News stories tagged with "habitat"

(04/30/12) On Friday, North Country Public Radio reported that some small land conservation deals are still moving forward in the Adirondack Park, despite the state's cash crunch. Groups outside the blue line are also working to protect key parcels of open space.

This spring, the Indian River Lakes Conservancy in the St. Lawrence Valley bought another parcel of wetlands and shorelines around Grass Lake, using a major grand from the US Fish and Wildlife Service. The group now owns more than 1500 acres.

As Brian Mann reports, the land could serve as part of a key wildlife corridor between the Adirondacks in New York and Algonquin Park in Canada.

(03/31/11) From catfish to killifish, can some fish actually survive outside of water? Martha Foley and Dr. Curt Stager discuss the old cliche "like a fish out of water" and the truth behind the saying.

(11/04/09) Ornithologists at Cornell University would like the public's help with counting birds this winter. Project FeederWatch runs from November 14th through early April. Participants count the number and kinds of birds at their feeders and enter it online. Todd Moe talks with ornithologist and Project Feeder Watch coordinator David Bonter.

(05/07/09) Almost ten years ago, conservationists tried a novel experiment to protect the common tern, a threatened native bird on the St. Lawrence River. The tern's nesting habitat was getting overrun by gulls and geese. So a group of people sort of faked that habitat on the Seaway's giant navigation buoys, known as "nav cells". The plan worked. In 2006, the number of tern nests on the St. Lawrence was the highest recorded since 1982. The tern restoration project is a collaboration between Save the River, the Thousand Islands Land Trust, and Massena-based biologist Lee Harper. And the group has not stood pat. For our series "Story 2.0" - revisiting reports from the NCPR archive - David Sommerstein returns to the Thousand Islands to see the latest in tern-saving technology - a wire grid that keeps tern chicks in and other aggressive birds out.

(05/18/06) For decades, development has been spreading into areas that were wild, or close to wild. There is growing concern about the loss of wildlife habitat. The government has set aside some parks and preserves, but biologists say many species of wildlife need much more space than public land can provide. The G-L-R-C's Lester Graham reports that's why more and more groups are approaching private landowners:

(05/27/04) We've been hearing this week about the shortage of affordable housing in the North Country. In many communities, local governments and activist groups are getting organized, looking for solutions. In the Tri-Lakes area, Adirondack Habitat for Humanity has launched an effort to salvage abandoned houses. As Chris Knight reports, it's a way for low-income families to buy their own home. It's also a boost for struggling neighborhoods.

(09/04/03) Bats vary widely between species, and even within species in different habitats. Martha Foley and Dr. Curt Stager talk about city bats v. country bats, and bats that don't hunt by echolocation, but have hearing keen enough to detect the rustle of a climbing beetle.

(07/24/02) Habitat for Humanity in St. Lawrence County breaks ground today on a low-cost home in Rensselaer Falls. Thanks to a collaboration with a regional energy efficiency group, the home will use 30% less energy than a conventional one. David Sommerstein reports it could become a model for more low-income housing.

(03/25/02) The monarch butterflies that spend the summer here in the North Country winter over in the mountains of central Mexico. Their annual migration is one of the world’s natural wonders. But this winter, an ice storm blasted Mexico's butterfly sanctuary. Tens of millions of monarchs died. Scientists say logging and subsistence farming have damaged the sanctuary's tree canopy, leaving the butterflies vulnerable. Now, the World Wildlife Fund and the Mexican government are spending millions of dollars, hoping to convince locals that the forest should be saved. North Country Public Radio's Brian Mann visited the mountain region. He found that many researchers see this effort as the monarchs' last chance.

(08/24/01) Once, a postage-stamp-sized butterfly known as the Karner Blue was found all across the Great Lakes states, from Minnesota to New York. Today its population has declined by 99 percent. The Karner Blue's last stronghold is in Wisconsin. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium's Mary Losure reports.