The Oyster

Connecticut is known around the world for its oysters. Long before Dutch explorer Adriaen Block sailed along the coast encountering vast oyster reefs along his way, scores of Indigenous American tribes had been migrating seasonally to the shore to gather the iconic shellfish.

Green Bullets

As a companion to my Fall 2023 story, “The Most Dangerous Animal in America: Shoot to Cull,” it’s important to bring readers’ attention to another critical issue that is little talked about. I begin the story on the rim of the Grand Canyon.

Elizabeth Mine

From pre-colonial virgin forest to copper ore discovery in 1789 by farmer John Taylor, to over 150 years of commercial copper extraction, to abandonment and toxic spoils leached into the Ompompanoosuc River (a tributary of the Connecticut River), to complete reclamation, the mine has undergone profoundly transformative changes.

Conte Corner: The New England National Scenic Trail

The New England National Scenic Trail (NET), a 235-mile-long hiking trail stretching from Long Island Sound in Connecticut to the New Hampshire-Massachusetts border, is a close-to-home trail for millions of New Englanders.

Gardening for Good: Rethinking Weeds

Any number of dictionaries refer to the word “weed” using distasteful associations. For example, you “weed out” troublesome things or people that are “useless or harmful.”

The Dreaded Spotted Lanternfly

Squish them. Squash them. Stomp them. Smash them. That’s been the order of the day from multiple government agencies inciting the citizenry to bring down the boot on any invasive spotted lanternflies they encounter.

Moodus Noises

Since the earliest days of English settlement in the 1600s, folks correctly identified the strange rumblings in the Moodus section of East Haddam, Connecticut, as earthquakes that are heard more than felt, but it was centuries before science explained the cause and mechanism for their creation.

Conte Corner: Celebrating Trees

As spring arrives, we’re celebrating trees and their important—and complex—role in preserving the Connecticut River Watershed.

Cymbella Cistula

While many are familiar with the fish and wildlife that define our landscapes, there are other lesser-known critters that play a role in creating and maintaining a healthy ecosystem.

Migrating Under a Microscope

Since their arrival in the 1600s, New Englanders have constructed fishways to help fish pass over small dams and barriers, but the early designs were rudimentary, often just a constructed gap.

The Land and Water Conservation Fund Matters

The value of open land accessible to all of us has never been clearer: as the pandemic has shown, available, safe outdoor spaces are critical to our overall health and happiness.

Spice up Your Home Landscape

Unfortunately, finding the right native shrub can be daunting, and the offerings from the easy-to-find places, such as the local grocery store or big box hardware stores, have a limited menu, most of which are non-native and too many of which are invasive.

Wild and Scenic

Tucked away in the Northwest corner of Connecticut flows a river that once was deemed “unsuitable and undrinkable.” Remarkably, this same waterway, the Farmington River, today provides a major recreational paradise, one of the top trout fishing rivers in New England, and clean drinking water for nearly one million people in Hartford County.