The West is on Fire: why our forests are burning and what we can do about it By: Kelsey Maxwell, 2020 Naturalist The Western United States is experiencing one of the most catastrophic wildfire seasons in history. Entire communities have been decimated, at least 35 people and countless wild animals have been killed, and millions […]
“Are public lands being loved to death?”
Chelsea Phillippe’s master thesis was studying the Sawtooth Wilderness to look at recreation trends and impacts from 1965 to 2015. Many including Phillippe are concerned our public lands are being loved to death. Phillippe’s case study is a great 150-page document with one of the first analyses of visitor data for the Sawtooth Wilderness. If […]
The Mountain Pine Beetle: a Friend or Foe of the Whitebark Pine?
By: Kelsey Maxwell, Summer Naturalist, 2020 Everyone who visits the Sawtooths should take some time to enjoy the magic and mystery of a whitebark pine forest. The whitebark pine is easy to identify compared to its conifer counterparts. Its needles grow in bunches of five, and instead of growing straight and tall like the lodgepole […]
Graveyards: an outdoor museum thats free!
Bonanza, Custer’s underrated other half. The twin ghost towns sit at the end of the Yankee Fork Road off of Hwy 75. The ghost towns and the old Yankee Fork Dredge serve as historic attractions for tourists during the season. However, Bonanza doesn’t get as much attention as Custer. Its not as built up, there […]
How the West Led
By Megan Nelson, Museum Docent This past Tuesday marked the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th amendment. The 19th amendment won women the right to vote. This is an important anniversary, as voting is an essential right for citizens in this country. But, perhaps the most interesting fact about women’s suffrage is the […]
Ecosystem Engineers
When you think “engineer” what comes to your mind? Maybe you picture someone building or maintaining a machine, or someone who is taking classes for an engineering major in college. Now think of the term “ecosystem engineer”. What comes to mind now? If you thought of a beaver, congratulations! You have the makings of a […]
Osprey!
If you look up when lounging on the beach at Redfish Lake or the shores of the Salmon River, chances are you will see a large bird flying over. Chances are that will most likely be an Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)!Ospreys are also known as sea hawks, river hawks, and fish hawks. They are part of […]
A Sawtooth Cross-Section
The natural world, wilderness, appears as a static object to most. There are perpetual weather changes, animals might pass by, perhaps you get lucky and see a rock-slide. On the large part, humans are evolved to only think of time in short spans – twenty years is a quarter of most peoples’ lives. And within […]
What Happened to the Red Fish of Redfish Lake?
Over the past several decades, Redfish Lake has become an incredibly popular summer destination for camping, boating, fishing, and simply spending time with family. But have you ever stopped to wonder what this environment looked like before humans reigned supreme? Redfish Lake was formed by thousands of years of glaciation. It’s one of the largest […]
Historical Sites in the Sawtooths
Historical Sites in the SawtoothsBy Megan Nelson, Museum Docent At the Stanley Museum, the museum volunteers don’t just talk to visitors about the exhibits in the museum. We talk to them about everything ranging from their families, to their hometowns, to their vacation plans. Many of the museum visitors have never been to Stanley and […]