Thousands of acres of south San Francisco Bay that lay under industrial salt ponds for over a century are now being restored to native tidal marsh. The South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project has acquired almost 24 square miles that salt producers had diked along the bay's tidal margin…

Common Murres, like these, disappeared from the coast of Maine in the 1880s, after years of being hunted. Since 1992, Dr. Steve Kress has been trying to coax the birds to nest there again. And the murres are coming back. In June, 2009, a pair of Common Murres nested on Matinicus Rock. It…

Near Chicago, the Spring Creek Forest Preserve includes acres of woodlands, wetlands, and prairie. The vision is a healthy, sustained, natural area enriching the lives of people while supporting native plants and wildlife. Audubon Chicago Region is helping with restoration. Justin Pepper…

What is nature worth? Can its value be quantified? Some natural resource economists and policy-makers say it's important to have a common language of dollars and cents when making decisions about land use and environmental management. Dr. Robert Costanza says that nature provides us with…

What effect does wind power have on birds? Scientists are taking a close look. Surveys of wind-power projects in Oregon and Washington estimate that wind turbines kill more than 6,500 birds annually. Of particular concern are raptors such as owls, hawks, and eagles. Is replacing oil with…

On the Gulf coast of Texas, many Least Terns find protection at Bolivar Flats, an Important Bird Area near Galveston. In 2012, the terns benefited from some extra help. Houston Audubon and American Bird Conservancy posted an intern there as sort of a personal representative for the Least…

Red-cockaded Woodpeckers require large, old pines in which to nest. They breed cooperatively, and a family of these birds may have several nests in one area. They may also forage together, chattering and flying from tree to tree. The destruction of their preferred habitat – mature southern…

In 1852, James Swan took up residence in what we now know as Willapa Bay on the southwest coast of Washington State. In his book The Northwest Coast, Swan described the birds he observed on the bay: “white and black swans, white geese, Canada geese, brant, Sheldrake, cormorants, loon…

In Seattle, in a secluded ravine just steps away from a busy ship canal, nearly 100 pairs of Great Blue Herons return each year to nest. A group of citizens called Heron Habitat Helpers has helped this colony thrive. Their president, John “Hooper” Havekotte, credits the founders, Donna…

For more than a decade, Dr. Douglas Gill, an emeritus professor of biology at the University of Maryland, has helped restore native grasslands on a large farm near Chesapeake Bay. Invited to join the project by landowner Harry Sears, Dr. Gill says, “…My deeply internal love for outdoor…