Saving the Sagebrush Biome Scientists say it’s time to flip the script to conserve what’s left of the shrinking sagebrush biome FROM ATOP A RISE IN SOUTHWEST MONTANA, silver-colored sagebrush rolls away in every direction. Pronghorn and elk graze on bunchgrasses, while yarrow and paintbrush peek above the bushes. Cold, clear creeks wind through the steppe, forming […]
One family treks off the beaten path, on the lookout for some truly special encounters with nature. My 10-year-old son spotted it first as we snorkeled in Taha’a’s sunset-lit lagoon. I saw Talon dive abruptly, yellow fins flashing, before noticing the creature gliding below us with its enormous half-moon mouth […]
Polynesian women are practicing the ancient art of traditional navigation and inspiring seafaring communities around the globe to do the same. By Brianna Randall, published in SAIL Magazine On a recent voyage from Tahiti to Hawaii, Ka’iulani Murphy was starting to get nervous. She was nearing the end of the […]
A Sailor’s Reunion Before the Race to Alaska By Brianna Randall, published in SAIL magazine The brothers came to our hotel after dinner, the summer sun still shining bright above Victoria, British Columbia. They were men now, though I could see the echoes of the boys they were below the […]
Sailing Baja: Second Chances in the Sea of Cortez By Brianna Randall The last time my husband and I met friends to sail out of La Paz, Mexico, all hell broke loose. A decade ago, Rob and I arrived in Baja with one giant backpack each, ready to hitchhike across […]
Humans have driven sharks to the brink of extinction, but it’s not too late to save them.
By Brianna Randall, published in National Geographic. Photo by Ryan Daly. When Turawa Hakeem caught a bull shark near Lagos, Nigeria last summer, the Ghanaian captain had no idea his crew was reeling a record winner onto his wooden fishing boat. The eight-foot-long female had made an epic journey of at […]
Staring Down Sharks in the South Pacific In the heart of the Tuamotus, I jumped into shark-infested waters—and found awe, peace and the power to face my deepest fear. The outgoing tide shot us through the narrow pass at 10 knots, spitting our C&C 43 into the beatific blue of […]
Hitchhiking the high seas of the Pacific as volunteer crew is an adventurous and inexpensive way to see the world. We sailed into the Kingdom of Tonga at dawn after five days at sea. The verdant shores looked like broccoli tops through the wet haze. Huddled under my rain jacket, […]
Spinnakers, Sweat, and Survival: Three women embrace chaos and camaraderie on a 750-mile wilderness race to Alaska. By Brianna Randall, published in Cruising World Magazine I held my breath as I pulled up the sock to unfurl our spinnaker in Haro Strait. Of the five headsails we’d brought aboard our […]
Scientists finally know the clever tricks orca use to hunt whale sharks New, unprecedented images reveal how orca take down the largest species of fish on Earth. For the first time, scientists have captured video evidence of orcas cooperatively hunting whale sharks, the largest species of fish on Earth. This graphic footage […]
Sailing Montana’s Flathead Lake After we left our catamaran in the Bahamas, I had to find my sailing fix closer to home. By Brianna Randall Tiller between my legs, I hold the finicky jib sheet in one hand and my sparkling water in the other. Sueños picks up speed like a horse […]
The insect world’s most successful hunters show how the toxic metal moves through our environment—and how we can reduce our exposure. Dragonflies, those colorful bugs zooming around like mini-helicopters, are more than just a spectacular sight. These iridescent predators may also be the best way to detect where and how […]
By Brianna Randall, published June 2024 in Reasons To Be Cheerful We stood on the rocky shore of the Mizque River in central Bolivia, binoculars trained on the towering cliff before us. The summer sun beat down as we scanned for birds. “There,” whispered my nine-year-old son. “A pair is […]
This marine biologist is on a mission to save endangered rays – Figuring out where the enigmatic creatures mate and migrate is key to their conservation. Read more >
Protecting the Coolest Types of Bats in North America – Bat species have unique abilities. Take a closer look at the coolest types of bats in North America and find out how they help people and the ecosystem. Read more >
The Great Salt Lake is shrinking. What can we do to stop it? A recent report suggests the lake could disappear within five years. Read all about it >
Sailing in Yellowstone National Park – Fewer than 100 people visit these remote parts of Yellowstone Lake each year. All of them come by foot, paddle or sail. Read more >
Fertile Legacy – When it comes to vanishing prairies, even the smallest remnants are worth saving. Read this cover story >
Tree-climbing carnivores called fishers are back in Washington’s forests – Learn how biologists worked together for 20 years to bring back these animals after trapping and habitat loss had wiped out the population. Read this cover story >
Burning Up – Heat, drought and wildfires are ravaging western wildlife while conservationists try to help ecosystems adapt. Read more >
In Nebraska’s Loess Canyons, Setting Trees Ablaze Gives Prairie Birds a Boost – For generations Great Plains ranchers saw fire as a foe. Now they’re banding together and embracing it as a tool to restore grassland habitat. Read more >
Where Big Data Meets Cowboy Boots – A powerful, free web app developed by University of Montana is revolutionizing how rangelands are managed. Read more >
“Grand Vision” – The ambitious America the Beautiful plan seeks to conserve and restore 30 percent of U.S. lands and waters by 2030. Read more >
Underwater Investigation – Freshwater snorkeling and scuba diving reveal the habits, habitats, and numbers of Montana’s fish. Read more >