People+Plants+Wildlife

  Elk have been on the Oregon Coast a long, long, long, long time. Scientists believe elk migrated from Asia to North America over Beringia—better known as the Bering Land Bridge—some 120,000 years ago. The animals would have been a

Nature photography requires patience and perseverance. Neal Maine knew that when, one recent day, he headed out to Circle Creek Conservation Center in search of wildlife to capture on camera. With a scalpel, he scraped a scrap of lichen clinging

There’s a spot along Klootchy Creek east of Seaside where Gearhart naturalist Neal Maine has been dropping in to observe water striders on the calm pools at the water’s edge. The tree canopy here is sparse, letting through enough light

The Sibley Guide to Birds says the American white pelican is a rare visitor to the Oregon Coast. Photographer and naturalist Neal Maine has been seeing these large birds—twice the size of brown pelicans—along the lower Columbia River for years.

Naturalist and educator Neal Maine helped found NCLC in 1986, becoming its first executive director. Since his retirement from the land trust in 2010, he has pursued his passion for making deeper connections with the coastal ecosystem through his nature