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Want To save grassland birds? Start with prairie dogs

Last fall, I fell in love with prairie dogs on the American Prairie in Montana even though the hype for America’s Great Plains pointed me to bison. As impressive as North America’s largest land mammal is, the pipsqueak of the prairie piqued my interest and stole my heart, and I’m not the only one. Andy Boyce arrived on the American Prairie in 2018 as one of the Smithsonian’s first folks hired onto their Great Plains Science Program. Like me, he arrived in Montana thinking of bison. Boyce is a research ecologist with Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology ...

Fix what’s broken at home so we can defend ourselves abroad

In 2024, for the first time in almost a century, the United States spent more financing its national debt than it did, as a percentage of GDP, on national defense. In 2024, interest on our national debt expenditures came in at 3.1% of GDP and defense spending at 2.9%. This has been the case through this year, although it’s too soon to say what the picture will finally be for 2026. But it’s very close. Hoover Institution scholar Niall Ferguson notes that this is an ominous sign. He quotes what he calls Ferguson’s Law, after 18th century Scottish political theorist Adam ...

Keep fire safety in mind as weather warms up

Warmer weather is arriving, and with it there will be barbecues and parties and campfires. We encourage families to enjoy the opportunities these seasons offer — safely. SmokeyBear.com is one online resource to prepare for the fire-building of spring and summer. A few of the tips they share include: Check with local conservation agencies for fire alerts and weather conditions wherever you’re planning to build a fire. Avoid celebrating with fires in dry or windy conditions. Select a site that is at least 15 feet from tents, awnings, vegetation or low-hanging branches. Use ...

Focus on accountability

The resignation of Harvard economics professor and former university president Larry Summers was only the latest repercussion from the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files — the millions of documents gathered by federal prosecutors that Congress ordered the Department of Justice to release to the public. There are no doubt more heads are about to roll: The disgraced financier burrowed his way deep into the worlds of academia, business, and government. The files show that even after he was convicted in 2008 in Florida of soliciting a minor and served a short prison sentence, he ...

Environmental protection starts with families

An article in the outdoors section of Tuesday’s Williamsport Sun-Gazette details how festive releases of Mylar balloons pose deadly risks to birds. A local birding expert shared how birds mistake the remnants of the balloons for food and eat them — and how the remnants of balloons can block digestive systems, leaving the birds to starve. We continue to maintain that the best measures our communities and region can take to preserve the environment don’t involve eliminating thousands of jobs developing conventional sources of energy, pushing energy bills higher for families and ...

Bill good start to examining role of rural pharmacies

Since 2020, more than 1,000 pharmacies have closed in Pennsylvania. That means it’s harder for many in rural counties like ours to get their prescriptions filled. Customers have to drive longer distances and, at times, pay more. The mass closure crisis has led to expanding pharmacy deserts, defined as an area where residents no longer have reasonable access to a local pharmacy, throughout the state. It’s one reason why a bipartisan bill introduced recently in the state Senate to protect local pharmacies is interesting. Senate Bill 1186 seeks to protect patient access to ...