On a 150-foot stretch of creek lined with 78 trees, Dagit counted only 15 still alive. “The ecological consequences of losing all these trees are profound and, on a personal level, so sad,” said Dagit, a senior biologist for the Resource Conservation District of the Santa Monica Mountains. The native trees of the Santa Monica Mountains adapted over thousands of years to prolonged dry periods of drought. Rosi Dagit points out a willow tree that is dying because of drought and insect infestation in Topanga Creek. (Video by Irfan Khan and Genaro Molina) CAPTION President Trump reduced the size of two national monuments in southern Utah.

Source: Los Angeles Times December 05, 2017 15:00 UTC