Los Padres National Forest in California

Southern California is known for its mild Mediterranean climate where shorts and flip-flops are popular during the hot and sunny summer, sometimes right on through a balmy winter. Not nearly as famous, but just as characteristic of the Southland, are its chaparral wild lands. Chaparral is a native plant community of many species, including  chamise, red shank, ceanothus, manzanita, scrub oak and other shrubby plants. Region:  California Read more

Shooting star wildflowers in a meadow in Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness, Idaho. Photo by John McCarthy.

Every spring I hike out to a special meadow in Idaho’s Frank-Church River of No Return Wilderness to see spectacular wildflowers. Earlier this month, I had a chance to witness the same wild place, only this time to see a burning summer wildfire. Both the flowers and the fire are wonderful and beautiful acts of nature. My location for connection with nature is the southwest corner of the vast Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness in Idaho. At 2.3 million acres, here the wilderness is big enough to provide a full view of wild nature. Read more

Firefighter with drip torch at Wind Cave National Park, South Dakota.

I recently busted the myth that environmental organizations are to blame for the fact that the Forest Service doesn’t accomplish more work that prevents fires. Law suits by such groups do not cause backlogs on these projects, a report from the GAO made clear. That lawsuit stuff was a bunch of spin. But talk to most fire ecologists and fire managers and they will tell you there are serious problems with wildfires. They’ll also say that we do lack sufficient fuel treatment to protect communities and forests. Read more