National Wildlife Magazine
The front cover of National Wildlife's Spring issue containing text and an image of a gray treefrog with an ant crawling over its head.

National Wildlife Magazine

Spring 2026 Issue

  • NWF Staff
  • National Wildlife
  • Mar 26, 2026

In this issue: habitat gardening galore! A backyard pond and a queen-bumble-bee haven provide landscaping inspiration; Baltimore urban farms lure pollinators for the community’s benefit; new policies and rebates encourage planting native. Plus, the latest on conservation-reliant wildlife and challenges to federal protected waters. Photo by Steven David Johnson.

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Featured Stories

A magazine article spread containing text and an image of a lemon cuckoo bumble bee gyne feeding on anise hyssop.

Habitat Fit for a Queen Bumble Bee

How one Wisconsin couple turned their yard into a haven for vulnerable queen bumble bees
A magazine article spread containing text and images of Nihoa and yellow-foot ‘opihi.

Testing the Waters in Marine Protected Areas

Amid environmental rollbacks on overfishing, wind energy, deep-sea mining, Tribal collaboration and more, National Marine Sanctuaries and Marine National Monuments weather turbulent times
An image of a trio of Coquerel's sifaka in trees.

Can Lemurs Help Us Avoid ‘Inflammaging’?

What lemurs might teach us about chronic inflammation; plus, honey bees hog pollen, algal blooms may induce dolphin dementia and more wildlife news
A magazine article spread containing text and three images taken at Baltimore farms with pollinator gardens.

Spreading the Joy: Pollinator Gardens Feed Baltimore Ecosystem

Planting pollinator gardens on Baltimore urban farms nourishes humans, insects and the entire food web
An image of a monarch butterfly with a radio transmitter being released on a common milkweed flower.

Is Captive Rearing Hurting Monarchs?

Experts say captive rearing—or raising monarchs indoors—poses risks to the butterflies, from disease to decreased fitness

A magazine article spread containing text and an image of Maggie's pond.

Building a Backyard Pond

A daughter’s school project becomes a group effort, with a backyard pond bringing biodiversity—and a family—together
An image of an aerial sculpture installation, Butterfly Rest Stop, by Janet Echelman.

Janet Echelman's Monarch Rest Stop Is Worth a Visit

Echelman’s artwork ‘Butterfly Rest Stop,’ installed 65 feet above a North Texas plaza, fuels monarch migration and human imagination
A magazine article spread containing text and an image of two black-footed ferret kits.

Is ‘Conservation Reliance’ a Life Sentence for Wildlife?

A growing number of imperiled species labeled conservation reliant depend indefinitely on labor-intensive and expensive human intervention to survive
An illustration of soil testing.

For a Wildlife-Friendly Garden, Test Soil First

A simple soil test will tell you what lies underground and what types of plants will grow best in your garden

An image of native plants at Monarch Waystation and Pollinator Garden.

NWF News: Get Your Native Plant Rebates!

Find rebates on native plants where you live; plus, Sacred Grounds grows in Detroit and what’s new with the Association of Northwest Steelheaders
An image of Jim Holley releasing a bucket of frogs at the edge of Forest Park.

Why Did the Northern Red-Legged Frog Cross the Road?

To get to breeding habitat, with the help of two successful—and very different—wildlife crossing projects in Portland, Oregon
An image of Pacific oak ferns forming a circle of protection around a redwood sorrel bloom.

Why Is Nature So Good for Us?

  • By Katarina Zimmer
  • Conservation
  • June 24, 2026

We know that nature benefits us. Scientists are trying to understand how.

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An image of members of the Nevada Desert Experience concluding their sacred peace walk.

Nuclear Testing Continues in Nevada. Western Shoshone Want It to Stop.

  • By Diana Kruzman
  • Conservation
  • June 24, 2026

Western Shoshone activists are protesting nuclear testing, plus the threat of expanded testing and n...

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An image of Vishal Kennedy.

Vishal Kennedy Is Mapping the Future

  • By Delaney McPherson
  • Next Generation
  • June 24, 2026

The NWF EcoLeaders Fellow uses data to model conservation and climate outlooks

Read More
An image of an assortment of plankton forms suspended in a droplet of sea water.

Copepods Cover 70% of the Planet. What Are They?

  • By Avery Schuyler Nunn // Photos by Angel Fitor
  • Wildlife Science
  • June 24, 2026

Found in large numbers everywhere there is water, tiny zooplankton called copepods play essential ro...

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An image of a Eurasian lynx mother and cub.

Mosquitoes’ Growing Taste for Human Blood

  • By Laura Tangley
  • Wildlife Science
  • June 24, 2026

Plus, how the smell of lynx may keep deer moving, a golden age of species discovery and more science...

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An image of a red-shouldered hawk.

Rodenticides' Collateral Damage

  • By Heidi Ridgley
  • Conservation
  • June 24, 2026

Each year rodenticides kill thousands of individual animals from dozens of wildlife species

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An image of a Baltimore oriole nest.

Making Your Yard a Haven for Nesting Birds

  • By Rebecca Heisman
  • Conservation
  • June 24, 2026

How to create safe places for backyard songbirds to raise their young in your yard or garden

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An image of a lemon cuckoo bumble bee gyne feeding on anise hyssop.

Habitat Fit for a Queen Bumble Bee

  • Text and photos by Anne Readel
  • Habitat Gardening
  • March 26, 2026

How one Wisconsin couple turned their yard into a haven for vulnerable queen bumble bees

Read More
A collage of images from the Baltimore Gardens article in Spring 2026 of National Wildlife magazine.

Spreading the Joy: Pollinator Gardens Feed Baltimore Ecosystem

  • By Nicole J. Caruth
  • Habitat Gardening
  • March 26, 2026

Planting pollinator gardens on Baltimore urban farms nourishes humans, insects and the entire food w...

Read More
A collage containing an image of a sundial lupine blooming and a Karner blue butterfly climbing on a sundial lupine.

The Plight of the Karner Blue Butterfly

  • Text and photos by Lauren Owens Lambert
  • Conservation
  • June 24, 2026

Teams of experts in the Northeast are working together to bring Karner blue butterflies—and the sund...

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An image of a school of humpback chub foraging on a drift beneath a waterfall.

Can the Grand Canyon Remain a Native Fish Haven?

  • Text and photos by David Herasimtschuk
  • Conservation
  • June 24, 2026

The Colorado River within Grand Canyon National Park is known for protecting native fish from predat...

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An image of a bobcat.

A Bobcat in the Backyard

  • By Delaney McPherson // Photo by Roy Toft
  • Wildlife Photos
  • June 24, 2026

After placing 7 camera traps on his 28-acre California property, photographer Roy Toft documented th...

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