The Wrack

Three hundred and fifty million years ago, the supercontinent Pangaea floated where you sit today. It was a warm, wet world, bathed in oxygen and soupy seas. The Carboniferous period was a time from which we get a lot of the fossil fuels we now use to power our society.

If we look around, we can watch the natural world disappearing right before our eyes. The good news is that those rates of loss have been worse in the past. The bad news is that what we see disappearing isnt the only thing were losing. It turns out, the sounds of the natural world are fading too.

I get to meet many scientists. While its hard to understand them sometimes, they are all very decent (and underpaid) people. And they are all as astounded as I am that more than half the country does not believe them when they say climate change is real, that it is happening, and that it is man-made.

Let me introduce you to the Wells Reserves favorite, and most vexing, local bunny.

Once invasive species get into an ecosystem, it's nearly impossible to get them out.

The ultimate invasive species, the one that has penetrated to every corner of the map, left no waters or winds untouched, and helped all the others spread so quickly, is Homo sapiens.

As a warm-up to the 2014 #iheartestuaries campaign, I asked all of our staff to fill in the blank in this sentence: "I love estuaries because __________." Here are the responses…

Raise your voice on behalf of estuaries. Join our #iheartestuaries campaign to reach Congress with a simple message: "I love estuaries and this is why…"

Let your legislators know you want the NERR System funded.

As we rebound from winters darkest depths, springs begins to stir in the hormonal systems of other species, particularly those who mate seasonally. Chemically, love is arriving. How did St. Valentine know?

What will the next five, ten, even the next thirty years look like here at your local national estuarine research reserve?