Avery Tilley

Madagascar’s biodiversity is collapsing, but a small team’s fight to save one critically endangered gecko mirrors the wider struggle to protect the island’s remaining forests and the communities tied to them. Researcher Avery Tilley discovers how this small-scale project represents a much larger question: How can conservation succeed in one of the world’s most threatened biodiversity hotspots?

What does fire smell like when it heals? On the edge of the boreal forest in northeastern Minnesota, tribal stewards light Ishkode, the Ojibwe “good fire,” as a force of renewal. For generations, Ojibwe used intentional burning to open the understory and keep the forest resilient. Fire was a conversation with the land, ensuring that every being who relied on the forest, including mooz, the Ojibwe name for moose, had what they needed to survive.

As of 2022, Michigan has 12 federally recognized Native American tribes. These tribes vary in their sizes, histories, and cultures, but a common element surrounds all indigenous people in North America: a connection to the natural world. Despite centuries of colonization and forced assimilation, many tribes still work hard today to ensure this natural world is stewarded and managed properly for the benefit of all.