Paul Smiths, NY, May 02, 2013 — Dr. Curt Stager tells co-host Martha Foley why and how porcupines climb trees--and why it can be a dangerous job. Plus, what to do when one lives under (and gnaws on) your porch. Get up close, but not too close, to porcupines.  Go to full article

Apr 25, 2013 — A plan to build and upgrade emergency communications towers on four summits in the Adirondack Park is sparking new controversy because of the possible impact on a rare songbird called the Bicknell's thrush. The thrush is a "species of concern" in New York, because of its dwindling population and its small, alpine breeding area.

Last winter, the Adirondack Park Agency set strict rules for the construction project, designed to limit any impacts on the songbird. But facing pressure from local leaders, the APA decided earlier this month to scrap those restrictions.

The last-minute change is drawing criticism from scientists and conservation groups that study Bicknell's thrush.  Go to full article

Paul Smiths, NY, Apr 25, 2013 — Once so numerous they darkened the sky for days while migrating, passenger pigeons arrived in this region in early May each year. Dr. Curt Stager and Martha Foley remember this once ubiquitous species wiped out by human hunting in the nineteenth century.  Go to full article

Old Forge, NY, Dec 14, 2012 — A new art display at View in Old Forge puts nature and animals front and center. The Wild Life exhibit includes work in a variety of media: watercolors, photography, sculpture, taxidermy.

Todd Moe spoke with curator Linda Weal, who says our wild neighbors are the focus: owls, trout, bears and more.  Go to full article

Nov 13, 2012 — Thousands of geese are crowding the North Country's skies, lakes, and cornfields on their way south for the winter. A first-hand listen to Snow Geese massing in one Lake Champlain bay reveals a phenomenal din as the birds are constantly moving, taking off and landing, talking all the time.

They often seem to act in unison, as if they are choreographed. When they do take off they look like a white cloud. That's when the sound explodes.

Jack Downs says you can hear them from a mile away or more. And when they lift off or become agitated, it is deafening.  Go to full article

Albany, NY, Oct 18, 2012 — Bear hunting season is underway in New York. And it's probably no surprise that the Department of Environmental Conservation is expecting a larger take than last year: a quick online search shows there have been bear sightings this year stretching from the Southern Tier to the North Country.

Jeremy Hurst is a wildlife biologist with New York's Department of Environmental Conservation. He says there are more bears in New York now than in previous decades, especially in the southern part of the state.  Go to full article

Sep 26, 2012 — There are more moose living in the Adirondacks every year. Scientists put the population at about 800 this year.

One town is hoping its local moose will be a draw for visitors: Indian Lake is already capitalizing on moose tourism with an annual Moose Festival, which includes a moose calling contest.

But even with numbers up and moose sightings on the rise, nobody had reported seeing one on the first day of the Great Adirondack Moose Festival--except Bloomingdale resident Debbie Kanze.  Go to full article

Paul Smiths, NY, Sep 13, 2012 — This nocturnal nuisance can spray its cruel brew about as far as it can see: Ten feet. Martha Foley and Dr. Curt Stager get down to the basics: "How do you get rid of the skunk under the porch?  Go to full article

Sep 12, 2012 — The Fish and Wildlife Service says a rare songbird that nests atop mountains in the Adirondacks and Green Mountains may need protection as an endangered species. Todd Moe spoke with Long Lake birder Joan Collins, who has been tracking the Bicknell's Thrush for more than a decade. She says biologists are alarmed by the decline in the bird's numbers over the past year.  Go to full article

Paul Smiths, NY, Aug 09, 2012 — This northern forest species is so common that its biomass would outweigh all the large mammals and birds in its habitat combined. Martha Foley and Dr. Curt Stager look at forest amphibians.  Go to full article