Nature Minute Book Club

Winter is my least favorite time to be outside. It's cold, dark, and precipitating. In fact, I'm expecting snow the day after tomorrow. It's a great time to grab a cup of tea and a good book. Here are some more suggestions for your reading pleasure.

Dolphin Diaries by Dr. Denise L. Herzing

Herzing spent a quarter century in the Bahamas, essentially living among the spotted dolphins, if only
during the summer. During her seasons there she was able to gain unprecedented access to their
behaviors, communications, and rituals. She was seemingly accepted into their society. This book
chronicles the amazing discoveries she made in her time with these fascinating creatures and will
challenge what you think about animal intelligence.

A Sting in the Tale by Dave Ghoulson

Learn about British bumblebees. Ghoulson recounts the history of bumblebees from their appearance
in natural history when dinosaurs roamed the Earth to their problems today. All this, of course, is
interspersed with his own humorous tales from a childhood fascinated with wildlife to his more recent
time in the field tracking down some elusive bees. Oh, and there’s pie.

The Invention of Nature, Alexander Von Humboldt's New World by Andrea Wulf

This biography of Humboldt explores his development from a dutiful son to the father of ecology, even
if the word didn’t yet exist. A contemporary of Darwin’s father, it was he who planted the seeds that
germinated into the theory of evolution. He even warned of human activities influencing the climate,
making him possibly the world's first environmentalist. We discover his intellectual, philosophical, and
artistic influences as well as tag along on his adventures around the world. 

Winter World by Berndt Heinrich

Heinrich is an entomologist by trade, but his keen eye for observation makes him a great naturalist as
well. Part science, part personal narrative and drawing on his own research and observations, in this
book he takes us for a walk through Maine woods to see how critters from flies to bears survive the
brutal Down East winters.

Nature Minute Book Club

While it's not as cold as it was this time last year, I'm still hunkered down for winter. Even though temperatures are more seasonable this year, it's still a good time to curl up with a good book. Here are a few I read in the last year.

The Soul of an Octopus by Sy Montgomery

Naturalist Montgomery spent time at the New England Aquarium in Boston, where she got to know the aquarists and their charges. Getting up close and personal with the octopus (several over the course of a few years). In that time, we explore animal personalities and intelligence. As the aquarium loses and acquires new octopuses we learn about their life cycles. Overall, the book does a good job of breaking down the stigma against this odd-looking mollusk.

The Gulf by Jack E. Davis

Part history, part geology, part ethnography, and part ecology, this book examines every facet of the Gulf of Mexico. Beginning with the Gulf’s prehistoric origins to its modern day exploitation and ecological disasters, Davis shares his intimate knowledge of what he terms “the American Sea”. Meet some of the colorful characters who shaped Gulf culture as we know it today: from Colusa chieftains to Spanish conquistadors to tarpon fishermen, oil barons, feather hunters, and conservationists.

What a Fish Knows by Jonathan Balcombe

Balcombe dives into what makes a fish different from a mammal or a bird, and what is surprisingly similar. Anecdotal evidence, mixed with lab and field research reveals much about a fish’s sensory and perception, emotion, thought, communication, intelligence, and farts.

Rain: A Natural and Cultural History by Cynthia Barnett

For centuries, mankind has had a love-hate relationship with rain. We curse it for ruining our picnics and parades. We suffer from not enough or too much. Take a journey through time and see how our understanding of rain has changed over the years and how rain (or lack of it) has shaped the course of history and influenced pop culture.

Furry Logic by Matin Durrani and Liz Kalaugher

This book takes place at the intersection of biology and physics, exploring how animals of all shapes and sizes use physics in their daily lives. Learn about how snakes and ground squirrels use thermodynamics; see Komodo dragons and shrimp use force. Marvel as bees defy our understanding of aerodynamics, elephants communicate through seismic waves, and ants find their way home with polarized light. The section on eels will shock you!

Habitat Rehab

Habitat restoration is one of the most important challenges facing conservationists today. Without adequate habitat, endangered species can’t be recovered. Many human activities require restoration as well. Fully functioning wetland systems can provide flood control and clean drinking water. How does the process of habitat restoration work?

Restored coastal marsh, where dikes were removed to
allow the sea to once again access the land

The first step, as in medicine, is “First, do no harm.” A site evaluation will determine exactly what needs to be done to restore what once was. Noting current conditions establishes a baseline for measuring success of the project. It might involve stabilizing a feature immediately, such as an eroding stream bank. After figuring out what needs to be done, the next step is figuring out how to do it.

In many cases, conservationists will use a reference site similar to what is being restored to determine plants and other features. Plants will influence what kind of animals will begin using the site, but the land and water on the site will determine what plants can live there.

Live willow stake planted to reforest
a former pastureland

A lot of times, restoration work is more than simply replacing plants and animals that lived on a site before people came in and messed it up. A site I monitored in Washington had once been a thriving salmon stream with a wide flood plain. 19^th century farmers drained the area by straitening the stream to allow water to flow in and out faster. They also cleared the trees. Fast forward to the 21^st century, and we’ve figured out that the stream needs to be slowed and shaded. Over a period of several years, the curves were put back in the stream and thousands of new trees and shrubs were planted. Fixing the stream required building temporary dams, removing fish by hand, and using heavy equipment to excavate a new stream bed at just the right depth and slope.

Ohop Creek after being restored to its twisted ways

After work has been completed, the site must be monitored for success. There should be some kind of measurable goal, and even if the restoration fails it can be a lesson for future attempts. The site I mentioned was restored for salmon habitat, and while it will take a few years for trees to begin cooling the water temperature, it has been under constant observation since work began. Several times a year, conservation groups involved in the restoration work check water levels, tree survival, how many salmon are spawning, and what kinds of animals are using the habitat. All of this is checked against initial observations from before the project began.

This prairie, currently a restoration work in progress,
was a field of weeds a few years ago

My work with habitat restoration has been monitoring (documenting wildlife and animal signs, as well as plant survival rates), site maintenance, and invasive species removal. The work is hard and sometimes conditions are brutal, but I find it to be very rewarding.

In many cases, restored habitat is second rate compared to what it once was and what nature has provided. It’s not for a lack of trying, but nature is a much better architect of natural features than what man could ever hope to be. But it’s better than nothing.

Nature Minute Book Club

It's February and the days are getting noticeably longer, but we still have quite a few cold weeks ahead of us here in the Northeast. This month is like life in the Stone Ages: nasty, brutish, and short. I have snow coming twice before the Super Bowl is over, and I'm pretty sure more will be along shortly afterwards. Once the big game is over, what else is there to until spring but read? Having said that, feel free to peruse these titles from the Nature Minute book shelf.

Voyage of the Turtle: In Pursuit of Earth’s Last Dinosaur by Carl Safina

Safina travels the globe following sea turtles from their nesting grounds to their feeding grounds and points in between, looking for answers. What’s being done to protect them? What are the negative impacts people have on them, and how can we reduce or turtle-stomping footprint? Just where to they go and what do they do? If nothing else, you’ll learn just how immense these magnificent critters are and how they have adapted to a carefree life adrift and the challenges they face.

The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben 

Wohlleben, a German forester, takes us into the heart of his forest to show us how trees interact with friends and family, other tree species, and the animal world. Fascinating ideas about tree cognition, memory, and communication, as well as trees’ nurturing abilities will change the way you look at plants. Is a forest bigger than the sum of its parts? 

The Sun’s Heartbeat by Bob Berman

This book is the sun’s biography, from its humble birth to its spectacular future death. In between, learn about our changing relationship with the sun over the centuries, how it influences everything, and take a historical trip through own growing sea of knowledge about our nearest star. A seasoned skywatcher, Berman has yet to lose his sense of awe over solar eclipses.

Travels in Alaska by John Muir

America’s leading conservationist of the 19^th century recalls his journeys to Alaska in 1879, 1880, and 1890 in this book, which was still unfinished as the time of his death. Relying on his careful expedition notes, Muir gives a poetic narrative of his voyages exploring mountains and glaciers and documenting the flora and fauna of the Last Frontier while describing the scenery with a sense of reverence and awe. His love of life and the outdoors really shines through.

The Thing With Feathers by Noah Strycker

This book is about birds and people. Not relationships between the two, but common traits that will shock you. In some regards, birds are just as intelligent as humans. Sometimes, understanding their behavior helps us understand human nature. Deep down inside, on some basic level, maybe we’re not above the animals. Language and culture are thought to be defining human traits, but what happens when a “lower” animal develops art?

Live Streaming

After so many stories from the road, this little story about one of my last events in Washington got shoved aside. I spent some time in Percival Creek with the Thurston County Stream Team conducting a stream bug survey, also known as a biological index of benthic invertebrates (BIBI). File this under “Things I wasn’t allowed to do 30 years ago”.

Stream bug monitoring is an important way to gauge the health of a stream. Some thrive in polluted water, some thrive in pristine water. To know how many of which kinds of insects are in the stream is a good indicator of water quality. Just what is a stream bug? The ones we looked for are actually the larvae of insects such as mayflies and caddisflies. The larvae are aquatic, living in freshwater, making a living in a variety of ways such as scrapers and shredders.

The method used by my group was to sample three areas within a riffle of the stream. A riffle is an area of faster moving water. Our leader, Debbie Smith, is the coordinator for Tumwater Stream Team. She supplied us with all the necessary equipment, minus our own boots. To collect samples, we used a funnel-shaped net that had a metal square at the front which marked the boundary of the sampling area. A weed fork is a great tool for the stream to, scaring up bugs on the rocks and in the substrate by rapidly mixing it around inside the metal square. Debbie also brought a stop watch, buckets, insect field guides, and lab equipment including magnifying glasses, headlamps, forceps, and sealed containers. While we began collecting samples, Debbie stayed behind with one other from our group to set up the lab. 

Net similar to the one we used for sampling. The front section defines the sampling area.

Weed fork

After washing our boots in a mild chemical solution, we took turns mixing up both the surface and substrate of the stream bed for a minute, loosening the bugs which then flowed into the net with the current. Large rocks in the square went into a bucket for analysis. Stream width and depth at the sample sites, as well as the length of the sampled riffle, were recorded for each sample. Distilled water (to prevent outside bugs from being counted in the sample) was used to rinse any bugs on the net into the collection bag at the bottom. 

Example of stream bugs clinging to a rock

Processing samples in the lab (Debbie Smith photo).

Our samples were taken to the lab for analysis. Our lab was a simple setup on a bridge that day. Small rocks in the collection bag were removed and inspected. Any bugs were removed with forceps and placed in alcohol for later analysis by entomologists that can ID them by genus and species. The same was true for the large rocks in the bucket. The collection bag was emptied and scoured for bugs. Rocks were not sent to the entomologists, but any organic matter in the net, such as leaves and woody debris, did go along with the insect samples. We did this at three different riffles, for a grand total of nine minutes of churning up creek bed.

We did our survey in because stream levels are low. If the water is too high, the bottom is unreachable and the current can be dangerous. There were always at least four of us in the water: one holding the net, one using the weed fork, one running the stopwatch, and one holding the bucket of rocks. If anything happened to one of us, there was always someone available to help. Always think safety in the lab and in the field. 

Stream Team following a successful morning of splashing around
Percival Creek. I am 4th from the left in the green shirt.
(Debbie Smith photo)

Nature Minute Book Club

It’s January. The most wonderful time of the year is behind us and we have nothing to look forward to but cold and dark for the next few months. Here in the Northwest it’s colder and snowier than usual, which is good news for the mountain snowpack. Mountain trails are closed and the cold, rain, and snow make for miserable hiking conditions. Since we’ve no place to go, grab a book from the Nature Minute book shelf and cozy with some of these titles.

“A Sand County Almanac” by Aldo Leopold

Leopold was a Nature Guy like me, working for the US Forest Service where he germinated the idea for roadless and wilderness areas which culminated in the Wilderness Act of 1964. His “Sand County Almanac” is a poetic observation of the natural world through changing seasons plus arguments in favor conservation, responsible land use, and the role of ethics in ecology. It’s an easy read and might inspire you to go outside and do some journaling of your own.

Multiple titles by Rachel Carson

Carson began her writing career working on publications for the US Fish and Wildlife Service as a biologist, at a time when few women worked in science. Her earliest books, including “Under the Sea-Wind” and “The Sea Around Us” established her reputation as a talented writer who could translate scientific studies into the language of the lay person. Her controversial “Silent Spring”, warning of the dangers of the overuse of pesticides and other chemicals and written as she was dying of cancer, helped ignite the environmental movement of the 1970s.

“Crow Planet” by Lyanda Lynn Haupt

Seattle-based urban ecologist Haupt gives us a glimpse into the world of an otherwise overlooked piece of our landscape, the common crow. The American crow, an incredibly intelligent bird, is so conspicuous as to escape our attention but Haupt manages to transform this bird from a nuisance to fascinating subject.

“Wesley the Owl” by Stacey O’Brien

Wesley is an owl who breaks all the rules of what researchers thought it meant to be an owl. Born with a defective wing that prevented him from being able to survive in the wild, Wesley went to live with researcher O’Brien. The two spent nearly a decade together, teaching each other about life and love.

“The Secret Life of Bats” by Melvin Tuttle

Who likes bats? Tuttle does, and after reading this book you will too. A career of researching one the most misunderstood critters on the planet has led to a remarkable conservation success story. Discover how one conversation can save not just a species, but an entire order of mammals.

Happy Birthday National Park Service!

Today marks the 100^th anniversary of the National Park Service’s founding. As the stewards of America’s natural, cultural, and historic treasures NPS’s mission has evolved over the century. Let’s have a look at how NPS has changed with the times.

America’s national parks began when Andrew Jackson set aside the area that would one day become Hot Springs National Park in Arkansas. Abraham Lincoln set aside the Yosemite Valley in California. In 1872 Congress created Yellowstone National Park, the first such designation in the world. By August 1916 there were a dozen national parks created by Congress, plus national monuments designated by presidents under the Antiquities Act of 1906. Some were managed by the Department of the Interior, some were managed by the US Forest Service (Department of Agriculture), and others were managed by the US Army. The growing system of parks and monuments needed unification under a single agency with a single purpose. On August 25, 1916 Woodrow Wilson signed the National Park Service Organic Act into law, establishing that agency under the Department of the Interior.

Yellowstone was established “for the benefit and enjoyment of the people”. The Organic Act of 1916 expanded the government’s role in protecting Yellowstone and the other national parks by stating the NPS mission: “to conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wild life therein and to provide the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations.”

Stephen Mather was chosen as the first NPS director, serving until 1929. A great proponent of the NPS’s creation, he worked tirelessly to promote the national parks and during his tenure the park system expanded to include the first three parks east of the Mississippi: Great Smokey Mountains, Shenandoah, and Mammoth Caves. Partnering with the railroads, Mather was able to meet his goal of increasing visitors to the parks. He felt that without visitors Congress would have no incentive to create new parks and maintain existing ones.

In 1933 Franklin Roosevelt greatly expanded NPS by issuing an executive order transferring 56 national monuments and military sites from the US Forest Service and War Departments to NPS. During the Great Depression, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) made improvements to amenities in national parks and other areas, such as trail maintenance and building campgrounds. The Great Depression also brought the vintage National Park Posters. I enjoy these posters and would like to see a new issue of vintage-style posters for all existing NPS units.

During the period of 1933-1966 the NOS mission focused more on recreation than preservation. This is the era of bear feeding shows at Yellowstone. Of course, this encouraged bears to panhandle rather than live as wild animals but the public loved it. Unless they were being mauled by bears, as sometimes happens during bear-human encounters.

Bear feeding program at Yellowstone's dump

Conditioned bears looking for a handout

Mission 66 was a revitalization effort gearing up to the NPS 50^th anniversary in 1966. Improved roads and visitor centers were the primary focus to ensure visitors could access the parks and learn a little bit while there.

Other changes during this time include the creation of the National Recreation Areas in the NPS system. Initially centered around new dams built during the Great Depression, these areas also came to include urban areas such as Golden Gate NRA in San Francisco and Gateway NRA in the New York area which were established to preserve open space and bring the parks to the people.

Today, NPS struggles to find a balance between preservation and public use. Each park periodically updates its management plan with various proposals and period of public review and comment. Many interest groups want a say in how the parks are run. There are conservationists, thrillseekers, casual day users, outdoor enthusiasts, concessionaires, industry representatives, business owners catering to park visitors, and local residents near the parks. Each has an idea of how they want their park to operate. What we all need to remember is that is our park, but we must share it because it belongs to everyone.