The richness and diversity of the biological world is reflected in the multitude of sounds created by the creatures that inhabit it. But as their numbers and variety diminish, the Earth's natural soundtrack is growing quieter and duller.

Bernie Krause has approached his decades of natural sound recording primarily as an archivist. Now he's pleased to see others finding new applications for employing these sorts of sounds.

It's hardly necessary to travel great distances to find compelling natural audio. Krause captured this morning birdsong chorus in the hills overlooking the Valley of the Moon.

Lincoln Meadow, north of Truckee (right), was the scene of the selective logging operation discussed in this report. It still looks like it did in this photograph from 1988, but now sounds very different, even many years after the timber harvest was completed.

In his most recent book, Bernie Krause traces of origins of music in the sounds of our natural environment Bernie Krause has spent his life capturing the sounds of the natural world. Now his archives are the only place where many of them can be found any more.

In addition to virtually inventing his field of live nature recordings, Bernie Krause has also coined the term he uses to describe the living sounds he captures—"biophony."

Over the past 40-odd years Krause has traveled to many remote places on the planet to record the sounds of their habitats, such as this African jungle soundscape.

Freight trains have been quietly rolling through the south part of the North Bay twice a week over the past 11 months. Now they are poised to run farther north, and more frequently.

This time last year, one of the final obstacles to the resumption of the freight rail service—which had been inactive for the previous 10 years—was the City of Novato, which raised questions about noise and other issues. Answers were negotiated at some length, and Mitch Stogner, director of the North Coast Railroad Authority says now that everyone seems satisfied with the results.

So far, the new Northwest Pacific trains have rarely ventured north beyond Petaluma, so most of Sonoma County has yet to see the colorful new engine that pulls them. John Williams, President of the Northwest Pacific Railroad, describes his rolling stock.

KRCB News also covered the first run of the revived freight service last July for North Bay Voice. See that report here.

One of the many hazards that awaits unwary travelers on Lichau RoadThe hundreds of potholes that jar travelers Sonoma County's roads should not be seen as a result of insufficient funding, a new advocacy group argues, but a direct consequence of inappropriate budgetary choices.

Michael Troy (left) and Craig HarrisonThe multitude of potholes and stretches of degraded pavement are not just a problem for motorists, notes SOS Roads co-founder Michael Troy. And he doesn't buy the argument that a rural county isn't able to maintain its roads.

While SOS Roads was formed with an eye toward affecting the dialog in the current electoral season, co-founder Craig Harrison says they are looking beyond June and November to see their issue through.

The county has prepared detailed maps of all the roads it is responsible for maintaining, color-coded to indicate the condition of each. How do the ones you regularly travel on rate?