Northern Rocky Mountain Biodiversity Challenge

04/20/2026

04/19/2026

When it comes to bear encounters, preparation matters.‼️🐻

Have you wondered what it is like to spray bear spray? You are in luck! The Yaak Valley Forest Council offers bear spray trainings with inert bear spray cans! We go over best practices, bear aware, and conflict reduction ethics to keep you prepared for your outdoor adventures!

Contact us at 406-295-9736 or [email protected] to set up a time for your bear spray training.

Bear spray is a highly effective, non-lethal deterrent designed to stop aggressive bears without causing permanent harm. With 1%–2% capsaicinoids, it creates a powerful 25–30 foot cone-shaped cloud that lasts 7–9 seconds, giving you critical time to get to safety. 💨

Studies show bear spray has a 92% success rate in stopping aggressive behavior, making it more effective than fi****ms at preventing injury to both people and bears.👩‍🔬⚛

If you spend time in bear country, carrying bear spray isn’t just smart, it’s responsible.
Stay safe. Respect wildlife. Be prepared. 🎒🌄

Check out this helpful video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-lQGo-kM2c&t=34s

04/19/2026

3-part virtual celebration of spring migration! Learn about bird calls and songs, spring bird migration FAQs, & how to be a steward for springtime birds.

04/19/2026

04/19/2026

Taxonomic and functional diversity of urban bees of the world

Conservation Biology
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Fig. 1. (a) Locations of studies on bees in urban environments worldwide (dashed lines divide tropical [red] and nontropical [gray] regions; maps at bottom show regions with the highest number of location coordinates [points were jittered to reduce their overlap, and the Equal Earth map projection was used to reduce latitudinal distortions and preserve the area]); (b) total and regional cumulative number of studies in which bees in urban environments were recorded over time; (c) number of records for the 1981 urban bee species in decreasing order and details on the 22 most recorded species, doubletons, and singletons; (d) differences in the number of records (log transformed) by region (horizontal lines, median; bar ends, 25th–75th interquartile range percentiles; whiskers, 1.5× the interquartile range; points, outliers); (e) number of bee species; and (f) proportional distribution of bee families worldwide (all bee diversity) in urban environments (global urban) and across the three regions.

04/19/2026

We once bought into the idea that we needed a pest control service to spray the perimeter of our home so palmetto bugs (a nice Southern term for huge, flying roaches) wouldn’t get in. The service people always reassured us what they were spraying wouldn’t harm our pets or children in any way. I ...

04/19/2026

Do you recognize these little yellow bugs? If you stop and look at milkweed plants often, there's a pretty good chance that you do!

These are Oleander Aphids, non-native insects that often inhabit milkweed plants, sometimes in very large quantities. Of the nearly 3,000 times that MLMP volunteers monitored for monarchs in 2025, volunteers reported finding aphids about 43% of the time.

Aphids can take up quite a bit of space on milkweed plants, so they're not often looked on favorably by monarch enthusiasts. Despite their negative reputation, they feed on the sap of the milkweed and don't harm monarch eggs or larvae.

While a high concentration of aphids on your milkweed may look "bad," these insects are not necessarily causing harm to monarchs. Unless they are in extremely high density, there are usually not enough aphids to kill the plant.

Photo: Mara Koenig/USFWS