April: What's Happening

Mark Your Calendar:

The Land Trust of the Treasure Valley presents the Patagonia Wild and Scenic Film Festival. Saturday, April 4. 1: 30 pm matinee and 6:30 pm evening show, Boise Centre on the Grove. Award-winning environmental films in a spirit of inspiration and education. Tickets are $10; order on-line, by phone at 208-345-1452 or at the door.

Colombia: Birds, Critters, Culture and Conservation. Tuesday, April 28. 7 pm, MK Nature Center, Walnut Street, Boise. To say Colombia has received a lot of bad press is an understatement. But that's old news; much of Colombia is safe and a perfect place for birders and naturalists to visit. The Nature Conservancy's Matt Miller will give a presentation on the people and wildlife living in some of Colombia's beautiful landscapes, colonial cities and warm ocean waters. Join him for stories of hope for the people and nature of this once violent landscape.

Dubois Grouse Days: The seventh annual Grouse Days is bigger than ever, with events for the whole family on April 17 and 18. Watch sage grouse and sharp-tailed grouse on their spring display grounds, and visit The Nature Conservancy's Crooked Creek Project. Register on-line for all events.

Birding Opportunities: Sage and sharp-tailed grouse aren't the only active birds at this time of year. Get outside and enjoy grouse drumming, snipe winnowing and turkeys gobbling. Long-billed curlews call from meadows, and raptors nest in rocky cliffs. More information on all these feathered phenomena in the coming weeks at Idaho Nature Notes. A good way to enjoy Idaho's birds is by joining a free Audubon Society field trip.

Wildflowers: Later in the month, at lower elevations, you can begin to see dramatic displays of wildflowers, including the beautiful yellow of arrowleaf balsamroot in many foothill areas. And if you want some beautiful wildflowers for your own backyard, the Idaho Native Plant Society has plant sales in April and May around the state.

Marmot Day: Finally, Punxsatawney Phil may have been awake two months ago, but our yellow-bellied marmots are just emerging. Enjoy them in rocky cliffs while you can--they return to their dens for a summer torpor when it gets too hot.

Welcome Home, Salmon

Welcome home, salmon.

For the first time in sixty years, salmon will be able to return to a stretch of the Pahsimeroi River, thanks to a conservation easement and restoration projects by The Nature Conservancy and our partners.

The conservation easement protects 1214 acres of important wetlands, wildlife habitat and agricultural land on the Big Springs Creek Ranch in the Pahsimeroi Valley. The property is owned by Beartooth Capital, an investment partnership that specializes in acquiring and restoring ecologically important lands.

The property includes wetlands, tributary streams to the Pahsimeroi, pastures and irrigated agricultural lands. It is used by sage grouse, songbirds and a variety of big game animals.

“This is truly a wildlife paradise,” says Mark Davidson, the Conservancy’s Central Idaho conservation manager. “By working with Beartooth and our agency partners, we’re ensuring that this ranch continues to provide the clean water, beautiful springs and elk and salmon that make the Pahsimeroi Valley a special place.”

Read more.

Chinook salmon photo by Michelle Wilhelm/USFWS.

Owyhee Legislation

Stunning canyons, bighorn sheep and sage grouse, ranching traditions and world-class outdoor recreation: All typify the Owyhees, that huge expanse of sagebrush located in Idaho's southwestern corner.

Owyhee legislation that addresses issues facing both people and the land recently passed the Senate and is scheduled for a vote in the House. The Nature Conservancy is hopeful that this legislation will pass, creating a hopeful future for people and nature in the Owyhees. Eight years ago, The Nature Conservancy joined a group of conservationists, ranchers and recreationists to create a package addressing conservation, wilderness designation, the area's ranching heritage and outdoor recreation.

A lot of excitement surrounded that first meeting. And then the long, hard work of building consensus began. It wasn't always easy.

The result of that hard work is evident in the legislation: It would, among many other things, establish the first wilderness in Idaho in nearly 30 years. About 500, 000 acres of wilderness would be established in the Owyhees, protecting one of hte largest and most intact sagebrush habitats left in the West. The package also calls for a wide range of conservation measures, including acquistion of private lands in some wilderness areas and better management of off-road vehicle use.
The Conservancy recognizes the Owyhees as one of its highest priorities. During the course of the Owyhee Initiative, the Conservancy has worked with partners to establish cooperative weed management areas, protect sage grouse habitat and restore burned areas.

The Conservancy would like to take this opportunity to thank Senator Mike Crapo for his leadership of the Owyhee Initiative. "Senator Crapo really rolled up his sleeves to get this to Congress," says Will Whelan, the Conservancy's director of government relations.

The entire Idaho Congressional delegation supported the Owyhee package. We thank each of them for their commitment to one of Idaho's great natural areas and the people who live, work and recreate there.

Even when the legislation passes, the work in the Owyhees is not over. As Aldo Leopold once said, conservationists have to "think like a mountain," or in this case, like a canyon. "Passing this legislation is just one part of the initiative," says Lou Lunte, associate state director for the Conservancy. "It's a very significant part, but more remains to be done. We need to move forward to ensure adequate funding for conservation and to work with ranchers and recreationists in the same spirit of collaboration."

Photo credits: Sage grouse by Bob Griffith; all other photos by John McCarthy/The Wilderness Society.

More than Big Fish

We need your help to protect a ranch adjacent to Silver Creek Preserve. Every donation helps!

People come from all over the world to visit Silver Creek. What draws them here?

An easy answer might be: Big trout.

And certainly Silver Creek has plenty of big trout. But is that why people really visit?

After all, if big trout was the only goal, there are places where they can be caught much more easily. It has become an increasingly common practice for “outfitters” to have trophy trout ponds—and even trophy trout streams—were fish are fed a steady diet of protein-rich pellets.

You can catch the biggest fish of your life on such waters.

The largest freshwater fish on earth are right now caught in urban ponds of Bangkok managed specifically for trophy fishing. Mekong giant catfish, Asian carp, barramundi, giant snakehead, pacu—a weird menagerie of fish from around the globe, fed constantly so that they attain world-record sizes.

The angler sits in a pavilion and is served Thai food and beer while waiting for a bite from a fish that can be six feet long.

If you’re reading this, there’s a good chance that such fishing would hold no appeal.

Because the big fish, after all, are not the point of Silver Creek, but rather are just a nice bonus. If big fish were the only goal, you could do that in a concrete ditch.

At Silver Creek, you can fish for big trout in one of the prettiest streams in the country. There’s the mule deer splashing across the stream at daybreak, the mink stealthily hunting along the banks, the clouds of mayflies, the haunting cries of sandhill cranes. The evening light. The clouds of mayflies. The open spaces.

Silver Creek would not be Silver Creek with houses lining its banks.

Nor would it be the same if houses lined the edge of the preserve. You have the chance, today, to make sure that doesn’t happen. Please consider helping us protect one of the last remaining ranches along the preserve. Your support matters.

Let’s keep Silver Creek one of the best trout streams in the country—for its big trout, yes, but also for the ranchland and the mule deer and the open space. --Matt Miller

First, second and fourth photos by Kirk Keogh; second photo by Ryan Urie.

State of the Birds

How are birds doing in the United States?

For the first time, federal agencies and conservation organizations including The Nature Conservancy have produced a comprehensive State of the Birds, which examines population trends of all U.S. bird species and the health of their habitats.

The results are sobering. Many birds are in long-term decline due to a daunting list of problems including habitat loss and degradation, energy development, climate change , pollution and invasive species.

But the report found bright spots. Conservation efforts have caused signifcant increases in populations of bald eagles, ospreys, herons, ducks and other species.

Read the report, and learn more about how we can all help more species of our feathered friends.

Photo: Sage grouse by Bob Griffith.

In the Picabo Hills

There are so many great views at Silver Creek, but my favorite is one high above the preserve, in the Picabo Hills.

Looking down, you can see the creek as it meanders through the valley, and you can see all that beautiful open space--the farms and ranches that are going to stay that way because of 22 conservation easements that protect these properties from development.

When I'm up there, I can often hear duck quacks echoing in the valley, and usually can count on mule deer moving from the preserve to the hills.

It's nice to know it's going to stay this way.

Well, almost.

You see, there is one key property adjacent to the preserve that remains unprotected. It could become homes, or a lodge, or some other use. It is the property directly to the south of the preserve, the view you see from the visitor center when you look back towards the road.

We need your help!

The Nature Conservancy is in the process of purchasing a conservation easement on the property directly across from Silver Creek Preserve. It would protect 320 acres from development, now and for future generations. We are looking to our members, visitors and the local community to help fund the purchase of the easement.

Properties like this one protect what we value about Silver Creek: the beautiful views, the abundant wildlife, that glorious open space.

I know when I am high up in the Picabo Hills, I don't want to see houses when I look down. I prefer to see the deer and the elk, the eagles and the herons.

Please consider giving to this effort today, as I have.

Every donation counts.

If you have visited the preserve, you know this is a special place. You know this is worth protecting. Thank you in advance for your support. You are continuing the amazing conservation legacy at Silver Creek.--Matt Miller

Rep. Simpson Secures Funding for Henry's Lake Conservation

The Nature Conservancy would like to take this opportunity to extend a big thanks to U.S. Representative Mike Simpson for his role in securing funding for Henry's Lake conservation in the 2009 Omnibus Appropriations Act.

Senator Mike Crapo has also long been supportive of the Henry's Lake area and helped make this conservation funding possible.

$2 million dedicated to conservation of land at Henry's Lake is included in the act, an incredible benefit for one of the most special places in Idaho and its working ranches, wildlife and open space.

A visit to Henry's Lake--located in east Idaho just 15 miles west of West Yellowstone--quickly reveals why it's so important for conservation. Yellowstone may be famous for its wildlife, but it's an incredibly inhospitable place in the winter. Big game animals like elk, moose, mule deer and pronghorn migrate to and from the park to public lands to spend the winter.

To get there, they pass through private ranches, like those found at Henry's Lake.


The ranching culture is an integral part of Henry's Lake, a fact not lost on many visitors to the area who enjoy the scenery, visit rodeos and soak up the Western atmosphere.

This also happens to be one of the fastest growing areas in Idaho. As more people call this area home, ranchers face pressure to sell their lands for development. When this happens, wildlife habitat and the rural economy suffer--and what drew people to the area in the first place is diminished.

Henry's Lake conservation will be funded through the Land and Water Conservation Fund, a federal program that funds land conservation from off-shore oil royalties.

The Nature Conservancy believes that it is a priority to keep working ranches working at Henry's Lake. Representative Simpson recognized the importance of these ranches and requested the funding in this package.

Thanks to Rep. Simpson's and Sen. Crapo's efforts, there's a hopeful future at Henry's Lake--for people and wildlife.

70,000 Geese

Now is the perfect time to catch one of Idaho's great bird spectacles: Thousands of migrating white-fronted and snow geese resting at the Fort Boise Wildlife Management Area south of Parma. How to get there.

The Golden Eagle Audubon Society last week estimated 50,000 snow geese and 20,000 white-fronted geese on the wetlands there.

Seeing the huge flocks circle overhead and then settle onto the ponds is a spectacular sight. The best time to see large numbers of birds is between 9 am and noon, when they return to the safety of wetlands after a night of feeding in local fields.

The geese are resting here before continuing on a long migration that will end in the Arctic. You should be able see large numbers of geese for at least the next couple of weeks.

There are also tundra swans, various ducks and many other birds visible on the wildlife management area. A trip to Ft. Boise is a great way to start the waterfowl watching season.

Waterfowl make migration appear effortless but it's a taxing journey. Without wetlands, ducks and geese would have no place to rest and feed along the way. That's why The Nature Conservancy has a goal to protect, restore and enhance 7500 acres of wetlands in Idaho over the next 3 years. --Matt Miller

Hells Canyon, Oregon

The Nature Conservancy has been working in Hells Canyon in Idaho since 1987, when it acquired approximately 15,000 acres of land. Since that time, the Conservancy has been working to detect and control weeds in this stunning landscape, which includes the deepest canyon in North America.

Across the river in Oregon, another Hells Canyon conservation success has been announced.

There, the Nature Conservancy has purchased 27 parcels of private land located primarily in the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area. Surrounded by National Forest, these lands are home to Oregon's largest herd of Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep.

The U.S. Forest Service proposes to acquire the properties from the Conservancy using funds dedicated to land purchases. Public ownership would ensure public access for fishing, hunting and hiking on lands previously closed to the public.

The 27 land parcels, totaling 6,673 acres, are private inholdings surrounded by National Forest, concentrated mainly along seven miles of the Imnaha River and six miles of tributary creeks.

Hells Canyon is big, big country, the kind of place that can humble and scare you. It's a land of bighorns and rattlesnakes, jaw-dropping vistas and wide-open spaces, wildflowers and rugged cliffs. It's a great place for people and for animals.

Acquisitions like the one announced by the Conservancy's Oregon Chapter will keep it that way.

Green Tech Review: Will the Kindle Save Trees?

Note: As a book fanatic, I've been somewhat ambivalent about devices like the Kindle. But my collegue and fellow bibliophile Megan Grover makes a strong case that the Kindle has some very real benefits for the environment. Megan will now be blogging at Idaho Nature Notes on green technology and green living.--Matt Miller

Will Amazon’s newest Kindle have readers seeing green?

Later this month, Amazon will be shipping out the next generation of its portable wireless reading device, the Kindle 2.0.

This updated version will provide a sleeker design, improved display and a battery with 25% more life. Like its predecessor, the Kindle 2 allows you to wirelessly download books and periodicals in less than 60 seconds using a cellular network, so no searching for a WiFi hotspot.

Even more impressive, weighing in at less than 11 ounces, this handheld gadget is able to store an incredible 1,500 books on the memory card that comes standard. Unlike most e-readers that use a backlight similar to a computer screen, the Kindle’s electronic ink technology reads just like real paper and doesn’t strain your eyes. Other irresistible features include a built-in dictionary, a highlighter to mark your favorite passage, and a feature that allows you to dog-ear a page.

While dedicated bibliophiles may not be convinced by the Kindle’s technological prowess, its green implications might be more persuasive.

According to the report Environmental Trends and Climate Impacts: Findings from the U.S. Book Industry prepared by the Green Press Initiative, the creation and distribution of a conventional book releases up to 8.85 pounds of greenhouse gases.

For an industry that produces over 14 billion books a year that equates to approximately 12.4 million metric tons of CO2 released into the atmosphere.

With the use of recycled paper in the production of books at only 5%-10%, it takes more than 30 million trees to produce the virgin paper used for the books sold in the U.S. annually.

Amazon anticipates the average Kindle reader will download between 10 to 15 books a year. With 750,000 Kindles expected to be in circulation by 2009 U.S. book production would be reduced by 11,250,000. That is a reduction of 45,000 metric tons of greenhouse gases.

Anticipated sales for 2010 put 2.2 million units into circulation. That is a reduction of 33 million books produced annually.

The Kindle also shines as an electricity miser. The electronic ink system doesn’t require power to maintain the screen; it is only required to change the display. Reading power is measured in page turns instead of operating time. With the wireless turned off, you can literally read for days or weeks on a four hour charge.

Although the Kindle doesn’t look to be threatening the existence of your local library or bookstore, its future looks bright – or at least green. But beyond this green potential, you will find a device that will change the way you read. With over 240,000 books, magazines, and newspapers at your fingertips you won’t ever catch yourself thinking "I wish I had something to read" again. --Megan Grover

Pack Rats

Thump, thump, thump, thump: Throughout the night on Saturday, I was awakened by the sound of a critter running around the walls and ceilings. I was staying at a cabin in the Boise National Forest near Lowman, and it was easy to figure out the culprit: the bushy-tailed woodrat.

Woodrats are more commonly known as pack rats, and while they're quite common, you might not know they're around until one wakes you up in a forest cabin.

Pack rats figure prominently in Western lore. Prospectors found out the pack rat's love of shiny object the hard way, as gold nuggets, coins and belt buckles disappeared. The pack rat reportedly will drop food for the chance to gather shiny objects--what biologists call "trading."

Pack rats don't hibernate. They store enough food in caches to get them through the winter.

They also collect debris into large piles called middens. The middens serve nests to protect them from predators. They can be used by generation after generation of wood rat--becoming as high as ten feet tall.

Pack rat urinate on their middens; in a protected area, this urine solidifies over time, becoming hard and crystallized. As such, they can remain preserved for 40,000 years or longer.

Due to the pack rat's collecting habits, it's hard to predict what might turn up in a midden. Some sources report items like diamond rings, guns and even a human skull.

More importantly, ancient middens of tremendous value for paleontolists, climatologists and conservationists. Researchers can determine how plant composition of an area has changed over time. The presence of animal bones and dung can help determine population densities of Pleistocene fauna. As such, they can help track climate change, species declines and extinctions and long-term habitat trends. --Matt Miller

Non-Native Birds at the Feeder

Photos courtesy of Tom Grey of Tom Grey's Bird Photos.

Looking at results from this year's Great Backyard Bird Count, it's easy to see that some of the most reported birds are non-native species. In Idaho, chances are that a number of non-native species could make an appearance in your backyard, including house sparrow (above), starling, house finch, California quail, rock dove and others.

What does this mean for bird conservation? What impacts are these birds having on native species? Should we be concerned? Should we be doing something?

In some cases, like the house sparrow and the Eurasian starling (above), these birds clearly have a negative impact on native species. Starlings were introduced to New York City's Central Park in 1890 as part of a horribly conceived effort to introduce all the birds mentioned in Shakespeare's works to North America. The starlings quickly spread across the continent and now number some 200 million here. Oddly enough, they are in long-term decline in their native Europe.

But are all non-native species bad? Some conservationists believe so. But the reality is more complex. Some species may be merely filling habitats created by humans. Suburban and urban environments are not suitable for many birds. Is it a bad thing that non-native species have filled the void?

House finches (above) are not native to Idaho. They thrive in backyards. Periodically, an eye disease reduces their numbers. Are they really a problem, or just a new addition to Idaho's bird life?

At least one study has reported that, in most instances, non-native species do not reduce overall biodiversity.

Conservancy biologist Erik Meijaard reports that in Indonesia, despite a tremendous diversity of birds, very few exist around homes--probably because they are not adapted to do so. Is it really worse to have non-native birds in human-altered environments than none at all?

Species move around, with or without humans. Is the fact that they were moved by humans always bad, or just another evolutionary adaptation? Issues around non-native species need more study and thought.

I like watching the California quail that scurry around Boise. They are one of a list of species introduced to Idaho for hunting purposes: chukar, gray partridge, turkey, ring-necked pheasant. One wonders why they were brought here, given that Idaho has so many native species.

On the flip side, these non-natives sometimes live in places where native game birds fare poorly. Pheasants live in farm fields; quail inhabit cities; chukars thrive on cheatgrass.

But that doesn't mean we should introduce more game birds. Certainly in some instances such introductions have been disastrous, particularly in the case of fish. Lake trout illegally thrown into Lake Yellowstone are gobbling up the native cutthroat trout, a horrible loss. Feral pigs released for hunting purposes have become a major nuisance. Hopefully we can learn from our mistakes and not intentionally introduce more animals--there will be plenty enough unintentional introductions.

The Eurasian collared dove( above) population stems from escaped domestic birds. Bird counters noted 9 birds in 2006, 56 in 2007, 83 in 2008 and 311 in 2009. This bears watching. Maybe hunters should be encouraged to take these birds now, to keep populations managed before they become a problem.

Non-native birds are here to stay. Why do some spread and others survive in low numbers? What species are at risk of becoming harmful, and what species actually add to our native diversity? Questions like these don't have easy answers. But hopefully citizen-conservationist projects like the Great Backyard Bird Count can help us better understand our birds, both native and non-native.--Matt Miller

Close Encounters of the Bird Kind

The Great Backyard Bird Count, held last weekend, helps researchers determine long-term trends in bird populations by having thousands of people across the country record what birds they are seeing.

Together, it can help determine bird population trends.

I think it can also help people appreciate the surprising wildlife that can be found right in their backyards.

Yesterday, I joined 63,000 other bird counters and sat quietly in my own backyards, city parks and open spaces.

I didn't see any rare species. I saw 8 species, most of them birds I regularly see around the yard--house finches, American goldfinches, robins, juncos, valley quail, house sparrows, mourning dove and a Coopers hawk.

But I did have a surprising experience.

At one point I was amazed to count 66 American goldfinches were at our feeders.

I was more amazed when two of those goldfinches landed on my head. They fluttered and pecked around up there for about a minute, and then flew to a feeder. I've never had a bird mistake me for a roost before.

You never know what wildlife experiences are out there. The backyard bird count is over for the year, but make it a point to sit quietly out in nature--even if it is just in your backyard or a local vacant lot. --Matt Miller

East Idaho Wolverine

Photos courtesy Idaho Department of Fish and Game.

Wolverines are one of the most secretive animals of Idaho; little is known about their numbers or travels. Known as an animal of the wilderness, they nonetheless ocassionally turn up in some unexpected places.

That's the case for this wolverine, which was caught by a recreational trapper in the Menan Hills, just north of Idaho Falls. Fortunately, the trapper called the Idaho Department of Fish and Game (IDFG) to rescue the animal.


As reported by IDFG: "Wolverines are a protected nongame species, and thanks to a modern foothold trap, the animal could be sedated and removed without incident. It was then whisked by Aber to the Driggs Veterinary Clinic, vets who have helped with wolverine research in the past. After a thorough checkup, doctors implanted an internal radio transmitter in the young male wolverine to allow wildlife biologists to track his movements."

The wolverine was released in more suitable habitat.

Wolverines have large home ranges. Instances like this highlight the need for large, wild landscapes where they (and lynx, grizzlies, fishers and others) have room to roam.

Another wolverine was recently documented by a camera trap in the Boise National Forest. Perhaps with technology like camera traps and radio transmitters, biologists will learn more about wolverine habits. But due to their secretive nature, many aspects of a wolverine's life history will remain a mystery.

Most of us will never see a wild wolverine. But Idaho's wild country seems a bit more, well, wild knowing that this fascinating creature is out there. --Matt Miller

Yips and Howls

Coyotes are vocal animals, and never more so than this time of year. It's their mating season, and at night the canyons and valleys echo with their yips, barks, howls and yelps.

Howling appears to serve a variety of purposes for coyotoes. A pack of coyotes will howl to inform other coyotes of their territorial boundaries, thus minimizing the risks of fighting.

At this time of year, a male coyote howls to let other males know to stay away, while inviting females into his territory.

You can hear coyotes on nearly any Nature Conservancy preserve in Idaho, and for that matter, nearly any open space with a little cover. They're incredibly adaptable animals and have actually increased their range as the North American continent was developed.

They thrive close to humanity--I hear them frequently along the Boise River Greenbelt--but they are most active at night to avoid people. Let's keep it that way. Feeding coyotes and acclimating them to humans only leads to trouble, as evidenced by recent coyote attacks on humans in Colorado and California.

So listen from afar, and enjoy the winter chorus of one of our most vocal animals. --Matt Miller

Photo by photo by Christopher Bruno on Wikipedia -published under terms of the Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike license versions 2.5

Idaho Round-Up

Conservation news and stories from around the state (and beyond).

From Idaho to Colombia: Journey with Idaho Nature Notes editor Matt Miller to a ranch called hope, where landowners are shaping a new future after decades of violence. (Colombian round-up pictured above).

Be Outside!: A new effort launced by First Lady Lori Otter aims to get more get kids outside.

Elk Alert: Motorists should be aware of elk on I-84. And check out our tips for lending wildlife a "helping hoof" this winter.

The High Value of Wildlife: The Idaho Statesman's Roger Phillips reflects on why wildlife makes our state such a special place.

Keep Farms as Farms, Not Houses: The Idaho Working Lands Coalition's new web site tells how you can protect working farms, ranches and forests.

New Conservation Blog: The Nature Conservancy now has a national blog, Cool Green Science. Read the daily opinions and essays by 15 Conservancy writers and scientists.

The Elk Zone

Last night, KTVB-Channel 7 reported on people feeding elk right in their backyards in Garden Valley. Apparently, some elk will eat right out of human hands.

It's hard to believe these are the same animals that so successfully elude hunters in the high country. But elk are opportunistic animals, and they're not going to pass up easy food during the harsh winter months.

Elk feeding has a long tradition in the West. In some areas, like Donnelley, ranchers feed elk from sleds--bringing in money from tourists and keeping elk away from their cattle. The most famous feeding area, the National Elk Refuge in Jackson, Wyoming, draws about 11,000 elk (plus some bison and equally opportunistic wolves) each year.

Elk feeding areas are controversial, with some conservationists claiming that they become reservoirs for disease, with so many animals feeding in a concentrated area. Others believe large numbers of elk would not make it through the winter without them.

Which begs the question: How did elk survive the winter before feeding areas?

The unfortunate truth is that many of the places elk spent the winter are now covered in houses. The valleys where snowfall is light are often the first places to be developed. The town of Jackson cut off many migration routes, which is why the National Elk Refuge is necessary.

Of course, the best conservation option now is to ensure that important big game wintering areas and migration routes remain undeveloped. Many such areas are ranches, farms and private forest lands, all of which face increasing pressures from developers. Conservation incentives like easements to keep these lands in production--and open for wildlife--makes more sense than trying to make feeding areas compensate for a lack of habitat.

You can also help by avoiding areas used by big game animals--the stress of your presence burns calories they'll need to get through the season.

Elk can be amazingly adaptable animals. One well-known bull elk hung out with a herd of cattle last winter right off the Boise Greenbelt, no doubt enjoying the easy food and safety. After a brief hiatus this fall, he returned to his adopted herd for this winter.

But as adaptable as elk are, they still need good habitat. No feeding area will make up for the loss of natural feed to shopping malls, roads and housing developments.--Matt Miller

Bud Burst

Is climate change affecting when flowers bloom, when fruit appears, when trees bud?

You can help researchers answer that question. Project BudBurst is asking you to report when buds and flowers first appear on trees, shrubs and wildflowers.

While the plants in your own backyard by themselves won't determine long-term trends, when tracked with thousands of plants across the nation a clearer picture emerges.

Participating is easy--simply follow the instructions on BudBurst's web site and be sure to report your observations on-line.

"Citizen-science" projects are a great way to help scientists, but they can also help you better understand the nature that is around you--in your backyard, around your neighborhood, in a city park. The Great Backyard Bird Count has been highly successful in tracking bird population and migration trends, for instance.

Now it's time to watch your backyard trees. While spring may seem a long time from now, keep an eye out on those trees, and give researchers a helping hand. --Matt Miller

Robins Return

Yesterday I saw the first robin of the year, singing cheerily at the Ted Trueblood Wildlife Area near Grand View.

I recall the first robin once being a sure sign of spring's imminent arrival. But lately, it seems as if robins are arriving earlier each year. Are they really? And if so, what's going on?

As with so many natural history questions, the answers are a bit more complex than it might first appear.

For one thing, robins are short-distance migrants. They don't go all the way to South America each year, but rather just head south far enough to avoid cold weather. However, a certain small number of robins have always stayed in place and braved the cold weather. The robin I saw could have been a bird that never left.

And actually, more robins are staying in colder climes because of changes to habitat. Suburbia--with more fruit trees and more shrubs--are ideal conditions for robins. Additionally, backyards offer high numbers of earthworms. To see an illustration of this, dig up a shovel of earth in your grassy lawn, and then dig up a shovel out in the Owyhees.

Finally, there is research to suggest that migratory robins are indeed showing up earlier, probably due to climate change.

My lone sighting doesn't mean much beyond satisfying my personal interest. But with other observations, it can help ornithologists detect long-term trends. Bird observation is one area where amateur observers are still making a difference.

Backyard bird counts can help scientists track population trends, species declines and changes in range introduction. This winter, sign up for the Great Backyard Bird Count or Project FeederWatch, two great ways to help bird conservation just by observing birds in your neighborhood, city park or own backyard. Your observations can help shape inform scientists so that we better understand--and can better conserve--our feathered friends.--Matt Miller

Photo courtesy of Tom Grey.

Wildlife Adventure...At the Dump

Where do the wild things roam? If you look to nature shows and nature books, the answer is clear: Far, far away. Nature, we learn, is some place out there, free from human influence. The otherwise excellent Planet Earth series, for instance, features almost no footage of humans in its grand tour of human habitats. After finishing Rick Bass' recent memoir, Why I Came West, I was disheartened by Bass' assertion that only in wilderness areas can humans truly connect with the natural world.

I'll state up front that I believe we need the large wildernesses full of large predators and large herds and migrating fish. We need to protect what remains of these places for future generations. But conservationists are sending entirely the wrong message if we're communicating that nature can only be found in such big places.

The truth is, wild nature can be found all around us. Conservationists are often not made in the wilderness; they're made in woodlots and farm fields and little streams and vacant lots.

Last week, my wife and I walked with our nephew Jacob down a snowy Iowa farm lane: Not wilderness, but full of tracks of deer and rabbit and turkey and pheasant and coyote and vole. Jacob loved trying to figure out what creatures had passed, where they may have headed, what stories were written there in the snow. I was reminded that such great conservationists as Aldo Leopold and John Madson were not first introduced to wild things in the great Rocky Mountain wildernesses, but rather on Iowa farms much like the one we were exploring.

The curious naturalist knows that the wonders of nature are not just out there, but often right before us--sometimes in the most unlikely of places.

Like the city dump. This weekend, you can see some of that wildness yourself. Hard-core birder R.L. Rowland leads his annual gull watching trip to the Boise Landfill, beginning at 9 AM. In what is perhaps the most bizarre Idaho nature trip you'll ever take, R.L. will help you identify the many gulls that visit this landfill--as many as twenty species some years. As with all of the always excellent Golden Eagle Audubon Society field trips, this one is free. Call 336-9808 or email R.L. to sign up.

Even in a city, there is wildness to explore. Chances are, you had no idea that twenty different gull species, right now, are circling over Boise. Let's keep working to protect the big wildernesses, but let's also not lose sight of the wonders that are all around us, every day. --Matt Miller