National Geographic photographer Michael "Nick" Nichols was ready to retire after he published his most-recent project focusing on Serengeti lions.

However, when National Geographic asked him to stick around for a yearlong assignment in Yellowstone National Park, and then kept hounding him about it, Nichols agreed.

"Can you do with wolves what you did with lions?" National Geographic asked him, Nichols said.

That's what Nichols has worked on for the past six months and will continue working on for another six months.

Not only is he photographing wolves while in Yellowstone, but also bears, scenery, tourists and those who live and work on the land surrounding the park.

An article on Yellowstone, written by David Quammen of Bozeman, and Nichols' photos will run in the November 2015 edition of the magazine.

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A coalition of wildlife and conservation groups are suing the federal government, claiming the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service broke the law by not giving the wolverine protection under the Endangered Species Act.

The suit, filed this morning in U.S. District Court in Missoula, has been anticipated for weeks, following last spring's decision to not place wolverines on the list.

Federal biologists have argued the wolverine populations in the high country of the Northwest have been increasing in recent years, with estimates placing their numbers as high as 300.

However, the suit brought by Earthjustice says there's evidence to the contrary, arguing the number of the elusive mammals is actually falling, and in danger of dropping further because of the impacts from climate change. And the suit challenges the FWS' assumptions, saying the decision wasn't based on hard data about climate changes and how that will effect the mountain snowpack where the wolverines raise their young.

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Kathleen Clary Miller has written 300+ columns and stories for periodicals both local and national, and has authored three books (www.amazon.com/author/millerkathleenclary). She lives in the woods of the Ninemile Valley, thirty miles west of Missoula.

“MILLET!” the e-mail from my friend Sharon read.  She has been seeking the guidance of a naturopath to accompany the physician we both see who has diagnosed us with the very beginnings of osteoporosis.   “We are supposed to eat millet for breakfast because it’s packed with nutrition…and best of all, it’s gluten free!” she wrote as if announcing that it was drizzled with hot fudge sauce.

            Isn’t millet birdseed? I think to myself but do not type as I recall that I did once own a parakeet that lived forever.  As far as going gluten free, my daughter Kate and I both tried it, as an experiment to see what the hubbub is about.  We wondered if our holistic lives might be transformed, even though we have no medical reason for the sacrifice.  After going gluten free for a month, my heart goes out to those suffering from Celiac Disease who have no option but to eliminate it from their diet. 

            Like adopting any new trend, at first it felt like a healthy adventure.  Like January 2 of a New Year’s resolution, eliminating pancakes, pasta, and piecrust was invigorating and saintly.  But by the time Kate came home a month later for a visit I felt myself shutting out all thoughts of pizza, a downward spiral that could lead to the need for counseling.  Before anti-depressants we had mashed potatoes.

My sister contributed to the gathering a ten-pound assortment of our favorite See’s Candy, which Kate and I devoured like wild bears just out of hibernation between guilt-free bites of gluten-free bread that tasted like a damp sponge and holier-than-thou chips that barely crunched.   One downfall leads to another and so I promptly baked Hollywood’s Monastery of the Angels Pumpkin Bread, loaded with luscious flour. 

            “I tried eating gluten-free for a month, and I just don’t feel any different!” Kate announced, the corner of her mouth dusted with crumbs from her winning simultaneous combination of blessed bread and sinful dark chocolate nougat.  “That’s because you don’t have Celiac Disease,” I pointed out.  Neither do the rest of us who find ourselves thinking we are supposed to suffer anyway.

            After she returned to her home in Pennsylvania, Kate Skyped to display a bag of Trader Joe’s rolls while reading the ingredients.  Chia, flax, millet, sunflower, pumpkin, sesame—you name the seed, it was present, with flour being the last item on the list.       “Do you think this much flour could hurt me?” she asked while watching her mother gnaw on a thick slab of sourdough.  I told her she will probably live as long as my parakeet.