Elko Nature Notes (older columns)

These columns have previously appeared in the
Elko Daily Free Press, Elko, Nevada.
Nature Notes covers local nature- plants and animals, along with Western issues, specifically those affecting Elko County, Nevada.

Security at the Wild Horse Gather, 7/30/2010
    Gathering of wild horses from the Little Humboldt Horse Management Area near Midas
Details on the Wild Horse Eco-Sanctuary, 11/5/2010
    Madeline Pickens' Wild Horse Eco-Sanctuary in Elko County
Pikas Beneath the Snow, 12/3/2010
    Declining populations of pikas across the West
Are Wild Horses Native to North America?, 12/10/2010
    Useless arguments that waste time and ignore the important problems
Protecting Both Bats and People, 12/17/2010
    Closing off mine adits and shafts while protecting bat populations
Wild Horses by the Numbers, 12/24/2010
     Wild horse population numbers- national, Nevada and Elko County
Elko Rabbits and Dumb Dogs, 12/31/2010
    Rabbit species around Elko and the dumb dogs that hope to catch one
$15 Million is a Lot of Money, 1/7/2011
    The Sagebrush Habitat Conservation Fund created by the Ruby Pipeline and the Western Watersheds Project
Wyoming’s approach to Sage Grouse conservation, 1/14/2011
    Sage Grouse core area approach used by Wyoming
Nevada's Land Snails, 1/21/2011, by Mark Ports
     Land snails survive in the mountains of Nevada and western Utah
My Battle against House Sparrows, 1/28,2011
    Success at last when my device kept House Sparrows from dominating the feeder
Predicting our next fire season, 2/4/2011
    Methods used by the BLM to predict next summer's fire season
Wild Times Ahead Regarding Wild Lands, 2/11/2011
    The BLM's new Wild Lands Initiative will be the source of many new arguments
Cattoor Livestock Co. and Wild Horse Gathers, 2/18/2011
    Dave and Sue Cattoor have gathered wild horses and burros for 35 years
The Legacy of Mine De-watering, 2/25/2011
     Newmont's de-watering practices and what happens when the pumps are turned off
Comparing Cattle and Bison, 3/5/2011
      Bison grazing Antelope Island offers a chance to compare the rangeland health
Returning Salmon to Elko County Streams, 3/18/2011
      Several groups and polititians are working on restoring salmon spawning runs
Today's Sheep Industry, 3/25/2011
      The sheep industry is doing fine around the world, just not in Nevada
Tumbling Tumbleweeds, 4/1/2011
      Tumbleweed is the “romantic” name for the very un-romantic Russian thistle
The Annoying Bur Buttercup, 4/8/2011
      Battling the annoying bur buttercup in my back yard
Apply Now for your Wild Horse Eco-sanctuary, 4/15/2011
      The BLM is calling for eco-sanctuary proposals using private and public land
Mother Nature's help for mule deer, 4/29/2011
      A good precipitation year can do wonders toward increasing mule deer numbers
Spring's First Barn Swallow, 5/6/2011
      Four types of swallows common around Elko and where they nest
Two Trees, a Bird, and a Beetle, 5/13/2011, HTML, PDF
      An endangered species stops eradication of an invasive plant
Nevada's Elk are Doing Great, 5/21/2011, HTML, PDF
      Nevada's elk populations are on the rise due to good cow-calf ratios
Wild Horses: Native Wildlife or Introduced Feral Animals?, 6/10/2010, HTML, PDF
      Groups attempt to have wild horses seen as native wildlife
Mysterious Dirt Coils in High Mountain Meadows, 6/17/2011, HTML, PDF
      The northern pocket gopher leaves dirt piles in high mountain meadows of the Ruby Mtns.
Time to give Up?, 6/24/2011, HTML, PDF
      The Columbia Basin pygmy rabbit is highly endangered. Is it time to give up?
A Landscape Purple with Cheatgrass, 7/1/2011, HTML, PDF
      Maturing, purple, cheatgrass signals the start of another dangerour summer.
An Important Bird Area on a Watery Ranch, 7/8/2011, HTML, PDF
      A ranch designater as an Important Bird Area is near flood stage.
Recreation Plan for Spruce Mountain, 7/15/2011, HTML, PDF
      The Spruce Mountain OHV Trail requires a change in the Wells Resource Management Plan.
Hard working beetles, 7/22/2011, HTML, PDF
      Leafy spurge flea beetles are eating leafy spurge for a group of local ranchers
A remarkable duck on the refuge, 7/29/2011, HTML, PDF
      The Ruddy Duck puts on quite a show at the Ruby Lake National Wildlife Refuge
The bird that represents summer, 8/4/2011, HTML, PDF
      Common nighthawks change from brown clumps on fence posts to graceful hunters in the sky
Trouble in the Ruby Mountains, 8/11/2011, HTML, PDF
      Recent research shows small mammal populations have dropped by half
The Wildlife Overpass is a Success, 8/26/2011, HTML, PDF 
A study shows approximately 3,500 mule deer crossed U.S. 93 using the wildlife overpass and underpasses
A Garden of Whitebark Pines, 9/1/2011, HTML, PDF
Whitebark pines are deliberately planted by Clark's Nutcrackers
Livestock and Predator Control, 9/8/2011, HTML, PDF
Wildlife Services kills predators to protect Nevada's livestock
Our Endangered Whitebark Pines, 9/15/2011, HTML, PDF
Whitebark Pines are Precluded from Being Listed as an Endangered Species
Looking Back at this Summer’s Wild Horse Gather, 9/22/2011, HTML, PDF
An overview of the Maverick-Medicine Wild Horse Gather
An Update on the Mustang Monument, 9/29/2011, HTML, PDF
Madeline Pickens' Mustang Monument is preparing for their BLM approval
Nevada’s State Flower is Blooming, 10/6/2011, HTML, PDF
Sagebrush flowers bloom in early fall
Fall’s Berry Crop, 10/13/2011, HTML, PDF
This year's crop of chokecherries, serviceberries, elderberries and currants
Reclaiming the Ruby Pipeline Right-of-Way, 10/20/2011, HTML, PDF
Locals take a look at reclamation work being done on the Ruby Pipeline
Showcasing the Glacial Sculpting of the Ruby Mountains, 10/27/2011, HTML, PDF
Seitz Canyon shows moraines from the last two glacial events
Trying to Understand the Travel Management Plan, 11/3/2011, HTML, PDF
The US Forest Service's Travel Management Plan for the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest
Opposition to the Travel Management Plan, 11/10/2011, HTML, PDF
Elko County is opposed to closing roads in the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest
Unwanted Horses, 10/17/2011, HTML, PDF
The national problem of unwanted horses is created by a poor economy and no horse processing plants
Elko's Unwanted Horses, 11/24/2011, HTML, PDF
The national problem of unwanted horses shows itself in Elko, Nevada
Future Climate in the Great Basin, 12/1/2011, HTML, PDF
Climate change in the Great Basin will make some current problems worse
Idaho's 2011 Wolf Hunt, 12/8/2011, HTML, PDF
The Idaho Department of Fish and Game is finding hunting will not control wolf populations
Birding That Counts, Elko's Christmas Bird Count, 12/15/2011, HTML, PDF
Elko's Christmas Bird Count provides scientists valuable data on bird numbers
Chukars are a welcome addition to our Nevada landscape, 12/22/2011, HTML, PDF
The Chukar population is healthy and offers sport to Nevada's hunters and wildlife viewers
My Battle with House Sparrows, 1/12/2012, HTML, PDF
As much as I enjoy feeding wild birds, I dislike feeding house sparrows
Searching for the Most Numerous Bird, 1/19/2012, HTML, PDF
Searching for Elko's most common bird species
Thoughts on the Wild Horse Program: Dr. Boyd Spratling, 1/26/2012, HTML, PDF
Dr. Boyd Spratling's thoughts on the Wild Horse Program as a member of its advisory board
Winter’s White Jackrabbit, 2/2/2012, HTML, PDF
The white-tail jackrabbit in Elko County, Nevada
Thoughts on the Wild Horse Program: Bryan Fuell and Bruce Thompson, 2/9/2012, HTML, PDF
Bryan Fuell and Bruce Thompson, BLM employees, thoughts on the Wild Horse Program
Boies Ranch Wins a Favorable Court Ruling, 2/16/2012, HTML, PDF
The Boies Ranch won a recent victory over Western Watersheds Project
A Glimpse of an Icy Past, 2/23/2012, HTML, PDF
Lamoille Canyon’s glacial past is on display
Our Wintering Birds of Prey, 3/1/2012, HTML, PDF
Nevada's Wintering Birds of Prey Survey keeps tabs on winter's raptors
Area Bighorn Sheep on the Move, 3/8/2012, HTML, PDF
Ruby Mountain's bighorn sheep are moved around following a die-off
Willow Baskets and Weavers, 3/15/2012, HTML, PDF
Western Shoshone use willow to produce their special baskets
Helping Both Sage-grouse and Cattle, 3/22/2012, HTML, PDF
The USFWS's Partners Program helps private landowners improve their land
Winning the Battle or Losing the War? 3/29/2012, HTML, PDF
Keeping house sparrows from dominating my wild bird feeders
Nevada Youth Range Camp, 4/5/2012, HTML, PDF
The Society for Range Management holds their annual Youth Range Camp
Technology Added to Bear Management, 4/12/2012, HTML, PDF
Montana's Fish, Wildlife and Parks Department uses a high tech bear trap to manage grizzly bears
A conversation with the Fish and Wildlife Service, 4/17/2012, PDF
Talking to Nevada's State Supervisor for the Fish and Wildlife Service
Dancing Sage-grouse and wildfire, 5/2/2012, PDF
How Sage-grouse respond to their leks being burned doff
5,000 Sage-grouse, 5/9/2012, PDF
The US Fish and Wildlife Service concern with isolated populations having less than5,000 birds
Tracking Nevada’s cutthroat trout, 5/16/2012, PDF
Tracking radio-tagged trout to their spawning grounds
How Sage-grouse use sagebrush, 5/24/2012, PDF
Sage-grouse use a variety of sagebrush types and habitats through the year
Lenticular clouds above the Rubies, 5/31/2012, PDF
How and why lenticular clouds form over the Ruby Mountains
This landscape 200 years ago, 6/7/2012, PDF
What the pre-settlement landscape of Elko County looked like
The tragedy of two grizzly cubs, 6/14/2012, PDF
How two cubs came to the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center in West Yellowstone, Montana
Yellow jackets, hornets and wasps, oh my!, 6/21/2012, PDF
Mystruggles to control stinging insects in my back yard
Ravens and Sage-grouse, 6/28/2012. PDF
Raven predation on Sage-grouse nests and how to control Ravens
The Elevations of Ruby Mountain Lakes, 7/13/2012, PDF
Why glacially carved cirques are found at the same elevations
Why Sage-grouse Need Sagebrush, 7/20/2012, PDF
The unique adaptations of Sage-grouse ties it to Sagebrush
Thoughts on the Wild Horse Program: The American Mustang Foundation, 7/28/2012, PDF
LaDonna Smith's ideas on wild horses and her American Mustang Foundation
Jack’s forest, 8/3/2012, PDF
Jack Prier has a forest of 2,000 trees on his two-acres
Comparing Sage-grouse and Mule Deer, 8/10/2012, PDF
The populations of Sage-grouse and Mule Deer have fluctuated
Diet of Ancestral Shoshone, 8/17/2012, PDF
The diet of the ancestral Western Shoshone
Battles at the Feeder, 8/24/2012, PDF
The combative nature of hummingbirds at backyard feeders
Who is hunting what, where and when, 8/31/2012, PDF
The various 2012 hunting seasons taking place around Elko, Nevada
Juggling horses for the Eco-Sanctuary, 9/7/2012, PDF
Creation of the Northeastern Nevada Wild Horse Eco-sanctuary will require some juggling of horses
Neighboring states change their wolf hunts, 9/14/2012, PDF
Changes in the wolf hunting seasons in Wyoming, Montana and Idaho
Beaver Desperation, 9/21/2012, PDF
Chewed off aspens in Lamoille Canyon show beavers did not have a good winter.
Elko, birders and The Big Year, 9/28/2012, PDF
Birdwatchers come to Elko to see the Himalayan Snowcock
Northeastern Nevada Wild Horse Eco-sanctuary, 10/5/2012, PDF
Saving America's Mustangs has another part to their plan besides the eco-sanctuary
How Hot Was It This Summer?, 10/12/2012, PDF
Summer temperatues in Elko, Nevada were record highs
Counting Sage-grouse, 10/19/2012, PDF
NDOW uses two techniques to track sage-grouse population trends
Quaking Aspen Clones and Fall Colors, 10/26/2012, PDF
Clumps of quaking aspens are actually clones off a common root system
Does anyone walk anymore?, 11/2/2012, PDF
I learn people still do walk, even given the number of ATVs and UTVs
Trapping Wild Horses, 11/9/2012, PDF
Water and bait traps are removing excess wild horses from problem areas
Fall's Nutcracker harvest, 11/16/2012, PDF
Clark's nutcrackers harvest white bark pine seeds
Raven Intelligence, 11/23/2012, PDF
The common raven is one of the world's smartest birds
Teamwork Restoring Wildlife Habitat, 11/30/2012, PDF
Partners restore vital wildlife habitat after the Willow Fire
Our Ruby Mountain Wilderness, 12/7/2012, PDF
The Ruby Mountain Wilderness boundary was set for heli-skiing
A Rancher's Thoughts on Wildfire and Sage-grouse, 12/14/2012, PDF
Gregg Simonds of the Squaw Valley Ranch gives his thoughts
Celebrating the Winter Solstice, 12/21/2012, PDF
The winter solstice's explanation and how it is celebrated
The world Through the Eyes of Larry Kibby, 12/28/2012, PDF
Native American poetry by Larry Kibby