Restoring Grizzly Bears to the North Cascades – Submit your comments by Nov. 13th

Please use the information below to learn how you can express your opinion. As citizens, we have the opportunity to make our voice heard by submitting comments and/or attending a meeting. As background, read my blog post, Why I Support Reintroduction of Grizzly Bears to North Cascades National Park. Continue Reading →

Native Plants Fuel the Hummingbird Highway

North Central Washington is on the map for migrating neotropical Rufous, Calliope, and Black-chinned hummingbirds, as they fly thousands of miles from their wintering habitats in the mountains of Western Mexico northward, as far north as southern Alaska. During migration they fly during the day, and use early mornings and late evenings to fuel up on nectar, insects, and sugar water in feeders. Abundant nectar-producing flowers on early-blooming native shrubs like Serviceberry and Currents offer critical calories that fuel long-distant flight. Continue Reading →

Look Up! Birds and Other Natural Wonders Just Outside Your Window

“Look Up! Birds and Other Natural Wonders Just Outside Your Window” is a collection of essays about the joys of establishing a personal practice of ‘looking up’. Woody offers simple advice on how to get started and tells stories of the marvelous things we can encounter when we take the time to genuinely see that which is around us. Continue Reading →

70 Days in the Life of One Balsamroot

As I walk, I often think about this resilient and wide-spread native plant, that is found throughout the western U.S at a wide variety of elevations. You can still find fresh flower blooms on plants growing at 3000″ in mid-June in the Wenatchee Mountain while the mid-June Wenatchee Foothills plants have already shed their ripe seeds. Continue Reading →

Curious About … Serviceberry?

For just a short week in early April, the ravines in the Wenatchee Foothills are bursting with serviceberry blossoms. Continue Reading →

Curious About … Blooming Balsamroot?

Arrowleaf balsamroot is a long-lived perennial wildflower that blooms in the shrub-steppe. Many animals and insects use it for food and it is adapted to re-grown after wildfire. Continue Reading →

Join the 12/21/22 Anna’s Hummingbird Community Science Survey

We could use your help.  If you would like to participate in the North Central Washington hummingbird survey, the next opportunity is December 21, 2022. 

You can volunteer to be part of this community science network by sending an email to ncwahummerproject@gmail.com.

You can find background information about this survey on the hummingbird page of the North Central Washington Audubon website . Continue Reading →

Why I Support Re-introduction of Grizzly Bears to the North Cascades National Park

The grizzly disappeared from the North Cascades on our watch, with the last verified sighting near Glacier Peak in 1996. Thankfully, biologists can successfully reintroduce grizzlies to areas where they are gone, as proven by their ongoing recovery efforts in the Cabinet-Yaak ecosystem in northwest Montana. Enormous swaths of high-quality habitat in remote areas are the key to success, and we have plenty in the North Cascades. The designated recovery zone covers more than 9,500 square miles and centers on the North Cascades National Park and surrounding public lands, including the Glacier Peak, Pasayten, and Sawtooth wilderness areas. Leavenworth biologist Bill Gaines has documented that this vast area has a diversity of habitats with at least 100 plant species for this apex-omnivore to eat. Continue Reading →

Consider Becoming a Wenatchee Naturalist!

If you are looking for a way to deepen your connection to both the natural and human aspects of our collective home, consider becoming a Wenatchee Naturalist!  Registration opens in mid-August for the next 50-hour in person Wenatchee Naturalist in-person course offered by Wenatchee Valley College (WVC) Continuing Education, Sept. 21-Dec. 14, 2022. Continue Reading →