(Airdate: January 21, 2026) Please join Nature Now this week as we review the remarkable life of pioneer/explorer James Swan, who lived and worked and recorded extensively in our area from 1859 to 1900. Host Debaran Kelso speaks with James Swan scholar Steve Ricketts at Swan’s burial site in the Laurel Grove Cemetery in Port Townsend.
(Airdate: January 7, 2026) Happy New Year, listeners! The hosts of Nature Now, Jackie Canterbury, Nan Evans, and Debaran Kelso, start the year by sharing their favorite books about natural history. The conversation roams from bees to wolves, research to poetry, and beautiful photographs to whimsical illustrations. Laugh with them, listen to the awe and amazement they share, and find a new favorite book to read.
(Airdate: December 24, 2025 ) Jackie Canterbury talks with Dr. Steve Hampton with the local Rainshadow Bird Alliance, formerly Admiralty Audubon, about the oldest citizen science program of its kind, the Audubon Christmas Bird Count or CBC. The CBC began on Christmas Day 1900 as a way to count birds rather than shoot them as people began to become visibly concerned about declining bird populations. This year is the 126th year of the annual bird census. The Port Townsend CBC was recently held on December 20. The data is used to guide conservation efforts for birds, including the greatest challenges of all; habitat loss and climate change.
(Airdate: December 17, 2025) Join Jackie Canterbury as she talks with Paul Koberstein, an award-winning environmental journalist and the co-author of the book Canopy of Titans: The Life and Times of the Great North American Temperate Rainforest. Paul has explored many environmental issues through his career as a writer. Join us as we talk with Paul about the global importance of our own temperate rainforest ecosystem in the Pacific Northwest with emphasis on its’ role in storing carbon and the challenges we face.
(Airdate: December 10, 2025) Please join Nature Now this week as host Debaran Kelso speaks with wolf biologist Jim Holyan. The adventures and heart-breaks of wolf reintroductions in Idaho are the subject of his recent book: “I was a Middle-Aged Wolfman- Chasing Wolves in Idaho’s Backcountry”.
(Airdate: December 3, 2025) The stunning mountains of Western Washington draw many people who dream of reaching their summits. The views from these peaks can be breathtaking, but climbing them comes with significant challenges. Few know this better than Dave Rugh, who has spent decades climbing mountains. Join Jackie Canterbury as she talks with Dave about his experiences climbing in Washington State.
(Airdate: November 26, 2025) Nurse logs, a common site in the forests of the Pacific Northwest, blur the distinction between life and death as they support not only the next generation of trees, but also a host of other plant and animal species. Learn more about nurse logs and what the Jefferson Land Trust is doing to give a hand to these incredibly significant ecological systems. Join Nan Evans this week to talk to Carrie Clendaniel, Preserve Manager for the Land Trust, about nurse logs and fascilitating the fascilitators.
(Reprise airdate: November 19, 2025) The bad news – losses of bird and wildlife populations, extinction of species, and destruction of habitats. The good news – find hope and empowerment in your own home through the Backyard Wildlife Certification Program. Join Nature Now host Nan Evans and Cristie Lassen, co-owner of Wild Bird Unlimited in Gardiner, as they explore both the good and the bad news.
(Airdate: November 12, 2025) Nature Now takes a deep dive into the world of whale sound this week! Please join host Debaran Kelso as we speak with humpback whale expert Dr. Fred Sharpe, whose recent research has focused on aerial whale signals, the “blows”, wheezes” and “thrums” of everyday life.
(Airdate: November 5, 2025) It’s getting cold and rainy outside. We have gotten out our winter clothes and rain boots, checked that our home’s furnace is working well, stocked up on comfort foods, and perhaps, planned a winter vacation to a warmer and sunnier place. As the seasons change, some birds migrate to warmer places. But, how do the birds that stay the winter survive? Listen as Nan Evans talks with Christie Lassen of the Wild Birds store in Gardiner as they talk about the behavioral, physical and physiological strategies used by our regional birds.
