Articles written by Rob Rich
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Talkin' trash: Making an impact with Leave No Trace
Twelve years ago, while backpacking in broad daylight, I came around a shady bend in the trail, only to find a full moon beaming against a tree. "Oh, I'm sorry," the woman exclaimed, shuffling up her...
Thinking like a beaver: A BDA primer
In the first snow of October 2018, along Basin Creek outside of Butte, Montana, I volunteered to be a beaver. Or, lacking all the right anatomy, I at least tried to think and act how nature's best...
Our hours: SVC's legacy of Volunteer stewardship
While five-gallon buckets brimmed with sloshing water may be a close challenger, t-posts are some of the most awkward things to be carried. At just over 10 pounds apiece, with studded, irregular...
What happens when the elk cross the road?
The young driver was not hurt. At least not physically. She had only looked down for a second as her check engine light came on and, in that moment, her Jeep hit the elk. Hitting the 600-pound animal...
Living up to our name in the Swan Valley
A wetland in a valley with a swan swimming by would have looked pretty enticing for a westward settler on the heels of Lewis and Clark, and not just because it was beautiful scene. The habitat's...
Learning together: 22 years of Swan Valley Connections' college field programs and counting
It's May, and universities across the nation are growing quiet and empty. But in four days, college students will arrive in the Swan Valley for their first day of class. Since 1997, Swan Valley Connec...
Insects with impact: Helping manage bark beetles for healthy forests
SWAN VALLEY – Winter is typically a quiet time of year, but come February, the phone at Swan Valley Connections (SVC) starts ringing. "Yes, the date is still April 15," I hear Leanna Grubaugh say...
Working together with beavers is the answer
I’d like to thank the Pathfinder and Biologist Scott Eggeman for last week’s excellent column exploring the history, ecology and growing importance of beavers. As we increasingly face the unpredictable stresses of fires, droughts and floods, I...
Montana's Most Unwanted: A New Monitoring Season Begins for Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS)
Our Wildlife in the West students recently went fishing at Upsata Lake but they didn't want to catch anything, except maybe some plankton, aquatic insects or algae. Motored gently about in a small...
