Extreme Yosemite rain eases drought but disrupts wildlife habitats
After a winter of epic storms in California, Yosemite National Park’s famous waterfalls are in full flow, its reservoirs are brimming, and the snowpack in the surrounding Sierra Nevada Mountains is well above average. In drought-stricken California, that is cause for celebration, but wildlife experts warn that weather extremes driven by climate change can also change habitats too quickly for wildlife to adapt. … [Beth Pratt, California regional director for the National Wildlife Federation] has been studying Yosemite Valley wildlife for 25 years, including the more than 400 species of vertebrates that call the 1,200 square-mile (3,100 square-kilometer) park home. … In his 27 years as a Yosemite park ranger, Scott Gediman has never seen so much winter snow and water in the park.