Department of Water Resources
A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
June 19, 2007
3. Watersheds -
Counties combat
Marysville Appeal Democrat
Delta to its latest guest: 'Later, alligator' -
________________________________________
Counties combat
Marysville Appeal Democrat – 6/18/07
By Howard Yune, Staff Writer
Authorities this week are stepping up their efforts to fight mosquitoes carrying the potentially fatal
In Yuba, Sutter and Colusa counties, mosquito-control agencies, which began spraying insecticide this spring, will continue to do so until late October or early November. In the third year since
“If you hit them early and hit them hard, you’re much better off,” said David Whitesell, director of the Colusa Mosquito Abatement District, which is combating mosquitoes in the 160 square miles around the city of
The Sutter-Yuba Mosquito & Vector Control District, which in March began applying the insecticide pyrethrum, this week will increase spraying to four times a week, according to Ronald L. McBride, district manager. Agency workers began their spraying patrols in late March, using both vehicle- and airplane-based equipment to control insects on about 18,000 acres each in Yuba and Sutter counties.
Aerial spraying of Yuba-Sutter rice fields begins today with a chemical called BTI, which kills the immature mosquito larvae that flourish in the fields’ standing water. That program will continue into mid-July.
Earlier this month, the
Ground spraying was increased last week from three to four days weekly.
Female mosquitoes, which draw blood from mammals and birds to allow their eggs to mature, both give and receive the
Although 80 percent of people bitten by infected mosquitoes do not show symptoms,
Mosquito control agencies serving Yuba, Sutter and eastern Colusa counties have reported no West Nile-related sicknesses this year. The agencies also have not found infected crows or other birds – a typical sign that the virus is present and a potential threat to residents.
A dead crow found in
The state Department of Health Services has not reported any human illnesses caused by the virus this year.
HOW TO GET HELP
• California residents can report the presence of dead birds or squirrels – often the indicators that the West Nile Virus is present – to the California Department of Health Services at 877-WNV-BIRD (968-2473).
• In Yuba and Sutter counties, call the Sutter-Yuba Mosquito & Vector Control District at 674-5456, ext. 0, to report animals possibly killed by the virus or for information about insecticidal spraying. More information is available from the district’s Web site, www.sutter-yubamvcd.org.
• In eastern
• The Sutter-Yuba mosquito control district also offers free mosquito fish, which homeowners can use to clear mosquito larvae from ornamental pools and other sources of standing water where the insects breed.
• More information about the
http://www.appeal-democrat.com/news/west_50000___article.html/counties_colusa.html
Delta to its latest guest: 'Later, alligator'
Sacramento
By M.S. Enkoji - Bee Staff Writer
The search to find a home for a wayward alligator captured on the shores of the Sacramento Delta ended blissfully Monday for the reptilian transplant.
The 4-foot-long alligator that created a stir when it slithered ashore on Sherman Island Friday is bound for what can only be described as a four-star resort for his kind in the Sierra foothills.
"We'll give him a real good home," said Gabe Kerschner, director of Wild Things Inc. in
The alligator -- at least 2,000 miles from native ground -- has been in the caged confines of the California Department of Fish and Game since it was captured Friday morning.
On Monday, workers for Wild Things moved the alligator to its new digs, where it will splash in an outdoor pond during the summer and lounge in heated indoor quarters in winter. Well-balanced meals will be served up and, if it likes, it can pal around with the 10 other alligators already there.
Wild Things is home to 60 animal species that were injured or are confiscated illegal pets.
Most likely an abandoned illegal pet, the alligator found in the Delta is the second one to waddle its way into the
The
Scientists believe it is at least 3 years old but hadn't determined its gender as of Monday.
Wild Things will give it a name, once it figures out the gender, Kerschner said. Elvis, Ally and Izod are already taken.
Because alligators cannot survive long bouts of deep cold, it probably hasn't been loose in the Delta for long. It likely showed up after Delta and Dawn -- the mother and daughter pair of humpback whales that surfaced near Rio Vista in mid-May, launching a 20-day effort to get them ocean-bound.
"Small towns have to really do something unusual to end up on CNN," said Eddie Woodruff, mayor of Rio Vista.
The wayward gator didn't get the same kind of attention the whales got. Woodruff couldn't speculate why Rio Vista is luring off-track animals. "It's odd and unusual," he said.
In 1985, Woodruff was headed for a first date with the woman who would become his wife when he was blocked from crossing a bridge because of Humphrey, another humpback that strayed into the Delta.
Woodruff said that Rio Vista can't offer a zoo for the alligator, but it does have Foster's Bighorn, a legendary dining spot that is also the repository for 255 animal trophies -- but no alligators.
Bighorn sheep, elephants and a giraffe adorn the walls of the restaurant that started as a bar in 1931.
The current owner, Howard Lamothe, wasn't interested in an alligator for his exclusive collection: "They have to be shot by Bill Foster."
"I can't imagine an alligator doing well in a
The state of
Alligators live virtually all their lives in freshwater places such as marshes, swamps and lazy rivers in the Southwest, Stiegler said. The estimated 1 million in
They grow from 8 inches long as hatchlings to 14 feet and 1,000 pounds for the males. They live on fish, turtles and any small animals, including domestic ones that wander too close, Stiegler said.
The federal government lists them as a "threatened" species because they are similar to crocodiles, which are also threatened, he said. But
Alligators are even raised commercially, both for their hides and the meat in the
http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/229494.html
No comments:
Post a Comment