Western Pearlshell

Invertebrates > Freshwater Mussels

The Western Pearlshell (Margaritifera falcata) is an ancient, venerable freshwater bivalve that ranks among the longest-lived animals on planet Earth, with individual mussels routinely living for over a century. Clustered in dense multi-generational beds along clean,...

Cisco

Fish > Whitefishes & Salmonids

The Cisco (Coregonus artedi), traditionally celebrated across the Great Lakes as the Lake Herring, is a sleek, silvery pelagic salmonid that serves as the indispensable ecological keystone of northern deep-water lake food webs. Swimming in shimmering, synchronized...

Western Pond Turtle

Reptiles > Turtles

The Western Pond Turtle (Actinemys marmorata), also known as the Pacific Pond Turtle, is the only native freshwater turtle widely distributed along the Pacific Coast of North America. Renowned for its shy, wary nature and intricately marbled olive-brown carapace, this...

Evening Grosbeak

Birds > Songbirds

The Evening Grosbeak (Hesperiphona vespertina) is a spectacular, heavy-billed finch that illuminates the northern boreal forests and western mountain conifer groves of North America. Flaunting dazzling plumage of glowing golden-yellow, charcoal, and snowy-white, this...

Western Bumblebee

Invertebrates > Bees & Wasps

The Western Bumblebee (Bombus occidentalis) is an iconic, fuzzy native pollinator historically ubiquitous throughout the western wilderness of North America. Renowned for its distinctive, snowy-white tail and industrious buzz-pollination behavior, this cold-adapted...