Pick a tree at random anywhere in Southern California and examine it closely. Chances are good that you will find small wet stains on its trunk. Those wet stains are most likely signs of a fatal tree disease that is spreading throughout the region at an alarming rate, and which has the potential to significantly change the way Southern California looks.

The disease is called Fusarium dieback, and it is transmitted by one type of fungus-farming beetle: the invasive shot hole borer.

http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-eskalen-lynch-beetle-killing-southern-california-trees-20171130-story.html

Citizens for Los Angeles Wildlife. (CLAW) is part of an alliance of preservation groups that's been raising money to protect the last few wildlife corridors in L.A. from development. With the Laurel Canyon Association, they successfully purchased a 17-acre parcel for $1.6 million this week.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/hollywood-mountain-lion-laurel-canyon-wildlife-habitat-land-purchase/