Political people in the United States are watching the chaos in Washington in the moment. But some people in the science community are watching the chaos somewhere else — the Arctic. It’s polar night there now — the sun isn’t rising in much of the Arctic. That’s when the Arctic is supposed to get super-cold, when the sea ice that covers the vast Arctic Ocean is supposed...
Learn MoreFirefighters in western North Carolina greatly appreciate the donations they have received from community members and businesses. The generosity has been overwhelming for volunteer fire departments and Forest Service offices. In an effort to manage donated materials, North Carolina Department of Emergency Management, in cooperation with the Western North Carolina...
Learn MoreThe Obama administration on November 15, 2016 finalized a rule to reduce the massive amount of leaking methane from oil and gas operations on public land, prompting an immediate response from Republicans who intend on reversing it. The new Methane and Waste Prevention Rule will decrease flaring — burning off methane at the site of extraction — by half. It will also...
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No one can remember a wildfire as peculiar as the monster gnawing through the gorge above the village of Chimney Rock. It burrows beneath swaths cut to contain it. It conjures unforeseen winds from the steep terrain. It dashes erratically this way and that, like a running back punching for open field. And never mind the frustration of fire managers – it has even spooked...
Learn MoreA joint information center is now open to provide timely and accurate information about wildfires in western North Carolina and related issues. This one-stop information center will provide the public with updates on wildfires, evacuations and shelters, road and trail closures, air quality, current burning restrictions, and the schedule for public meetings for wildfires....
Learn MoreBug kill and severe drought conditions have weakened and killed trees throughout the southeastern US, including North Carolina. On the Boteler Fire, in Clay County, a tiny invasive insect—the hemlock wooley adelgid—has had a devastating effect on established stands of the magnificent eastern hemlock. Some of these trees are 20 to 30 inches in diameter and up to 100 feet...
Learn MoreDespite their incredible beauty and their obvious similarities with our considerably tamer canine companions, everyone knows not to play with wolves. So when wildlife photographer Nick Jans and his Labrador encountered a wild wolf behind their home, adrenaline started pumping through them both. When the wolf approached the Labrador, Nick could only stand helplessly by...
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In the Arctic Circle, on the far-northern Norwegian island of Spitsbergen, a drab facility carved into the mountainside could be humanity’s last hope in the event of a global catastrophe. This is the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, a roughly 400-foot-long building designed to store seed samples for 4.5 million different varieties of crops from around the world, or 2.5...
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Oregon federal judge Ann Aiken has ruled that a climate lawsuit brought against the U.S. government by a group of youths can move forward, a win for the strategy of fighting climate change through the judicial branch. Our Children’s Trust, an Oregon-based non-profit, has filed lawsuits in every state and at the federal level, claiming that the U.S. government’s actions...
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The Nantahala and Pisgah National Forests in North Carolina are implementing a TOTAL FIRE BAN due to the extremely dry conditions, high fire danger, and little chance of rain in the immediate forecast. Beginning on November 10, 2016, the following restrictions are in place for the Nantahala and Pisgah National Forests until further notice: Building, maintaining,...
Learn MoreAs protests escalated in North Dakota, Jennifer Veilleux sat in her office at Florida International University in Miami, Florida, reading an environmental assessment of the Dakota Access Pipeline over and over again. The report, prepared by the company developing the pipeline, raised red flags. An international water security and transboundary river post-doctoral...
Learn MoreIn honor of Veterans Day, many national parks across the country are hosting special events, displays, and ceremonies to commemorate the service and sacrifice of the U.S. Armed Forces. The National Park Service will waive entrance fees on November 11, 2016. “It’s a special responsibility to be the stewards of the memorials, battlefields, and historic sites that tell the...
Learn MoreThe acquittal of Ammon Bundy and other militia members who occupied the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon last January leaves our public lands and the people who steward them in a vulnerable position. Indeed, it puts a target on their backs. The Bundy family has said as much. “The government should be scared,” Ryan Bundy asserted to the Washington Post less than...
Learn MoreThe Southeast is not a region that we tend to associate with wildfires. It’s humid, it’s wet, and twice this year deadly floods ravaged vast areas of two states — Louisiana and North Carolina. Yet here we are, talking about tinderbox conditions propelled by a historic drought and record-breaking heat. With little to no rain in the immediate forecast, fire restrictions...
Learn MoreSometime in the next few months, lawyers for the state of Mississippi will stand before a U.S. Supreme Court-appointed legal expert, clear their throats, and argue that Tennessee, a neighbor, is stealing water. However it is decided, the courtroom tussle breaks new legal ground and more. It is the first time the Supreme Court has considered a lawsuit that involves the...
Learn MoreIf rumors are to be believed, Shell, Total, BP, Eni, Repsol, Saudi Aramco, and Statoil will join forces this week to invest in clean technologies. Sources told Reuters that the fund will focus on developing technologies to lower oil sector emissions, reduce methane leaks and natural gas flaring, increase car engine and fuel efficiency, and improve carbon capture and...
Learn MoreDue to extremely dry weather conditions and fresh leaves, Great Smoky Mountains National Park officials announced a temporary ban on campfires in the park’s backcountry. The fire ban applies to campers using the park’s backcountry sites and shelters. It does not affect campers at the park’s frontcountry campgrounds or people using fire grills at picnic...
Learn MoreAre you still wondering why so many people support the #NoDAPL protectors? This spill in October, 2015 is part of the reason. Imagine, if you will, tens of thousands of gallons of oil pouring into the river that provides the drinking water for over 10 million people. Would you want to drink it? or swim in it? or eat anything from it? A North Dakota oil well owned by...
Learn MoreThe Colville National Forest is looking to fill 50 seasonal jobs in northeast Washington for next summer. Forest officials are going so far as to hold workshops to help applicants fill out forms. Applications must be submitted online at usajobs.gov from Nov. 15-21, 2016. Selections will be made from Feb. 13-17, 2017. Jobs would start anywhere from mid-April to mid-June,...
Learn MoreThe U.S. Forest Service has implemented special fire restrictions due to extremely dry conditions, high fire danger and little chance of rain in the immediate forecast. The move comes days after similar restrictions were issued in the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forests in Georgia, and the Nantahala and Pisgah National Forests in North Carolina. Very high wildfire...
Learn MoreThe Nantahala and Pisgah National Forests will implement fire restrictions due to the extremely dry conditions, high fire danger, and little chance of rain in the immediate forecast. Effective October 28, 2016, the following fire restrictions are in place for the Nantahala and Pisgah National Forests until further notice: Building, maintaining, attending or using a fire,...
Learn MoreThe National Forests in North Carolina announced that Dave Casey will oversee management and operations as the new District Ranger of the Pisgah Ranger District starting October 31, 2016. “Dave has an excellent record with partnerships and collaborative experience and a tremendous background in natural resource management,” said Allen Nicholas, Forest...
Learn MoreFirefighters are responding to a wildfire burning along Old NC 105 (Kistler Memorial Hwy / SR 1238) near Linville Gorge, north of Lake James in Burke County, NC. The Paddy’s Creek Fire was reported Monday afternoon, October, 24, 2016 in the Grandfather Ranger District of Pisgah National Forest. The fire is located near the south end of Linville Gorge, adjacent to...
Learn MoreFarming: For most of us, the word conjures images of geometric rows of vegetables, cows contentedly grazing in well-mown pastures, and carefully pruned and tended orchards bearing grocery-store-bin fruit. In Western North Carolina, however, that traditional image of farming is being met with an alternate view: of the cultivation of ginseng and other medicinal native...
Learn MoreSome 2 million chickens and at least 4,800 pigs drowned after Hurricane Matthew hit North Carolina earlier this month. The storm inundated massive pools of hog feces and piles of chicken manure, spreading pollution from North Carolina’s thriving pork and poultry industry into the surrounding woods, rivers, and swamps. “I’m seeing a lot of devastation out there,” said...
Learn MoreThe Dick’s Creek Fire burning on the Nantahala National Forest and private land near Sylva, NC, is estimated at 200-250 acres. The fire is located to the southeast of Dick’s Creek Road. Firefighters are building hand and dozer lines and a helicopter is dropping water. Firefighters are also working to clear brush and leaves away from homes and other structures...
Learn MoreThe Natural Sounds and Night Skies Division at the U.S. National Park Service provides scientific support to all the national park units. Its researchers help park administrators understand the current state of their resource conditions and what the effects of pollution are on visitor experience and wildlife, and give them suggestions for how they might reduce pollution...
Learn MoreIn August, 2016, another 689.67 acres was added to North Carolina’s Headwaters State Forest. Projected to open in 2018, the forest contains the East Fork of the French Broad River Headwaters (for which it is named), making it an important area to protect fresh, clean water. Land acquisition for the forest began in 2009, when landowner and former congressman Charles...
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I am Jeff Clark, founder of Internet Brothers, producer of this blog, and passionate about hiking. I live in Western NC near the Blue Ridge and Great Smoky Mountains. Pisgah and Nantahala National Forests are just out my door, so the content will focus on these areas, but let me know what you would like to see on the site. 
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