This a rebroadcast of a program from Nov. 30, 2018. Most people enjoy watching birds, except for their occasional deposits on cars or windows. In an earlier program, I mentioned at least fifteen benefits that birds provide to humans and planet Earth. But as human population and developments increase, the survival of many bird species becomes threatened.

In the frigid dark of long winter nights, we tell stories—stories of thievery , heroism, and light. Raven, Maui, and Koo-lo ó -pe, the hummingbird . They are all said to have taken back the sun from t oo much darkness for their people, and their deeds remain the whispered subjects around campfires that lead up to the w inter s olstice. I’d like to tell a story of my own about our calendar’s longest, darkest night and our relationship with it.

On December 14th, I will join several others for an exciting day of counting bird species and numbers in our lovely, snowy valley. The numbers will be entered on a database that will be shared globally.

Logan River ecology is about connections between highlands and lowlands, water and land, life in and around the river, and resources that support that life.

With the loss of millions of trees recently, due to fires and drought, it’s good to be reminded of the many, many benefits that trees provide to people…as well as the planet.

Most of our songbirds have taken their songs and headed south. Even robins and meadowlarks have ceased their lovely melodies that carried well into the fall months. But there are a few noteworthy choristers that have remained - Townsend solitaires and N. American dippers.

In February of this year, researchers published an integrative review of the literature on nature’s role as a catalyst for academic growth in children. They had this to say about their findings: “In academic contexts, nature-based instruction outperforms traditional instruction. The evidence here is particularly strong…” (Kuo, Barnes, and Jordan, 2019).

Over 15,000 years ago, the glacially fed Logan River was flowing into Lake Bonneville which covered most of the NW quadrant of the state and completely filled Utah’s Cache Valley.

Some people complain that the news only reports bad things, and that can be depressing. But maybe that is the way we can learn how to improve things. If all we ever heard was that everything was wonderful, even though it truly wasn’t, how would we feel if we accidentally stumbled across a negative situation? Let’s consider the present global status of the wildlife with which we share this planet.

It was late evening at our third annual Utah Youth Environmental Summit at the Wasatch Mountain Lodge above Brighton Ski Resort. We were winding down the day when someone happened to look out the window which elicited a high volume shriek.