National Wildlife articles from April 2001

National Wildlife archives from April 2001

SILENCE OF THE CLAMS.(diversions of the Colorado River have decimated the clam population)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... That's the price tag for lighting Las Vegas and irrigating Southern California during the past 70 years? Several billion clams, according to a team of scientists that recently studied the ecological impacts of dams and diversions along the...

LEARNING TO LIVE WITH PRAIRIE DOGS - A pair of Montana ranchers is showing that cowherds can exist in harmony with these native animals.
April 1, 2001... The sound is unforgettable-like a hundred preschoolers let loose on the prairie with only squeak toys for communication. But the noise doesn't emanate from stuffed animals; it comes from real ones-thousands of black-tailed prairie dogs whose...

BRIGHT LIGHTS, BIRD CITY - In St. Louis and other U.S. metropolises, birds of prey, such as this peregrine falcon and her chicks, are now part of the landscape.
April 1, 2001... James Baggett is the editor of a gardening magazine, but on a brisk afternoon last spring, his mind was not on plants. "Wow!" he said. "A red-tailed hawk just flew right by my window." The stout hawk with the rusty-red tail is common in...

United for Conservation Progress.(National Wildlife Federation and George W. Bush)(Brief Article)(Editorial)
April 1, 2001... Still new to the presidency, George W. Bush has a chance to unite the nation behind an agenda of conservation progress, instead of dividing it with policies that undermine the safeguards developed over three generations for our water, land and...

GRASPING FOR SOLUTIONS - While many states are failing to protect rivers and watersheds from polluted runoff, some communities are taking matters into their own hands.(diffuse pollution threatens American waterways)
April 1, 2001... On bright days when the Clinch River in southwestern Virginia runs clear, you can see signs of rebirth strewn along its rocky bottom like so many black pearls. Braven Beaty, an aquatic ecologist in rubber waders, pokes an arm into the mountain...

Snooping on Red-Cockaded Woodpeckers.(David Richardson, biologist, Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge)
April 1, 2001... Biologist David Richardson didn't like climbing trees, but that was simply part of his job monitoring endangered red-cockaded woodpecker cavities. Tethered by a safety strap, he would climb 20 to 60 feet up a pine tree using a tall ladder, peer...

Why Should We Care About Marine Worms?(polychaetes)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... Kristian Fauchald is in a race against time. A curator of invertebrate zoology at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History, he is one of only about 200 people in the world who study polychaetes, the marine worms that...

A Cautionary Tale About Cleaning House.(personal account: an effort to use house cleaning materials that are safe for people and the environment)
April 1, 2001... For years, I scrubbed the shower stalls in my house with commercial cleaners, ignoring the strong odors that filled the air around me. Then one day about a year ago, it got to me. I began coughing uncontrollably and I suddenly realized: Sure,...

Swaying Evidence.(penguin's swaying walk helps conserve energy)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... Charlie Chaplin mimicked the waddling of penguins to get laughs. But it turns out that the swaying gait isn't as silly as it looks. In recent laboratory experiments on emperor penguins, scientists found that the pendulumlike motion of waddling...

New Headquarters Building Reflects NWF's Mission.(National Wildlife Federation, Reston, Virginia)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... Daylight streams in through north-facing windows. The forested parkland they overlook instantly connects people inside with the natural world just beyond the glass. On the south exterior, a huge trellis stands poised to support native vines....

NWF Certifies Its New Hometown as Community Habitat.(Reston, Virginia)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... The 62,000 residents of Reston, Virginia, have proved their town a fitting site for NWF's new headquarters by creating 150 certified Backyard Wildlife Habitat[ordinal indicator, feminine] sites over the past two years. In recognition of their...

Waxing Eloquent on Native Bees - Many people are unaware that native bees are crucial to the ecology and the economy of the United States; Frank Parker and others are trying to change that.(Industry Overview)
April 1, 2001... Frank Parker stands near a trailer court in Green River, Utah, under a sweltering May sun. A stone's throw away, semis grind by on Interstate 70. Unfazed by the heat, grime and noise, he points down to a low- growing shrub and exults, "Bees!"...

A Refuge Where Wonderful Things Happen.(J.N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge, Sanibel Island, FL)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... Fifteen years ago, a local resident discovered a female American crocodile living on a lush, sparsely populated barrier island along the Lee Island Coast in southwest Florida. Considered among the nation's most endangered reptiles, crocodiles...

CONSERVATION HALL OF FAME - He Inspired Our Passion for the Oceans.(Jacques Cousteau)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... The National Wildlife Federation Conservation Hall of Fame was established in 1963 to honor activists who have made major contributions to protecting natural resources and the environment. This April, NWF is adding a new inductee, Jacques...

NWF Fellowship Leads To Wetlands Restoration Career.(Lara DuMond)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... As an environmental studies major at Middlebury College in Vermont, Lara DuMond was considering a career in teaching, writing or photography. But a senior-year project supported by a fellowship from NWF's Campus Ecology program sparked an...

Letters.(farmed fish and environmental protection)(Brief Article)(Letter to the Editor)(Editorial)
April 1, 2001... Delicate Balance I was extremely pleased to see an article on the Isle Royale moose and wolf research by Rolf Peterson ["Watching Wolves on a Wild Ride," Dec- ember/January 2001]. This is an important research project that helps to educate...

Less Draining Decade.(protecting wetlands)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... A recent study by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service shows that the tide is turning in favor of protecting wetland habitat, which is vital to waterfowl and other wild creatures. The loss of wetlands in the United States from 1986 to 1997...

Slip Of The Tongue.(chameleons)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... When it comes to catching prey, some animals just suck. That's what a Belgian biologist has found in a study of chameleons. Anthony Herrel, a researcher at the University of Antwerp, wondered how chameleons capture creatures nearly...

FAMILY PLANNING.(wild life, Canada)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... Imagine a young, unmarried, childless female opening a bank account and depositing a large sum of money solely to pay for a child's education. An act of such foresight seems noble in people and beyond the ability of other animals. But Canadian...

SWIRLY BIRD GETS THE PREY.(wild life research)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... The quickest route to dinner is not a straight line-at least for some predators. Peregrine falcons and some other raptors diving on distant prey follow a curved path known as a logarithmic spiral. "That bothered us," says Duke University...

Tennessee Affiliate Helps Reintroduce Wild Elk to State.(wild life restoration)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... For the first time since 1865, wild elk are roaming the hills of Tennessee, thanks in large part to the efforts of one of NWF's affiliates, the Tennessee Conservation League (TCL). In 1999, TCL and one of its affiliates, the Campbell...

Awesome Sights, Important Species.(wild life)(Editorial)
April 1, 2001... Christie Aschwanden had seen black-tailed prairie dog towns before. "There are some small ones in the area where I live," says the Colorado writer. So when she traveled not long ago to eastern Montana to gather information for this issue's...

EPA To Regulate Mercury Emissions From Coal-Fired Power Plants.(USA)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... In action long sought by the National Wildlife Federation, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced that it will issue the first national standards to limit mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants. The move is a...

NWF NatureLink Clubs To Serve Kids of All Ages.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... Young people from the elementary grades through high school can learn about nature in their neighborhoods and what they can do to make their communities healthier for people and wildlife through NWF's new series of NatureLink clubs. The...

Congress Falls Short On Guaranteeing Conservation Funds.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... In the waning days of the 106th Congress, lawmakers provided some new funding for conservation programs but failed to enact the permanent long-term funding that NWF had sought. State fish and wildlife agencies will receive a total of $100...

Wildlife Week 2001: Nature in Your Own Neighborhood.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... During National Wildlife Week, April 16-22, NWF is encouraging children to look for opportunities to help protect wild creatures in their own communities. Reflecting this year's theme, Explore Nature in Your Neighborhood[ordinal indicator,...

NWF Helps Repair Damage to Streams, Surveys Forest Roads.(Northeast Natural Resource Center)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... After discovering that unmaintained roads are causing serious damage to Vermont's wild trout streams, staff from NWF's Northeast Natural Resource Center took up picks and shovels recently to help decommission an abandoned logging road. ...