According to Wikipedia, the U.S. has 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands containing 193 million acres. That’s 8.5 percent of the total U.S. land mass. Add to that the 12 percent of U.S. land protected as national wildlife refuges for a total of 20.5 percent. This means we must protect another 9.5 percent in the next 6 years if we are to meet the current “30 percent of land by 2030” conservation goal.

I’m for it! I’m deeply grateful for what we have. But the esteemed naturalist and scientist E. O. Wilson says we must protect half of earth if we are to stave off environmental catastrophe. Please read his book!*

June 4, 2022 – Kisatchie National Forest, Catahoula Ranger District. The 600,000+ acres of Kisatchie National Forest are broken into five ranger districts strung down the western side of Louisiana. The Pinewoods Lily (Alophia drummondii) is just one of the many splendors that can be found there. It is also called “propeller flower,” which is apt but, IMHO, way too industrial sounding for so delicate and elegant a flower. And in spite of the fact that it is also called “lily” and looks like an orchid, it is, in fact, in the iris family. What a beauty! It is one of those things that you will drop to your knees and photograph each and every time you find one, even though you already have dozens of shots in your archive!

June 28, 2023 – What a special trip! In June of 2023, I traveled to Jamestown, NY, to attend the opening reception of “Art That Matters to the Planet,” an exhibit at the Roger Tory Peterson Institute I was proud and gratified to be in. Getting there was an adventure in itself. The last leg of a 3-leg flight was from Pittsburgh to Bradford, PA, in a single engine plane. From there I took a rental car to the Institute in Jamestown, NY, spending most of a day driving through the Allegheny National Forest.

Wow! What an amazing place. And I saw only a tiny fraction of it. I was blown away by the sheer rock walls, the tumbled boulders, the waterfalls, the moss and lichens, the Mountain Laurel, the trees, and more. The North Country National Scenic Trail runs through the Allegheny, so rather than merely cross it, I parked and walked on it for maybe a half a mile. Just a few yards from the trailhead, I came upon a wooden box on a post containing a register and pens in a plastic bag. There’s a great sense of connection and community in reading a few comments of those who walked that way before, and leaving your own for those who come behind. Signing my name felt honorable.

*Half Earth: Our Planet’s Fight for Life (2016), by E.O. Wilson.