KGNU Monthly Nature Almanac

Previous KGNU almanacs

Straight as a stick Lodgepole pines abound in Boulder County, with occasional spots of sun breaking through, but mostly filled with shade and silence.  These lodgepole forests are unusually quiet and sterile zones compared to the bird-filled meadows and aspen that are sometimes nearby.  Naturalists Steve Jones and Ruth Carol Cushman wander among one of these dark and quiet lodgepoles forests, observing what makes them so quiet, and explaining why decades of fire suppression may mean that these days, we have too many groves of lodgepole pines in our beloved mountains and foothills.

Listen to Steve and Ruth muse on this interesting community on the KGNU Almanac for November. 

Help Track Pikas

BCNA has worked with the Colorado Pika Project in the past, and invites you to continue working with them by collecting and sharing data about pikas with the Pika Patrol app.  

This is a new mobile app that allows the public and scientists to track observations and monitor populations of American pikas. The app makes it easy for anyone who gets out into pika habitat to record observations, making it an excellent tool to get involved in pika community science in Colorado and across the west.  We hope it will help the Colorado Pika Project expand the area where we are studying the impact of climate change on pikas.  

The app makes it simple to record pika sightings and share observations with scientists.  All you need to participate is a mobile device.  No training is required to use the app as it will teach users to identify pikas by sight, hay piles, and scat. Pika Patrol is available for free in the Google Play and Apple App Stores. Interested users can also go to www.pikapartners.org to learn more about the app.  You can try the app out if you have any hikes planned in pika habitat before the snow falls.  To download Pika Patrol, click here if you have an iPhone or here if you have an Android phone. You can also help us improve the app by submitting reports of any issues to this form.

Gifts for the Naturalist in Your Life

Look for books and CDs published by BCNA at any of these places:

• Special events hosted by BCNA
• Locally at the Front Range Birding Company: 5360 Arapahoe Ave, Boulder, and 10146 W. San Juan Way, Littleton
• Wild Birds Unlimited: 2720 S. Wadsworth, Denver; 7370 W. 88th Ave., Arvada; and 1520 S. Hover St., Suite D, Longmont 80501
• Wild Bear Nature Center Gift Shop in Caribou Village Shopping Center, 20 Lakeview Drive, Nederland
• Covered Treasures Bookstore, 105 Second Street, Monument CO
• Boulder Audubon Chapter’s annual holiday sale
• Amazon: Butterflies of the Colorado Front Range or Dragonflies of the Colorado Front Range
• Brigham Distributing
• Some Barnes & Noble stores in the Front Range
• Butterfly eBooks are available from Amazon, Apple Books (purchase using the Apple Books app), barnesandnoble.com, and kobo.com.

Banner Photo © CC VanWie