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The LEO Network is a worldwide network of observers and experts that share their observations of environmental change.
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Observations

‘Bomb cyclone’ threatens Northern California and Pacific Northwest
The areas that could see particularly severe rainfall as the large plume of moisture heads toward land will likely stretch from the south of Portland, Oregon, to the north of the San Francisco area.
San Francisco, California, United States
Anchorage Daily News

California faces more flooding after yet another powerful Pacific storm
A late-season Pacific storm that brought damaging winds and more rain and snow to saturated California was blamed for at least two deaths.
Boulder Creek, California, United States
Associated Press

Salmon fishing banned along California coast as population plummets
It’s only the second time in history that the ocean salmon fishery has been closed in California, and the decision reflects a major decline in fish populations after the state’s driest three-year period on record.
Bolinas, California, United States
Los Angeles Times

Avian Influenza Detected In Deceased Bobcat
Wildlife disease specialists with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) recently received confirmation that an adult bobcat died from the Eurasian strain of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1. This is the first detection of the virus in a wild mammal in the state.Notwithstanding this detection, infection of wild mammals with avian influenza viruses appears to be relatively rare.
Escalon, California, United States
Escalon Times

Why ‘tens of thousands’ of fish are dying in the Bay Area
Local officials and scientists have yet to nail down how many fish have died, but the reports have been coming in non-stop since Friday.
San Francisco, California, United States
SFGATE

5th dead whale found in less than month near San Francisco Bay
The carcass of a 41-foot adult female gray whale landed at San Francisco’s Crissy Field on March 31. A second adult female was found April 3 at Moss Beach in San Mateo County. A third was found April 7 floating near the Berkeley Marina and the following day another at Muir Beach. A video of the fifth dead whale was posted on social media Friday.
San Francisco, California, United States
Santa Rosa Press Democrat

Four gray whales have been found dead in California's Bay Area within eight days
The carcasses of four gray whales have been found around the San Francisco Bay Area in eight days -- an alarming string of deaths that constitutes an unusual mortality event, defined by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) as a significant die-off of a marine species.
San Francisco Bay Area, California, United States
CNN News

A gray whale carcass washed ashore at S.F.'s Crissy Field
A gray whale carcass washed ashore at Crissy Field on Wednesday morning. Veterinarians and biologists from the center and from the California Academy of Sciences plan to perform a necropsy in coming days on the island to determine the cause of death.
San Francisco Chronicle

Wild Animals Reclaim San Francisco and LA After Cities Empty Over COVID-19
As California streets empty under the stay-at-home measures to “flatten the curve” of the novel coronavirus outbreak, wild animals have come to reclaim their domain.
The Daily Beast

Thousands of 'sea pickles' wash up on Monterey Bay beach
Hundreds upon hundreds of specimens known as "sea pickles" washed up on Monterey Bay beaches on Thursday. As explained by the Monterey Bay Aquarium, "Big waves and strong currents are pushing pyrosomes onto local beaches.
Asilomar State Beach, Pacific Grove, California, United States
SFGate

Blacksmith (Chromis punctipinnis) Newly Abundant in Central California
"In the midfield of my dive this school of blacksmith suddenly appeared. They were hiding from cormorants that dove into the water."
Edward F. Ricketts State Marine Conservation Area, California, United States

First Confirmed Hoodwinker Sunfish Photographed in Monterey Bay!!
Major Mola Moment: First Confirmed Hoodwinker Sunfish Photographed in Monterey Bay!!
Pacific Grove, California, United States
Monterey Bay Aquarium

Two dead gray whales in San Francisco Bay spur investigation
The Marine Mammal Center and California Academy of Sciences are reporting cause of death for one.
Tiburon, California, United States
Marin Independent Journal

Potentially deadly infection hits California sea lions
A rescue center says California sea lions are coming down with a potentially fatal bacterial infection in near-record numbers.The Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito says more than 220 sea lions rescued this year have been diagnosed with leptospirosis.
Sausalito, California, United States
ABC News

Record number of killer whales sighted on Monterey Bay
Monterey Bay, California, United States
Mercury News

Climate change could leave Californians with 'weather whiplash'
Climate change will make for more frequent wild swings in California weather, with both more extremely dry and extremely wet years and 'weather whiplash' in between.
California, United States
CNN

San Francisco sets all-time heat record downtown at 106 degrees during hottest recorded summer
According to the National Weather Service, 36.5 million residents, 98% of Californians, are under a heat advisory Friday as a high-pressure system broils the state from the Oregon to Mexico borders.
latimes.com

The San Francisco Bay Area Faces Sea Level Rise and Chronic Inundation
Sea level rise will affect the Bay Area. A new study by UCS projects when will flooding happen regularly, and what areas will affect to help communities prepare for the changes to come.
Milpitas, California, United States
Union of Concerned Scientists

Salinity and leopard shark mortality in San Francisco Bay

Leopard sharks dying by the hundreds in San Francisco Bay
Alameda, California, United States
SFGate

Sharks Are Dying By the Hundreds in San Francisco Bay -
Foster City, California, United States
Bay Nature

Biologist: Orca attacks on gray whales up in California bay
Monterey Bay
ABC News

California Sea Level Could Rise 10 Feet By End Of This Century
San Bruno, California, United States
The Huffington Post

Jumbo Flying Squid Pile Up On Calif. Beach
Rio Del Mar, California, United States
ABC News

Hundreds of Humboldt squid wash up on Aptos area beaches
Rio Del Mar, California, United States
Santa Cruz Sentinel

Hiker encounters 2 mountain lions on popular trail
Sightings of wild animals increase as humans shelter in place

Prickly sharks (Echinorhinus cookei) observed in the shallow head of Monterey Submarine canyon

Basking Sharks (Cetorhinus maximus) Return to Monterey Bay
Moss Landing, California, United States

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