drought

Historic drought followed by record-breaking precipitation and warm lake temperatures converged to produce the lowest annual average clarity levels recorded at Lake Tahoe in 2017, according to data released Wednesday by the Tahoe Environmental Research Center at the University of California, Davis.

Spores inoculating roots sounds like something out of a science fiction movie. Yet a healthy soil contains multitudes of fungal spores that establish relationships with the root systems of plants. These relationships are beneficial to plants and are called mycorrhizae (myco=fungus, rhizae=roots).

CARSON CITY — Wetlands are the link between land and water: where the flow of water, the cycling of nutrients, and the energy of the sun meet to produce highly productive ecosystems with unique plant and animal life.

I’m sad. I just had an old birch tree removed.

After babying the sickly thing for years, I finally gave in and had it cut down.

The tree was here when we moved in 30 years ago and it didn’t look great then. It never really grew.

Why did it die? Bronze birch borers had infested the tree and it never recovered.

The U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit will soon begin the process of opening recreational facilities in the Lake Tahoe Basin. Weather and snow conditions permitting, Inspiration Point will be the first site to open on Saturday, April 14.

I recently pruned my apple and crabapple trees. It’s easier to prune with no blossoms or leaves. You can see the direction of the branches and buds, and the location of the water sprouts.

Earth Day at Lake Tahoe has a special meaning. Working together through the Lake Tahoe Environmental Improvement Program, more than 50 local, state, federal, nonprofit, and private sector partners are implementing projects and programs to conserve the Tahoe Basin’s environment and fix past environmental harms.

March Madness might just as well describe Nevada’s extremely variable weather this month. That’s why a nonprofit organization finds this an ideal time to recruit local citizens to collect weather data to help meteorologists better predict Nevada’s confusing weather.

Gardeners pay attention to weather, and hopefully are also aware of Nevada’s climate.

What’s the difference?

What gorgeous weather we are having with beautiful sunny, warm days. Buds on trees are swelling, daffodils and other bulbs are poking up their heads. I suspect if this weather continues, soon even the grass could be greening.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Nevada District 2 Congressman Mark Amodei released the following statement Wednesday after the House unanimously passed H.R. 1107, the Pershing County Economic Development and Conservation Act, a bipartisan piece of legislation he reintroduced on February 16, 2017:

CARSON CITY — University of Nevada Cooperative Extension, in collaboration with the Nevada Department of Agriculture, will offer a series of eight classes for those in the green industry beginning Feb. 1. The program benefits people wanting to enter the industry, beginners in the industry and established industry professionals.

As winter approaches, many are wondering if Nevada is going to have another wet winter and may be hearing terms such as “El Niño” and “La Niña.” But, what are they, and how exactly do they impact Nevada winters and the moisture we will receive?

CARSON CITY — As the Nevada National Guard prepares to enter 2018, a look back on the Silver State’s past year reveals an unprecedented request for domestic response activations, not just in Nevada and northern California, but also places around the nation, ranging from Oregon to Puerto Rico.

Severe and prolonged drought has resulted in extensive tree mortality in Sierra Nevada forests, with more than 100 million dead trees reported, according to UC Davis scientists and the Tahoe Fund.

Hello fellow anglers, I just returned from fishing Topaz Lake with friend Tom Blotter. We had a great day of fishing, but to see the devastation from the Slinkard Fire was hard to accept. We saw where the fire came within feet from homes in the Topaz area.

The UC Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center on Thursday released its annual Tahoe: State of the Lake Report for 2016, noting a year marked by the hottest temperatures on record followed by a winter of unprecedented levels of rain and snow in the Sierra Nevada where Lake Tahoe resides.

School is out and summer is in full swing at Lake Tahoe. Visitors and residents are heading to beaches and launching boats, kayaks, and standup paddleboards to get out and enjoy the jewel of the Sierra. Millions of people visit Tahoe each year and the shoreline is where they go to experience its famously cold, clear, blue water.

American’s favorite crop to grow at home is the tomato. Few can resist the delicious flavor of a homegrown tomato.

On June 24, 2007, embers from an illegal and abandoned campfire ignited the most destructive fire in the history of the Lake Tahoe Basin.

Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval signed 32 bills into law Friday, including a measure that speeds up the employee background check process for some private businesses, a consumer protection bill ensuring full rate disclosure at rental truck establishments, and an act that gives additional criteria for water right holders to justify time extensions.

Memorial Day weekend is the traditional kickoff to boating season in Northern Nevada, and game wardens at the Nevada Department of Wildlife are urging boaters to take extra precautions before going on the water.

The winter storms that have pounded much of Nevada the past few months have been met with varied reactions. There are those people who are growing weary of huge snow banks, digging their cars out of the snow to drive to work on icy roads. Anglers, however, are definitely not in that group.

The Sierra Nevada snowpack continues to build during one of the wettest winters in California’s recorded history and this was evident as the monthly snow survey was conducted this week by the Department of Water Resources at Phillips Station near Sierra Resort.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif./Nev – Operation Sierra Storm, the television meteorologists’ conference organized by the Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority, generated national attention and provided comprehensive media results for South Lake Tahoe’s historic snowfall.

Thanksgiving isn't a patriotic holiday per se, but it is full of patriotic feelings as Americans did and should give thanks for our shared blessings as a nation.

A reader, Pat, wrote me: We’ve lived here in Carson City for the past 13 years and this is the first year we’ve experienced an issue with black widow spiders. The fact is we had no idea they were here. But a month or so ago, I found one inside our house.

A weak La Nina has arrived and may stick around through winter, NOAA announced Thursday. Forecasters say the climate phenomena will likely contribute to drier and warmer weather in the southern U.S. and wetter, cooler conditions in the Pacific Northwest and across to the northern tier of the nation this winter.


This event may not be as exciting as Major League Baseball’s Chicago Cubs triumph over the Cleveland Indians, ending a 108 year title drought, but anyone who ever attended Carson High School or Douglas High School knows that its rivalry has lasted equally as long.

Here's the rainfall total from recent storm at Glenn Drive location northwest Carson City. The various sources of weather data for Carson City all seem to differ and lean toward the conservative, so I wanted to add an unofficial measurement for the occupants close to Silver Oak Golf Course.