A wet winter has brought calamity to some parts of California. But in much of the state, the weather has ushered in a welcome recovery, nourishing crops, wetlands and threatened species -- and even proving a balm to the soul.
. Groundwater has begun to recharge after years of overpumping. Hillsides have exploded with a profusion of California poppies, sky-blue lupine and other wildflowers. Moisture-starved trees, including the state’s signature pines and mighty oaks, appear on the rebound.A wet winter has fueled a brilliant explosion of California poppies in Walker Canyon near Lake Elsinore.
A late-March walk in the hills east of Berkeley revealed oaks, only recently a steely gray, have turned sharply green; even the lichen covering their bark appeared refreshed in the morning mist. In Lake County, just north of the San Francisco Bay Area, water had been so sparse in mammoth Clear Lake that the population of hitch — an elongated, silvery minnow that once served as a primary food source for the Pomo tribe, as well as area fish and wildlife — had dwindled to dangerously low levels.
“I do feel a sense of relief,” he added. “These ecosystems are adaptive and attuned to these sort of events. They have regenerative properties.”More water and vegetation along the wetlands of the Pacific Flyway mean better nutrition and nesting for migratory birds. “We are able to put more fresh, oxygenated water through the wetlands and that just means a healthier ecosystem, all around,” said Isola, pointing out a bald eagle preening atop a cottonwood tree.
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