Habitat
Shangri-La
It’s so close to L.A. it’s practically a suburb. But Tejon Ranch, a quarter-million acres of astonishing biodiversity, will now be saved forever. 
By Jane Braxton Little/Photography by Ewan Burns

Photo Gallery
Out of Africa
Nick Brandt’s photos are simultaneously landscapes of epic scale and grandeur and portraits revealing animals in their most intimate details. 
By Nick Brandt/Text by Vicki Goldberg

Energy
Crude Awakening
Alberta’s tar sands offer huge energy potential. But the price tag—for the climate, for the boreal forest, for billions of birds—is staggering.
By Barry Yeoman/Photography by Jon Lowenstein
 
Green Travel
March Magic
Even in a land of understated beauty, there’s nothing subtle about prairie-chicken courtship displays or the spectacle of thousands of cranes.
By Ted O’Callahan/Photography by Kim Hubbard
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Better Birding
Audubon Guide to Spotting Scopes
Buying a spotting scope is a major investment, but make the right choice (and we’ll show you how), and you’ll be set for years of enjoyment. 
By Wayne Mones/Illustration by Serge Bloch

Editor’s Note
By David Seideman

Audubon View
By Frank Gill

Letters

Field Notes
Climate control; sea feud; natural high; more.

Audubon in Action
John Flicker signs off. Donal O’Brien soldiers on.

Audubon Family
Marking Earth Day’s 40th; hit the rail-trails!

Currents
Pandora’s Water Bottle
Endocrine disruptors wreak havoc all over.
By Susan McGrath

Incite
Picture Perfect
The dark side of those wondrous wildlife photos.
By Ted Williams

Earth Almanac
Spring stings; speed racers; pretty poison; more.
By Ted Williams

Green Guru
Seeing the northern lights; cap those catalogs.
By Susan Cosier

Journal
Shades of White
A terrifying encounter in the Canadian wilds.
By Alan Kesselheim
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Birds
The Drifter
What’s going on with rufous hummingbirds?
By Andrew Lawler
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Reviews
A Wonder to Behold
A new book gets down to “birdness.”
By Frank Graham Jr.

One Picture
Plasticide
North Pacific trash claims a young albatross.
Photo by David Liittschwager and Susan Middleton/Text by Les Line

On the cover: A venerable African elephant bull at a waterhole in Kenya’s Amboseli National Park. Photo by Nick Brandt, from his book “A Shadow Falls.”

Banner Images: 1) Sandhill crane. Photo by Kim Hubbard 2) Illustration by Serge Bloch 3) The Syncrude oil-sands extraction plant. Photo by Jon Lowenstein 4) Zebras at Ngorongoro Crater, in Africa. Photo by Nick Brandt.