the news

Northern Leopard Frog, ink on Japanese paper

Having recently re-connected with my old friend, Steven Wagner, Associate Professor of Biology  at Central Washington University, I am reminded of how dire the threat to survival for amphibians around the globe is.   Research by him and his students revealed how pervasive the spread of a fatal fungal disease, chytrid, has become in Washington state, in particular. This Seattle Times article details his findings, Fungus threatens state’s frogs, salamanders .

The following article discusses why frogs are so susceptible to the fungus, and why it has become so widespread: An amphibious assualt, from the Globe and Mail.

The once abundant northern leopard frog faces likely extinction in the near future in the state of Washington.  You can listen to sound recordings of their call on this site, www.californiaherps.com.

Eleventh hour efforts to save amphibians from extinction are currently being spearheaded by the organization Amphibian Ark, which maintains that, until the human threat to habitat and survival of amphibians diminishes, it is imperitive to hold and protect the various species in captivity.

serviceberry (saskatoon), ink on japanese paper

Bit of a hiatus from posting - serviceberry blossoms seen on a run a few weeks ago.  Each spring the bushes can be seen dotting the gullies of local hills soaking up the moisture from the recent snowmelt, a haze of white blossoms.  Historically the plant has been used for a lot of things - you can find detailed information in this book, Montana - native plants and early peoples, by Jeff Hart and Jacqueline Moore.

lady slippers and a shooting star (in progress), graphite on paper

Another piece from the book collaboration with my writer friend, Dexter.

varied thrush, graphite on frosted mylar

Spring time. Varied thrush can now be heard along creeks in Western Montana.  Listen to their song here.

iris (bloom), graphite on frosted mylar

Reading through back issues of the Economist, came across this obituary for leading Rwanda expert/ human rights observer, Alison Des Forges, who died on the crash of flight 3407 in Buffalo, NY, 12 February, 2009.

shine (great tailed grackle), ink on paper

Listen to their song here (from Cornell Lab of Ornithology)

jumping jackrabbits, ink and graphite on paper

Some preparatory work for an upcoming collaboration with my friend Dexter, a writer,  I have tasked myself with a list of animals that I am going to draw.  But now, how to fit jackrabbits with the news?  Well, as it turns out, there are several interesting stories about jackrabbits, in my perusals on the web.

Jackrabbits have been studied around nuclear sites for their role in the transport of radionuclides.  On the Hanford Nuclear Reservation, burrowing mammals expose radionuclide contaminated salts, which are consumed by jackrabbits then spread through their excrement over an area of ca. 15 square km, and further concentrated in the food chain (source: O’Farrell and Gilbert, 1975, Transport of radioactive materials by jackrabbits on the Hanford Reservation, Health Physics, 29:9-15).

Last year, a well publicized study by University of Montana professor/conservation biologist Joel Berger indicated that the once common jackrabbit has virtually disappeared from Yellowstone National Park.

And on a different note, an interesting article in High Country News about the wildlife refuge that inhabits the site of the former Rocky Flats nuclear weapons plant, The Half-Life of Memory, by Hannah Nordhaus.