DENVER - As the standoff at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon continues, the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) is urging Americans to buy Federal Duck Stamps to show their support for protecting wildlife habitat on public lands.

Aaron Kindle, NWF Western Sportsmen's campaign manager, says since refuges are home to fish and game, he's hoping hunters and anglers, who understand that protecting habitat equals opportunity, will step up.

"The great thing about the Duck Stamp is, it's really there for the habitat," says Kindle. "You're putting 98 percent of your money into key habitat for these species. So, you're really putting money into something that will directly benefit you, and your fellow sportsmen and women."

Whether you hunt, fish, hike, or bird-watch, Kindle says everyone benefits when public lands are protected for use by all Americans. Duck Stamps were created in 1934 after President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed a landmark bird-hunting measure into law. They can be purchased at National Wildlife Refuges, some post offices, and many sporting goods stores.

The occupation of the rural Oregon refuge comes on the heels of several state-level and congressional attempts to privatize federal lands. But research from Colorado College indicates more than 95 percent of voters support keeping public lands in public hands.

Kindle says buying a Duck Stamp is one more vote to keep national lands open to everyone.

"Those refuges are home to all kinds of wildlife, migratory birds," he says. "They're really something that we all enjoy and we all use. And it shows a measure of solidarity against efforts to privatize or transfer, or seize our public lands."

Don't make the mistake of putting a Duck Stamp on a regular letter. At $25 a pop, you'll want to keep yours someplace safe. Kindle says some people have framed stamps going back decades. They've become collectors items, for the fine art commissioned by the Interior Department on the stamps each year.


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Nevada is still waiting for official designation of a new national monument. In late November, President Joe Biden said he is "committed" to protecting Avi Kwa Ame, known by some as Spirit Mountain, an area spanning about 450,000 acres near Laughlin. But it hasn't happened yet.

Conservation groups and tribes say making Avi Kwa Ame a national monument would align with Biden's "30 by 30" campaign, which aims to protect 30% of U.S. land and waters by 2030.

Russell Kuhlman, Executive Director of Nevada Wildlife Federation, called the designation "the missing key" to tristate-level land protections in the Western U.S.

"With this designation, it's really going to be a big jump forward in accomplishing President Biden's '30 x 30' initiative," Kuhlman said. "Now the question is, 'How else can we move that needle towards that goal?'"

Opponents of protecting more public land want to see the area used in other ways. Backers of the Kulning Wind Energy Project have proposed a 310-megawatt wind farm within the boundaries of the proposed national monument to provide energy to Nevada and California.

Kuhlman said as the State of Nevada starts transitioning to renewable energy, conservation groups want to be sure wildlife and their habitat are not forgotten. This echoes a similar directive from the Bureau of Land Management that now prioritizes protecting lands that connect wildlife migration corridors.

Kuhlman said the desert floor within the proposed monument boundaries have federal protections above standard BLM lands, but the mountain and ridgetops do not.

"That is where Nevada state mammals - the bighorn sheep, mule deer and a lot of other wildlife - reside. Protecting these areas from water source to water source is what, really, our organization got involved in," he said.

Kuhlman said Nevada will be the new frontier for how renewable energy if alternatives can be increase responsibly. He thinks designation of the Avi Kwa Ame national monument will help set the example - while also ensuring that historic, cultural and biodiverse lands receive protection.

Get in shape. It's a common New Year's resolution, but research shows the Japanese practice of Shinrin-yoku - or "forest bathing" - has multiple benefits for mental and physical health.

Studies show that forest bathing, which is basically getting outside and soaking up some nature, can improve mood.

Dr. Suzanne Bartlett Hackenmiller, chief medical adviser for the app AllTrails - an outdoor hiking and recreation app to help find trails - said researchers from Stanford analyzed MRI data and found that time in nature actually decreases activity in the part of the brain responsible for depression and anxiety.

"They've found that 90 minutes of walking in a natural setting," said Bartlett Hackenmiller, "participants reported less of what we call rumination - just that cycle of spinning negative, stressful thoughts - than people who walked in an urban setting."

She cited a raft of studies that expand on the benefits of getting out in nature. One showed that it helps people reach their fitness goals, because exercising outdoors is more enjoyable, so people are more likely to repeat it.

Nature walks have also been linked to better memory, a boost in immune function, and lowered stress hormones, blood pressure and cancer risk.

Free online apps can help people venture out safely. Here's Meaghan Praznik, head of communications for AllTrails.

"Our built-in navigator helps people make sure that they're never going to miss a turn, and they can follow along the route," said Praznik. "We also have printable maps, which give people a backup map, or even the ability to download offline maps in case you are to lose service."

Other studies have shown time spent in the great outdoors with a group of friends is even more beneficial than walking alone.

And they show that living in an area with higher "surrounding greenness" can affect the genes linked to mental health disorders, tumors and metabolic disease.

The Environmental Protection Agency has ordered the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to stop oil and other toxic chemical discharges into the Columbia River in Washington and Oregon.

Recent spills have the issue back at the forefront. The group Columbia Riverkeeper sued the Corps last year, noting the pollutants harm fish and other wildlife in the Columbia and Snake Rivers.

Miles Johnson, senior attorney for the group, said the permits address four dams along the river identified as pollution sources, and the problem is bigger than petroleum and chemical pollution.

"In addition, the dams create big reservoirs that soak up the sun's energy and make the river too hot for salmon and Steelhead," Johnson explained. "The permits that EPA issued to the Army Corps are a directive to deal with some of those problems."

In operating the dams, the Corps will be required to use environmentally friendly lubricants, pay closer attention to water temperatures in those reservoirs and remove water from some if they get too hot for the fish to survive.

The issue was highlighted again recently when between 300 and 600 gallons of oil leaked into the Snake River from a turbine at Little Goose dam in Eastern Washington. Johnson pointed out such pollution has become a pattern with the Corps and has to be monitored and addressed constantly.

"Sometimes it's one gallon, sometimes it's five gallons, sometimes it's hundreds of gallons or even thousands of gallons," Johnson outlined. "And sometimes that oil contains toxic chemicals like PCBs. And after watching it happen over and over again, Columbia Riverkeeper took action, which is what we do when someone illegally discharges pollution into the river."

The EPA took the action under the Clean Water Act. Columbia Riverkeeper has sued federal and state agencies multiple times and continues to monitor Northwest waterways and the wildlife that depend on them.