News & Press

Curious Wenatchee area residents and visitors can use a newly published brochure to guide identification of locally common native plants and animals. The Wenatchee Area Field Guide is lightweight, waterproof, and costs $10 (includes tax). Users are introduced to over 100 native trees, shrubs, wildflowers, insects, birds, mammals, reptiles, and amphibians. Color illustrations accompany descriptive texts, helping the observer to identify species quickly.

Foothills Trails News:

RAIN means muddy trails... and roads. We're scheduled to get between 1/2 and 3/4 of an inch in the next 24 hours.

Please, please, please, avoid Horse Lake Road for at least half a day after a rain event. The slick road is unsafe, no matter what car you drive - and it can really damage the road.

And, of course, please take care of the trails - wait til they dry out a bit to use them again.  Thanks all!

Last Thursday, the Chelan-Douglas Land Trust celebrated the retirement of development director Sharon Lunz. During her 17 years there, Sharon played a vital, behind-the-scenes role in transforming CDLT from a just-barely surviving nonprofit to one with a multi-million budget and a positive impact on the two counties.

Land Trust, Chelan PUD and partners hope for April 5 opening depending on conditions  

This article originally ran in The Wenatchee World in February 2018.

As busy as the holiday season can be, I always look forward to the quiet and hush of winter in nature. It’s a great time to get outside with your family and focus on something you might miss the rest of the year. 

Our evergreen, coniferous trees give us a bit of green all year round. And with a little practice, kids can learn to tell the difference and find out what these trees have to teach us.

So what is an evergreen, and what’s a conifer?

This article originally ran in The Wenatchee World in February 2018.

A couple of months ago, in the column about exploring lakes and ponds, we talked about a lake’s watershed. Now, if you read that and your first thought was “is that a building that stores water?” –you’re not alone.

A watershed is all the land that drains water to a central location, such as a river, lake, or ocean. It’s important to know about our local watersheds, because what happens in one part of a watershed can affect all of us downstream.

This article originally ran in The Wenatchee World in September 2019.

Every fall, I end up with a huge pile of oak leaves in my yard. Last October, my mom visited and we ended up piling up leaves in creative ways, creating ephemeral art that blew away with the next gust of wind.

It was a wonderful way to spend the afternoon with family. The next day, we gathered them all up and added them to my compost pile. It will become rich soil for my garden next year.

This article originally ran in The Wenatchee World in February 2018.

As the weather warms, we start to see more thunderstorms roll in from the mountains. Personally, I have loved the flash of lightning, the sound of thunderstorms, and the idea of so much energy bouncing around in the sky since I was a kid.

Here are some ways to explore thunderstorms with your family.

Thunderstorm Facts

OLYMPIA — The state Senate on Wednesday passed a bill to establish a community forest pilot program.

Sen. Brad Hawkins, R-East Wenatchee, is the primary sponsor of Senate Bill 5873, which passed with a 41-5 vote. It now heads to the House of Representatives.

Nason Ridge is one of three projects the program would fund through the state’s capital budget. If the bill becomes law and the program is successful, Hawkins said, legislators could pursue an ongoing statewide grant program.

We have gotten so much snow in February that it’s hard to imagine any animals are up and moving about. But underneath all that snow, many animals have stayed cozy and warm despite the cold temperatures.

How? The fluffy snow acts as a blanket, keeping the ground warmer than the air. This creates a space called the subnivean zone, which is what we’re exploring today.

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The state of recreation is strong. And we’ve got to do something about climate change, or we’ll lose out on investments in access and infrastructure. Those are the headlines from a conversation about the state of recreation with Jon Snyder, the first Policy Advisor on Outdoor Recreation and Economic Development in the state of Washington (and the founder of this publication).

New nature preserve protects high-quality shrub-steppe in Douglas County.

The Chelan-Douglas Land Trust (CDLT) has recently acquired 1,396 acres in northern Douglas County for the purpose of conserving its high quality shrub-steppe and wetland habitats. Spiva Butte Nature Preserve is home to several sensitive species of plants, wildlife and birds. Most notably, the preserve provides critical habitat for one of the last two viable sage-grouse populations remaining in Washington State, and becomes the first Land Trust owned preserve in Douglas County.