Beth Pratt

Wildlife lover, advocate & author. President of The Wildlife Crossing Fund. Loves wandering in Yosemite. Vegetarian. P22🩷. Tweets rep me

[Beth Pratt @bethpratt]

A magical time of year is coming in February- a chance to see a natural #firefall at #horsetailfall in @YosemiteNPS Last year was the most amazing one I have ever witnessed-this video captured the wind moving the water in a spectacular show. #yosemite #yosemitefirefall

[Ben Goldsmith @BenGoldsmith]

Join me on Rewilding the World in conversation with Craig Bennett, chief executive of the iconic Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts. Under Craig’s leadership, the Wildlife Trusts have become one of the most important forces for ambitious nature recovery in Britain.

Out now wherever you get your podcasts.

@WildlifeTrusts

[Beth Pratt @bethpratt]

@greennomad61 @smdailypress You are preaching to the choir. I wrote my entire book on wildlife and refused to use “it”. I don’t personally use “it.”Again, it is a quote.

[Beth Pratt @bethpratt]

“The California Department of Fish and Wildlife arrived just before noon and was working with local officers to safely remove it.”

https://t.co/tLeruC4XmL

[Beth Pratt @bethpratt]

@greennomad61 Not my words-it was a quote

[Beth Pratt @bethpratt]

“..more than 120 million hogs are slaughtered in the United States each year…think of your dog enduring what pigs face, and you realize that the moral cost is incalculable.” @NickKristof

https://t.co/9ocWQqjH5M

[LM Cunningham @PaleoLaura]

South San Fransisco Bay marsh hundreds of years ago, with flocks of greater white-fronted elk, tule elk, various sandpipers and a coyote. Oil on primed illustrationboard, 2006. #historicalecology

[Beth Pratt @bethpratt]

Yes! @YachtRockRevue bringing the smooth to Los Angeles.

[Santa Monica Police @SantaMonicaPD]

Community Update: Mountain Lion Safely Tranquilized and Transported

The mountain lion reported in a Santa Monica residential area has been safely tranquilized by a biologist with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

California Fish and Wildlife Law Enforcement supported the tranquilization and transportation of the animal. The mountain lion will be evaluated and safely relocated in coordination with wildlife experts, including the National Park Service’s Santa Monica Mountains study area team.

We thank the community for its patience, cooperation, and care throughout this response.

[Beth Pratt @bethpratt]

Continuing my GenX day. From the Brady Bunch to the awesome @YachtRockRevue . A traditional since 2018. Smooth rules!

[SFGATE @SFGate]

2 California mountain lions killed by traffic along notorious LA roads https://t.co/PUNYULzcSg

[Beth Pratt @bethpratt]

In Gen-X heaven today. Got to tour The Brady Bunch House. Video coming soon!

[Beth Pratt @bethpratt]

Tonight’s sunset in the Sierra foothills.

[Beth Pratt @bethpratt]

Some tragic mountain lion news—and some hope.

Every mountain lion, every wild animal that we lose on the roads is heartbreaking to me. This is why I am so dedicated to building wildlife crossings, to avoid these senseless deaths.

Sadly, two mountain lions were killed recently on roadways within two days of one another in the long-term National Park Service study area. As reported by the biologists, a young female kitten, thought to be just under a year-old, was struck by a vehicle on Mullholland Drive, east of the 405 Freeway. We don’t know much about her, but once the biologists receive genetic testing results back, we can potentially learn who her relatives are and where she journeyed from. Although she came to a tragic end, this young cat left her mark as she was one of only few lions that the National Park Service in the last two decades have documented east of the 405 in the Hollywood Hills.

Two days before this female’s death, a male kitten, aged approximately six months, died from a vehicle strike on Las Virgenes Road between Mulholland and Lost Hills Road. These deaths, and the 56 other cats who the biologists have documented that have died from vehicle strikes in the Santa Monica Mountains, Simi Hills, and Santa Susana Mountains since the NPS study began, underscore the urgent need for wildlife crossings and improving connectivity.

And with the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing approaching its opening date on December 2, animals will soon have safe passage over the region’s biggest barrier to connectivity. Some of the first mountain lions to use the crossing might be kittens P-135, P-136 and P-137, who National Park Service scientists recently tagged at a den site in the Santa Susanna Mountains in mid-May. They are the third known litter to the long-time female in the area, P-48.

It’s exciting to contemplate that these kittens, two females and a male, might be pioneers-- the first cougars to use the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing to safely travel from the north into the Santa Monica Mountains.

Photos: National Park Service

[Beth Pratt @bethpratt]

It’s been a challenging day. But then this gift arrived. A double rainbow.

[Katie 🌞 California LandBird @CaLandBird]

Fog spilling across the Grapevine this morning like waves through the mountains. 🌫️⛰️
One of the best parts about living near these hills is watching how the landscape changes hour by hour. Quiet, moody, and absolutely beautiful today.
@ALERTCalifornia @LosPadresNF @NWSHanford

https://t.co/MBnkx18Vlp

#Grapevine #FrazierMountain #FoggyMorning #CaliforniaSkies #LosPadres #MountainLife #NatureLovers #CLBLP #AboveTheFog #MorningViews #CloudInversion #CaliforniaNature #MountainWeather #ExploreCalifornia

[Beth Pratt @bethpratt]

I think we could all use a cute pika photo. Pika youngster in Yosemite, 2022.

[Beth Pratt @bethpratt]

Putting Yosemite at Risk
To: Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum
Yosemite Superintendent Ray McPadden
Congressman Tom McClintock

As a child I gazed at photos in books about national parks of magnificent places like Yosemite and dreamed of visiting these special places, thinking someday, someday….

I am trying to imagine how dejected I would have felt, if, when that someday came, I had to sit in a miles-long traffic jam breathing exhaust while waiting to get into Yosemite, drive around for hours trying to find a place to park, and bear witness to cars parked in meadows, trash bins overflowing, and graffiti on trails.

Yosemite is one of the most unique places on the planet and is home to a diverse array of wildlife. It is a place that is held in the public trust.

Your irresponsible decisions to ignore decades of scientific research about the impacts of overcrowding and eliminate the reservation system have put this place at risk, and the park is suffering damage as a result.

Just a few samples of comments on social media of people sharing their recent experience in Yosemite:

“We saw cars parked in the middle of meadows, and ditches, in the middle of the road, bus stop parking areas etcetera this is how fires start, vegetation gets ruined and traffic piles up faster!”

“I was there today. It was RIDICULOUS! We were stuck in rolling traffic for an hour to reach the Village... All in all, it was very disappointing to say the least. Trash bins were overflowing with garbage strewn around them and bathrooms were disgusting. It was a real S-Show.”

“Cars were parked along the road easements, encroaching on the roadway. Cars were parked in the meadows. It was extremely upsetting to see the impacts on the Park.”

“It is horrific. Leaving Yosemite now. Lots are full. People parking anywhere they can. The reservation system needs to be put back in place.”

All of this was avoidable.

Let me remind you of your charge to uphold the national park service’s core mission: "to conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wildlife therein….by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations."

You have been entrusted with managing one of the most special places on the planet yet, instead of conserving for those future generations, you are managing Yosemite as if it were an amusement park.

When the National Park Service was formed in 1916, just over 300,000 people visited our parks. Today, that number has risen to over 300 million. To think that landscapes like Yosemite can accommodate this increase of visitation without lasting damage and threats to the flora and fauna is magical thinking. It is not just unrealistic but also ignoring scientific evidence to the contrary to keep thinking so.

Decades of rigorous scientific study was undertaken that demonstrates Yosemite has a carrying capacity, which details the impacts of overcrowding on the wildlife and the landscape. Please read it. You might start with the 2014 Merced Wild and Scenic River Plan or the 2024 Yosemite Visitor Access Management Plan and Environmental Assessment.

Yosemite has also done scientific visitor surveys multiple times and how overcrowding impacts the park experience. A 2005 visitor study by the University of Idaho found that 58% of people felt crowded by the number vehicles and 55% of people felt crowded by the by the number of other people.

And not only are you ignoring the park research, you are ignoring the direct harm to the park’s cherished wildlife, which you are entrusted with protecting.

Research has shown, for example, that visitation levels (not speeding) are directly linked with bears being hit by vehicles. As visitation increases, the chance of a bear being hit by a vehicle also typically increases. Keep adding more cars, and you’ll be causing the death of more bears. Why are you putting the life of Yosemite’s bears at stake?

I can still remember my first campfire talk decades ago, and how dedicated park rangers inspired in my young girl self a love for our country’s national parks—deemed America’s best idea. These rangers were dedicated to protecting the parks and their wildlife for the future, and they instilled in me that we needed to take seriously our responsibility to be stewards of these special places.

The park rangers in Yosemite, many of who I know personally, are similarly dedicated to protecting this special place, and they inspire me. Your decisions also betray these hardworking people, who had to deal with the beyond challenging conditions you created on this holiday weekend, and will have to continue to contend with the consequences of your actions during this busy summer season.

I have been visiting Yosemite for since 1992, worked in the park for nine years, and have lived outside the park for almost three decades. Like millions of other people, I cherish Yosemite, the park’s magnificent landscape, and the incredible wildlife that call it home.

I want not only the future generations of our children and grandchildren the chance to experience this special place, but also the visitors of today to have an exceptional time that allows them to celebrate this natural wonder. Today’s visitors deserve better than sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic for hours breathing exhaust just to enter the park.

Reinstate the reservation system. Please stop abdicating your duty to the park and its wildlife. Start managing Yosemite with the directive you were charged that first and foremost ensures the protection of the parks and its wildlife.

Sincerely,

Beth Pratt
Conservation leader and lifetime national park visitor

[Beth Pratt @bethpratt]

Angry about how Yosemite is being put at risk by failed leadership? Here are some actions you can take:

1. Contact park leadership and elected officials (listed below). Post on social media and tag their accounts. Hold them accountable for their decision. Be sure to give specific examples of what is happening in the park as well as calling for them to follow decades of research and reinstate the reservation system.

Secretary of the @Interior @SecretaryBurgum
Contact at https://t.co/KII7ecwLwD

Yosemite Superintendent Ray McPadden https://t.co/3ehu2npcfV

Congressman Tom McClintock @RepMcClintock (the most vocal elected about eliminating reservations) as well as your elected officials--the park belongs to all Americans no matter where you live. https://t.co/U39FkZo7tn

2. Support organizations doing great advocacy work like National Parks Conservation Association @NPCA , The Coalition to Protect Americas National Parks, Central Sierra Environmental Resource Center

3. And please, thank a park ranger. I known many of them personally, they are dedicated people who truly love the park, and they are having to manage this nightmare.