Krummholz Whitebark Pine on Mt. Washburn (NPS Library)

When I spend time in the subalpine zone, I gaze at the tops of the whitebark pine looking for my favorite bird, the boisterous Clark’s Nutcracker, who plays an important role in the dispersal of the tree’s cones and seeds, and consequently its regeneration. (I have the utmost respect for the Clark’s Nutcracker, who can store over 30,000 seeds in thousands of caches and remember every location!) Watch a video of the bird extracting seeds on The Whitebark Pine Ecosystem Foundation website.

Whitebark Pine Seeds: A Grizzly Bear's Favorite Food!The nutrient-rich seeds of the whitebark pine support a diverse array of wildlife, from nuthatches and finches, to chipmunks and squirrels. Yet the seeds also provide one of Yellowstone’s largest mammals—the grizzly bear—with a vital component of its diet. Grizzly bears usually don’t pluck cones from the tree, but raid the middens of hardworking squirrels for the majority of their seed consumption.

Although the lodgepole pine is the most common tree in Yellowstone, the whitebark pine may rank as the most important to the park’s ecosystem. The tree acts as a keystone species—a species that exerts significant influence on the ecological community it inhabits, and as a result, its demise can have catastrophic consequences.

Whitebark Pine in Yellowstone (NPS Library)Unfortunately, those consequences might already be occurring as the whitebark pine is suffering from several ailments—some of which are enhanced by climate change. The mountain pine beetle and the blister rust fungus have begun to gain a foothold, perhaps due to changing climatic conditions. An increase in the frequency of severe fires, also thought by some to be the result of global warming, creates conditions unfavorable for the tree.

In early December, the Natural Resources Defense Council petitioned the federal government to list the whitebark pine on the endangered species list. The non-profit group cited some alarming statistics: in portions of the whitebark’s range, 50% of the trees are dead and 80 to 100% of the live trees are infected with blister rust or beetles.

In the press release announcing the petition, NRDC senior wildlife advocate Louisa Wilcox raised the alarm: “If these trees go, they could take Yellowstone’s grizzlies and a lot of America’s western forests with them. If we want to save not just the whitebark pine, but the animals and plants like the grizzly bear that depend on this tree for food, we need to move to protect and restore them now.”

Below is an excellent video by the NRDC on the threatened status of the whitebark pine.

How can you help? Support the important work of organizations like the NRDC and The Whitebark Pine Ecosystem Foundation. For more information on the whitebark pine, you can also visit an overview at the Greater Yellowstone Science Center.

Stinson Beach

The report specifically names a number of beaches in Northern California, and I decided to explore these special places during my recent trip to the Bay Area. My partner on my field trip, the naturalist Jack Laws, has been exploring the California coast since childhood and made for an enthusiastic and knowledgeable tour guide.

Red-tailed Hawk at Sunset, Point Reyes National SeashoreIn one day we managed to visit most of the beaches listed in the report, and our determination was rewarded with a trip filled with wondrous sights: from viewing ochre starfish on a rock exposed by low tide at China Beach, to observing Tule elk resting under a full moon in Point Reyes National Seashore, to gazing at harbor seals lounging in Bolinas Lagoon.

These magnificent places boast spectacular scenery, provide homes for diverse and numerous populations of flora and fauna, and offer recreational opportunities for people throughout the golden state. I agree with Jack, however, when he expressed his affinity for the California coast as originating from “the feeling it evoked of freedom, possibilities, and liberation in its limitless space.” For all these reasons, we simply must take action to preserve these areas before it’s too late.

Below are highlights of our field trip along with a video diary. More photos are available in my gallery.

Cliff House Overlooking Ocean BeachOcean Beach, Golden Gate Recreation Area (GGNRA): The famous Cliff House overlooks Ocean Beach; its close proximity to San Francisco makes it a popular destination for city dwellers. Even with the dense fog and cool temperatures, surfers braved the waters and beachgoers tossed frisbees. Jack discovered a red nereid worm in the sand and revived some jellyfish stranded on the low tide.

China Beach, GGNRA: Named for the Chinese fisherman who camped in the sheltered cove, China Beach offers a nice picnic spot, but the swimming can be dangerous. The low tide during our visit revealed two ochre starfish clinging to a rock as they dined on mussels, and a lively gathering of seagulls on the shore included an assortment of heermann’s, mew, ring-billed, and glaucous-winged gulls. Other creatures making an appearance: a willet, shore crab, limpets, and a double-breasted cormorant.

Golden Gate Bridge from Baker BeachBaker Beach, GGNRA: The Golden Gate Bridge, peaking out of the fog, greeted us as we entered. On the dunes of Baker Beach yellow-sand verbena and beach strawberry bloomed in bright yellow and white—a stark contrast to the dull brown sand.

Muir Beach, GGNRA: The path to the beach leads through a brackish lagoon and we scanned the landscape for the various shorebirds that linger here. Fog hovered over the coastline, reminding me of Carl Sandburg’s famous poem: “The fog comes on little cat feet./It sits looking/over harbor and city/on silent haunches/and then moves on.” Jack told me about witnessing the spectacular salmon run on Muir Beach, while I pretended the sun was shining and waded in the water.

Stinson Beach, GGNRA: The sun strained to conquer the fog and almost succeeded, yet the marriage of light and dark painted the shore in a misty mother-of-pearl iridescence. A small willet chased a long-billed marble godwit, trying to steal his foraged food, while seagulls hosted a noisy gathering nearby. Sharks have been known to frequent the waters off Stinson beach; Jack and I searched for the telltale fin cutting through the water with no success.

Drakes Estero: Point Reyes National Seashore (PRNS): Drake’s Estero is a picturesque spot in Point Reyes National Seashore with its waters meandering gently inland; from above the waterways resemble an outstretched hand. Once a drowned river valley, the marshlands, tidal flats, seagrass beds, and intertidal areas—along with the diverse plants and animals it supports—has been recognized as one of California’s most ecologically pristine estuaries.

Point Reyes Beach, PRNS: The powerful surf and unyielding wind has shaped the character of Point Reyes beach—truly we felt like we were standing on the edge of the world. Also known as Giant Beach, the shoreline stretches undisturbed for ten miles and the water arrives unencumbered from the mighty expanse of the Pacific. Utilizing some bull kelp that had been washed ashore, Jack quickly constructed a kelp horn, although his music could hardly be heard above the roar of the wind.

Full Moon Over Drake's BeachDrakes Beach, PRNS: Did Sir Francis Drake land at his namesake beach? There is some debate whether the sandstone cliffs along this beach refer to the white cliffs mentioned in Drake’s journal. We arrived at sunset and the pinkish hues reflected on the water while the full moon danced both in the sky and on the beach. And as if nature had cued up a delightful cast of characters for our last site, during our drive to and from Drake’s Beach we saw Tule elk resting in a meadow under a full moon, a red-tailed hawk perched on a fence post at sunset, and just before dark a great-horned owl soared past our car.

For information on the areas we toured, you can visit the National Park Service’s website on the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and Point Reyes National Seashore. The Golden Gate Conservancy and the Point Reyes National Seashore Association’s websites also contain excellent visitor information. 

Chorus Frog Crawling on Author's Home

In my home outside of Yosemite, the delicate pacific chorus frogs decorated my windows as they prowled for moths, and on my hikes in the Sierra I often encountered the mountain yellow-legged frog lounging around sunny stream banks.  As I reported in a prior entry, Yosemite’s amphibians have declined alarmingly in recent years—some populations of the mountain yellow-legged have been reduced by over 90 percent in the Sierra Nevada.

Amphibians in Yellowstone are scarce—and getting scarcer. Yellowstone’s harsh climate supports only four species of amphibians: boreal toad, boreal chorus frog, Columbia spotted frog, and the tiger salamander. Unfortunately, these animals have also recently experienced steep declines according to a study just published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PSNA) entitled “Climatic Change and Wetland Desiccation Cause Amphibian Decline in Yellowstone National Park.”

Columbia Spotted Frog (NPS Library)Authors Sarah McMenamin, Elizabeth Hadly, and Christopher Wright surveyed kettle ponds (ponds originally formed when glaciers retreated and fed by snowmelt and groundwater) in the Lamar Valley between 2006 and 2008. They discovered that dry ponds have increased 4-fold in the past sixteen years, and as a result eliminated a large segment of ideal amphibian habitat in the park. Even more troubling, the study found that three of the four amphibian species in Yellowstone had experienced sharp declines in their populations.

Lamar Valley in Yellowstone: Location of StudyMs. McMenamin told the BBC News, "There is a pretty substantial signal of climate change in this region." The report introduction also raises an alarm: “Our results indicate that climatic warming already has disrupted one of the best-protected ecosystems on our planet and that current assessment of species vulnerability do not adequately consider such impacts.”

Aside from the devastation this news causes frog-o-philes like me, why is the disappearing amphibians cause for concern? Amphibians have been characterized as an indicator species—because of their sensitivity to environmental degradation, they act as a bellwether for change. As David Wake, author of another study on amphibian decline recently stated, "There's no question that we are in a mass extinction spasm right now. Amphibians have been around for about 250 million years. They made it through when the dinosaurs didn't. The fact that they're cutting out now should be a lesson for us.”

Pika on Rock (NPS Library)

The oddly shaped granite boulders that inhabit the area act as aged sentinels who have endured an eon of winds, rains, snows, and sun that have shaped their unique character. Mount Dana and its glacier also stand watch over the plateau and the adjacent Glacier Canyon. The entire area transports the visitor back to a prehistoric time—indeed, during my visits I would not have been surprised to observe a pterodactylus extending its enormous wings as it soared over the cerulean waters of Dana Lake.

Dana Plateau, Yosemite National ParkYet for all the beauty created by the giganticness of the sweeping plateau and its imposing granite peaks, my favorite sight amidst this landscape is a small furry creature less than eight inches long who scrambles among the rock piles largely unnoticed. 

Observant hikers (and those lucky enough to have the company of such a gifted naturalist as Mr. Laws) can encounter the American pika (ochotona princeps) in rocky terrain at elevations of 8,000 to 13,000 in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Nevada, California, and New Mexico. The Dana Plateau, with a landscape dominated by talus, provides the ideal habitat for these small lagomorphs, also fondly referred to as rock rabbits, boulder bunnies, or whistling hares.

On a warm summer day in August, Jack and I stopped on the east slope of the plateau and sat on a large boulder, quietly and patiently scanning the terrain for signs of the pika. In the direction of Mono Lake, a large cumulonimbus cloud rose into the heights of the blue sky, its white arms extending into an anvil shape, a telltale sign of an imminent thunderstorm.   Very soon after our arrival, we heard the unmistakable high-pitched chirping of the pika—appropriately, its name may be a derivative of the Russian word pikat, meaning, “to squeak.”

Pika in Yellowstone (NPS Library)Despite the impending storm nearby, Jack opened his sketchbook and began capturing the pika with his talented artist’s hand. We both watched, delighted, as one pika harvested a stalk of lupine and carried it between his incisors back to his rockpile home. Pikas do not hibernate, but collect various grasses, shrubs, and lichen, place the food into the sun to dry, and then stash it into a “haystack” for winter consumption. The nimble and deft pikas have also been known to loot their neighbors’ haystacks.

For me, watching the rabbit-like pika scurry over talus fields is as essential to the beauty and character of the high alpine landscape as the requisite towering peaks. Sadly, the cheerful chirping of the pika may soon disappear from the high country as the effects of climate change have already reduced their numbers. Rising temperatures have diminished the already small islands of habitat for the cold-loving pikas (who can perish from overheating) and have pushed them higher up the range. If temperatures continue to increase, even the highest elevations may no longer provide a home for the pikas and the species may be threatened to the point of extinction.

Pika Eating Grass (NPS Library)Erik Beever, a USGS ecologist who co-authored a 2003 study of the species funded by the World Wildlife Fund, commented in a recent article in ENN: 

"Population by population, we're witnessing some of the first contemporary examples of global warming apparently contributing to the local extinction of an American mammal at sites across an entire eco-region." 

His study found that pikas had vanished from seven of the twenty-five sites he had surveyed over a ten-year period in Nevada, California, and Oregon.

The World Wildlife Fund is continuing to provide grants for further pika research. Dr. Lara Hansen, a senior scientist with World Wildlife Fund Climate Change Program underscored the severity of the issue, "American pikas may unfortunately be the 'canary in the coal mine' when it comes to the response of alpine and mountain systems to global warming. Their disappearance is an indication that our heavy reliance on polluting fossil fuels is causing irreparable damage to our environment. We must make the switch to clean renewable energy resources like wind and solar now before it's too late."

Sketch by Jack Laws of Pika on Dana PlateauDonald Grayson, an archaeologist with the University of Washington, also published a study on pikas in a recent issue of the Journal of Biogeography . "Pikas are an iconic animal to people who like high elevations," he said. "They are part of the experience. What's happening to them is telling us something about the dramatic changes in climate happening in the Great Basin. Climate change will have a dramatic effect including important economic impacts, such as diminished water resources, on people."

Grayson notes that the Beever and Patton survey showed an increase of 1,700 feet in elevation in the range of the pika in Yosemite National Park. Today, pikas can be found only over 9,500 feet in Yosemite; in 1910, their range extended to as low as 7,800 feet.

These alarming trends have spurred environmental groups into action. Earthjustice and the Center for Biological Diversity have partnered to petition federal and state agencies to list the American pika as an endangered species. Although the initial request was refused, another suit was recently filed in October.

You can watch a video on pikas from Earthjustice below:

Although thunder began echoing off the surrounding granite peaks during our pika viewing, Jack and I remained in our observation seats, captivated by the movements of the hamster-like creature, who has managed to survive in an incredibly harsh environment despite its vulnerable appearance. I am grieved at the thought that our irresponsible environmental behavior may drive this intrepid creature to extinction.

As much as I cherish the magnificent granite peaks, glacial lakes, and spectacular views of the Dana Plateau, something will be irrevocably lost from the intrinsic character of the land and from the delight of my experience if one of the smallest inhabitants of its landscape disappears and if when hiking through the talus fields I no longer hear the sunny chirping of the pika. 

The Corporation for the Northern Rockies sponsors an annual Harvest Dinner, which features an assortment of local food items from Montana prepared by top chefs from the region. This year’s event, held at the wonderful Chico Hot Springs Resort, was my first time attending—and I can guarantee it won’t be my last. Every menu selection provided a feast for my taste buds.

Some of my favorites: For appetizers, Chef Matt Fritz prepared a slow-roasted ancho chili rubbed pork shoulder on sweet potato pancakes with red onion apple marmalade and chili lime crème fraiche. Entrees included shredded pork enchiladas from Chef Dan Shapiro and handmade Swiss chard lasagna with lamb and goat cheese by Chef Jim Liska. Chef Jim Chapman, from my employer Xanterra Parks and Resorts, offered a roast shoulder of lamp with delicious stone-ground mustard potato au gratin with goat cheese. Kabocha pumpkin cobbler, a creation by Chef Cynthia Martin, highlighted the dessert selections.

Aside from a chance to eat good food, the evening served as a chance to promote the Corporation for the Northern Rockies (CNR) and the important work it conducts in this region. CNR’s mission is “to advance sustainable choices that enhance economic opportunities which preserve open space, wildlife habitat, farm and ranchlands and quality of life for future generations.” CNR achieves it mission through a number of programs, such as operating the Livingston Farmers Market, holding an annual Sustainability Fair, producing a Welcome to the West Guide for newcomers on rural development, and instituting a Sustainable Choices Program to promote lifestyle change.

For more information about CNR, visit http://www.northrock.org/

I’ve written about Stephen’s cowardly anti-bear campaign before in my blog—the bears at Yellowstone decided to put him on notice!

Grizzly bears and other animals, along with our national parks, face innumerable threats from climate change. To learn more or take action see my How You Can Help section

In my home outside Yosemite, I would spend hours watching pacific chorus frogs nimbly leap from my windowsill, devour a passing moth, and then crawl back up the glass with their dainty, adhesive toepads.   One night I observed a frog and California mantid stare each other down; another day an alligator lizard and a frog shared the perch. After a couple of seasons, we built a small frog pond in the yard. Build it and the amphibians will come—the next week a California toad arrived, ambling to the water.

 Pacific Chorus Frog in Our PondOn my first thru hike on the John Muir Trail over a decade ago, I encountered a young man near Selden Pass, skipping happily down the trail. We hiked together for a couple of miles and he told me he was researching frogs in the Sierra Nevada. I scanned small ponds and creek beds with him for a few hours and he transmitted his delight of the amphibian world to me. Ever since, I have searched for frogs on my hikes, and am enchanted by all things froggy.

Yet frogs and other amphibians are disappearing from the Sierra Nevada—and the world—at an alarming rate. David Wake, professor of integrative biology at the University of California at Berkeley, recently commented about his study just published in the National Academy of Sciences journal. "There's no question that we are in a mass extinction spasm right now. Amphibians have been around for about 250 million years. They made it through when the dinosaurs didn't. The fact that they're cutting out now should be a lesson for us.”

Frog and California MantidThe Sierra Nevada Yellow-legged frog and the Southern Yellow-legged frog populations have recently declined a staggering 95% to 98% (that is not a typo!) in the Sierra Nevada—and the diminished populations occur even in the boundaries of refuges such as Yosemite National Park.

What is killing the frogs? Global warming, pollution, and habitat reduction are all contributing to amphibian decline, but the most recent villain in this scenario is the deadly chytrid fungus, which has wiped out entire populations. Some research links the rapid spread of the fungus to the effects of climate change.

Defenders of Wildlife featured the article,” Slipping Away: Frogs, Salamanders, and Other Amphibians Are Sliding Into Oblivion” in its spring issue of Defenders. In the piece, Kevin Zippel, program officer for the conservation group Amphibian Ark, stresses the seriousness of this issue: “It sounds like hyperbole, but really this is the greatest conservation challenge that humanity has ever faced.”

I’ve watched or read the speech at least a dozen times, and each time have been emboldened and strengthened by Al Gore’s vision, and inspired by his unmatched environmental leadership. His call to action should transcend political parties, religious affiliations, economic strata—our reliance on fossil fuels affects all Americans from every possible background.

President Clinton once said, “There is nothing wrong with America that cannot be cured with what is right with America.” His former Vice President has used this creed to challenge our nation to act: “This is a generational moment. A moment when we decide our own path and our collective fate. I'm asking you - each of you - to join me and build this future.” I truly believe this is our chance to restore confidence in ourselves, and regain the world’s confidence by solving the energy crisis and exhibiting the bold and innovative leadership we have displayed throughout history.

For more inspiration, read the full text of Al Gore’s: A Generational Challenge to Repower America and help take action by joining WeCanSolveIt.org

Yellowstone receives over 3 million visitors a year—and generates a large amount of garbage as a result. The park, West Yellowstone, and the surrounding Hebgen Basin produce 6,000 tons a year of trash—that’s about four pounds for every park visitor.

In 1983, the landfill at West Yellowstone reached capacity and a transfer station replaced it, which quickly became overwhelmed with the tripling of waste generation in the area in less than twenty years. After a waste audit in the park revealed that up to 75% of the park’s waste was potentially compostable, plans for a compost facility began to take hold. In 2003 the facility processed its first load of compost and has been turning Yellowstone’s waste into a usable soil amendment ever since.

Kathy O’Hern manages the facility and her energy and enthusiasm definitely contribute to its success. She calls the micro-organisms that help produce the compost “pets” and can tell by the contents of a truck-load of park trash what area of Yellowstone it originated from. After a tour with Kathy, most people become staunch converts (myself included) and act as unofficial garbage policeman to ensure the park’s trash is sorted correctly.

The facility—and Kathy’s diligence—also have helped to reduce the park’s solid waste. Kathy sees all of the park’s trash as it's dumped on the tipping floor, and during the sorting process can identify problematic waste streams. For example, the thousands of discarded propane canisters from camp stoves quickly stood out as wasteful. After Kathy alerted the park, Xanterra Parks and Resorts, REI, AmeriGas, the Yellowstone Park Foundation and others donated to fund research for developing a propane canister recycler. Today the equipment recycles over 10,000 canisters a year and is being implemented in parks across the country.

Another pesky trash item was the shampoo bottles from the guest room amenities. These lightweight bottles were hard to screen during the compost process. After feedback from Kathy, in 2008 Xanterra Parks and Resorts, the park concessioner, purchased fully compostable amenities with bottles made of corn-based plastic. As a result, over 280,000 bottles a year will be diverted from the landfill.

Next time you visit Yellowstone, don’t miss a chance to take a trip to the West Yellowstone Compost Facility. As odd as this sounds, viewing those enormous mounds of compost is quite inspirational!

Some of the current models forecasting the impacts of global warming on the Yellowstone area call for a hotter and drier climate. As water levels affect geyser eruptions, Old Faithful’s eruption interval of 91 minutes may get longer and longer.

Amy McNamara, the national parks program director for the Greater Yellowstone Coalition, observed in the San Jose News Mercury News, “This research is really interesting. It is obvious the wildlife and plants are going to be impacted by climate change. Now it looks like the geothermal system will as well."

Old Faithful truly is a marvel, as any of the thousands of daily visitors can attest. When I witnessed my first eruption, I stood on the boardwalk in the middle of winter bundled up against the below freezing temperatures while a light snow fell. Only a handful of people braved the chill to wait for the eruption. Steam and water spouted tentatively at first, then, as if someone had suddenly turned on the spigot, a surge of thousands of gallons of water rushed into the sky. I jumped up and down in child-like delight, and I remember thinking, “Do it again, do it again!”

Would you like to see Old Faithful erupt? Check out the National Park Service's Old Faithful Live Webcam