For those with a hankering to learn more about the great outdoors and garner the title of Certified Wyoming Master Naturalist, the opportunity has arrived. With the launch of Wyomingâs Master Naturalist Program, the state joins many others in hosting a program that trains participants to be environmental stewards and to teach that stewardship to others.
The Wyoming Naturalist Program is coordinated by a committee of state agencies and non-profits that includes Audubon Rockies, Wyoming Game and Fish Department, Wyoming State Parks, the University of Wyoming Biodiversity Institute, and the University of Wyoming Extension. The training will include lessons in biodiversity, ecology, conservation, management, and interpretation. The 2021 program will include lessons hosted at Boysen State Park May 22-23.
4:19 pm UTC Jan. 8, 2021
ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK, Colorado Beside a river that winds through a mountain valley, the charred trunks of pine trees lie toppled on the blackened ground, covered in a thin layer of fresh snow.
Weeks after flames ripped through this alpine forest, a smoky odor still lingers in the air.
The fire, called the East Troublesome, burned later into the fall than what once was normal. It cut across Rocky Mountain National Park, racing up and over the Continental Divide. It raged in the headwaters of the Colorado River, reducing thick forests to ashes and scorching the ground along the river’s banks.
Photo courtesy Charles Martinez
This week’s Bird of the Week, compliments of the Weminuche Audubon Society and Audubon Rockies, is the juniper titmouse.
In a wintertime pinyon-juniper woodland, the hammering sound usually associated with woodpeckers may reveal the presence of a small juniper titmouse. When feeding on pinyon seeds and juniper berries, the titmouse cracks the hard shell by pounding it against a tree branch. While holding it with its feet, it pries the shell open with its stout bill to extract the seed. Its chickadee cousin employs the same strategy to open sunflower seeds.
This active bird with the fun name is all gray, paler below than on top. Titmice are named for their high-pitched calls and mouse-like scurrying behavior within a tree. They have a round, stout bill and beady black eyes. The raised crest of head feathers match its perky appearance with its inquisitive nature.