Archive for 'Grasslands'
Controlled Burning: Is It Worth It?
Blane Heumann is director of fire management for The Nature Conservancy.
On August 26, a controlled burn (also known as a prescribed fire) got away from a federal fire crew in Yosemite National Park. The Big Meadow fire, which was planned to span one day and 91 acres, is being mopped up today after having spread [...]
Posted: September 8th, 2009 under Conservation Issues, Fire, Forests, Grasslands, North America, The Nature Conservancy, United States.
Tags: Big Meadow fire, Blane Heumann, controlled burn, federal fire, federal fire crew, Fire, fire blog, fire crew, Foresta, Los Angeles fire, Los Angeles nature fire, prescribed fire, Station fire, Yosemite National Park burn
Comments: 5
New Energy Production and Nature: What Will the Impacts Be?
Renewable energy is poised to be the wave of the future, but what impact will it have on landscapes and wildlife?
In the United States, at least 67 million acres will be developed for new energy projects by 2030. While these projects — including wind, solar and biofuels — will help reduce carbon emissions [...]
Posted: August 26th, 2009 under Animals, Birds, Deserts and Aridlands, Energy, Grasslands, Green Technology, Interviews, Oceans & Coasts, Policy, Science, The Nature Conservancy, United States.
Tags: biofuels, biomass, cap-and-trade, congress, Congress biofuel, Energy, Energy by Design, energy conservation, energy efficiency, energy sprawl, ethanol, greenhouse gas, PLoS One, renewable energy, renewable energy wildlife, Rob McDonald, solar power, The Nature Conservancy, wind power
Comments: 4
The Curlews of August: Update on the ‘Tagged Seven’ of Montana
Here’s an update on the whereabouts of the Long-billed Curlews that were tagged in Montana this past May, the 7 birds seemed to have temporarily settled down. We’ll see if they stay there or continue to move as fall draws nearer.
Of the 7 birds, 3 are now in the southern United States and 4 are in [...]
Posted: August 20th, 2009 under Birds, Deserts and Aridlands, Grasslands, North America, United States.
Tags: bird, bird migration, Birds, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Dave Mehlman, Durango, long-billed curlew, montana, New Mexico, satellite tagging, Tamaulipas, Texas
Comments: 2
By the Numbers: Can We Save the Last Herds, Flocks and Swarms?
500,000 sandhill cranes roosting along the Platte River.
One million wildebeests migrating across the Serengeti plains.
Ten million bats emerging from a Texas cave.
Literally uncountable masses of mayflies hatching along a beautiful spring creek.
Perhaps nothing captures a naturalist’s imagination quite like the world’s great herds, flocks and swarms.
There’s something beyond words when you see a [...]
Posted: August 10th, 2009 under Africa, Animals, Birds, Conservation Issues, Fish, Fresh Water, Grasslands, North America, Protected Areas, The Nature Conservancy, United States.
Tags: Assateague Island bird, bats, bird migration, bison loss, Frio Cave, Frio Cave bat, Galapagos bird, habitat loss, herd ecology, Idaho salmon migration, mammals, mass migration, Matt Miller, mayfly hatch, naturalist website, passenger pigeon flock, prairie pothole, predators, saiga antelope, sandhill crane, Serengeti herd, snow goose, Texas bat, Texas bat cave, Texas Hill Country bat, waterfowl, white nose bat, wildebeest
Comments: none
Shameless Plug: Buy a Duck Stamp!
While I personally would never advocate that bloggers like myself flog merchandise, I have to make an exception for a very valuable thing you should consider purchasing for your very own: a Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp.
This stamp, better known as the “Duck Stamp,” is an inexpensive way to support the conservation of bird [...]
Posted: August 6th, 2009 under Birds, Forests, Fresh Water, Grasslands, Protected Areas, The Nature Conservancy, United States.
Tags: bird stamp, Bombay Hook, Chase Lake, Dave Mehlman, duck stamp, Edwin B. Forsythe, Horicon, Laguna Atascosa, Monte Vista, Montzuman refuge, National Wildlife Refuges, Nature Conservancy magazine, Parker River, Pea Island, Quivira, US Fish Wildlife Service
Comments: 1
A Rabbit as Canary: The Crown of the Continent
Scientists trying to explain climate change might take note of a story in the latest edition of Newsweek magazine. It’s an elegantly written piece that discusses big scientific concepts such as connectivity, biodiversity and climate change in a way that neither dumbs down the science nor leaves the reader lost in a tangle of intimidating [...]
Posted: August 4th, 2009 under Animals, Climate Change, Conservation Issues, Forests, Grasslands, Protected Areas, The Nature Conservancy.
Tags: Canada Lynx, Canada lynx Montana, Climate Change, climate change Montana, Crown of the Continent, Kat Imhoff, Lewis and Clark Montana, lynx hare, Montana cougar, Montana Crown, Montana development, Montana grizzly, Montana Legacy Project, Montana wolverine, Nature Conservancy in Montana, Newsweek Montana, Plum Creek, Plum Creek deal, snowshoe hare Montana
Comments: none
Connecting the Dots of Climate Change
Here in Washington, where I work on environmental policy for The Nature Conservancy, politics often passes for actual information about the outside world.
Blogs, e-newsletters, and print dailies present a continuing stream of commentary on political alignment and conflict over issues. The energy and climate change legislation now being taken up by the U.S. Senate is [...]
Posted: July 21st, 2009 under Africa, Asia Pacific, Climate Change, Climate Science & Research, Fresh Water, Grasslands, Policy, Science, The Nature Conservancy, United States.
Tags: Africa, American Clean Energy and Security Act, bill ginn, Bob Bendick, climate change cost, climate change national security, drought, floods, global warming, greenhouse gas emissions, low-carbon economy, mongolia, Mongolia climate, Mongolia drought, Mongolia grassland, Patrick McCarthy, politics, Science, senate, USCAP, Waxman-Markey, zambezi basin, Zambezi climate, Zambezi dam, zambezi river, Zambezi wetland
Comments: none
The Montana Curlews Are Moving Out!
In late June, I posted about the new project to track Long-billed Curlew migrations from eastern Montana.
Well, the fall migration has started for these birds and they are moving out!
As of early this week, 4 of the 7 birds had taken off and left the Montana prairie for points south. Currently, one bird is in northeastern Colorado, [...]
Posted: July 9th, 2009 under Birds, Grasslands, North America.
Tags: animal tagging satellite, colorado, Dave Mehlman, Durango, long-billed curlew, Mexico, montana, New Mexico, satellite tagging
Comments: none
A Bird in the Hand: Banding Prairie Warblers
How often do you find yourself presented with the opportunity to get up close and personal with a prairie warbler?
Not often enough, which is exactly why I jumped at the chance to join conservation scientist Neil Gifford on a bird-banding quest late this past May.
Heading out into the Albany Pine Bush at six in the [...]
Posted: July 2nd, 2009 under Birds, Environmental Science, Grasslands, Science, The Nature Conservancy, United States.
Tags: Albany Pine Bush, bird banding, bird photos, bird video, New York, Niel Gifford, Prairie Warbler
Comments: none
The Sustainable Prisons Project
You usually learn about sustainable living in glossy design magazines or hip blogs (ahem, Cool Green Science!), but prison seems an unlikely source to find eco-inspiration.
Until now.
The offenders at the Stafford Creek Corrections Center in Washington are going green through a partnership with The Evergreen State College and The Nature Conservancy. The project is saving [...]
Posted: June 30th, 2009 under Grasslands, Green Living, Sustainable Livelihoods, The Nature Conservancy, United States.
Tags: Dr. Nalini Nadkarni, prairie restoration, Stafford Creek Correctional Center, sustainable prison, Sustainable Prisons Project, The Evergreen State College, Washington prairie
Comments: 4



