Jane Braxton Little is a freelance journalist based in California’s northern Sierra Nevada who writes for Audubon, Discover, National Geographic and Scientific American. https://www.newsdeeply.com/water/contributor/jane-braxton-little/rss en Agriculture Climate & Weather Environment & Wildlife Law & Policy Management & Supply Solutions Tue, 15 May 2018 03:00:00 +0000 Jane Braxton Little https://www.newsdeeply.com/water/articles/2018/05/15/facing-climate-and-water-pressures-farmers-return-to-age-old-practice https://www.newsdeeply.com/water/articles/2018/05/15/facing-climate-and-water-pressures-farmers-return-to-age-old-practice Just 5 percent of California farmers use cover cropping, but that’s likely to increase as researchers work to quantify the amount of water that can be saved by the practice and its benefit for river ecosystems. American West Climate & Weather Environment & Wildlife Fri, 25 Aug 2017 08:00:54 +0000 Jane Braxton Little https://www.newsdeeply.com/water/articles/2017/08/25/study-reveals-the-big-climate-impact-of-the-way-drought-kills-trees https://www.newsdeeply.com/water/articles/2017/08/25/study-reveals-the-big-climate-impact-of-the-way-drought-kills-trees New research into how drought kills trees has helped reveal a potentially huge climate consequence of an increase in dead and dying forests that one scientist cautioned could result in a “carbon death spiral.” American West Climate & Weather Environment & Wildlife Mon, 19 Jun 2017 05:09:35 +0000 Jane Braxton Little https://www.newsdeeply.com/water/articles/2017/06/19/what-a-wet-winter-means-for-future-of-wildfire-season https://www.newsdeeply.com/water/articles/2017/06/19/what-a-wet-winter-means-for-future-of-wildfire-season Above-average precipitation in California and other parts of the West doesn’t necessarily mean there will be fewer wildfires this season – the Golden State has already seen more than twice as many acres burned as it did last year. Economics Law & Policy Management & Supply Wed, 15 Mar 2017 05:00:51 +0000 Jane Braxton Little https://www.newsdeeply.com/water/articles/2017/03/15/fight-over-mt-shasta-water-bottling-plant-gets-political https://www.newsdeeply.com/water/articles/2017/03/15/fight-over-mt-shasta-water-bottling-plant-gets-political Residents near Mt. Shasta concerned about a water bottling plant launched a ballot initiative to tighten bottling rules, but were defeated. Now, one claims the other side used an astroturf campaign and violated campaign finance rules. American West Climate & Weather Environment & Wildlife Innovation Thu, 15 Dec 2016 09:29:09 +0000 Jane Braxton Little https://www.newsdeeply.com/water/articles/2016/12/15/new-strategies-for-communities-in-the-wildfire-prone-west https://www.newsdeeply.com/water/articles/2016/12/15/new-strategies-for-communities-in-the-wildfire-prone-west Based in Bozeman, Montana, Headwaters Economics is helping communities across the Western U.S. that are in the “wildland-urban interface” to develop fire resiliency in their planning processes. Climate & Weather Environment & Wildlife Mon, 28 Nov 2016 05:00:43 +0000 Jane Braxton Little https://www.newsdeeply.com/water/articles/2016/11/28/new-study-finds-surprising-culprit-drives-forest-fire-behavior https://www.newsdeeply.com/water/articles/2016/11/28/new-study-finds-surprising-culprit-drives-forest-fire-behavior A newly published study examined more than 400 years’ worth of information on wildfire behavior in the Sierra Nevada and compared it with temperature and moisture data. But it turned out that climate was not the biggest influencer of fire behavior. Climate & Weather Environment & Wildlife Management & Supply Tue, 16 Aug 2016 09:00:46 +0000 Jane Braxton Little https://www.newsdeeply.com/water/articles/2016/08/16/northern-california-towns-are-running-out-of-water https://www.newsdeeply.com/water/articles/2016/08/16/northern-california-towns-are-running-out-of-water Paskenta is facing its third year in a row of water shortage because a creek, which is its sole source of water, is dropping. The town is one of more than a dozen in northern California facing water shortages. Environment & Wildlife Management & Supply Wed, 27 Apr 2016 11:16:18 +0000 Jane Braxton Little https://www.newsdeeply.com/water/articles/2016/04/27/mono-lake-facing-another-crisis https://www.newsdeeply.com/water/articles/2016/04/27/mono-lake-facing-another-crisis Drought is taking its toll on Mono Lake, which is hovering close to a level that endangers its vital bird habitat. Low lake levels also affect air quality and water diversions to Los Angeles. Agriculture Law & Policy Thu, 10 Mar 2016 00:00:00 +0000 Jane Braxton Little https://www.newsdeeply.com/water/articles/2016/03/10/will-human-right-to-water-resolution-really-help https://www.newsdeeply.com/water/articles/2016/03/10/will-human-right-to-water-resolution-really-help California is the first state to have a law declaring the human right to water, and now it also has a resolution from the Water Board prioritizing it. But the legislation lacks enforcement and financing, even as nearly a million people in the state are without access to safe drinking water. Climate & Weather Environment & Wildlife Tue, 16 Feb 2016 00:00:00 +0000 Jane Braxton Little https://www.newsdeeply.com/water/articles/2016/02/16/droughts-alarming-toll-on-california-forests https://www.newsdeeply.com/water/articles/2016/02/16/droughts-alarming-toll-on-california-forests New research using high-tech tools to measure the moisture in trees found that 120 million trees across nearly every part of California are at risk of dying. Predictions that trends of higher temperatures and decreased precipitation will continue in the future could transform the state’s forests. Fri, 30 Oct 2015 00:00:00 +0000 Jane Braxton Little https://www.newsdeeply.com/water/articles/2015/10/30/drought-shows-norm-is-shifting-in-california-fire-risk https://www.newsdeeply.com/water/articles/2015/10/30/drought-shows-norm-is-shifting-in-california-fire-risk This year’s devastating wildfires provide a peek at the future. With climate change and, now, massive tree deaths caused by the drought, it makes an ugly forecast for future fire seasons. Thu, 08 Oct 2015 00:00:00 +0000 Jane Braxton Little https://www.newsdeeply.com/water/articles/2015/10/08/new-front-in-the-battle-over-mt-shastas-sacred-spring-water https://www.newsdeeply.com/water/articles/2015/10/08/new-front-in-the-battle-over-mt-shastas-sacred-spring-water A forthcoming study of Crystal Geyser’s project to open a new water bottling operation is an important step. But critics fear it won’t go far enough.