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A salmon (Coho? Steelhead?) swims lazily in the salmon ladder at the Ballard Locks. Fish will use this area to reduce shock to their systems as they move from salt to fresh water. As they become more accustomed to fresh water, they essentially start their journey to death, with their jaws becoming hooked which doesn't allow them to feeds ensuring that their only goal it to get upriver and spawn. A visit to the Hiram Chittenden locks (commonly called the Ballard Lock's) is a necessary trip for any Seattlite trying to gain a better understanding of the natural and cultural history of our city and last Thursday after many previous trips to the locks I was finally able to witness one of the most important natural phenomenon in our region; the running of salmon along their migratory routes through the locks. Constructed Over a century ago, these locks are critical for keeping the freshwater of Lake Union and Washington separated from the salt water of Puget Sound through a series of 3 locks able to raise and lower boats passing through this channel with little disturbance to these two aquatic ecosystems. Integrated into the lock's construction is a series of salmon steps called a salmon ladder which allows the five iconic species of Puget Sound; chinook, sockeye, coho, chum, and steelhead, to retain the critical natural process of jumping upstream from salt to fresh water. While each species may time their migration differently throughout the year, they are all doing so with the same goal in mind, to move upriver to their final destination where they will spawn and fertilize new eggs before they die. The salmon ladder at the Ballard Locks mimics the natural pools along streams and river where the salmon slowly adjust to the shock of leaving salt water behind and undergo physical changes necessary to ensure their breeding success. Salmon have played an important role in the Pacific Northwest since the area was first colonized by first peoples moving into our region after the last glacial retreat 10,000 years ago. An staple food source for these people, salmon were used in many important ceremonies in native culture, a tradition that still carries on today. Economically, salmon are one of the first things people think about when thinking of the Pacific Northwest and the salmon fishing industry generates millions in revenue for many cities throughout Washington, British Columbia, and Washington. The importance of salmon extends far beyond the benefits offered to humans however, serving as a critical component to aquatic ecosystems in our region as prey species for the Bald Eagles, Grizzly Bears, and Orca Whales as well as predators for many insects and smaller fish that live in the rivers and oceans salmon migrate through. Their anadromous behavior, that is their life cycle that includes fresh and salt water components, is critical for cycling nutrients between these two otherwise separated ecosystems. Because of habitat degradation, reduced annual snowpack feeding our rivers, and warming waters associated with climate change salmon are now facing a very bleak future. Because salmon have specific habitat needs for spawning, preferring cold water and woody debris found in streams, even the slightest modification to their habitat can result in massive population collapse. Another thing complicating the success of wild salmon is the release of millions of hatchery farmed fish which outcompete native populations. Of the 5 species common in the Pacific Northwest, Chinook salmon are feeling the greatest effects of the increased hatchery populations of steelhead who are out competing these fish in their own habitats. Despite the fact they typically coexist in the same habitat, the sheer number of steelhead being added by hatcheries is greatly reducing the Chinook's ability to find resources necessary for survival as well as stressing them out to the point where they are unable to avoid predation. This visit to the locks was special for me because it was my first time actually seeing salmon in the wild. As we walked towards the salmon ladder, a school of 20-30 Chinook salmon were able to be seen glimmering in the sunlight, waiting for the hide tide and their chance to enter the salmon ladder. As we moved into an underground area where salmon were able to be observed moving through the ladder, we attempted to collect data on the number of fish we observed and their behavior in these salmon pools. Although we only witnessed a few coho salmon lazily swimming around these pools, it was a great opportunity to view them up close and get a better idea of their distinctive patterning and size. I liked this area of the locks in particular because you could (hopefully) view salmon as they swam right in front of you and reference the identification guides nearby. This was great for me because I am still familiarizing myself with salmon in the Pacific Northwest. As salmon become more rare in our region I wonder about the future of the salmon ladder at the Ballard Locks and if data collection like ours will be the norm with just a few fish trickling through the normally bustling salmon ladder. Continued data collection of salmon size, population, and behavior will continue to be important in the future as we try to further understand how these animals are being affected by climate change and what this means for the cultural, economical, and ecological stability of Puget Sound and the greater Pacific Northwest.

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Last weekend I had a unique chance to visit the Olympic Coast of Washington State with my Honors Natural History class from UW Seattle under instruction from Professor Ursula Valdez. This was my first legitimate field trip since being in college and was an amazing experience being able to explore the natural history of this region with a knowledgeable professor at our side. We are rarely granted opportunities like this in college so it was a great experience to immerse ourselves in a learning environment far from society for 3 consecutive days. I not only enjoyed learning lots of new marine species that I was unfamiliar with (the focus at my school is largely terrestrial ecology) but being able to share my existing knowledge of Washington’s native plants with classmates.

I am leaving for Peru in just over a week and this trip to the coast went a long way in reducing my anxiety and connecting me back to landscapes in the Pacific Northwest that I haven’t had a chance to visit as much during this very busy summer. My instructor on this field experience will also be leading our exploration seminar in Peru so it was great connecting with her over the course of the weekend and having a fellow ecologist around to bounce questions off of and learn from. Despite all the time we spend in classrooms, the most productive learning in my experience comes from direct immersion in the field of study and this trip was no exception. There is nothing more exciting than seeing something and saying “What’s that!?” and then being handed a book to figure it out and generate discussion about what we saw.

Aside from expanding my knowledge and appreciation of ecology in the Pacific Northwest I was also fortunate to connect with my classmates over late night card games and talking under the clear pacific skies. While I am “only” 5-6 years older than most of them, it was still a great experience hearing their thoughts and concerns as younger undergraduates and what motivates them each as individuals. By the end of the trip we had forged connections with the landscape and one another that I had not expected. It was a great way to say “goodbye” to the Pacific Northwest for the next month and a half and provided a little taste of the weeks to come as I venture into new environments with new people and uncover a world I am entirely unfamiliar with!

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Humans are not destroying the Earth

The idea that the human race could destroy this rocky planet we call home is laughable. Not because ‘climate change doesn’t exist’ and not because we live our lives in an environmentally friendly manner (we don’t) but because our existence does not govern the life or death of a planet.

Keep reading

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My finished thesis - CASCADIA: Life in the Upper Left. Stay tuned for some individual posts with descriptions and detail shots of each of these four pieces. 

The Pacific Northwest has been a source of endless fascination for me. It has influenced and inspired much of my work as a student and continues to unveil connections and curiosities that keep me returning to the subject again and again. I am constantly humbled by all that is not human and inspired by the endless connections that exist within nature, both seen and unseen; some felt, others simply understood.  

This respect and adoration for the Pacific Northwest is what inspired me to create Cascadia: Life in the Upper Left. This collection illustrates the biodiversity of the four distinct ecological zones (high desert, sub-alpine/alpine, temperate rainforest, and coastal)  found between Oregon, Washington, Western British Columbia, and Southeast Alaska.  

Each illustration provides information on a single zone that is found in different areas across the span of the Pacific Northwest; it was important for me to illustrate the defining common elements of each zone, while still portraying the differences that may be found within the zones as they exist in different areas.  I want the viewer to be able to look at each piece as a cohesive narrative and at the same time, find many individual narratives within each piece.

Overall, my hope is that all four pieces be seen and understood together as a collective ecological portrait.

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The Peregrine Falcon and DDT

I’ll admit, my opinion on peregrines is very biased; they’re beautiful, but also badass killing machines. They’re by far my favourite animal, and they should be yours too. Peregrine falcons (AKA: duck hawks) are marked by their distinct navy blue-grey plumage, combined with a salt-and-pepper belly. With an average wingspans of ~102 cm (40 inches), they certainly aren’t the largest bird of prey, but they can reach flight speeds as high as 105 km/h (65 mph) and reach diving speed of 322 km/h (200 mph). Peregrines exist in different environments around the globe, feeding on just about anything (terrestrial and aerial) around the size of a rabbit or smaller.

In the 1950’s dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) became a very common pesticide in the North and South Americas. It was praised as a miracle chemical that destroyed insect populations with no (known at the time) detrimental effects on animals and plants. Later, it was discovered that DDT is stored and accumulates in the fat of animals (including humans). This wasn’t considered to an issue, because the DDT in the fat of mammals did not appear to cause any negative health issue. It was later discovered that this was a particularly large issue in birds, because the more DDT that has accumulated in a female, the thinner and more fragile her eggs would be.

Keep reading

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The Spectacle Bear (Tremarctos ornatus) is the only species of bear in South America. It lives in the cloud forests of the Andes mountains and is becoming increasingly threatened due to habitat loss and hunting. Less than 5% of their rare cloud forest habitat remains and is quickly being fragmented by road development or slashed and burned for agricultural use. This bear's diet consists almost entirely of Bromeliads (pineapple-like fruits) but is often killed by local farmers who misunderstand this animal and think it threatens livestock. Its also the cutest thing you've see all day, so I think we should try to protect it.

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How monotonous our speaking becomes when we speak only to ourselves! And how insulting to the other beings – to foraging black bears and twisted old cypresses – that no longer sense us talking to them, but only about them, as though they were not present in our world…Small wonder that rivers and forests no longer compel our focus or our fierce devotion. For we walk about such entities only behind their backs, as though they were not participant in our lives. Yet if we no longer call out to the moon slipping between the clouds, or whisper to the spider setting the silken struts of her web, well, then the numerous powers of this world will no longer address us – and if they still try, we will not likely hear them.

David Abram Becoming Animal: An Earthly Cosmology

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Ah spring

In the northern hemisphere, the cold has broken, the snow is melting, baseball season is around the corner, and I just walked to class without a jacket. Here, take a look; you can even see the mighty granite monoliths of Yosemite National Park as the year’s snowfall retreats away.

Wait, what are the numbers on there? You mean these photos don’t show a single season, they show…oh wait this is really bad.

Read More

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in Spring, moths waltzed to the chorus frog, drunk on the porch light, for you,my Bleeding Heart. so I exhaled the last of winters breath

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Gothic Basin, ca. 1900. Photographer George W. Kirk. Gothic Basin is still an extremely popular though challenging hike. You can find out more about the route, as well as see a full-color picture of the stunning payoff at the Washington Trails Association website. 

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Cry Wolf: A look at conservation challenges of Grey Wolf recovery in Washington State

          Canis lupis, The Grey Wolf, have long been revered by indigenous tribes of Pacific Northwest coast, representing loyalty, strength, and courage. The Quileute and Kwakiutl share legends of their ancestors being transformed from Wolf to Man and the presence of the wolf is as engrained in the landscape as the crests of the Cascade and Olympic Mountains, an essential component to the physical and spiritual environment of the Pacific Northwest (Native-Languages.org).  Packs of wolves were reminders of the honorable and unbreakable bond of family, with many Northwest tribes; the Tlingit, Tsimshian, and Kwakiutl, containing “Wolf Clans” amongst them, their crests still visible on totem poles found across the region (Native-Languages.org).            As Euro-American settlers began arriving in the Pacific Northwest almost two centuries ago, the Grey Wolf and the indigenous cultures that worshipped these animals were rapidly threatened by misunderstanding fueled by fairy tales and myths that paint wolves as villainous, dangerous creatures (Defenders.org), as well as by exploitation of their habitat in favor of rangeland. By the early 20th century, wolves were practically eradicated from Washington State, a result of fear and animosity towards these predators fueled by government sponsored payments for the hunting of wolves thought to be a threat to livestock and the success of early settlers to the region (ConservationNW.org).            A century later, wolf populations have recovered substantially in Washington State, with packs moving into our region from neighboring territories in the Rocky Mountains.  Their population expansion is a result of protections gained through their listing as endangered in 1978 under the federal Endangered Species Act (FWS.gov) and under a similar provision of Washington State Law in 1980. With 13 confirmed packs in the state as of summer 2014 (WDFW.wa.gov) the future of Washington’s wolves looks promising.  However, despite new understanding of the ecological significance of wolves and measures put into place to ensure their protection, the future of Washington’s wolves is still largely uncertain, particularly in light of new efforts to delist this species as endangered at a federal level. The populations in the eastern third of the state were federally delisted in spring of 2011, and management of the species has shifted primarily to the state.  The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife [WDFW] has already been transitioning to managing the recovery of this species in the eastern third of the state and will be the primary government body responsible for recovery if wolves are federally delisted.

(Distribution of Wolf Packs in Washington State as of March 2015, photo: WDFW)

           Ensuring wolf populations are able to recover means protection of breeding females who are important to the social structure of the pack and are able to increase wolf numbers through reproduction. During a tragic incident last summer, WDFW was forced to kill a breeding female from the Huckleberry Pack as a result of ongoing predation of a ranchers sheep. This incident should not be taken lightly and highlights the problems with wolf management in Washington State and the need for ranchers and wildlife managers to be working together for wolf recovery. I was interested in exploring the capacity of WDFW to manage these animals and the role of Non-Government Organizations [NGO’s] in ensuring conservation goals are met.

          By examining the mission of Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife as well as Conservation Northwest and Defenders of Wildlife, two NGO’s actively involved in Wolf Conservation in the Pacific Northwest, I hope to shed some light on the strategies, challenges, and successes that these three organizations have encountered in ensuring sustainable wolf recovery for both the wolves and people who call Washington home. Because the success of wolf conservation often intersects the needs of ranchers and farmers, I chose more specifically to examine aspects of public outreach and education that these agencies provide in an effort to destigmatize the image of the “Big Bad Wolf” in Washington, reducing wildlife conflict and restoring the historic cultural reverence these animals deserve.

Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW)

Mission Statement: “To preserve, protect and perpetuate fish, wildlife and ecosystems while providing sustainable fish and wildlife recreational and commercial opportunities.” Website: wdfw.wa.gov Facebook: facebook.com/WashingtonFishWildlife Twitter: twitter.com/wdfw YouTube: youtube.com/thewdfw

           As the government agency largely responsible for overseeing the recovery and conservation of wolves in Washington, the WDFW’s recovery goals and strategies are outlined in a Wolf Management Recovery Plan. The recovery goals outlined by this plan established a delisting objective of 15 breeding pairs of wolves present in the state for at least three years with stable populations of four wolves present in key geographical regions- Eastern Washington, the North Cascades, and South Cascades/Northwest Coastal areas (WDFW.wa.gov). Should 18 breeding pairs be documented within a single year with adequate distribution, a delisting process may also be initiated.            Meeting these population goals requires management measures aimed at providing landowners technical assistance to reduce wildlife conflict and providing compensation to ranchers who may lose livestock to wolf predation. The sale of personalized license plates provides “direct and stable” funding for programs such as employed “Range Riders” and collaring wolves with GPS trackers, which have shown great success in reducing wildlife conflict in Washington.            They key to reducing wildlife conflict comes from a better understanding of the predation habits of wolves and trying to discourage them with a human presence. Wolves hunt by “testing” or “pushing” herds of animals to run, causing the weakest individuals-typically the youngest, oldest, or ill - to be singled out resulting in an easy catch for a hungry wolf (ConservationNW.org). The presence of a range rider overseeing cattle for the duration of the grazing season on horseback serves multiple purposes. First and foremost, it calms herds while they graze and discourages wolf predation by having a human present. As the WDFW has slowly been fitting GPS collars to some wolves, range riders are able to track the location of nearby packs and drive the cattle to safer locations should conflict become a concern. This reinforces herding behavior in young calves who are encouraged to stick near their mothers as they stay on the move and also allows season long monitoring of individuals who may be sick or injured so these animals can be removed from the herd and discourage predation.            With three years, or nine “project seasons” completed under this pilot program, ranchers involved with the program in Eastern Washington have yet to lose any cows or sheep to wolves (WDFW.org). Rancher John Dawson of Stevens County grazes 200 cattle in overlapping pack territory and has been quite impressed with this program: “Range riding sure seems to be working for us[…]three years in a row we’ve been in a positive position with wolves and our cattle that we weren’t in before. Nothing replaces just having someone spending time with the herd, and having a person on the ground watching the cattle, checking for wolf tracks and scat, and keeping an eye on the whole operation.”  (ConservationNW.org)            Despite the success of the range rider program in reducing wildlife conflict, tens of thousands in taxpayer dollars were spent on the tracking and killing of the problematic female from the Huckleberry Pack last summer (ConservationNW.org).  While the WDFW was able to assist in wildlife conflict measures towards the end of this incident, preventative action would have proven far more successful than this responsive and lethal intervention. The rancher who lost sheep to this pack was offered a cooperative agreement with the WDFW but chose to decline, ultimately leading to a loss to his livestock as well as an important wolf in achieving Washington’s recovery goals. The Washington Cattlemen’s Associated encourages its members to enter cooperative agreements with WDFW and other NGO’s for just this reason (ConservationNW.org) but until these agreements are mandated it is largely the responsibility of the landowner. With 1,800 sheep spread across rough terrain, this rancher only had a single herder and four dogs as protection, and waited weeks before reporting predation to the WDFW, initially thinking it was a cougar problem (ConservationNW.org). Had the rancher entered an agreement with WDFW, the agency would have been allowed to share radiocollar data with him and alert him of wolf pack activity in his grazing territory, possibly eliminating the need to take lethal action against this animal as a last measure. With a majority of Washingtonians supporting a healthy recovery of wolves (ConservationNW.org), it is important to promote education and cooperation amongst citizens and supporting agencies to ensure success within our region.           To this end, Non-Governmental Organizations are often proactive in public education, oversight, and support of wolf recovery efforts at all levels.

Conservation Northwest

Mission Statement: “Using creative conservation since our founding in 1989, we work to “Keep the Northwest wild” — protecting and connecting old-growth forests and other wild areas from the Washington Coast to the B.C. Rockies: vital to a healthy future for us, our children, and wildlife.” Website: http://www.conservationnw.org/ Facebook: facebook.com/ConservationNW Twitter: twitter.com/conservationnw YouTube: youtube.com/ConservationNW Flikr: flickr.com/photos/conservationnw

           Conservation Northwest, with offices in Bellingham and Seattle, is a non-profit organization working with local communities, state and federal agencies, and in the state legislature to support and protect wildlife and their habitats. Through public education, community outreach, and by supporting conservation policy and research, their actions allow wolf recovery efforts to extend beyond the WDFW and allow citizen input and engagement.            Conservation Northwest educates and trains a number of volunteer citizen scientists to be involved in their Game Camera Monitoring program, a way to collect information on the distribution and movement of wolves by having citizens go into pack territory and collect and upload photos taken by motion activated cameras which capture wolves as they pass by. They also work closely with ranchers, other conservation groups, and recreation and hunting communities to find successful approaches which allow wolf recovery to be shared by all stakeholders (ConservationNW.org). Educating landowners on the use of fladry, ribbon lined fences that spook and deter wolves, and hosting volunteer work parties to install fladry along ranch boundaries allows ranchers and citizens to work together towards a common goal while allowing individuals to connect with the wolf conservation movement through volunteer stewardship, building a sense of trust between ranchers and citizens who share the goal of sustainable population recovery and livestock protection.            Most importantly, Conservation Northwest believes that “Wildlife belongs to the people of the state regardless of where they roam, or where the people live” and that  “when it comes to wolf management, we the citizens deserve timely and accurate information on the circumstances that lead up to any lethal removals, and assurances that ranchers did everything they possibly could to prevent conflicts in the first place” (ConservationNW.org). This has been very evident in following this organization on Twitter the last month, allowing me to be tuned into the latest news from across the region and drawing my attention to wolf conservation issues that may not be reported in print or televised media. By promoting press releases from wolf experts, Conservation Northwest offers explanation and credibility to scientific studies which support wolf conservation and offers rebuttal to “PR hacks” meant to discredit the success of conservation efforts at the state and local level. These press releases as well as blog posts or open letters by director Mitch Friedman allow citizens to stay educated and engaged in this organizations efforts promoting appreciation for these animals which ultimately ensure successful recovery.            In this legislative session, Conservation Northwest wolf conflicts specialist Jay Kehne and policy expert Paula Sweeden have testified in front of House and Senate committees on eight wolf related bills, allowing wolf conservationists to be well represented by an organization committed to management based on the best available science. Without their presence in the legislative forum, it’s uncertain how wolf related bills could take shape and the implications that they may have on ensuring that recovery goals are met. One bill in particular, HB 1676, requires a scientific, peer-reviewed study assessing the health of ungulate and predator populations in Washington which is critical for good decision making for the future of Washington’s wolves. Promoting scientific research that supports wolf recovery is essential to their conservation, and I am glad to see this organization keeping up with proposed bills and ensuring that the public stays informed as to what is happening in Olympia. The political arena is all too often lost on the general public but the transparency provided by Conservation Northwest allows more active involvement and support of their efforts.            By raising funds which support conflict avoidance training and range riders, Conservation Northwest reduces the burden on state agencies to do so and allows cooperative learning to take place amongst citizens, ranchers, and government agencies committed to ensuring their recovery.

Defenders of Wildlife

Mission Statement: “Defenders of Wildlife is dedicated to the protection of all native animals and plants in their natural communities[…]Defenders’ approach is direct and straightforward - We protect and restore imperiled species throughout North America by transforming policies and institutions and promoting innovative solutions – and this approach makes a lasting difference for wildlife and its habitat”

Website: http://www.defenders.org/ Facebook: facebook.com/DefendersofWildlife Twitter: twitter.com/defenders YouTube: youtube.com/ defendersofwildlife Flikr: flickr.com/groups/defendersofwildlife

           Having worked closely developing the successful “Wind River Project” which prioritized wolf recovery in Idaho, Defenders of Wildlife is beginning to support efforts in the Northwest using similar tactics as Conservation Northwest. By training agencies and livestock operators in radiotelemetry monitoring of wolf movement as well as the use of fladry, sound and light deterrents, alarm systems, and carcass removal, Defenders of Wildlife aims at preventing conflict before it happens. Online fact-sheets and publications such as “Livestock and Wolves: A Guide to Nonlethal Tools and Methods to Reduce Conflict” draw on this groups experience in the montane west to better educate agencies and landowners on the science of wolf behavior and successful measures that have been put in place elsewhere. Northern Rockies representative Suzanne Stone speaks to the success that Defenders of Wildlife has had in “empowering local communities to address issues in a responsible and transparent manner” and that “conflicts over wolf and livestock concerns are best addressed by those who are focused on fairly and rationally resolving the conflicts instead of just fighting over them.” They have provided training and workshops for hundreds of state, federal, and tribal wildlife managers and livestock owners on the use of nonlethal methods of conflict avoidance.            Community outreach extends beyond social media and connects people to conservation efforts by allowing them to symbolically “Adopt-a-Wolf” by purchasing a small plush toy which comes with information about wolves and who’s purchase goes towards funding wolf conservation efforts. This is a great way to connect people to a resource and destigmatize wolves into something that shouldn’t be feared but appreciated. By organizing local meetings of wolf-supporters, Defenders of Wildlife allows likeminded individuals or those curious to learn more to engage with scientists and policymakers to spread news and build support for conservation.            Defenders of Wildlife supports conservation policy by providing simple online forms which users can fill out and send to politicians and agency leaders in support of pro-wolf legislature and management practices. They were actively involved in crafting and passing Oregon’s Wolf Conservation Bill in 2011 which encouraged proactive use of nonlethal deterrents by ranchers and allowed compensation payments for lost livestock for any rancher who enrolled in the program. Prior to the passing of this bill, Defenders of Wildlife ran a similar program which compensated ranchers for losses when they were actively involved in conflict avoidance measures. In Washington state, Defenders of Wildlife initiated and supported legislation that established a biodiversity policy ultimately leading to the state Biodiversity Council.

So How Can I Help? By looking at the work of these three agencies and how they collectively contribute to wolf recovery, it’s apparent that citizen engagement is critical to ensuring a healthy future for Washington’s wolves and people. The use of social media by these three organizations allows a once disconnected citizen to become actively involved in the conversation of wolf recovery by staying up to date on news from the field as well as Olympia where the newest research or wolf related bills are constantly shaping the way conservation is approached for these animals. If you’ve read through this entire post (and I do hope you have) then you already have a leg up on the history and challenges of wolf conservation in Washington State, so go tell your friends! Seriously, you will sound like a wolf expert! The more voices that become aware and engaged in the decisions that influence the recovery of these animals, the more likelihood that outcomes will better address the needs of every stakeholder involved.

Learn More Want to learn more about the organizations in this article and how you can become more involved in Wolf conservation in Washington State? Check out the links provided under each organization and follow along on social media and become part of the conversation.

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I just got accepted to go to Peru this August and spend a few weeks doing research in Manu National Park and Biosphere Reserve. This park is a UNESCO world heritage site and has more biodiversity than anywhere on the planet! We will be spending a week in the Andes around Machu Picchu studying mountain ecology and Peruvian cultural traditions before taking a boat down the Madre Del Dios River in the Amazon basin to Cocha Cashu research station. I'll be spending the next few months working on my research proposal but am very interested in conservation of large mammals and particularly how diversity in forest structure supports keystones predators like the Jaguar, Puma, and Giant River Otter and the prey populations which support them. Here are some photos from Wikipedia of a few of the park mammals I hope to encounter

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We reached the old wolf in time to watch the fierce green fire dying in her eyes… There was something new to me in those eyes— something known only to her and the mountains. I was young then, and full of trigger-itch. I thought that because fewer wolves meant more deer that no wolves would mean hunter’s paradise, but after seeing the green fire die, I sensed that neither the wolf nor the mountain agreed with such a view.

Aldo Leopold, A Sand County Almanac, 1949 (via braidedchannels)

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Hey look! A little on where this blog got its name ;-)

Braided Streams

Here’s one of my favorite fluvial features: braided streams.

The intricate network of joining, separating, and rejoining channels is what makes a stream braided. The braided channels shown here are part of the Brahmaputra River, which runs through Tibet.

Most braided streams form when a stream is “incompetent” or carries too much sediment. The excess sediment is deposited in sand bars that separate the channels, thus creating the intertwined look. Braided streams are especially common in glacial areas (where they often carry glacial melt laden with sediment) and in areas with variable seasonal flow. This particular river carries a lot of glacial flour, or very fine sediment that was powdered by glaciers—nature’s icy version of a mortar and pestle.

-CM

Photo credit and more information: NASA http://1.usa.gov/1M2nQ3n

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We reached the old wolf in time to watch the fierce green fire dying in her eyes… There was something new to me in those eyes— something known only to her and the mountains. I was young then, and full of trigger-itch. I thought that because fewer wolves meant more deer that no wolves would mean hunter’s paradise, but after seeing the green fire die, I sensed that neither the wolf nor the mountain agreed with such a view.

Aldo Leopold, A Sand County Almanac, 1949

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One of the first videos describing the science of the Dawn Mission and how it relates to meteorites found on Earth. Narrated by Leonard Nimoy.

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Old-Growth Pacific Northwest Coast native plants, photographed by me c:

1) (Primarily) Rhizomnium glabrescens, Fan moss/Large leafy moss 

2) Blechnum spicant, Deer Fern aka the cutest plant ever don’t even fight me

3) Trientalis latifolia, Pacific Starflower

4) Asplenium (Spleenwort), though I’m not certain what specific species… I keep going back and forth because it doesn’t really look like maidenhair spleenwort or green spleenwort (the two most common in my region), and because of spleenwort hybridization tendency towards polyploidy with unique growth forms I’m lead to believe it may be a polyploid hybrid? (Could totally be wrong though :/ If anyone has insight/experience with spleenworts and they think they might know which species it is, please feel free to shoot me a message! <3)

5) Sedum spathulifolium, Broad-Leaved Stonecrop