What am I trying to illustrate in the above photo (a picture of cattle and elephant dung)? That conservation planning is a pile of poop?
No. But this mixture of excrement does show why such planning needs to incorporate extreme events like drought or flooding – especially for the impacts of those events on local people.
In [...]

Bogdkhan Uul, just south of Ulanbator, Mongolia, is the oldest national park in the world. That’s right — it predates Yellowstone by over 100 years. Established by the Mongolian government in 1778, it was originally chartered by Ming Dynasty officials in the 1500s as an area to be kept off limits to extractive [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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, [...]