This is the Ips Pine Engraver Beetle

This is one reason we're thinning our stand. Pine beetles kill trees in overstocked forests where trees are stressed by lack of water or nutrients. Drought and warmer winters, two symptoms of global warming, aggravate the bug problem because trees are less able to defend themselves. Dead trees are a fire risk.

Birch Burgers, Anyone?

"Getting your fiber" is taking on a whole new meaning. Scientists have found a way to turn cellulose into starch, the most common carbohydrate in the human diet.

Spring Cleaning (Slash Disposal)

Each season starts with burning off last season's slash. This was an easy year.

Marbled Murrelet Habitat Protections Continue

Marbled murrelets and their old-growth forest nesting habitat in the Pacific Northwest remain protected, thanks to a successful court challenge by the Center for Biological Diversity.

Birders, Can you identify these PNW bird nests?

This week we inspected and cleaned the bird boxes we installed in late 2011. We found three distinct types of nests. Do you know what birds built them? Use the comment section to help us identify them.