Coasts at Risk Report Expands Thinking on Natural Hazards

Nature has an important role in preparing for, and recovering from, natural disasters on coasts around the world. A new report substantiates the link.

Marty Downs

Beavers Versus Old Growth: The Tough Reality of Conservation

If ecologically important but abundant native beavers threaten ecologically important but imperiled old growth hemlocks, what should conservationists do? Leave it to beaver? Or save the hemlocks?

Matthew L. Miller

Logging Ash to Save Hemlocks

The preserve was established specifically to protect trees from logging. But what happens when waves of forest pests are going to kill trees anyway? What if logging one tree could help save another? What trees live and what trees die? Welcome to forest conservation decisions, 2014 edition.

Matthew L. Miller

Can Integrated Pest Management Save the Eastern Hemlock?

Around the eastern US, hemlocks are dying. Fast. Can anything save them? Some hopeful answers emerge from a Pennsylvania forest preserve.

Matthew L. Miller

Notes from the Deer Wars: Science & Values in the Eastern Forest

The science is clear: over-abundant white-tailed deer are having powerful and negative impacts on the eastern forest. The human values around this issue, though, are anything but clear. Are environmentalists -- and tradition-bound deer hunters -- willing to pull the trigger?

Matthew L. Miller

Change Comes to the Eastern Forest: Five-Part Series Begins Today

Woodbourne Forest Preserve in north-central Pennsylvania was to remain pristine and free of human management. Free of human management, that is, unless there were extraordinary, unforeseen circumstances. Those extraordinary circumstances are here. Welcome to forest conservation in the Anthropocene.

Matthew L. Miller

Alligator Rescue on the Border

The alligator was trapped and destined to die a slow death: time for a rescue operation. An unexpected twist at one of the most biodiverse nature reserves in the United States, the National Butterfly Center in Mission, Texas.

Matthew L. Miller

10 Top National Wildlife Refuges To Explore

For the traveling naturalist, there's a lifetime of adventures to be found on national wildlife refuges. But with 560 refuges, where to start? Our blogger offers up his favorites for birds and other wildlife, from spotting tropical specialties in Texas to hiking amongst bighorn sheep in Oregon.

Matthew L. Miller

The Klepto-Octopus and Other Adventures in Coral Reef Restoration

A thieving octopus? Dolphin volunteers? Welcome to the unexpected cast of characters encountered during coral reef restoration.

Kemit-Amon Lewis

Coral Reefs Soften Ocean’s Fury for Millions of Coastal Dwellers

Coral reefs harbor great diversity and absorb an amazing 97% of the energy from incoming waves. Restoration is < 1/10th the cost of building more breakwaters.

Marty Downs

Northern Elephant Seals: A Dramatic Conservation Success

Northern elephant seals were declared extinct, a victim of the blubber trade. Today, you can see thousands on California beaches, and the population continues to grow. The story of a dramatic (and often unheralded) conservation success.

Matthew L. Miller

Pupfish: Conserving a Mojave Desert Survivor

Sure, desert pupfish are tough. Hot water temperatures? They thrive in it. Creeks saltier than the ocean? No problem. But now pupfish face a bigger challenge -- people and their need for lots of water.

Matthew L. Miller