Jun 05, 2013 — Donna Naughton has been fascinated by nature and natural science all her life.

She landed a job at the Canadian Museum of Natural Science almost by accident, while on a field trip tour as an undergraduate. Her book The Natural History of Canadian Mammals was published in 2012 to high praise as a new standard for this topic.

Now retired, Naughton recently realized a long-time dream by moving to an island in the Rideau River, near Kemptville, Ontario - brimming with trees, birds and animals.

Lucy Martin discussed the 10-year book project with Naughton on a Barnes Island nature walk in late May.  Go to full article

Paul Smiths, NY, Dec 28, 2012 — This fall, an ecology professor at Paul Smiths College traveled thousands of miles to learn about a new culture, and share a bit about life in the Adirondacks. Celia Evans was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to teach and conduct research in Siberia. She, and her two daughters, spent three months in Russia's Altai Republic studying primary school students' relationships to their environment, community and culture.

Evans, who also shared her love of folk music with her Russian hosts, told Todd Moe that she also wanted to find out how students in Siberia are learning about their natural world compared with students in the North Country.  Go to full article

Paul Smiths, NY, Apr 08, 2011 — A group of Paul Smiths College students has spent the last few years studying one of the region's smallest mammals. Bears, moose and loons usually come to mind when you think of wildlife in the Adirondacks. But biology and ecology students at Paul Smiths are tracking and monitoring the behavior of snowshoe hares. They're small, furry and cute, but also a big part of the region's ecosystem. Wildlife experts say hares are important because they're prey for almost everything in the forest that eats meat, including raptors, foxes and coyotes.

The data collected from school field trips will help wildlife managers better understand the food cycle in the Adirondacks from predators to prey and plants.

Todd Moe tagged along with Paul Smiths biology students as they tracked snowshoe hares to find out what they're eating and how they choose their habitat in the woods near campus.  Go to full article

Long Lake, NY, Dec 28, 2010 — The National Audubon Society's annual Christmas Bird Count is underway and continues through next week. The annual bird census relies on volunteer bird watchers who head out with binoculars, bird guides and even mobile apps to scan trees and fields, and report on every bird they see. Todd Moe spoke with longtime birder Joan Collins, in Long Lake, who says this is the 111th annual Christmas Bird Count.  Go to full article

Washington, DC, Feb 10, 2010 — The invasive Asian carp and its potentially devastating impact on the Great Lakes were the focus of a Congressional hearing in Washington yesterday.

The agressive fish has already infested the Mississippi River basin, and traces of its genetic material have been found in Lake Michigan for the first time.

Illinois temporarily closed navigational locks near Chicago to keep Asian Carp out of the Great Lakes. Representatives of the states surrounding the lakes are pressing the federal government to do more, faster. Martha Foley has more.  Go to full article

Colton, NY, Oct 27, 2009 — For those of us in the North Country the St. Lawrence River is a summer playground or the wide water below us when we take the bridge to Canada. For author Margaret Wooster, the giant river is part of the Great Lakes watershed, and an ecosystem in danger. Betsy Kepes reviews Wooster's book Living Waters, Reading the Rivers of the Lower Great Lakes.  Go to full article

Ray Brook, NY, Oct 09, 2009 — Adirondack Park Agency commissioners were given a status report yesterday on what's considered to be the biggest threat to the ecology of the Adirondacks. Martha Foley has more.  Go to full article

Aug 06, 2008 — Huge conservation deals over the last decade have protected nearly a million acres of land in the Adirondacks. The deals allow timber harvesting to continue. But scientists say they also protect crucial habitats and eco-systems. In part two of his report on the Finch, Pruyn easement negotiated by the Adirondack Nature Conservancy Brian Mann sends an audio postcard from a bog near Blue Mountain Lake.  Go to full article

Jan 22, 2008 — For the 108th year, volunteer birders fanned out across the country for the annual birding census earlier this winter. The all-volunteer effort takes a snapshot of bird populations to monitor their status and distribution across the Western Hemisphere. The Audubon Society started the Christmas Bird Count in 1900 as an alternative to a Victorian-era holiday hunting tradition of shooting the greatest number of birds. Today, data collected during the Christmas Bird Count helps researchers monitor bird behavior and bird conservation. You could call it bird watching with a benefit. Todd Moe tagged along with some Adirondack bird enthusiasts who began their avian adventure at first light.  Go to full article

May 25, 2006 — Why does St. John's Wort do better when there are fish in the pond? What does the sea otter population have to do with the quality of surfing? Dr. Curt Stager and Martha Foley follow some of the thinner strands of the web of life.  Go to full article