Plain? Kern River? Big Morongo Canyon? Mono Basin? Panoche Valley? Are solar arrays the next wave of landscape features that will dominate the California foothills for decades to come? No longer relegated to the southeastern Mojave desert, the solar future is knocking at Santa Clara County's door.
The Avocet, November 2010. Read more.

In addition to their lack of experience in significant solar projects, some of Solargen Energy's principal investors and key board members have had little success working together in founding or managing viable energy-related businesses, a Free Lance analysis has shown.
Holister Free Lance, June 2010. Read.

The Solar Conundrum - the continuing quest for the renewable energy silver bullet.
Avocet, January-February 2010. Read.

Wind Energy

The same things that make the Altamont Pass good for wind turbines also make it good for birds. The breezes blowing over these 50,000 acres make it a perfect migratory pathway, and grasslands under the turbines are full of small mammals that attract birds of prey. A recent study estimates that the Altamont Pass turbines kill between 7,500 and 9,300 birds each year.
SF Gate, September 2010. Read.

A study estimated that about 10,000 birds-nearly all protected by the migratory bird act-are being whacked every year at Altamont.
Wall Street Journal, September 2009. Read.

Help California Thrashers © Tom Grey

How you can help!

• Write a letter, attend a meeting, or perform some other action as described in our latest Conservation Action Alert.

• You can help with these or other projects that interest you by becoming a Volunteer for Conservation. We have many ways that you can help from simply speaking out as part of our Conservation Action Alert Network to joining our Environmental Action Committee (EAC).

• Make a tax-deductible donation to support these and other local conservation efforts.