Environment

What’s that Bug?

Arriving with spring this year, came clouds of fairy-winged bugs that caught everyone’s attention. “Skeeter-eaters?” Mosquito Hawks? Nope. They are crane flies, related to mosquitoes house flies and mosquito hawks that do…

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Greywater Today

Just for the record, Greywater has been legal in California since 2009. Developing a greywater system today is a bit more complicated than it was before it became legal and regulations were…

CA Gets a Dinosaur

It’s only taken around 66 million years, but California may soon have an official dinosaur. Assemblymember Richard Bloom, who represents Topanga and the Westside, has introduced legislation that would add Augustynolophus morissi,…

Rare Frog Population Increasing in Santa Monica Mountains

Excited shouts, high fives and elated tears erupted among National Park Service (NPS) researchers surveying a stream recently, when they spotted signs of California red-legged frog reproduction. The nine egg masses found…

Rat Poison Found in Bobcat in Simi Valley Area

B-332 died on December 19, 2016, in Simi Valley. Residents in a neighborhood flanking the Simi Hills reported a mangy bobcat hanging around. Local animal control picked him up, euthanized him and,…

Reducing the Risk of Rattlesnake Encounters

Our recent heat wave in March, lured many a Rattlesnake from deep slumber, so until the cooler days of fall, those of us with dogs and horses need to be especially vigilant…

It’s Rattlesnake Season

“What kind of snake is that?” a visitor to Topanga State Park was heard to ask. She was pointing at an elegantly coiled reptile resting on a fallen tree less than a…

A Day with Butterflies

What makes Topanga so amazing is its geographical good fortune to be surrounded by an urban park of world-class proportions—the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area—that brings us close to nature. On…

The Talking Trees

TOPANGA IS UNIQUE IN ITS RICH ECOSYSTEM OF TREES AND SHRUBS. IT IS ALSO UNMATCHED IN ITS RESIDENTS’ COMMITMENT TO PRESERVING AND PROTECTING ITS NATIVE HABITAT AND ANIMAL SPECIES. AN ARTICLE IN…

Walk and Talk Butterflies with Fred Heath, April 1

On April 1st, celebrated author and expert to walk and talk butterflies all day long Mark your calendars for April 1, when Butterfly authority, Fred Heath, a former Topanga resident and author of, “An…