White-tailed ptarmigan cover. The white-tailed ptarmigan was introduced into the Sierra Nevada of California, Wallowa Mountains in Oregon, and Uinta Mountains of Utah in the 1970s. It may have been native here during the early Pleistocene but became locally extinct due to climate changes with greater snow-cover in spring impacting on its breeding season. Alternatively, it may have been unable to colonize the Sierra Nevada because of the barriers provided by the Columbia River and the Great Basin, and the low altitudes of the intervening South Cascades. This herbivorous bird's diet varies seasonally. Nitrogen-rich snow buttercup leaves are favored in the spring
Arctic Winter Games Arctic Winter Games The Arctic Winter Games is an international biennial celebration of circumpolar sports and Indigenous culture. The Arctic Winter Games were founded in 1969 under the leadership of Governor Walter J. Hickel of Alaska, Stuart M. Hodgson, Commissioner of the Northwest Territories, and Yukon Commissioner James Smith. The idea to "provide a forum where athletes from the "circumpolar North" could compete on their own terms, on their own turf" came from Cal Miller, an advisor with the Yukon team at the 1967 Canada Winter Games. In 1970 in Yellowknife, Canada, 500 athletes, trainers and officials came together for