Science is essential to managing wildlife populations, but there are limits to what we know.
Scientific research
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The West’s vanishing porcupines
Scientists are racing to figure out why porcupines are disappearing from their former stomping grounds.
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Will this threatened frog stop drilling near Denver?
Northern leopard frogs were found near the site of what would be one of state’s largest fossil fuel operations.
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Yellowstone protects wolves. What happens when they leave the park?
Crossing what’s an arbitrary boundary for wildlife, an apex predator becomes prey.
Posted inNovember 2025: Precious Metalheads
In Mendocino, river restoration pays off for salmon
Coho love the newly ‘messy’ streams.
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More than 2,000 jobs could be cut at Interior during shutdown
Research, wildlife and conservation are in the crosshairs.
Posted inOctober 2025: Limits to Growth
Watching the Oregon ash vanish
The emerald ash borer is killing the native tree. How do we make the most of the time while it’s still here?
Posted inOctober 2025: Limits to Growth
What’s it like to be a cow?
A cattle rancher reflects on her occupation and the growing movement to understand how other animals see the world.
Posted inOctober 2025: Limits to Growth
The ‘bear’ necessities of good sign design
Researchers study the principles that promote bear-safety behavior.
Posted inOctober 2025: Limits to Growth
In a changing Arctic, how much noise is too much?
Alaska’s bowhead whales can hear the climate changing. Scientists are listening in, too.
Posted inOctober 2025: Limits to Growth
What do fens do? Make peat, store water and help combat climate change
Meet the researchers restoring these unique wetlands high in Colorado’s San Juan Mountains.
Posted inSeptember 2025: Who Controls Our Food?
What old growth forests have to do with your food
More than you might think.
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Invasive fruit fly hits the Yakama Nation’s huckleberry fields
Students from Heritage University and Northwest Indian College were the first to document the presence of the spotted wing drosophila on the Yakama Nation Reservation — a first step to help eradicate it on tribal land.
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The invisible ‘giant nets’ that catch the smallest songbirds
Collaboration and tiny technology are revolutionizing the study of migration.
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Wildfire is a growing threat to the West’s water systems
How fire and water managers can prepare.
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Counting flowers to read the saguaro’s future
Saguaros are struggling to cope with extreme weather, monitoring studies reveal.
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Public lands and wildlife turn to stopgap solutions
In the face of federal cuts, volunteers, businesses and others help keep programs afloat.
Posted inAugust 2025: Fire Culture
A hotshot’s search for belonging among the flames
A wildland firefighter reckons with the male-dominated culture found on the fireline.
Posted inAugust 2025: Fire Culture
Get to know the American kestrel
This small falcon faces an existential crisis.
Can nest boxes help?
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In stressful times, what do the plants and animals have to say?
The time-honored tradition of humans looking to the natural world can help us survive difficult times.