12,400 acres conserved · 1.4M trees planted

Forest canopy with light beams
← All stories
ScienceJanuary 2026 · 8 min

What the marbled murrelet tells us

A seabird that nests in old-growth canopy is the cleanest indicator we have. Its return is a verdict.

DN

Dr. Nora Velez

Wildlife Ecologist · Olympic Peninsula, WA

You won't see one. You'll hear it — a high keer at dawn, then the sound of a small fast bird flying inland from the Pacific. That's a verdict.

The full text of this dispatch will be available shortly. In the meantime, we've paired it with the relevant field metrics and a short note from the author.

DN

Dr. Nora Velez

Wildlife Ecologist, working out of Olympic Peninsula, WA.