Curious About … Serviceberry?
For just a short week in early April, the ravines in the Wenatchee Foothills are bursting with serviceberry blossoms. Continue Reading →
Category: Conservation
Curious About … Blooming Balsamroot?
Arrowleaf balsamroot is a long-lived perennial wildflower that blooms in the shrub-steppe. Many animals and insects use it for food and it is adapted to re-grown after wildfire. Continue Reading →
Why I Support Re-introduction of Grizzly Bears to the North Cascades National Park
The grizzly disappeared from the North Cascades on our watch, with the last verified sighting near Glacier Peak in 1996. Thankfully, biologists can successfully reintroduce grizzlies to areas where they are gone, as proven by their ongoing recovery efforts in the Cabinet-Yaak ecosystem in northwest Montana. Enormous swaths of high-quality habitat in remote areas are the key to success, and we have plenty in the North Cascades. The designated recovery zone covers more than 9,500 square miles and centers on the North Cascades National Park and surrounding public lands, including the Glacier Peak, Pasayten, and Sawtooth wilderness areas. Leavenworth biologist Bill Gaines has documented that this vast area has a diversity of habitats with at least 100 plant species for this apex-omnivore to eat. Continue Reading →
Celebrate the Anna’s Hummingbird
Videographer Bruce McCammon documented a successful nesting Anna’s Hummingbird in the Wenatchee Valley. Continue Reading →
Neotropical migrants raising their young in our canyons
Hanging clothes on my backyard clothesline gives me a chance to look west, up into the V-shaped Number Two Canyon, where steep sagebrush-covered slopes plunge down to the brushy canyon Continue Reading →
Curious About … Long-toed Salamanders?
Herpetologist, Torsten Watkins, introduces the lfie history of long-toed salamanders. This species is native to North Central Washington and spring is the season when adults migrate to breeding sites. Continue Reading →
Easter Prayer 2022
Such love does the sky now pour, that whenever I stand in a field, I have to wring out the light when I get home. – St. Francis of Assisi Continue Reading →
Curious About … Arriving Turkey Vultures?
Turkey vultures are arriving to North Central Washington from wintering grounds in Mexico and Central America. Look for groups roosting in tall black cottonwood trees. Continue Reading →
Shrub-steppe Plant Adaptations
Compared to mobile animals, plants can’t walk away when the weather gets severe and water is scarce. Plants employ several strategies that allow them to cope with water shortage Continue Reading →
Curious About … Western Meadowlark?
Western meadowlark males have arrived to the Wenatchee Foothills’ shrub-steppe. They use songs and postures to establish breeding territories. Continue Reading →