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Animals / Pets 30 results

Three Local Photographers Share Motivations, Techniques, Photos

Matt Brookshire, Megan Snook, and Jeff Danielson are Monroe County–based photographers who have different techniques, motivations, and subjects for their art. They have also led interesting lives outside of photography. Erin Hollinden talked with all of them, and they shared some of their work with Limestone Post. Click here for their stories and photographs.

On Saving the Deam Wilderness and Hoosier National Forest | Photo Essay Deep Dive: WFHB & Limestone Post Investigate the Hoosier National Forest

“In wildness is the preservation of the world,” wrote Henry David Thoreau in Walden in 1854. Now, in this photo essay, journalist and photographer Steven Higgs considers Thoreau’s declaration vis à vis the Deam Wilderness Area in the Hoosier National Forest, especially in light of proposed legislation that would double the Deam’s size. Click here for a Deep Dive into “the Hoosier.”

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Bison Are Sacred to Native Americans — But Each Tribe Has Its Own Special Relationship to Them

Over thousands of years and across diverse landscapes, Indigenous peoples developed traditional ecological knowledge about the bison and their ecosystems, writes Indigenous scholar Rosalyn R. LaPier, an enrolled member of the Blackfeet tribe. Meanwhile, tribes also developed religious customs and sacred places important to their relationship with bison. Click here for this article from The Conversation.

New Legislation Would Double Size of Deam Wilderness Bill would also establish a new national recreation area by Lake Monroe

Legislation recently introduced by Sen. Mike Braun would add 15,300 acres to the Charles C. Deam Wilderness Area’s 12,953 acres, making places like Nebo Ridge, Browning Mountain, Bad Hollow, and Panther Creek off-limits to logging. The bill would also create the 29,000-acre Benjamin Harrison National Recreation Area, Indiana’s only national recreation area. Click here for details about the bill.

Conflicts of Interest Continued During Indiana’s 2023 Legislative Session

This is the second article in a two-part series on lax ethics rules in the Indiana State Legislature. Both articles come from a joint investigation between the Indiana Environmental Reporter and the Arnolt Center for Investigative Journalism that shows how some Indiana lawmakers stood to benefit financially from environmental legislation they introduced or supported. Click here for the article.

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How Healthy Is Lake Monroe — and How Long Will It Survive? Deep Dive: WFHB & Limestone Post Investigate

“Lake Monroe is a reservoir, and all reservoirs eventually fill up,” says Michelle Cohen, executive director of Lake Monroe Water Fund. But, she adds, those who rely on the lake for drinking water, recreation, and other uses have the power to extend its life as long as possible. Writer Michael G. Glab takes a deep dive into the health of Lake Monroe. Click here for his report for Deep Dive: WFHB & Limestone Post Investigate.

Local Beekeepers Labor with Love as Honey Bees Decline Worldwide

Honey bee populations in the U.S. have declined from 6 million in the 1940s to 2.5 million today. Pesticides, drought, and habitat destruction, are just a few reasons the bees are dying. But more than 200,000 hobbyist beekeepers, like writer Erin Hollinden, are trying to keep them (and ultimately us) alive. Click here to read Erin’s article.

‘Shop Tails: The Animals Who Help Us Make Things Work’ by Nancy Hiller Book Review by Yaël Ksander for the Limestone Reader

You won’t get too far into Nancy Hiller’s new book, Shop Tails: The Animals Who Help Us Make Things Work, without realizing you’re reading more than a book about critters, writes Yaël Ksander in her review for the Limestone Reader. This isn’t the first time Hiller has used woodworking to explore much bigger issues, but Shop Tails was written “at a reckoning point.” Click here to read Yaël’s review.

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Keeping Track of Migrating Birds, the ‘Sentinels’ of Our Ecosystem

In 1803, James Audubon tracked birds by tying thread around their legs. Researchers around the world now use technology such as satellite telemetry to understand how migration affects these “sentinels” of our ecosystem. With a reported 30 percent of bird species lost since the 1970s, writes Rebecca Hill, the information gathered is more important than ever. Click here to read the article.

Bugs Come to Life in Ali Beckman’s So Fly Taxidermy

“I get up, I make coffee, and I think about bugs,” says Ali Beckman, a B-town resident whose Instagram account has 145K fans. While her goal is “to make people laugh” and see the beauty in insects, her gritty bug cartoons @SoFlyTaxidermy often address serious topics. Writer Dason Anderson asked Beckman about her work — and her book deal. Click here for the story.

Peregrine Falcons, a Conservation Success Story

Peregrine falcons in America have soared back from the brink of extinction since the 1960s, even in Indiana. Just as humans caused their decline, “it was also dedicated humans who brought these birds back,” writes Jared Posey. This “standout conservation success story” is unusual because peregrines “may be benefiting from an increasingly urban landscape.” Click here to read the full story.

8 Fun and Weird Hoosier Places to Explore This Summer

From nightmares to utopias, from the classic to the kitschy, Indiana has many unique and unconventional places to explore. If you’re uninspired by the same old vacation spots, take a day trip or weekend excursion to these unusual places — all less than a three-hour drive from Bloomington. Writer Allison Yates leads the way. Read the full story here.