Aldo Leopold

Aldo Leopold’s legendary essay collection, A Sand County Almanac, has inspired countless conservationists and earned Aldo Leopold a place alongside Henry David Thoreau in history. Who was Leopold? And how did he revolutionize our thinking about the natural world? MORE…

Mimms Ranch

On Mimms Ranch outside Marfa, the Dixon Water Foundation is using some surprising tools to improve a grassland’s ability to absorb water: cattle and electric fence. How does this work? MORE…

Pollen

As all hay-fever sufferers will tell you, this has been a bad year for pollen. What’s all that pollen good for besides making you miserable? MORE…

Bosque del Apache

Every winter, Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in New Mexico hosts a spectacular congregation of snow geese and sandhill cranes. Why do they flock here? MORE…

Creosote Medicine

Creosote’s therapeutic applications would make any biotech CEO green with envy. What are this desert shrub’s medicinal properties? And why is it such a pharmacological trove? MORE…

Wildlife Rehabilitation

What keeps an El Paso wildlife rehabilitator going through 16-hour days and the sadness of having to euthanize animals that can’t be saved? A dove named Larry, and a goose’s gratitude. MORE…

Tracking the Desert

You may not see many animals when you’re hiking in the desert; but, if you slow down and take a look at the ground, you’ll find signs of life everywhere. What are these signs and what can they tell you about the animals that left them? MORE…

Cuatro Ciénegas

This small valley in the Mexican state of Coahuila is a desert wetland with more than 500 clear blue freshwater pools and incredible biodiversity. But the water that stewards the wetlands is disappearing and with it a unique eco-region. Can this be stopped? MORE…

Butterfly Gardens

There are over 100 species of beautiful butterfly pollinators in the northern Chihuahaun Desert, and butterflies will fill your garden if you plant the nectar sources they love. MORE…

Darwin and the Cactus

More than 150 years ago, Charles Darwin explained his groundbreaking ideas that species evolve through the process of natural selection in On the Origin of Species. How do cactus spines demonstrate these ideas? MORE…