By DYLAN DARLING, Scripps Howard News Service

Federal scientists literally have barred owls in their sights.

They're hoping that blasting the birds will save their weaker cousins, the controversial spotted owls some blame for destroying the Western timber industry.

Before venturing into deep woods to battle summer blazes, federal firefighters this season will devise specific plans for rescuing severely injured co-workers.

The new attention to detail, prompted by the death of a rookie firefighter during fires that swept through California's north two years ago, may signal a major shift in federal firefighting strategy.

After his wife was airlifted off Mount Shasta, Mike Ludwig made the solemn trek down the mountain to rejoin her at the hospital in the city below.

Ludwig, 57, of Santa Clara, Calif., said he focused on each step to keep his mind from racing -- using meditation tips taught to him by his wife of two years and companion of more than a decade.

The smell of a volatile chemical exuded by people and birds alike is what draws in the species of mosquito known to carry West Nile Virus, researchers have found.

This discovery at the University of California, Davis could lead to improved efforts to crimp the spread of the disease, said Walt Leal, an entomology professor who led the research over the past three years.

Northern California water managers are growing increasingly uneasy with each winter day marked more by sunshine than rainfall.
"It's shaping up to be about as challenging a year as water managers in California have ever had," said Jeff Sutton, general manager of the Tehama-Colusa Canal Authority.

An American Indian tribe from the Klamath River has petitioned the state to ban a popular form of recreational gold mining on parts of the river and many of its tributaries.

A power company's plans to amplify snowstorms in northern California have sparked a debate about cloud seeding.
Pacific Gas and Electric Co. has installed seven propane-burning cloud seed "generators" -- collections of equipment that propel silver iodide particles into the air -- atop ridges in Siskiyou and Shasta counties.

State lawmakers have said the Winnemem Wintu Tribe should be recognized again by the federal government.But leaders of the small band of American Indians in northern California said the call will only be ceremonial unless it is heard by members of the U.S. Congress in Washington, D.C., and the tribe gains recognition once again with the federal government.

Ted Arman has big plans for his Iron Mountain Mine and the acidic water that seeps from the federal Superfund site.

More than 100,000 young fish slated to restock a lake and bay have died in California hatcheries in recent days due to malfunctioning equipment.The most recent mishap happened Monday, when about 75,000 Chinook salmon smolts, or juveniles, perished while being transported in tanker trucks from a fish hatchery in Anderson, Calif., to the San Pablo Bay near Vallejo.