Bear cub release at Sagehen.

CA Dept. of Fish & Game released a pair of twin bear cubs here at Sagehen this week.

The pair were orphaned when their mother was killed after repeatedly raiding chicken coops. Here are some links to media coverage of the event:

Sagehen's photos of the event.
Sierra Sun
Reno Gazette Journal
KOLO8-TV, Reno
Sacramento Bee
News10, Sacramento
KNRV, News4

Wolverine program shot at Sagehen.

"Nature" is doing a half-hour program about Wolverines.

The opening sequence was shot this week at Sagehen, high in the basin above the recent rain line. Joe Pontecorvo came up to shoot the piece. Take a look at his amazing work at his website.

The sequence dramatizes Katie Moriarty's accidental discovery of the first Wolverine ever photographed in California, & the first documented sighting since 1922.

Expanding network.

Today marks a major milestone for us. At this moment, I am blogging from the upper Sagehen basin, where for the first time ever, all of our meteorological towers are on-line simultaneously!

We've spent many hours & days over the years working to get to this point. We've finally reached it thanks to the efforts & contributions of many folks, including the Keck Hydrowatch team, Meraki, Doug Boyle & Brad Lyles at DRI, Kevin Browne & Marshall Minobe. Thanks so much everyone!

You can log on & check out the network here.

Best wishes for 2009!

Winter is here!

After a very looong, dry fall, winter finally arrived in late December, briefly closing the road with 2-feet of cold fresh snow.

Fortunately, we now have the new snow cat, so Jeff was able to open the road right back up & keep it open through the storm cycle. You can drive to the station now. The road into the basin is groomed all the way to the upper gate near the ridgetop, so station users can easily access weather towers & other basin features via snowmobile, tracked vehicle or skis without having to worry about getting stuck in deep, unconsolidated snow.

Jeff & I had a busy fall, with the usual hectic meeting schedule, including visits to Cambria for the UCNRS Annual Meeting, & to Blackrock Reserve in New York state for the OBFS Annual Meeting.

We're now settled in for the winter & looking forward to some new station users arriving this month.