Newswire
There’s a new national park in New Mexico If you’ve got a goal of visiting all of the nation’s national parks, there’s a new one to add to your list. White Sands, which has been a national monument since 1933, is now a national park. The new park is located 220 miles south of Albuquerque…
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Clothing company Patagonia raises millions for outdoor organizations The outdoor apparel company Patagonia has raised over $10 million in donations for environmental organizations in the US and Europe in just over two weeks. The company is matching those donations, giving a total gift of $20 million to 1,043 grassroots environmental nonprofit organizations. Donations were made…
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Paddler on the Laurel River Photo Courtesy of Kevin Colburn Stewardship Director for American Whitewater Knoxville kayaker drowns in accident on Laurel River A Knoxville woman has died after a kayaking accident on the Laurel River in Pisgah National Forest. April Morton, 31, was a member of the Chota Canoe Club in Knoxville and considered…
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Dominion Energy strikes deal to turn cow manure into energy Dominion Energy has entered into a $200 million pact with a renewable energy producer and the Dairy Farmers of American Inc. to extract natural gas from cow manure, the Wall Street Journal reports. The utility will fund construction of organic-waste processing facilities, connect the facilities…
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Historic deal keeps Utah’s Zion Narrows open to the public forever Zion National Park’s famous trail to the Narrows will remain open to hikers forever thanks to a historic land deal. The 16-mile-trail, accessible to hikers via permit only, winds near Zion National Park’s eastern border before entering an 880-acre parcel of land privately owned…
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Amendments proposed to Great Smoky Mountains and Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians sochan agreement Great Smoky Mountains National Park is seeking public comment on amendments and additions to the agreement formed last year between the park and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, allowing the Cherokee to harvest sochan from their ancestral lands that are…
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Southern Appalachians Highlands Conservancy purchases land near Roan Mountain The Southern Appalachians Highlands Conservancy (SAHC) recently purchased 51 acres in the Highlands of Roan Mountain. As reported by the Citizen-Times, the land is located on a prominent ridge near the Appalachian Trail. The purchase will protect the vulnerable spruce-fir forest ecosystem, home to birds and…
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Employees at Organic Climbing’s facility in Philipsburg, Pa., sew bouldering pads, backpacks, bike bags, and chalk bags. Photo by Jarrod Bunk Organic Climbing makes sustainable gear in Pennsylvania “This whole roof is 5,000 square feet of them,” says Josh Helke, owner of Organic Climbing, as he looks up at the ceiling of the showroom, toward…
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WV fishing license applicants can now opt into organ donation With the passage of Senate Bill 613, registering as an organ donor just got easier in West Virginia. The state has become one of the first to offer the option to register as an organ donor when applying for a fishing or hunting license, in…
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Photo by Florida Fish and Wildlife of Gopher Tortoise Georgia preserves 2,000-acres for critically endangered species habitat The Georgia Department of Natural Resources and the Open Space Institute announced two land acquisitions in southeast Georgia on Wednesday. The first property secures important habitat for the restoration of rare species, including the extremely rare plant, the…
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Teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg is named ‘Time’ Person of the Year Swedish climate activist Great Thunberg, 16, is the youngest person to be named Time Magazine’s Person of the Year. Thunberg is leading a new generation in the fight against climate change, organizing school strikes and climate marches around the world. Time says they…
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Hiker attacked on Appalachian Trail plans to finish her thru-hike Kirby Morril, the hiker who was attacked by a man with a knife while thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail earlier this year, has announced that she plans to return to the trail next year. In May, Morril was camping with three other thru-hikers when she and…
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World-famous Victoria Falls dries to a trickle One of Zimbabwe’s most iconic natural features, 355-foot Victoria Falls, has slowed to a trickle following the country’s worst drought in a century. While the waterfall does typically slow in the dry season, The Guardian has described this year’s lack of water as “unprecedented.” Water flow in the…
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A British hiker survives 6-hour cardiac arrest In what doctors are describing as an ‘exceptional’ case, a British woman hiking in Spain’s Pyrenees mountains survived a six-hour cardiac arrest caused by severe hypothermia. Audrey Mash, 34, was hiking with her husband in the Catalan Pyrenees when the weather turned. As temperatures dropped, Mash began having…
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N.C. Governor urges action to protect red wolves On November 22, N.C. Governor Roy Cooper sent a letter to David Bernhardt, Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior, urging the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to act immediately to rebuild and sustain a wild wolf population. The letter comes amidst declining rates…
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