By Amy Joi O’Donoghue, Deserest News SALT LAKE CITY — Some quiet time in the great outdoors in a portion of Utah delivered a sizeable chunk of change to local economies, with an estimated $17 million in impacts logged in one year alone. A first-ever study devoted to an exclusive analysis of “quiet recreational activities,” […]
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By Devon O’Neil, Outside Among the countless peaks around the world that have yet to be skied, one stands alone in prestige and allure: the 28,251-foot K2. The reasons it remains unskied are many—fatal exposure on much of the route, notoriously harsh weather, an oxygen shortage—but they do not include a lack of interest. Over […]
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By Patricia R. Olsen, New York Times Janel Johnson, 39, is a botanist with the Nevada Natural Heritage Program in Carson City. “We’re part of the Nevada Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. My group collects information about rare plants and animals in the Great Basin and Mojave deserts. I identify potential plant habitats on […]
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By Rachel Buxton, Colorado State University As transportation networks expand and urban areas grow, noise from sources such as vehicle engines is spreading into remote places. Human-caused noise has consequences for wildlife, entire ecosystems and people. It reduces the ability to hear natural sounds, which can mean the difference between life and death for many […]
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By Brant Allen If you are one of the many recreational boaters who enjoys wake sport activities, you may be unwittingly contributing to the spread of aquatic invasive species (AIS). Be sure to fill and empty your boat’s ballast tanks at least a mile offshore over deep water. The first line of defense against aquatic […]
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The U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit and Heavenly Mountain Resort are putting on Hike with a Ranger programs this summer. Hikes will take place every Friday and Saturday at 11am and 1pm at the top of the Heavenly gondola. The guided hike is approximately one hour and will continue every weekend through […]
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By Carolyn Wilke, Sacramento Bee Californians have been bracing themselves for a drier future accompanying a warming climate. But research by scientists at the University of California, Riverside, suggests that the state may actually get wetter in the event of severe climate change. The study, published July 6 in Nature Communications, reports that more years […]
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The Tahoe Fund has started a campaign to raise $36,000 to support a project designed by UC Davis scientists to improve forest health in the basin. Because of drought and bark beetle infestations, tree mortality more than doubled from 35,000 in 2015 to 72,000 in 2016. Tahoe Fund is partnering with scientists at UC Davis […]
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By Kathryn Reed It’s always an interesting hike when you have to flag down a truck to ask where you are. And so it was late last month with Rosemary. We knew where we wanted to go. And we got there. We just didn’t know where we were when we went a little farther. We […]
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By Lawrence Lenhart, High Country News First things first: Coyote. When you read the word, how many syllables do you hear? Your answer, according to Dan Flores, author of Coyote America, may be “immediately diagnostic of a whole range of belief systems and values.” The ki-YOH-tee versus ki-yote divide is one of the best indicators […]
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