Tag: central valley

Fresno is a little bigger.

So, you may have heard the news that California lost enough of its population (182,000) to lose a congressional seat (still don’t know how trustworthy that is, cause, 2020 Census was conducted under Trump administration). That’s not a very big loss, but nevertheless, still a decline. Most large cities also saw that loss reflected in their population as well, such as San Francisco, San Diego, and Los Angeles. But not all their losses necessarily left the state.

Fresno saw its population increase by a little over 1% (6400), and it’s not the only one. Clovis, Tracy, Merced, Los Banos, and Manteca have seen an increase as well, starting from 2.4%. It makes me giddy knowing that the Central Valley is getting some love; after all, it is substantially cheaper to live here than in bigger cities, and we’re never too far from anything. And there’s so many great things here, from wine, the proximity to Yosemite National Forest, agriculture, history, et cetera. Maybe we can stop calling Fresno a little city soon.

Image Credit: Grant Porter on Unsplash, Sources: Fresno Bee, Sac Bee

Fresno receieves a visit by a wolf from Oregon

The Gray Wolf, known as OR-93, is a 2 year old male wolf that has made a long journey from his birthplace all the way to Fresno County, a 700 miles trip. OR-93 wears a purple collar, which would not only make him easier to distinguish but it also keeps track of his location. Officials are doing their best to educate the public on how to differentiate a wolf from coyotes and domestic dogs.

For starters, wolves don’t have blue eyes, and their eyes inner corner slant downwards. Their footprints are usually straight, unlike a dog’s wandering footprints, and are large, which will help differentiate themselves from the much smaller coyote.OR-93 has apparently crossed the six-lane freeway, Highway 99 in order to end up in Fresno County.

Other than becoming road kill, he faces additional threats in the fertile Central Valley, such as from potentially trigger happy farmers. Other gray wolves in the past met unfortunate fates. OR-59, a male, was shot and killed in Modoc County in December 2018 (this has been the subject of an intense investigation you might be interested in looking up.) Or the pack of seven that has gone missing since 2015. 

Source: The Fresno Bee