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The fresh fragrance released by trees in northern pine forests is a significant component in slowing climate change, according to research.

Save the Redwoods League has completed a deal to double the size of Montgomery Woods State Reserve, a secluded Mendocino County site where some of the world's tallest trees grow. The San Francisco-based conservation group has turned over title to a 1,240-acre parcel to the state parks department.

Four years after the giant Biscuit fire, timber companies remain interested in logging trees it killed. But both loggers and the U.S. Forest Service say the end of the salvage is near, given the deterioration of timber in the Siskiyou portion of the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest.

Seven hundred and twenty eyes, give or take a few, gaze at Sarah Harris as she stands outside the pen, puts her hands to her mouth and expels a one-word warble. "GOOOatsss."

State water managers have acquired about 103,000 acres of land as part of a plan to reflood 43 miles of the Kissimmee River bed, allowing the water to reclaim its original meandering path toward Lake Okeechobee and on into the Everglades. Development and farm land encroachment have shrunken the Everglades to half its original size of 4 million acres.

Imagine the treatment for some cancers growing in our forests. Or powerful drugs for herpes, HIV or liver disease. How about a natural source of biodegradable plastic, skin conditioner or mosquito repellent? Or maybe a nontoxic pesticide or fungicide for gardens? Behold the birch tree, the noble Northland native that someday might serve as a medicine chest for the world.

Gov. Jim Doyle signed a bill Saturday that makes Wisconsin the 20th state to join the Wildlife Violator Compact. Under the compact, the suspension of hunting and fishing privileges in one member state is effective in all the others. Doyle, a Democrat, said the Republican-authored bill will help block known poachers from abusing Wisconsin's natural resources.