Of all the national wildlife refuges in the United States, the Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge has one of the more curious – as well as little known – pasts. It is also home to the largest number of endangered species of any refuge in the national wildlife refuge system.
While petroleum was the dominant natural resource influencing world events throughout the 20th century, by most indications, the one poised to usurp its position in the 21st – to be the source of geopolitical conflict and unrestrained economic exploitation – is water. While you’re mulling that one over, consider as well just how much you actually know about it. If you’re like most people, you’ve likely not given it much thought beyond secondary school science classes.
When I first saw the flyer advertising Richard Vetter’s forthcoming book The Brown Recluse Spider on the Cornell University Press table at the 2014 Entomology Society of America convention I thought “Well it’s about time!” After all, I can think of no spider in North America about which there is more misunderstanding and misidentification than the Brown Recluse.
When I was a boy growing up in the small Pacific coast fishing and logging town of Astoria, the federal and state agencies responsible for overseeing the rivers, wildlife, and trees were a part of daily life. The agents and rangers were part of our community; not a day went by that you didn’t bump […]