Environment Content

2025 Lake Tahoe Clarity Report Released

Katherine E Kerlin — June 09, 2026 - 8:30am

Staring into the depths of Lake Tahoe, you might think the view goes on forever. But researchers at the UC Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center have been tracking precisely how far a person can see through the famed lake’s waters for nearly 60 years and sharing the results in the annual Lake Tahoe Clarity Report.

Deer Are First Animals to Cross California’s First Wildlife Overcrossing

Katherine E Kerlin — June 03, 2026 - 11:31am

Three mule deer have become the first wildlife to cross over California’s first wildlife overcrossing over a state highway. The project is nearing completion on S.R. 97 in Siskiyou County, reported the UC Davis Road Ecology Center and Caltrans this week.

Researchers Find Carcinogenic Chromium-6 in Palisades, Altadena Fire Cleanup Zones

Katherine E Kerlin — June 01, 2026 - 9:52am

A carcinogen with potentially serious impacts on human health was found in neighborhoods in the months after the 2025 Los Angeles County wildfires and may have spread to communities as far as six to nine miles downwind from the fire zones, according to newly published work by University of California researchers.

Study Projects Plant Extinction Rates Through 2100

Katherine E Kerlin — May 07, 2026 - 11:00am

A UC Davis study in Science found that 7% to 16% of global plant species studied face high risk of extinction by 2100 under current climate change projections.

Forest Fuel Treatments Reduce Wildfire Spread, Prevent $2.8 Billion in Damage

Amy M Quinton — May 07, 2026 - 11:00am

A UC Davis study finds every dollar spent on forest fuel treatments saves $3.75 in wildfire damages.

Alcatraz Coyote Wasn’t a City Boy After All

Katherine E Kerlin — May 05, 2026 - 1:19pm

After months of fieldwork and scientific analysis, National Park Service researchers have determined that the coyote that drew international attention in early 2026 after swimming to Alcatraz Island likely started his epic swim from Angel Island State Park.

The coyote’s whereabouts remain unknown, but new DNA evidence has helped park staff answer one of the biggest questions surrounding the unusual sighting: where he came from.

Climate Change Increases Spillover Risk of Rodent-Borne Arenaviruses

Katherine E Kerlin — May 04, 2026 - 9:00am

Climate change is likely to drive rodent-borne arenaviruses into parts of South America that have never faced these diseases, putting new communities of people at risk, finds a study from the University of California, Davis.

For the study, published in the journal npj Viruses, scientists incorporated climate projections, shifting rodent populations and the risks of human infection into a model to offer an early risk projection for arenaviruses and other diseases in the next 20 to 40 years.

Stop-and-Go Science: Researchers Pivot to Try to Salvage Important Work

Jocelyn C Anderson — April 27, 2026 - 9:00am

When climate change is faster than the speed of science and unstable funding threatens discovery, UC Davis scientists pivot to try to save important research.

Wildfire-Driven Deforestation Rates in California Among Highest in World

Katherine E Kerlin — April 22, 2026 - 9:00am

California has one of the highest rates of wildfire-driven deforestation in the world, and the trend has accelerated over the past three decades, according to a UC Davis study.

What Does A Record-Breaking Wildfire Season Mean For Life in Alpine Lakes?

Katherine E Kerlin — April 21, 2026 - 10:39am

In the summer of 2020, MJ Farruggia embarked on the first field season of her PhD research. With a backpack full of scientific equipment and camping gear, she hiked high into the Emerald Lake Watershed high in the Sierra Nevada Mountains to install environmental sensors and collect water samples from six small lakes and ponds.