Endangered Orcas: An encounter on San Juan Island
It was two in the afternoon on a Friday in July and I had just gotten off work. I stopped in town for a sandwich, where I …
Read More of Endangered Orcas: An encounter on San Juan Island
Blog
Naturalist Notes
Playing With Fire: A Cultural History of Wildfire in Western Washington
When I was growing up in Western Washington summer was a glorious time. The cold weather and relentless rain would finally cease, and the warm embrace of …
Read More of Playing With Fire: A Cultural History of Wildfire in Western Washington
Sweet Treat: Licorice Ferns in the North Cascades
It was a cold, rainy day and I was hiking up to North Cascade Institute’s iconic hike: the Sourdough Waterfall. I was shadowing my first Mountain School …
Read More of Sweet Treat: Licorice Ferns in the North Cascades
Citizen Science: An Ode to Collaboration
If you asked me how I would describe myself on any given day, I might say that I am an educator and a student, a (slow) runner …
Read More of Citizen Science: An Ode to Collaboration
The Return of the Fisher: The Reintroduction of a Carnivore in the North Cascades
What’s fierce, agile, and doesn’t hunt fish? A Fisher! The Fisher (Martes pennanti) is a medium-sized member of the weasel family that despite its name rarely eats …
Read More of The Return of the Fisher: The Reintroduction of a Carnivore in the North Cascades
Rivers: Rebuilding Relationships with the Natural World.
Love can defeat that nameless terror. Loving one another, we take the sting from death. Loving our mysterious blue planet, we resolve riddles and dissolve all enigmas …
Read More of Rivers: Rebuilding Relationships with the Natural World.
Cold-Blooded and Cold-Tolerant: Finding Reptiles In the North Cascades Ecosystem
The North Cascades Ecosystem is full of wonders I never thought I would experience when I first moved here from Florida. From snow on the mountain tops …
Read More of Cold-Blooded and Cold-Tolerant: Finding Reptiles In the North Cascades Ecosystem
Between Fear and Fascination: Studying Vespids in the North Cascades
When I’d chosen to write a natural history project on wasps, the only lead I had was that maybe I should pay a visit to Twisp. There …
Read More of Between Fear and Fascination: Studying Vespids in the North Cascades
Bumblebees: An Essential Spring Harbinger
One of the most iconic harbingers of spring is the sound and sight of the gentle queen bumble bee. When she emerges in early Spring, she has …
Read More of Bumblebees: An Essential Spring Harbinger
Gifts of Spring: Migrating Birds of the Upper Skagit
Spring is a time of great change in the Pacific Northwest. The warmer weather and abundant daylight signals species from insects to plants and animals to emerge …
Read More of Gifts of Spring: Migrating Birds of the Upper Skagit