The big question here cannot yet be answered. Either this has been a very anomalous winter, or, as some climate models are suggesting, this is our first introduction to a new sort of winter that will come to our region more frequently as a result of a warming climate. Right now, it is too soon to know which scenario applies.
We like to think of ourselves as highly informed beings, but the truth is that most of us know far less about the annual cycles of lightness and darkness than did our ancestors.
These are admirable goals, but we must make sure that the review process hears from those many of us who care so deeply about places like Malheur.
The December wind at Malheur can be brutal, the cold cutting through the best of our jackets and gloves. Yet, for the creatures that do call Malheur their home year-round, the winds and cold form just another part of their world—phenomenon they are adapted to endure.
The most immediate question, of course, focuses on when our political system will finally find a way to move beyond the government shutdown that has seen almost all of the refuge’s staff locked out and prevented from working since October 1st. How much longer can this go on?
