1948 Drought Wiped Out California Wildlife

2 Responses to 1948 Drought Wiped Out California Wildlife

1. tckev says:

   September 1, 2012 at 4:28 pm

   Amazing how much climatic variation there is in nature, and how well the local ecosystem will recover from the worst of it.

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2. Jane F. says:

   January 13, 2014 at 1:15 am

   I would put forth the idea that in years following the 1948 drought the animal population did not suffer from the impacts of the now (much higher) human population, which facilitated a better recover rate and timeline.

   The modern demands on watershed systems to both recharge aqufers/ reservoirs and supply large urbanized areas were not present. The further impacts on migratory routes, both terrestrial and aquatic/marine were much smaller in those years.

   While I am not declaring this to be the “end of the world” it is very probable that significant damages will result to the California ecosystem. Given the burdens we place on that ecosystem there will be regional extinction of some species and severe distress placed on the larger “thriving” populations.

   I would encourage the examination of literature related to the effect of severe drought on indigenous populations (anaszi, nazca, etc) and make some sobering projections from those examples.

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