In fall of 2015, the Prairie State – Illinois – will get a new herd of bison. Part of a broader restoration effort at Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie that aims to return this special place to its original tallgrass prairie ecosystem, the bison reintroduction opens an exciting new chapter for Midewin and the country. The webcam will feature the new bison herd as they...
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By John D. Sutter, CNN I was wandering around the rolling plains of northwest Oklahoma looking for one person – one person – who believes in climate change science when I met the woman dressed all in yellow. A wide-brimmed, lemon-colored hat orbited her head. Her loafers were the color of butter. Everything in between was a jubilee of sunshine. Could she be...
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America’s national parks have never been so popular: Last year saw the highest-ever level of daily visits and campers to Yellowstone, Joshua Tree, and the 57 other nature reserves. Yet the number of park rangers available to help travelers find the perfect trail, answer questions about area flora and fauna, and enforce rules to protect the environment (and other laws) is...
Learn MoreThe Washington Post reports that Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky has already organized a boycott of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan, even before it’s released. Never mind the fact that Kentucky state officials expect to meet the plan’s requirements to cut pollution from power plants “with relatively little effort.” In fact, the newspaper’s...
Learn MoreNEBO, N.C., August 1, 2015 – The Wolf Creek wildfire is burning on the Pisgah National Forest in the Heartbreak Ridge and Jarrett Creek area of McDowell County northwest of Old Fort, NC. The wildfire, reported the evening of July 31st, is moving slowly and is estimated at twenty-five acres and is twenty percent contained. The U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and N.C....
Learn MoreThese are sights you do not forget, no need for a smartphone or GoPro. The Grand Canyon constantly surprises and delights. And it is at the North Rim, the less-visited but no less sublime national park outpost, where you can experience the Grand Canyon in its purest form – unless, of course, you have the temerity and back-country skills to camp out for days on the canyon...
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The National Parks Conservation Association issued a report that found some of the country’s most popular national parks are plagued by polluted air and hazy skies — and are decades behind schedule getting rid of them. The report flunked Sequoia, Kings Canyon, Joshua Tree and Yosemite in California — giving each park an F for routinely having unhealthful levels of ozone...
Learn MoreJust in time for peak tourist season, Montana’s Glacier National Park is on fire. As of July 28, some 3,200 acres of the park were engulfed by wildfire, which began a week ago and caused park officials to shut down three separate campsites throughout the park as well as close off the St. Mary Visitor Center. As of the 29th, the wildfire was 56 percent contained, and...
Learn MoreClimate change is set to hit the Southeast United States hard. That’s the conclusion of a new report from the Risky Business Project, a nonprofit that focuses on the economic impacts of climate change. The report, which focused on 12 states found that the increased heat and humidity that these states are expected to experience as the climate changes will put the region’s...
Learn MoreThirteen giant companies joined the Obama administration’s Act on Climate initiative, announcing at least $140 billion in new low-carbon investment and more than 1,600 megawatts (MW) of new renewable energy, the White House said. The pledge from Coca-Cola, Walmart, Apple, Google, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, and other big-name companies comes in advance of the United...
Learn MoreOn the 26th of March 2015, the United States’ senate voted to pass SA 838, a budget amendment that constitutes the first step in allowing the transfer of certain types of federal land into the stewardship of individual states and paving the way for the sale of these lands to private concerns. The amendment, proposed by Alaskan senator Lisa Murkowski, garnered 51 “yeas”...
Learn MoreIt is fairly well understood by now that releasing carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere imposes an economic cost, in the form of climate change impacts. In most cases, however, those responsible for carbon emissions are not required to pay that cost. Instead, it’s borne mainly by the world’s poor and low-lying countries, and of course...
Learn MoreIn what may prove to be a turning point for political action on climate change, a breathtaking new study casts extreme doubt about the near-term stability of global sea levels. The study—written by James Hansen, NASA’s former lead climate scientist, and 16 co-authors, many of whom are considered among the top in their fields—concludes that glaciers in Greenland and...
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Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chairman Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Ranking Member Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) announced a bipartisan agreement to permanently authorize the Land and Water Conservation Fund. The law’s current 25-year authorization expires on September 30, 2015. “This is a huge step forward at a critical time because the program’s current authorization...
Learn More300 million pounds of glyphosate are used in the U.S. each year, but its impacts are largely unknown. For more than a decade, milkweed, that tall green plant with purple or orange flowers, has been rapidly declining in Midwestern states. Little research has been done on the abundance of milkweed in Western states, though many scientists suspect it may be struggling as...
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A stock-take of the 10 parks established to preserve the England’s natural riches shows how they have become vital sanctuaries for a wonderful array of threatened and rare plants and animals. While the national parks cover only 10 per cent of England, they contain a high proportion of habitats such as heath, fen and ancient woodland that have been lost over the...
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The geographic areas where Lyme disease is a bigger danger have grown dramatically, according to a new government study published this week. U.S. cases remain concentrated in the Northeast and upper Midwest. But now more areas in those regions are considered high risk. “The risk is expanding, in all directions,” said the lead author, Kiersten Kugeler of the...
Learn MoreA grandfathered mining claim has opened the doors to development in the Frank Church – River of No Return Wilderness. “Nothing in this Act shall prevent within national forest wilderness areas any activity, including prospecting, for the purpose of gathering information about mineral or other resources, if such activity is carried on in a manner compatible with the...
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Major national scenic trails such as the Appalachian Trail, Continental Divide Trail, and Pacific Crest Trail traverse thousands of miles across our beautiful country. Hikers attempting a thru-hike or continuous hike of the trails travel through literally scores of national forests and national parks, and scattered parcels of private land. The private land along the...
Learn MoreBig news from North Carolina – wind company Iberdola and retail giant Amazon broke ground on a new wind farm in northeastern North Carolina that’s not only the first major wind farm in the state, but the first major wind project in the South. It’s an empty field now, but this area in northeastern North Carolina will soon be home to some towering wind...
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The National Park Service thought it had a good strategy for reining in the discarded water bottles that clog the trash cans and waste stream of the national parks: stop selling disposable bottles and let visitors refill reusable ones with public drinking water. But Big Water has stepped in to block the parks from banning the plastic pollutants — and the industry found...
Learn MoreCairns have a long history and purpose, one that newer stacks sometimes subvert. The Gorham Mountain Trail at Acadia National park winds up through a forested mountain slope before bursting out onto one of the granite-boulder covered summits for which the park is famous. But once you get up there, following the loop back down would be tricky if it weren’t for rock stacks...
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Nature doesn’t need people. People need Nature. Human beings are part of Nature. Nature is not dependent on human beings to exist. Human beings, on the other hand, are totally dependent on Nature to exist. The growing number of people on the planet and how we live here is going to determine the future of Nature . And the future of us. Nature will go on, no matter...
Learn MoreConservationists work tirelessly to protect America’s most wild and treasured parks, forests, monuments, wildlife refuges and other public lands. President Obama has responded by protecting natural wonders in California, Nevada and Texas as national monuments, to be cherished and enjoyed for generations to come. Berryessa Snow Mountain, in California, showcases the Inner...
Learn MoreFueled by unusually high temperatures, hundreds of wildfires are burning across Western Canada — and they’re sending their smoke south across the United States border. Wildfire danger throughout Western Canada is “very high,” according to the Canadian Wildland Fire Information System (CWFIS), with the majority of fire activity taking place in three provinces:...
Learn MoreJust a couple hours’ drive from Las Vegas, the Basin and Range area comprises Garden Valley and Coal Valley as well as corridors connecting the surrounding Timpahute, Pahroc, Worthington, Mt. Irish, Seaman, Golden Gate, Grant and Quinn Canyon mountain ranges. Among other things, Basin and Range’s rugged landscape is considered a monument to the awesome span of geological...
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The National Forest Foundation (NFF) recently expanded its partnership with the Salt River Project (SRP) to restore imperiled aspen forests on the Kaibab National Forest in northern Arizona. A leading partner of the NFF’s reforestation efforts, SRP has been supporting landscape-scale reforestation in northern Arizona through their Trees for Change program since...
Learn MoreMany crops in the drought-stricken state of California are actually being irrigated with fracking wastewater. Fracking is the process of drilling down into the earth before a high-pressure water mixture is directed at the rock to release the gas inside. Water, sand and chemicals are injected into the rock at high pressure, which allows the gas to flow out to the head of...
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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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