I get a ton of joy each fall from this red maple in my backyard in Pittsboro. It has really shined since I killed the English ivy that was suffocating it before I bought the property

Year 2 of my climbing-asters-in-hanging-basket experiment. The bumble bees couldn’t be happier 🌺 🐝 😎

Important update: I found 18 monarch caterpillars this morning! Not bad for year one 🐛 🎉

If you build it …

Last fall I installed 250-ft of edging & native plants around my house, replacing existing ornamentals. One year later, I’ve got my first batch of monarch butterfly caterpillars 🌼 🌱 🐛 🦋 😊

Some spring native plant #bloomscrolling entries from my garden in central North Carolina: Wild Pink, Mouse-eared tickseed, Carolina Bushpea, Small’s Beardtongue, Green & Gold 🌸🌼🐝

Y’all — I went in an absolute native plant bender last fall having planted >75 native wildflowers & shrubs species in gardens around my house in Chatham Co, NC. First bloom of the year is … Robin’s Plantain — a hardy ground-cover that can even grow in dry-shade micro-habitats 🌱 😎

Got way into native plant gardening in 2024. Pleased to see my Carolina Climbing Aster still blooming Jan 1. Here’s to happy plantings & tons of pollinators in 2025 🐝 🦋 🐦

Pleasant Mother’s Day walk along the Eno River, NC ❤️❤️

What a week! I spent two days sampling the Pee Dee River in southern NC where I got to help NC Wildlife Resources Commission biologists collect the iconic Robust Redhorse sucker. A species whose numbers are up due to a decade-long captive propagation conservation effort 😍🟥🐴🐟

Spread the word!

North Carolina State University (Raleigh, NC) is hiring a tenure-track freshwater fisheries & ecology position housed in the Dept of Applied Ecology. Come join the vibrant conservation & science community in the Research Triangle! 🐺🐟🐠

Apply here: jobs.ncsu.edu/postings/197...

Had an awesome time at the Southern Division of American Fisheries Society meeting.

Shout out to my group’s crayfish extraordinaire, Devin Raburn, who was recognized in the best-poster competition for her work in using high-resolution networks to identify headwater crayfish habitat!🦞💦

Super proud of my group’s grad student, Josh Stafford, who is being awarded the Jenkins Reservoir Research Award by the Reservoir Technical Committee & the Jimmie Pigg Award by the Warmwater Streams Committee at Southern Division of AFS

Excited to kick-off the Southern Division of the American Fisheries Society.

Y’all feel free to reach out!

First BSky post - I'm a Research Fish Biologist with the U.S. Geological Survey & professor @ncstate.bsky.social where I lead the NC Cooperative Fish & Wildlife Research Unit. I'll post on-goings w/ my lab & about science news, esp the incredible freshwater species & systems in the southeastern U.S.