"Water usage in parts of Southern California increased in July but saw a minor reduction statewide as Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) requested that residents cut back amid a historic drought, according to new state data released Tuesday."

"As California’s prized salmon runs teeter toward extinction in another crushing drought, a new study highlights the need to rethink dams — a key part of the state’s water management." "Water releases from dams aren’t that good at mimicking natural conditions, a new study finds."

"A federal judge in Los Angeles ruled Wednesday that the Trump administration violated the law when it declined to grant Endangered Species Act protections to the iconic Joshua tree."

"Ms. Malmberg, 64, is a goat herder and a pioneer in using the animals to restore fire-ravaged lands to greener pastures and make them less prone to the spread of blazes."

"A group of landmark giant sequoias has so far been spared by a blaze sweeping through a California national park, authorities said on Sunday."

"Los Angeles County supervisors voted unanimously Wednesday to phase out oil and gas drilling and ban new drill sites in the unincorporated areas of the nation’s most populous county."

"Growing wildfires in the Sierra Nevada forced the closure of Sequoia National Park in California on Wednesday as blazes sparked by lightning strikes threaten the park’s groves of giant sequoias, home to some of the tallest and oldest trees in the world."

"The drought, along with man-made impediments, has placed the state’s wild Chinook population at grave risk."

"President Joe Biden on Monday used his first Western swing in office to hold out the wildfires burning across the region as an argument for his $3.5 trillion rebuilding plans, calling year-round fires and other extreme weather a climate change reality the nation can no longer ignore."