Stories

Black bear activity is often noticed through signs rather than a direct sighting. Tracks, scat, scraped bark, broken branches and disturbed food stores can…

Wildlife corridors are not simply decorative strips of vegetation. They are connected routes that let animals find food, shelter, breeding sites and refuge…

A forest fire does not erase a forest; it rearranges it. Sunlight reaches the soil, surviving roots gain an opening, and wind carries seeds onto the burn scar.…

Conservation properties are working landscapes rather than conventional public parks. The Clark Fork-Pend Oreille Conservancy protects forests, wildlife…

Vernal pools are shallow depressions that hold water after rain or snowmelt and dry out later. Their modest size can conceal a major hydrologic role: they slow…

The federally recognised Kalispel Tribe of Indians manages natural resources across its reservation near Pend Oreille, Idaho, where the Selkirk Mountains rise…

Across the northern Rocky Mountains, a healthy ponderosa pine savanna is spacious rather than densely wooded: large, open-crowned pines stand among…

A conservation easement protects land for agreed purposes, but the long-term value of that protection depends on regular, careful monitoring. Easements can…

Small wetlands can look unimpressive: a damp hollow, muddy pond or creek margin holding water for part of the year. Yet they can be essential breeding and…

Off-road vehicles can make remote landscapes accessible, but their tyres and tracks may leave damage that lasts for decades. In fragile country, a single…