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Environmental Almanac

Weekly commentaries on the environment and appreciating the natural world, by Rob Kanter from the School of Earth, Society, and Environment at the University of Illinois.

Symplocarpus foetidus, or Skunk Cabbage, growing out of snow
Rob Kanter

Get out soon to find the first flower of spring

People who go looking for beauty in the woodlands of central Illinois tend to get excited about the months of April and May, when showy beauties like Virginia bluebells carpet the woodland floor. But if you wait until April to get out, you may already be a month late for the emergence of the first flower of spring.

Tight shot of a gray squirrel perched on the edge of a dumpster. It's holding a half-eaten pancake in its front paws.
Rob Kanter

In defense of the eastern gray squirrel

Despite their heedless ways and the dangers posed to them by human traffic, squirrels are in no danger of extinction--so why do they deserve our attention? Tune in for an answer from University of Illinois student Laura Schultz.

Head shot of a bull moose with antlers half-grown.
Rob Kanter

Moose, winter ticks, and climate change in New Hampshire

The statewide moose population in New Hampshire peaked at about 7,400 animals in the 1990s, but even then, moose numbers in the north country never reached levels biologists had anticipated the habitat could support. Why weren’t there more of them? And why did their numbers then begin dropping off?