Natural World

Counting Life's Flowering Treasures

The ebb and flow of local populations of the mariposa lily

Bill Kuhn, who lives among the sagebrush, juniper and mariposa lilies, is somewhat like me: a worrywart. Every time he and I sit by the fire we get to chinwaggin' about what's going to happen to the juniper, sagebrush and wildflowers—that are the love of our lives—after we go out among the stars.

By Jim Anderson Sep 11, 2019

mariposa lilies Aldo Leopold

Houston... No, Sacramento: We Have a Problem

If you haven't seen any monarch butterflies this season, here's why

The title of this piece was a common statement back in the '70s and '80s, when NASA was doing all it could to place men and machinery in space. It also became a common statement for all kinds of problems in our society—and now I use it to bring attention to a problem that people in Central Oregon cannot cure: the lack of migrating monarch butterflies in spring.

By Jim Anderson Aug 28, 2019

monarch butterfly migration survey Lava Beds National Monument Mid-America Monarch Conservation Strategy Iowa Monarch Conservation Strategy

At Last!

A way to protect birds from cats

Are cats cuddly companions or fine-tuned killing machines? They're both—and their owners know that.

By Jim Anderson Aug 21, 2019

Cats hunt birds BirdsBeSafe

Helping Wildlife Get By

Think Wild prepares to start taking in creatures at its rehab facility

On a Saturday and Sunday afternoon in July, the brand-new wildlife rehabilitation facility, Think Wild, east of Bend, created a traffic jam with its open house. A lot of people from Bend, Tumalo, LaPine, Sisters and Redmond came out to check out what Think Wild was all about.

By Jim Anderson Aug 14, 2019

think wild wildlife rehab birds students school education

Of Pandoras and Other Moths

An outbreak of Pandora moths, when they weren't expected

By golly, this is a strange time for Pandora moths to pop out of the woodwork—er, soil. They were here in grand numbers back in 2017, and it's usually five to 10 years before they appear again.

By Jim Anderson Jul 24, 2019

Pandora moths white Satin moths

An Extraordinary Event of Summer

Tortoiseshells and other butterflies are welcome visitors in Central Oregon

Oh, boy, are we having fun! Right now, during these warm first weeks of July, the California tortoiseshell butterfly, one of the more dashing of the nymphalids, is popping out by the hundreds of thousands—if not millions —in the foothills of the Cascades, known as the Skyline Forest.

By Jim Anderson Jul 17, 2019

Nature butterflies Pandora Moth Skyline Forest

Get the Lead Out!

A case for banning lead ammunition

Back in 1951, I rolled into Bend on my grand old 1947 Harley, and within a year I was into the eagle conservation business. It was then I discovered what was previously unknown to me: the U.S. Government's role in killing wildlife.

By Jim Anderson Jul 3, 2019

lead ammunition Bald Eagle Protection Act ODFW U.S. Department of Agriculture Frank Isaacs

No, Really, We Do Need Bugs

Insects are vital to life as we know it

The links between insects and a healthy environment are so vital to life as we know it, they should be taught in kindergarten so that everyone learns the facts at an early age. You can thank an insect pollinator for one out of every three mouthfuls of food you eat—which is what makes spraying chemicals to kill insects in an apple orchard so deadly.

By Jim Anderson Jun 26, 2019

Yellowstone National Park Glacier National Park insects food chain food pyramid

Not Singing the Swan Song

The tales of two trumpeter couples in Central Oregon

The Western U.S. population of trumpeter swans, Cygnus buccinator —Cygnus from the Latin for swan, and buccinare for "to trumpet"—fell into deep trouble when their feathers and skin became a valuable commodity in the late 1800s. That same species you see today on the Deschutes River, Lake Aspen and Sunriver's ponds, were at one time threatened with extinction by market hunters and feather merchants.

By Jim Anderson Jun 19, 2019

Learning in the Garden

'Garden for Every School' initiative awards grants to local schools

On a sunny afternoon in the Kansas Avenue Learning Garden at The Environmental Center in downtown Bend, an excited group of kindergarteners flits among the raised garden beds filled with veggies and flowers, each tasked with finding one thing that has changed since the last time they visited the garden.

By Keely Damara Jun 12, 2019

The Environmental Center Amity Creek Elementary School Garden Education Network Crooked River Elementary School grants

Baby Eagle Rescued

The only golden eagle cam operating in the U.S., located just north of Sisters, has been transmitting some pretty exciting footage over the last few weeks. Viewers have been witnessing what appears to be a very cruel event in the life and times of golden eagles: the starvation of one of the young.

By Jim Anderson Jun 5, 2019

Golden eagles Gary Landers Jim Hammond Greg Moring