A wolverine has traveled more than 500 miles from Grand Teton National Park into Colorado, the first known incidence of a wolverine in Colorado since 1919, wildlife officials said today. …
The wolverine, a young male known as M56, spent April and May traveling 500 miles south from Grand Teton National Park and successfully crossed numerous highways, including Interstate 80 in southern Wyoming, to reach Colorado.
The wolverine, which was collared in December, is now in northern Colorado, where the Colorado Division of Wildlife and the Wildlife Conservation Society are jointly tracking it.
Bob Inman — the Ennis, Mont.-based director of the Greater Yellowstone Wolverine Program — said wolverines were virtually wiped out in the lower 48 states by 1930. They were killed by unregulated trapping and poison-baited gut piles, he said. There has been a very slow recovery with about 250 believed to be living in the lower 48, said Inman.
http://www.denverpost.com/ci_12619944
June 20th, 2009
In colorado wildlife wyoming
White Sands National Monument will waive entrance fees for three weekends this summer to encourage visitors. Park Superintendent Kevin Schneider says during these tough economic times, families will have a chance to explore White Sands’ spectacular geography for free.
The free weekends will be this Saturday and Sunday, July 18-19 and August 15-16. The fee waiver doesn’t include camping fees or special use permits.
The free weekends are part of a National Park Service effort to provide free weekends at 390 parks across the country to promote local and regional tourism. — Information from: Alamogordo Daily News, http://www.alamogordonews.com
Associated Press headlines with Santa Fe news - SantaFeNewMexican.com
June 15th, 2009
In newmexico
The National Park Service is looking to stimulate summer vacations at national parks.
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced Tuesday that entrance fees at 147 national parks and monuments—including the Grand Canyon and Yosemite—will be waived on three weekends this summer. The weekends are June 20-21, July 18-19 and August 15-16.
National parks plan 3 free summer weekends - The Denver Post
June 3rd, 2009
In Other
The Gambler’s House blog has an interesting account of the analysis of Macaw feathers at Edge of the Cedars.
http://gamblershouse.wordpress.com/2009/03/14/brilliance/
March 15th, 2009
In outliers utah
Professor Jules Pretty, Jo Barton and Rachel Hine were involved in ‘The TurnAround 2007 Project’, initiated by the Wilderness Foundation UK to help seven vulnerable young people in Chelmsford and mid-Essex. This nine-month project used the power of nature and wilderness experiences a catalyst for change, enabling the young people to re-evaluate their destructive lifestyles and gave them the self assurance to take responsibility for their future.
Senior Research Officer, Jo Barton, explains: ‘The programme consisted of monthly workshops and weekly life coaching but the key element was getting them in touch with nature and away from negative distractions in their usual urban environments.’
‘This involved two wilderness trips – one to the Isle of Mull in Scotland and one sailing on the Thames. The first took place at the beginning of the project and the second at the end. The difference in behaviour was amazing!’
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/01/090105091536.htm
January 6th, 2009
In Uncategorized
Arguments by cattlemen not based in real science, conservationists say By Bob Berwyn summit daily news Summit County, CO Colorado
SUMMIT COUNTY — A push by conservation groups to bring wolves back to the Southern Rockies has fueled a new round of controversy, with Colorado ranchers going on record to oppose the attempt.
WildEarth Guardians recently petitioned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to develop a wolf recovery plan for the region. Reestablishing a population of the carnivores is crucial to bringing ecosystems back into balance, according to the group.
But the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association said the idea of bringing wolves back is based on a “faulty assumption” that wolves are needed for functional, healthy ecosystems.
“We would suggest that any healthy ecosystem has the capability of adapting to the constant change under which it exists,” the association said in a statement released last month. “Constant perturbation is the norm for an ecological system and, in fact, systems are dependent on these perturbations for proper functioning … As one component of the system wanes, others quickly fill the void.”
But conservation groups supporting the wolf recovery plan said the cattlemen’s position is unfounded and completely lacking in scientific credibility.
“To the contrary, there is a robust and growing body of research indicating that wolves are critical to the ecological health of the systems they evolved in. The subtext of the (association’s) position is that it was acceptable to extirpate wolves and that the cascading degradation of the ecosystems … is also acceptable,” said WildEarth Guardians’ Rob Edward.
Recent research shows that, as wolves, deer and elk co-evolved, the predator-prey relationship between them helped shape the greater ecosystem far beyond the direct effects of hunting, he said.
By the way they hunt, wolves keep ungulate herds on the move, preventing them from over-browsing stands of young willows and aspens.
Scientists in Rocky Mountain National Park have determined that an over-population of elk has caused a dramatic decline in wetlands and associated habitat for small mammals and birds.
Colo. ranchers oppose plan for wolf recovery | SummitDaily.com
December 4th, 2008
In colorado wildlife
Extending from the spillway below Cochiti Dam, about 50 miles north of Albuquerque, to the headwaters of Elephant Butte Reservoir, near Truth or Consequences in the southern portion of New Mexico, the Middle Rio Grande Bosque is more than a cottonwood woodland or forest. It is a complete riverside ecosystem, among the more important in the world’s arid regions.
“A Field Guide to the Plants and Animals of the Middle Rio Grande Bosque” [Penned by biology researchers at the University of New Mexico including Jean-Luc E. Cartron, David C. Lightfoot, Jane E. Mygatt, Sandra L. Brantley, and Timothy K. Lowrey] provides nearly 400 pages of information, features 800 color photographs and descriptions of more than 700 plants and animals in the Middle Rio Grande Bosque.
This authoritative guide reveals the important role of a unique riverside ecosystem. As the first of its kind for the Middle Rio Grande Bosque, the guide provides an invaluable resource for land managers, teachers, students, eco-buffs and nature enthusiasts. …
The next event will be held Friday, Dec. 5 in conjunction with Faculty & Staff Appreciation Day at the UNM Bookstore. The book-signing at the UNM Bookstore, located at Central and Cornell N.E., will be held from 12 to 2 p.m.
Other signings include the Rio Grande Nature Center on Jan. 10 and Bookworks on Jan. 11. Bookworks is located in the Flying Star Plaza at 4022 Rio Grande N.W., while the Rio Grande Nature Center is located at 2901 Candelaria Rd., N.W. Those book-signings begin at 5:30 p.m. at each location.
For more information visit UNM Press at: http://unmpress.unm.edu/.
November 26th, 2008
In daytrips newmexico
At the end of the day, when the horizon is turning red and the zenith is cobalt-blue, step outside and look southwest. You’ll see Venus and Jupiter beaming side-by-side through the twilight. Glittering Venus is absolutely brilliant and Jupiter is nearly as bright as Venus. Together, they’re dynamite…
The two planets are converging, not in the slow motion typical of heavenly phenomena, but in a headlong rush—almost a full degree (two full Moon widths) per night. As the gap shrinks, the beauty increases.
On Nov. 29th (sky map) the two planets will be less than 3 degrees apart and you’ll think to yourself "surely it can’t get any better than this."
And then it will. On Nov. 30th (sky map) a slender 10% crescent Moon leaps up from the horizon to join the show. The delicate crescent hovering just below Venus-Jupiter will have cameras clicking around the world.
Dec. 1st (sky map) is the best night of all. The now-15% crescent Moon moves in closer to form an isosceles triangle with Venus and Jupiter as opposing vertices. The three brightest objects in the night sky will be gathered so tightly together, you can hide them all behind your thumb held at arm’s length.
The celestial triangle will be visible from all parts of the world, even from light-polluted cities.
NASA - Spectacular Conjunction
November 26th, 2008
In Other
History of the Sinagua written in the red rocks of ruins
Oct. 24, 2008 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic
Palatki Red Cliffs Heritage Site is a nice place to explore when the sun is out and the weather is nice. It might be even better on a stormy day.
"It’s really beautiful when it rains here," Coconino National Forest ranger Terrilynn Green said. Waterfalls spill over the cliffs, but the ruin, sheltered by an overhang, remains dry.
Because of this, Palatki (a Hopi word meaning "red house") is fairly well-preserved, although it never has been rebuilt and the site hasn’t been excavated, Green said. …
The hike to the ruin is about a quarter-mile. Some might find it challenging, but anyone in good physical condition should have no trouble.
To the left of the visitor center, another trail, also about a quarter-mile and with a gentle grade, leads to an overhang containing rock art and the remains of an old homestead.
About 2.5 miles down the road from Palatki is another ruin, Honanki. The site is watched over by Pink Jeep Tours Co., which signs in visitors and take clients to the ruin, pointing to various symbols on the rock.
Honanki has more walls standing than Palatki does, and it may have been one of the largest Sinagua population centers in the Verde Valley. Archaeologists believe it was one of the places the Sinagua went after they left Palatki.
There were more than 60 rooms on the ground floor, perhaps as many as 72 when additional stories are taken into account. The site was abandoned around 1300.
Some of the rock art is obvious; some of it is visible only in the right light. Archaeologists say they find something new every time they look at the site.
History of the Sinagua written in the red rocks of ruins
Coconino National Forest - Palatki Ruins
October 27th, 2008
In Sin agua arizona
The organization will use the funds to promote and educate tourists about the "North Road Experience," created about an Anasazi-built road running from Chaco Canyon through Salmon Ruins, Aztec Ruins, passing through some of Aztec’s arches to Durango, Colo., then branching to Chimney Rock and Mesa Verde.
"This puts Aztec square in the middle," Christensen said. "We are promoting this as a trip through the sacred territory of the Ancestral Puebloan, and offering to help plan trips and tours to experience this area by staying in Aztec and taking day trips along the North Road."
The promotion will include interpretive archeological information, American Indian and Hispanic cultural mythology about nearby geological formations and research into astro-archeological discoveries proximate to Aztec.
Aztec gives boost to tourism effort - Farmington Daily Times
October 23rd, 2008
In outliers
Read Adventurous Wench’s brief account of Tuzigoot, in Arizona south of Flagstaff and not far from Montezuma’s Well and Castle — worth a visit.
Not far from Sedona, Arizona, lie the ruins of Tuzigoot, an ancient Sinagua town that was abandoned centuries ago.
Tuzigoot - Ancient Sinagua Ruins in Arizona
AW also has some cool Mayan photos:
Flickr: Adventurous Wench’s Photostream
[updated 10/28/08]
This marsh and park are in sight of Tuzigoot but miles away by road.
Arizona Hiking: TAVASCI MARSH
TAVASCI MARSH Dead Horse Ranch State Park Situated in the backwaters of the upper Verde River, Tavasci Marsh is a bird watcher’s paradise.
October 22nd, 2008
In Other Peoples arizona
Physicians and the police have no escape from their duty.
This article is the most difficult I have written and for the same reasons. My Gaia theory sees the Earth behaving as if it were alive, and clearly anything alive can enjoy good health, or suffer disease. Gaia has made me a planetary physician and I take my profession seriously, and now I, too, have to bring bad news.
The climate centres around the world, which are the equivalent of the pathology lab of a hospital, have reported the Earth’s physical condition, and the climate specialists see it as seriously ill, and soon to pass into a morbid fever that may last as long as 100,000 years. I have to tell you, as members of the Earth’s family and an intimate part of it, that you and especially civilisation are in grave danger.
Our planet has kept itself healthy and fit for life, just like an animal does, for most of the more than three billion years of its existence. It was ill luck that we started polluting at a time when the sun is too hot for comfort. We have given Gaia a fever and soon her condition will worsen to a state like a coma. She has been there before and recovered, but it took more than 100,000 years. We are responsible and will suffer the consequences: as the century progresses, the temperature will rise 8 degrees centigrade in temperate regions and 5 degrees in the tropics.
Much of the tropical land mass will become scrub and desert, and will no longer serve for regulation; this adds to the 40 per cent of the Earth’s surface we have depleted to feed ourselves.
Curiously, aerosol pollution of the northern hemisphere reduces global warming by reflecting sunlight back to space. This "global dimming" is transient and could disappear in a few days like the smoke that it is, leaving us fully exposed to the heat of the global greenhouse. We are in a fool’s climate, accidentally kept cool by smoke, and before this century is over billions of us will die and the few breeding pairs of people that survive will be in the Arctic where the climate remains tolerable. …
Perhaps the saddest thing is that Gaia will lose as much or more than we do. Not only will wildlife and whole ecosystems go extinct, but in human civilisation the planet has a precious resource. We are not merely a disease; we are, through our intelligence and communication, the nervous system of the planet. Through us, Gaia has seen herself from space, and begins to know her place in the universe.
James Lovelock: The Earth is about to catch a morbid fever that may last as long as 100,000 years - Commentators, Opinion - The Independent
October 14th, 2008
In Uncategorized
older posts
