California North Research Articles

What is Suksdorf’s hawthorn? Revision of the Western North American 20-stamen black-fruited hawthorns (Crataegus series Douglasianae, Rosaceae subtribe Malinae)

An agamic complex of 20- and 10-stamen, black-fruited hawthorns (Crataegus subg. Sanguineae, sect. Douglasianae) occurs in western North America, with a 10-stamen taxon disjunct in the upper Great Lakes basin. Here, we recircumscribe the 20-stamen taxa at the core of this complex (C. ser. Douglasianae). This is needed in order to distinguish between a presumptively ancestral diploid and its allo- and autopolyploid derivatives, all differing in breeding system, distribution, morphology, and pattern of genetic variation. The earliest name for these 20-stamen taxa, Crataegus gaylussacia A. Heller, was given to distinctive plants of Marin and Sonoma counties in California that have recently been shown to be autotriploids. In Flora North America, however, this name was applied to all 20-stamen, black-fruited hawthorns. We recircumscribe C. gaylussacia, and also recircumscribe and typify a slightly younger name, C. suksdorfii (Sarg.) Kruschke, with a specimen from southern Washington with the diminished pollen fertility found in allopolyploid, apomictic black-fruited hawthorns occurring east of the Cascades, from northern California north to southernmost Alaska. Finally, we recognize the diploid, self-incompatible, sexual black-fruited hawthorns found west of the Cascades from northern California to southwestern Washington as Crataegus rhodamae-loveae sp. nov. Together with the 10-stamen, black-fruited hawthorns in predominantly tetraploid, apomictic, and self-fertile C. douglasii Lindl. and its segregates (discussed in detail in a companion paper), these species are linked by whole genome duplications associated in most cases with hybridization, with members of red-fruited C. subg. Americanae, and with each other. We suggest that this complex provides a model for understanding other such groups of Crataegus species that are related by whole genome duplications resulting from the fertilization of unreduced gametes (facilitated by but not necessarily dependent on occurrence of gametophytic apomixis), often together with hybridization. We note that an earlier effort at DNA barcoding these and other hawthorn species that provided limited support for our taxonomic decisions here also demonstrated some limited utility of the original plant DNA barcoding loci in groups like Crataegus. The taxonomic decisions we advocate will warrant consideration when other groups of hawthorns are revised in the light of data like those employed here.

A decision‐support framework for dam removal planning and its application in northern California

Dam removals are occurring more frequently with the rising cost of maintaining aging infrastructure, public safety concerns, and growing interest in river restoration. So far, most dam-removals have been unsystematic in their approach. Given the several thousand dam removals expected over the coming decades, a systematic approach to plan future dam removals holds potential for aligning and delivering multiple benefits. Despite multi-sector factors driving decision-making, most existing prioritization frameworks tend to operate within single or related disciplines. Here we present a hierarchical, multi-disciplinary decision-support framework to prioritize dam removals based on opportunistic factors (Tier 1), hydro-ecological variables (Tier 2), and socio-cultural considerations (Tier 3). This framework integrates multiple decision criteria under data availability constraints, incorporates value-driven weights, and can be applied to a portfolio of dams at various spatial scales. The final output facilitates the identification of dam removal projects that align opportunistic, environmental, and social benefits. We recommend the application of this framework as a critical first step to identifying high-priority candidates for removal, recognizing that removal decisions will ultimately require detailed feasibility studies and stakeholder engagement. To illustrate its utility, we apply this framework to California's North Coast region and identify a small number of “good” candidates to be considered for removal. We conclude with recommendations for filling critical knowledge gaps and advancing systematic dam removal planning in the United States and beyond.

Northern Range Expansion of California Coastal Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops truncatus)

The California coastal stock of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) expanded its range north from the Southern California Bight, its historical range, into Central California coincident with the 1982-1983 El Niño event. Since the late 1980s, bottlenose dolphin sightings north of Central California have been increasingly reported. To determine the present-day northern range limit for these dolphins, photo-identification efforts were carried out from 2007 to 2018 in San Francisco Bay and nearby coastal waters during which 84 individuals were identified. The results demonstrate a significant range expansion along the Northern California coast at least as far as Sonoma County (38.7º N). Comparisons with photo-identification catalogs compiled south of San Francisco from 1981 to 2015 revealed that 92% of the 84 dolphins were matched to Monterey Bay (n = 77), Santa Barbara (n = 27), Santa Monica Bay (n = 29), Orange County (n = 9), Corona Del Mar (n = 2), San Diego (n = 31), and Ensenada, Mexico (n = 1). Many of the 84 dolphins (54%) showed long-range movements across the stock’s range between the Southern California Bight and the San Francisco Bay Area. The greatest movement distance recorded was by two individuals first observed in San Diego, California, in the 1980s and subsequently in Puget Sound, Washington (47º N), in 2017, setting a coastal bottlenose dolphin long-distance movement record of at least 2,500 km.

Letter to Monticello

Letter to Monticello Bernard Quetchenbach (bio) Dear Mr. President Thomas Jefferson, It may seem presumptuous to disturb your rest, but I guess you know that the obligations of a founding father are co-extant with the full lifetime of the republic. I'm not expecting a reply. Oh, and please pardon the necessary anachronisms—the distance between us is measured in centuries. It might surprise you to know that this Great West is still Corps of Discovery country. Everything from colleges to breweries is named for your illustrious emissaries. Even here in Billings, where it was just Clark's half of the crew—Lewis was off harassing the Blackfeet farther north—we have a Lewis and Clark Middle School, on Lewis Avenue, a block over from Clark. All through the Yellowstone Valley, roadside markers follow the expedition's route, silhouetted explorers gesturing heroically toward whatever happens to be in front of them—"Look, Lewis, a Motel 6! A school named after us!" Downriver at Hysham, modern-day travelers are snagged by a signboard plea to exit the interstate highway for "STATUES!" And statues there are—full-color effigies of eagles, buffalo, even (Caribbean, not Barbary) pirates! The star of this municipal extravaganza is a colosal Captain Clark, accompanied by a somewhat less colossal figure known only as "The Hunter" and a merely oversized Sacagawea, accompanied by her son, Pompey. In keeping with racial stereotype and her role as guide, Sacagawea stoically points the way toward the Yucca Theatre, the burg's most impressive edifice. The party doesn't seem to notice the monumental woolly mammoth looming even larger than Clark, testifying, perhaps, to your alleged faith that such creatures still roamed somewhere in the vast lands beyond the settlements. As a resident of your Louisiana Purchase, I suppose my presence here is partly your doing. So you can see, Mr. President, why you'd be on my mind. I thought you might want to know that we haven't forgotten your undaunted trailblazers around these parts. I have to admit, though, that national expansion has been easier for your republic than fulfilling another of your aspirations. If you'll kindly indulge me, I have a story to tell. I may not be George Washington, but you have my word it's true. May 1983, two hundred years after you declared that "all men are created equal." The leaky Nova (I know you don't know what that is, but please bear with me) I've been coaxing through a section of your Purchase we call Oklahoma has blown its head gasket. The locals have [End Page 93] been kind, towing my friends and me through a bucolic landscape—young corn in the fields, kingbirds spaced on wires—to a vintage mid-century (twentieth, that is) garage. We know the news will be bad, but we make the most of our unplanned respite from the interstate, stretching our legs in the quiet shade of a rural American crossroads peopled by the honest, competent yeomen you envisioned spreading throughout the land. So it seems, anyway, until commotion leads us around a corner, where the young proprietor we've been waiting for faces off against an equally young black couple with, as I recall, three children, one of whom is in the bathroom. While waiting, someone has fooled around with a set of barbells. That's enough to make the owner call for his gun. He points it squarely at the unarmed father while the family huddles, collects their missing child, and backs into their car. I was moving northwest from the general vicinity of New Orleans to start a new life, as we Americans do, in a new place. Over the next few days, I would see for the first time the gradual opening of snow-swept prairies sprinkled with the antelope and elk described in your Captains' journals. The next year, I would get married in Utah (Mexico, in your day). A year later, my son would be born in the redwood country of California's North Coast. We were poor at times, but it was all beautifully mobile and hopeful, as we expected from an American life in those younger...

Transformative Sea-level Rise Research and Planning: Establishing a University, Tribal, and Community Partnership for a Resilient California North Coast

Sea-level rise (SLR) is and will continue to be a pressing issue in the rural, North Coast region of California, especially since nearby Wigi (or Humboldt Bay) is experiencing one of the fastest rates of relative SLR on the U.S. West Coast. In this paper, we argue that SLR presents a transformative opportunity to rekindle environmental relationships and reshape the future of the California North Coast and beyond. As the preeminent higher education institution of the region, Cal Poly Humboldt has the responsibility to be a leader in education, research, and planning for climate resilience. We describe efforts of the Cal Poly Humboldt Sea Level Rise Institute to establish a university-Tribal-community partnership that braids together different approaches and ways of knowing to develop research and planning that supports a resilient California North Coast. Since Wigi is projected to experience the effects of SLR sooner than the rest of the state, the North Coast region is poised to act as an incubator for new ideas and solutions, including Indigenous knowledge systems, and to play a role in influencing equitable, resilient, and transformative SLR adaptation processes in other parts of the state and the world. This will require developing programming and expertise in specific disciplinary areas, but, more importantly, will require the development of opportunities and spaces for various disciplines, ways of knowing, and sectors (e.g. Tribal nations, academia, government, NGOs, private companies, and community groups) to converge and bring the best of what they have to address climate-induced challenges and opportunities.

Impacts of livestock grazing on the probability of burning in wildfires vary by region and vegetation type in California

Wildfire activity has recently increased in California, impacting ecosystems and human well-being. California's rangelands are complex social-ecological systems composed of multiple ecosystems and the people who live and work in them. Livestock grazing has been proposed as a tool for reducing wildfire activity. Here, we explore how grazing affects wildfire at large spatial scales, assessing burn probability on rangelands with different grazing levels. We collected grazing data by surveying 140 large private landowners in three social-ecological regions: California's North Bay, Central Coast, and Central Valley and Foothills. Using pre-regression matching and mixed effects regression, we calculate the burn probability from 2001 to 2017 in points sampled from grazed and ungrazed properties in each region in grasslands, shrub/scrublands, and forests. We find that in the Central Coast and North Bay, annual burn probability decreases as stocking levels increase across all vegetation types, with reductions of 0.008–0.036. In the Central Valley and Foothills, the relationship is complex, with burn probability increasing over some grazing levels and variations in the effect of higher stocking densities. Our results indicate that livestock grazing may reduce annual burn probability in some regions and ecosystems in California, providing the first large-scale assessment of this relationship.

Unsettling settler colonialism in words and land:

This article examines two case studies of unsettling settler colonialism in the far north of California: the inclusion of Yurok language electives in public high schools, and land return to the Wiyot Tribe. These two cases demonstrate repertoires of Indigenous resistance to historic and ongoing culturecide—the killing of culture—and show what unsettling settler colonialism looks like in the region. The central research question in this article is: How does unsettling happen in settler colonial-controlled public institutionalised spaces in far northern California? I argue that acts of Indigenous voice-raising and place-making constitute forms of resistance to ongoing erasure of Indigenous peoples in settler-colonised spaces. Concretely, both Yurok language course inclusion in public schools and land return of Duluwat Island to the Wiyot Tribe disrupt patterns of culturecide and promote new kinds of settler-Indigenous relations in the region.

Octocorals (Alcyonacea and Pennatulacea) from Paleogene deep-water strata in western Washington State, USA

AbstractThe fossil record of octocorals from Cenozoic marine strata of western North America is quite limited, and they have not been reported previously from rocks in Washington State, USA. Two late Oligocene specimens from the upper part of the Lincoln Creek Formation in western Washington, referred to Radicipes? sp., are the first fossil record of the family Chrysogorgiidae. The family Isididae is represented by an internode and two holdfasts identified as Isidella sp. collected from the Oligocene Pysht Formation, along with specimens questionably identified as Lepidisis sp., possibly the first fossil record for this genus. Together, these are the first confirmed fossils of the Alcyonacea from north of California in western North America. The axes of sea pens from several late Eocene or early Oligocene localities in the Lincoln Creek Formation in the central part of western Washington, and the Pysht and Makah formations on the north side of the Olympic Peninsula, are the first fossil record for the Pennatulacea from western North America; all are tentatively referred to the genus ‘Graphularia’. Large axes from the Lincoln Creek Formation and Makah Formation are referred to ‘Graphularia’ (?) aff. sasai, because they are similar to the species known only from late Eocene and early Oligocene rocks in Japan.

A PRELIMINARY SPECIMEN-BASED CATALOGUE OF THE MOSS SPECIES FOUND IN NAPA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA

Napa County, in California's North Coast Range, is well known for its plant diversity. However, until now no one has published a listing of bryophytes for Napa County. I present a catalogue of 158 moss species in 77 genera and 31 families collected and confirmed as occurring within Napa County. The catalogue summarizes 1701 collections (1550 by me). Collection dates encompass 1866 through 2018. I examined selected collections at CAS, UC, and other herbaria, and sent many of my collections to specialists for their identification. I did not collect 11 species reported previously by others. Eighty-six species are collected at only one or two locations. The catalogue includes a summary of the distribution of each species in Napa County and a citation of reference collections deposited in herbaria (CAS, ILL, and UC). In addition to the cited collections, I deposited most of my other Napa County materials at CAS and UC. The number of collections of each species, their number of locations where collection occurred, and whether specimens were collected by me or others is presented. A comparison of the increasing numbers of mosses collected in the Napa County over time with that of nearby areas and California is summarized.

Clustering Analysis Methods for GNSS Observations: A Data-Driven Approach to Identifying California's Major Faults.

We present a data‐driven approach to clustering or grouping Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) stations according to observed velocities, displacements or other selected characteristics. Clustering GNSS stations provides useful scientific information, and is a necessary initial step in other analysis, such as detecting aseismic transient signals (Granat et al., 2013, https://doi.org/10.1785/0220130039). Desired features of the data can be selected for clustering, including some subset of displacement or velocity components, uncertainty estimates, station location, and other relevant information. Based on those selections, the clustering procedure autonomously groups the GNSS stations according to a selected clustering method. We have implemented this approach as a Python application, allowing us to draw upon the full range of open source clustering methods available in Python's scikit‐learn package (Pedregosa et al., 2011, https://doi.org/10.5555/1953048.2078195). The application returns the stations labeled by group as a table and color coded KML file and is designed to work with the GNSS information available from GeoGateway (Donnellan et al., 2021, https://doi.org/10.1007/s12145-020-00561-7; Heflin et al., 2020, https://doi.org/10.1029/2019ea000644) but is easily extensible. We demonstrate the methodology on California and western Nevada. The results show partitions that follow faults or geologic boundaries, including for recent large earthquakes and post‐seismic motion. The San Andreas fault system is most prominent, reflecting Pacific‐North American plate boundary motion. Deformation reflected as class boundaries is distributed north and south of the central California creeping section. For most models a cluster boundary connects the southernmost San Andreas fault with the Eastern California Shear Zone (ECSZ) rather than continuing through the San Gorgonio Pass.

Seasonal Abundance and Infectivity of Philaenus spumarius (Hemiptera: Aphrophoridae), a Vector of Xylella fastidiosa in California Vineyards.

The meadow spittlebug, Philaenus spumarius (Linnaeus) (Hemiptera: Aphrophoridae), is a vector of the plant pathogen Xylella fastidiosa; however, its role in recent outbreaks of Pierce's disease of grapevine (PD) in California is unclear. While the phenology and ecology of P. spumarius can help determine its contributions to PD epidemics, both remain poorly described in the North Coast vineyards of California. We assessed the phenology of P. spumarius in the region. Spittlemasses were first observed in February or March, while the emergence of adult spittlebugs did not occur until April or May depending on the year. Analysis of sweep and trap data from 2016 to 2018 revealed significant effects of survey month, vineyard site, and year on adult abundance in sweep and trap surveys. Spittlebug adults were present in the vineyards from April until December, with the greatest number of adults by sweep net in May or June, whereas adults on traps peaked between July and November. Analysis of natural infectivity in groups of field-collected spittlebug adults showed significant difference in transmission rates among months. Spittlebugs successfully transmitted Xylella fastidiosa (Wells) (Xanthomonadales: Xanthomonadaceae) to potted grapevines between July and December. The greatest risk of X. fastidiosa transmission by P. spumarius was in December (60%) followed by October (30%). However, the infectivity patterns of the meadow spittlebug did not align with the historical paradigm of California North Coast PD. We discuss alternative hypotheses in which P. spumarius could play a role in the epidemiology of this disease.

Shards, sequences, and shorelines: two new species of Bembidion from North America (Coleoptera, Carabidae).

Two new species of Bembidion are described from river shores in North America. One, Bembidion mimbressp. nov., from the Gila River watershed in the lands of the Mimbres culture in New Mexico and Arizona, is closely related to the widespread Bembidion levigatum. DNA sequences from several linkage groups and morphology provide evidence of the distinctiveness of B. mimbres. The second, Bembidion corgenomasp. nov., has been the subject of recent genomic and transcriptomic studies. It belongs in the Bembidion transversale subgroup, and occurs from California north to British Columbia, east to Montana and Nevada. The B. transversale subgroup as a whole is reviewed, and morphological characters that distinguish B. corgenoma from the similar and sympatric B. transversale and B. erosum are described and illustrated. DNA sequences of these three species show no consistent differences in 28S, COI, CAD, and Topoisomerase, and a coalescent species delimitation analysis reveals no notable structure within the complex. This is the first known trio of species within Bembidion for which those genes provide no clear signal of species boundaries. A neotype is designated for the one name in the group that lacks a primary type, Bembidium haplogonum Chaudoir. Chromosomes of the new species and their relatives are as is typical for Bembidion, with eleven pairs of autosomes and an XY/XX sex chromosome system.

Second Stage of Reconnaissances in California (1580-1636)

This paper deals with the second stage of Spanish explorations in the Californian area and the Northern Pacific coast, focusing on their cartographical results. The stategic attention to protect the way to the Philippines and the Spice Islands caused new reconnaissances North of California, which triggered several fantasies about the alleged Anian Strait, which supposedly connected both sides of the ocean in the polar latitudes. After illusion of the supposed voyages led by Fuca and Ferrer was over, interest focused on the exploration along the outer coast of the California peninsula, in order to discover some bases for the Manila gelleon's return. Interest in that area was proven by Vizcaino's expeditions, but the search for pearls carried out by Cardona and others was a failure.

Water storage and irrigation practices for cannabis drive seasonal patterns of water extraction and use in Northern California

There is growing concern over the impacts of cannabis farms on the environment and water resources in particular, yet data on cultivation practices and water use patterns have been limited. Estimates of water use for cannabis cultivation have previously relied on extrapolated values of plant water demand, which do not account for differences in cultivation practices, variation across the growing season, or the role of water storage in altering seasonal extraction patterns. The current study uses data reported by enrollees in California's North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board Cannabis Program to model how variation in cultivation practices and the use of stored water affect the timing and amount of water extracted from the environment. We found that the supplemental use of stored water resulted in a seasonal pattern of water extraction (water withdrawals from the environment) that was distinct from water demand (water applied to plants). Although water input to storage in the off-season months (November through March) reduced water extraction in the growing season (April through October), farms generally did not have sufficient storage to completely forbear from surface water extraction during the growing season. The most important predictors of storage sufficiency were type of storage infrastructure, type of water source, and farm size, with the likelihood of sufficiency decreasing with increasing cultivation area. As of 2019, state cannabis regulations require forbearance from surface water diversions from April through October. To comply, farms relying on surface water must either develop storage, reduce water demand, or seek alternative water sources, such as groundwater. Our findings indicate that water extraction from farms using groundwater wells generally occurs during the summer dry season and highlight the need to assess their potential impacts to connected surface water in streams. Finally, given that the current study was based on data exclusively from permitted cannabis farms, additional data from unpermitted operations would enhance our overall understanding of cannabis water-use practices and consequences for the environment.

Meteorology of air pollution in Los Angeles

The meteorology of air pollution in Los Angeles (LA) is studied via daily near-surface air chemistry, aerosol and weather data assimilated from insitu and satellite measurements in the period 2005–2016. Atmospheric fields are regressed onto seasonal air pollution indices and reveal that a ridge of high pressure north of California weakens the longshore circulation and reduces dispersion.A 10-case composite of atmospheric anomalies during winter air pollution episodes was analyzed. Periods of high nitrogen dioxide and carbon monoxide show increasing temperature gradients that induce the converging of land-seabreezes beneath a strengthened thermal inversion. The atmospheric environment of an air pollution episode in December 2005 reveals recirculating trajectories. Efforts to limit emissions have contributed to reductions of nitrogen dioxide, but other constituents remain a public health concern. Knowledge of weather conditions underlying air pollution episodes will improve warnings and the effectiveness of mitigating actions.

A Central Sierra Miwok Origins Story

Abstract This article examines an Indigenous origins narrative from central California. The text is an oral narrative about the theft of the sun by Coyote, recorded in the Central Sierra Miwok language. The article presents a formal analysis of the structure, language, and poetics of the text from the perspective of ethnopoetics, focusing on structural and lexical metaphors developed for describing the pathway of the sun. It then offers reflections on the ethnogeography and worldview presented in the text, linking it to Penutian migrations from the western Great Basin into central California’s Sierra Nevada several thousand years ago. The article also provides a general contextualization of the themes of the text in relation to California and western North American coyote stories and origins stories more generally.

Compensatory Microhabitat Selection by Northern Pacific Rattlesnakes (Crotalus oreganus oreganus) in a Cool and Wet Macroclimate

Northern Pacific Rattlesnakes (Crotalus oreganus oreganus) have a range that extends from southern California into British Columbia. This subspecies is common in relatively warm and arid regions, but also occurs in habitats that are neither warm nor arid. We hypothesized that the presence of suitable microhabitat conditions can compensate for a less suitable macroclimate, allowing C. o. oreganus to exist in less suitable regions. We developed environmental niche models for C. o. oreganus at two spatial scales: (1) northern California and western Oregon, and (2) the northern California coast. These models explored macroclimatic suitability of northern, coastal California relative to other regions within the range of C. o. oreganus. The models revealed that the three most northern and coastal counties of California have a significantly less suitable macroclimate relative to the rest of each study area. Next, we used paired resource selection functions to determine microhabitat differences between rocky outcrops used as hibernacula and outcrops that are unoccupied by rattlesnakes despite similarities. Our analysis indicated selection for outcrops with more deep crevices, less vegetative cover, and slopes facing due south (180° from North). Additionally, we mapped landslides near hibernacula, which revealed that hibernacula commonly occurred within the head-scarps of landslides. We suggest that because landslide triggers (e.g., heavy rainfall and earthquakes) occur frequently along California's north coast, more rocky outcrops are created that are suitable as hibernacula. The relatively high abundance of these suitable outcrops compensates for the marginal macroclimate, allowing C. o. oreganus to occur in the region.

Water Stress in Temperate Dry Climate of the Baja California North and Use Rainwater

Water Stress in Temperate Dry Climate of the Baja California North and Use Rainwater

Does More Storage Give California More Water?

AbstractIncreasing reservoir storage is commonly proposed to mitigate increasing water demand and provide drought reserves, especially in semiarid regions such as California. This paper examines the value of expanding surface reservoir capacity in California using hydroeconomic modeling for historical conditions, a future warm‐dry climate, and California's recently adopted policy to end groundwater overdraft. Results show expanding surface storage capacity rarely provides sizable economic value in most of California. On average, expanding facilities north of California's Delta provides some benefit in 92% of 82 years modeled under historical conditions and in 61% of years modeled in a warm‐dry climate. South of California's Delta, expanding storage capacity provides no benefits in 14% of years modeled under historical conditions and 99% of years modeled with a warm‐dry climate. Results vary across facilities between and within regions. The limited benefit of surface storage capacity expansion to statewide water supply should be considered in planning California's water infrastructure.

Editorial Notes

Editorial Notes Craig S. Revels Welcome to the eighty-first volume of the Yearbook of the Association of Pacific Coast Geographers. This year's issue offers a diverse selection of original research and perspectives from our members, ranging from in-depth considerations of landscape and place to natural resources management to the tools and techniques geographers use to explore and understand the world. It also serves as the official record for our most recent annual meeting in Reno, and, as always, includes a full slate of abstracts, awards, and reports from that event. Attendees at the Reno banquet will vividly remember the Presidential Address of Paul Starrs, a wide-ranging, ruminative consideration of landscape, place, and the passage of time. In both spirit and form it is a passionate reminder of the deep understanding geography brings to the world in which we live, and it is my pleasure to present that address to begin this year's Yearbook. Continuing with the theme of place, Sean Pries takes us to California's North Fork American River to examine conservation efforts that have shaped and continue to shape the landscape. His narrative examines the actors and events that have resulted in widespread protection, but takes care to remind us that the place itself is a key part of the process, both inspiring and participating in its own process of becoming. A similar idea can be found in Ray Sumner's consideration of confluences. Though traditionally the realm of physical scientists, she suggests that confluences have a distinct character that makes them important in human terms as well, creating complex layers of meaning that ultimately reinforce our understandings of place. The next two articles turn our attention to the policy and practice of water management in the West. Michael McCarthy and Suzanne Dallman detail the ways in which California responded to its recent drought crisis and question whether or not that crisis may lead to a more comprehensive and resilient approach to water management. The answer can be found, they suggest, only by addressing the many current legislative and behavioral constraints to more effective water management in the state. Deborah Ayodele-Olajire and Bob Bolin examine the sustainability of water governance in Arizona. Detailing vertical and horizontal coordination between stakeholders, they conclude that many of those interactions actually serve to hinder rather than help the process of achieving water sustainability. [End Page 9] Our research articles conclude with a turn to the more techniques-oriented facet of our discipline. Debbie Ma, Steve Graves, and Jonathan Alvarado undertake a spatial analysis of police officer-involved shootings in Los Angeles, identifying neighborhood characteristics that increase the likelihood of such an event. Their findings suggest that the commonly assumed role of race and ethnicity is perhaps wrong, and remind us that understanding situational variables can lead to improved policy and practice by law enforcement. Sanchayeeta Adhikari considers the crucial question of data accuracy for climate change research by testing and evaluating the efficiency of commonly used indices for delineating water pixels in remotely sensed imagery. She also brings to our attention Collect Earth, a novel way for researchers to find data for accuracy assessment in remote or difficult terrain. Finally, Ryan Heintzman focuses on Joshua Tree National Park, where newly collected climate data creates an opportunity to assess reanalysis and interpolation climate models for areas where data is scarce. Considering the benefits and limitations of these models, he reminds us of their essential value for ground-level research, conservation, and management. Every volume of the Yearbook reflects the efforts of many individuals. It would not exist, of course, without the contributions of our members, and I wish to thank all who submitted their research this year, as well as everyone who volunteered his or her time to serve as manuscript reviewers. Particular thanks also to Dave Deis for this year's cover design, and to our hardworking copyeditor Rick Cooper for compiling and carefully crafting the final product you see here. Finally, I encourage everyone in the APCG, but especially graduate students and junior faculty seeking to introduce their work to a welcoming audience, to consider submitting their research and perspectives for upcoming volumes of...