Recently, Friends of the Blufflands added three new members to its board: Scott Cooper - A full professor of biology at UWL where he began teaching and doing research in 1995. Scott is also the secretary of the board of the Outdoor Recreation Alliance and is active in maintaining trails in lower Hixon and grooming cross country ski trails. He is an accomplished athlete having qualified for the elite wave in the Birkebeiner cross country ski race and for the Ironman in Kona, H

Sometimes thinking about the past and the natural world can be disheartening. When thoughts percolate about the state of nature in North America before European settlement with its old growth forests and vast prairies rich with wildlife and rivers that ran fast and clean, an intense feeling of distress can occur. These thoughts can become overwhelming, and even produce rage as we witness the decline of monarch butterflies, the steep drop in bird populations, bats fighting for

Some may have noticed that several of the bluff prairies around La Crosse are looking better each year. This might be during a hike in Hixon Forest or while mountain biking on some of the shared-use trails. Or it could be in the comfort of your car. For example, here is Stry Prairie on Miller Bluff as recently seen from highway 16 heading north towards Onalaska: Many might remember that, until recently, this prairie was being overrun by brush and trees. Like many of our bluff

Beginning on October 12, a series of volunteer workdays kicked off. However, these were not typical workdays—they were attended by groups of UWL students from Dr. Jaspreet Kaur's Conservation Biology class. The 12th was followed by sessions on the 18th and 19th, and then again on 24th and 25th, all taking place on various prairies around the area. This initiative, organized by Dr. Kaur in collaboration with Friends of the Blufflands and the Coulee Region Chapter of The Prairi