Cal Am has been illegally overpumping the Carmel River for over 20 years

California American Water and Monterey Peninsula officials are refusing to comply with the state order to cut back Carmel River pumping 70 percent by January 2017. 

Cal Am has been illegally overpumping the river for 20 years. In 2009, the state issued a cease-and-desist order attached to a strict schedule for pumping cutbacks.

From: Monterey County Weekly

A statue of the Rev. Junipero Serra

Indian historians and authors blame Father Serra for the suppression of their culture and the premature deaths at the missions of thousands of their ancestors.

From 1769 to 1835, 90,000 Indians were baptized along the West Coast. Once baptized, they were not allowed to leave the missions, and those who did escape were rounded up by soldiers and returned.

Canonizing “the leader of the disastrous, genocidal California mission system is a way that the church further legitimizes the pain and suffering of Ohlone and countless other California Indians,”  says Ohlone leader Vincent Medina.

From New York Times

Carmel River area tribal map: Esselen, Costanoan, Ohlone and Salinan historic territories

 

On this map the shaded areas are Esselen, the outer tribal areas are both Costanoan/Esselen.
From: Ohlone Costanoan Esselen Nation

Ardea Herodias: The Great Blue Heron

Great Blue Herons live in both freshwater and saltwater habitats, and also forage in grasslands and agricultural fields, where they stalk frogs and mammals. 
They eat nearly anything within striking distance along the Carmel River, including fish, amphibians, reptiles, small mammals, insects, and other birds.
Great Blue Heron numbers are stable and have been increasing in the U.S. since 1966.

Picture from Carmel River Watershed

A “mystery” condor in the Santa Lucia Mountains

A “mystery” condor has been discovered in the Santa Lucia Mountains in the Arroyo Seco drainage.
The total condor population now stands at 425 individuals (captive and wild), of which 116 are living in the wilds of California.

From: The Monterey Herald

Canonization of Junipero Serra in 2015

"In September, God willing, I will canonize Junipero Serra in the United States, who was the evangelizer of the west of the United States,"said Pope Francis on Thursday.

The Pope said since Serra has for centuries been considered a holy man, he had waved Church rules that require a second miracle to be attributed to the candidate for sainthood after his beatification.

From: http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/01/15/us-pope-philippines-serra-idUSKBN0KO1BF20150115