Cougars save lives. That is the counterintuitive finding of a recent study published in Current Biology (paywall). Researchers working with several local tribes on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula tracked cougar and deer movements and then overlaid those data with automobile collision data. They found that the presence of cougars influenced the movement of deer, resulting in substantially fewer crashes —a striking example of how the ecological effects of predators can translate

A Discussion of Simon Mustoe’s Wildlife in the Balance Abundant, diverse wildlife creates the conditions for human life on Earth. This thesis animates Simon Mustoe’s Wildlife in the Balance: Why Animals Are Humanity’s Best Hope, published in 2022. Mustoe builds his argument from established concepts in thermodynamics, mathematical biology and ecology, but combines them into a more provocative proposition: that abundant wildlife is a critical part of the planetary system. Wild

The Truitt Brothers Cannery, active railroad, and nonconforming public street represent existing redevelopment challenges and opportunities within the proposed North Waterfront URA. Salem City Manager Krishna Namburi told the City Council, “I want us to take the time to get this right,” as she asked the Council to delay consideration of the North Waterfront Urban Renewal Area (URA) at last night’s Council meeting. The Council had been expected to adopt the plan and have a fir

In my letter to the City Council, I ask three questions about the North Waterfront URA. Where is the river in the North Waterfront Urban Renewal Area? Despite nearly 6,000 feet of Willamette River shoreline, none of the plan’s six goals are related to the river. Who are the stakeholders and what is the engagement process? The list of stakeholders for this diverse, historical, and complicated area could be long, but the plan provides no information about who will have a voice

A proposed new urban renewal area in Salem fails to integrate the Willamette River despite 6,000 feet of riverfront property. The City of Salem is proposing a new 421-acre urban renewal district. Oddly, the North Waterfront Urban Renewal District Plan has very little to say about the Willamette River or Willamette Greenway, despite the proposed district’s 6,000 feet of riverfront property. The urban renewal area (URA) is scheduled to run for 33 years and will capture $199 m

Tell me an interesting fact,” the cashier at the grocery said to me. “I’m asking everyone who comes by.” I’m more used to “how many bags do you need?” This one took me a minute. “Salem has an 18% tree canopy, which is pretty low,” I offered. “There will be a lot fewer trees if that data center goes through,” she replied. Ah, the data center. Data centers are not popular, and for good reason. They consume electricity and water at the scale of a small city, drive up utility r

Source: Clackamas County Soil and Conservation District. Ferris Jabr, a science writer and Portland gardener, has an excellent story in today's New York Times that explores the question of whether gardeners should limit themselves to native plants. The article's subtitle captures the conclusion: "The native plant movement gets a lot right, but there’s so much more to consider." But what does Jabr mean by "native plant movement?" In this case, he means Doug Tallamy. Tallamy is

Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library. Source: Snohetta. The new Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library by Snohetta is a breathtaking example of integrating architecture with landscape. Dezeen.com writes that the "95,000-square-foot building features a green roof that crests over the interior volumes, connecting with the ground and conforming to the hills and prairies of the North Dakota Badlands, with its ravines, gulches and buttes left over by ancient erosion." Check ou

'Munstead Wood' rose in my garden. Roses are coming into bloom in the Willamette Valley. There are so many rose options, it can be overwhelming. And I think when a garden has too many roses, it can look like the day after a confetti parade. In my garden, I only have seven roses: two Munstead Wood, two Charlotte, two Princess Alexandra of Kent, and one Gertrude Jekyll. They are all David Austin roses. David Austin roses, sometimes known as English Roses, are roses bred by Davi

The chance of frost is edging towards zero, so it was time to put out the tomatoes. (Actually, we have a 10 percent chance of frost after May 19 and it doesn't reach zero until mid-June, but good enough for me.) We purchased starts in early April and potted them into five-gallon nursery pots. They had been confined to the garage workbench for the past six weeks on a heat mat and under a grow light. They were getting restless and some had even set fruit. I'm sure they are as h

Red-Tipped Photinia (Photinia x fraseri) as a tree. Red-tipped photinias (Photinia x fraseri) are in bloom in the Willamette Valley. While I think of them as useful evergreen hedging plants, in my neighborhood they are small trees. I assume they were planted as accent shrubs or hedges and then the owners allowed them (by choice or default) to grow as trees. Their small white flowers are insignificant but prolific and appear pink against the plant's new red foliage. The flowe

Geranium x cantabrigiense 'Biokovo' is a garden workhorse, which is a stock phrase in garden literature but an appropriate one in this instance. 'Biokovo' is a hardy geranium, sometimes called cranesbill, as opposed to tender zonal geraniums. Zonal geraniums, the colorful and slightly old-fashioned plants that often provide the thriller role in pots and hanging baskets, are actually pelargoniums. (Apparently, the confusion results from a 17th botanical misclassification that

The tulip season ended for us today. It was just 30 minutes of work to dig out and bin the 2026 tulip order. I always feel guilty throwing away what seem like healthy tulips, but Dutch hybrid tulips, with some exceptions, are best treated as annuals. This year, I had Flaming Purissima, Silverstone, Creme Upstar, and Blushing Beauty, all from John Scheepers. Lori and I agreed that Flaming Purissima was the top choice, but we split on second place. Lori voted for Silverstone, w

Several years, I co-founded the Mission Street Parks Conservancy (MSPC) and led it for three years. MSPC helps take care of Bush's Pasture Park, and particularly its historical garden areas. The organization and park are thriving. Recently, I've taken an interest in my local park, Wendy Kroger Park. It's a 7-acre neighborhood park that includes an oak woodland, camas field, stream and riparian area, walking paths, a large lawn, basketball court, and playground. The park has a

Deciduous azaleas are in bloom in the Willamette Valley. I have only one in my garden, which I planted just last year. I would have a few more if I had space. There are few things as breathtaking as a drift of deciduous azaleas in bloom under a canopy of trees. Mine is 'Rosy Lights,' part of the Lights Hybrid Azalea series developed by the University of Minnesota Arboretum. The first in the series was 'Northern Lights' and 'Rosy Lights' was a selection from that plant. 'Rosy

Since I'm writing about my garden, I thought it would make sense to give you a sense of its design. We have a one-quarter-acre city lot, which is what sold us on the house. The single-story ranch house was built in 1958 and is clad in thick, old-growth cedar siding (in case you wanted to know where all the old-growth forests in the Pacific Northwest went). Our subdivision is called Liberty Gardens, and prior to residential development, the land was used for strawberry fields.

It's lilac season in the Willamette Valley and my three young Syringa vulgaris 'President Grevy' are in bloom. Gardenia.net tells me that 'President Grevy' was bred by French hybridizer Victor Lemoine, introduced in 1886, and named after the then-president of France, Jules Grevy. Lemoine was a prolific hybridizer and introduced the first double begonia. He also bred Peony 'Sarah Bernhardt,' a classic fragrant pink double that is popular today, and his son bred Philadelphus 'B

My neighborhood park is Wendy Kroger Park, five blocks west of my house. It was never fully developed and features a large oval lawn, a few pieces of play equipment, a basketball court, and walking paths. It is also home to a remnant Oregon white oak woodland with trees that predate western settlement in Salem. Pringle Creek, which used to be salmon-bearing, runs through the park. This week I noticed a grove of Camas quamash in bloom under the oaks. Camas quamash is a spring

Rhododendron 'Crater Lake,' used as a hedge in my front garden, is in bloom. April 2025. Rhododendron 'Crater Lake' is a small-leaf, purple-flowering rhododendron that looks more like an evergreen azalea than a rhododendron, which most of us associate with large leaves. Rhododendrons and azaleas are in the same genus: Rhododendron. What separates them is that what we call rhododendrons have 10 stamens and what we call azaleas have 5 stamens. Since R. 'Crater Lake' looks and b

A young Viburnum 'Mohawk' in my garden. A few years ago I planted two one-gallon Viburnum x burkwoodii 'Mohawk,' one on either side of a Camellia williamsii 'Taylor's Perfection.' I underplanted the area with daffodils. This spring, they bloomed for the first time. The plant can get to 8' tall by 10' wide but I will keep mine pruned to about 5' wide and 8' tall. I've read that V. 'Mohawk' can be evergreen in Zone 8, but mine is deciduous with brilliant red fall leaves. The bl