Every spring, tens of thousands of California gulls, some from the Bay Area, leave their home on the coast for a lengthy flight over the Sierra Nevada to summer at Mono Lake. There, the next generation of birds is born. Last year, however, long-simmering problems with the gull population exploded into view. The number of chicks that hatched at Mono Lake dropped to its lowest level on record: just 324 birds, down from about 11,000 chicks the prior year, according to a new report by the research group Point Blue Conservation Science. The dramatic decline is not only raising questions about the future of the gulls, but it’s rekindling concern about how the iconic lake 200 miles from San Francisco is being managed. … Those working to protect the lake see the record-low gull numbers as a sign that the water restrictions haven’t gone far enough and need to be revisited.

Other water and wildlife news:

• CBS Sacramento: Placer County buys land to protect rare wildlife and wetlands near Roseville
• SFGate: The camouflaged, artificial water supply keeping Calif.’s desert sheep alive
• SFGate: A native California species [white sturgeon] is rapidly declining, new report shows
• Atmos: Photos: The strange, salty power of California’s Mono Lake