This time of year bears are going to start emerging from their dens if they haven't yet already, and they are going to be looking for food. Bears are omnivores, so they will be looking for anything that it high enough in calories. Unfortunately this is when bear-human interaction can take place. Due to food shortages from drought and wildfires these last couple of years, bears are visiting urban areas more frequently since they can find an easy meal there. However, there are

Happy World Water Day! Water is one of if not the most important resource and we need to keep it clean. However, through development and urbanization, water quality is being affected. One of the reasons is an increase in run-off. With so many more hard surfaces in cities, more run-off is created and carries all the pollutants from the city directly into the water. Pollutants from lawn fertilizers, car engine oil, pesticides, pet feces, and soap from car washes is all flowing

Everyone grab some gloves and a shovel, it's time to plant a flower! But before you pick a flower, know that some plants and flowers are harder to plant than other. One example is Arrow-leaved balsamroot which is notoriously hard to plant. Trying to plant this flower from seed or pot is near impossible. They prefer to be planted on slopes and to be ignored, but even if you plant this flower it might take years before you see any signs of growth. This is because the plant is g

We can't go through Invasive Species week without talking about one of the biggest threats in terms of invasives, Zebra, Quagga and other invasive mussels. These mussels are know for attaching themselves to every hard surface they can. Because of this they can damage infrastructure like irrigation pipes and municipal water systems which could cost millions to fix. These mussels also alter the food web, by outcompeting native species like salmon and Rocky Mountain Ridged musse

Cattails are an iconic part of many wetlands, and like anything, they are good in moderation. Cattails provide great habitat for many species, like red-wing blackbirds, Chorus frogs and Yellow-headed blackbirds. However, in certain ponds, cattails have taken over to the point that they are causing problems. They are prolific spreaders, reproducing via seeds and self-cloning. Because of this they can limit the diversity in the area and the amount of open water. The reason that

Unless you're a farmer, a gardener, or maybe a worm, you might not be thinking of soil on the regular. But maybe that should change, as soil is EVERYTHING. Soil is a mix of minerals, organic matter, water, gases and living organisms. It provides us with most of the food we eat, filters the water we drink, stores carbon and helps to regulate the atmosphere. Healthy soils protect us from flooding, help to mitigate drought, and increase biodiversity. Healthy soil contains billio