This post has been updated on September 30, 2020. What do a Nature Conservancy (TNC) Preserve in Michigan's Upper Peninsula (the UP), a Pennsylvania Congressman, flash bulbs, and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) all have in common? The story may surprise you, but it really shouldn't. Fortunately, I hiked right into it a few … Continue reading Protecting Migratory Birds: the UP connection

The Outer Banks, North Carolina - Cape Hatteras is the small triangular island in the middle of the photo Over 30 years ago, a ribbon of sand caught me up, and over many encounters that ribbon has wound its away around my heart. The Outer Banks in North Carolina are a narrow strip of stranded … Continue reading Coastal Loss, Climate Grief

Thanks for joining me again. For several years, I was on a quest to visit all preserves of The Nature Conservancy in Michigan. I did pretty well, and I still am taking time to explore special places in the Great Lakes, but I came to realize that nature is not contained in areas set-aside for … Continue reading The Journey Continues

Governments don't lead, they follow.  This truth came to mind as I tried to look past the disappointment of President Trump's decision to reject the Paris climate agreement.  His choice to give up America's leadership toward a clean energy future will hurt not only the planet's environment, but also damage our national economy and our … Continue reading Where Will We Find Leadership to Save the Planet?

I am not one who attends marches.  I was not raised in a family of protest or social activism. Rather, my parents leaned conservative, both in their political positions as well as in their predilection to respect authority, be cautious of change, and work within the system.  I was a boy scout.I was also raised … Continue reading Why I Am Marching for Science

I have taken up a new, positive social media practice and every Friday I am posting a conservation success story on my Facebook page.  Unfortunately, environmental protection has come under attack the last few years.  These stories are a reminder of what can be accomplished when creative and committed people apply on science, economics, and … Continue reading Conservation Success Stories

“Without some common baseline of facts; without a willingness to admit new information, and concede that your opponent is making a fair point, and that science and reason matter, we’ll keep talking past each other, making common ground and compromise impossible. ... Take the challenge of climate change. In just eight years, we’ve halved our … Continue reading A President’s Final Words on Climate Change

Recently, I was invited to speak to a gathering of trustees from The Nature Conservancy (TNC). The representatives from TNC chapters throughout the Great Lakes met in Buffalo October 4-6, 2016. These are my slightly modified remarks.Forty years ago I was lost in a distant part of the Great Lakes ecosystem.  I was somewhere in … Continue reading A Vision for the Great Lakes

Recently, a Michigan newspaper ran a feature on ten Michigan celebrities who are active on Twitter.  I clicked through the photos and found no one I wanted to follow, which made me think about how I use and value Twitter.  Then I thought about some of the real celebrities who tweet about Michigan and the … Continue reading Ten Great Lakes "Celebrities" on Twitter

How do we become conservationists?  Through the love of a place, a place in nature, a place special to us.  Often that place is a national park.  For Terry Tempest Williams, Grand Teton National Park captured her first. "I am of this place," she writes in The Hour of Land, a new collection of essays … Continue reading National Parks Turn 100