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Glidepath to Recovery: Flying Squirrels and Spruce Forests Share Common Fate
By: Brittany Patterson | Ohio Valley ReSource
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U.S. Forest Service district biologist Shane Jones stands on an overlook high up on West Virginia’s Cheat Mountain. Behind him lush, red spruce trees stand like sentinels on this frozen landscape. As he looks out, small patches of green dot what is largely a view of the barren, brown trunks of leafless hardwoods. More than… Read More
New Protections Proposed For Imperiled Crayfish Species
By: Brittany Patterson | Ohio Valley ReSource
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The U.S. Fish and Wildlife service is proposing new protections for two threatened species of crayfish found in the Appalachian coalfields. Under the new proposed rule, published Tuesday in the Federal Register, the agency will designate 445 miles of streams in West Virginia, Kentucky and Virginia as “critical habitat” for the Guyandotte River crayfish and Big… Read More
Nature’s ‘Brita Filter’ Is Dying and Nobody Knows Why
By: Nathan Rott | NPR
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A mysterious die-off of freshwater mussels has scientists scrambling to find a cause. Freshwater mussels clean water and provide habitat to countless other species.
Elk Tours in West Virginia Draw Visitors from 8 Other States
By: Associated Press
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CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) – A West Virginia wildlife official says a monthlong series of fall tours to see elk drew visitors from eight other states. Chief Logan State Park naturalist Lauren Cole says that 227 people went on the sold-out tours in September and October. The elk were at the nearby Tomlin Wildlife Management Area… Read More
West Virginia Fall Foliage Peaking in Higher Elevations
By: Associated Press
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CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia’s higher elevations still have the best fall color as warmer temperatures in September delayed this year’s fall foliage display. The West Virginia Tourism Office said the best locations this weekend will be in areas such as Randolph County. Fall colors are peaking along U.S. 250 between Elkins and Durbin…. Read More
Federal Biologist: Black Vultures are Invading West Virginia
By: Associated Press
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BUCKHANNON, W.Va. (AP) — A federal biologist says federally protected vultures are invading West Virginia, having migrated from Central and South America about 45 years ago and now settling up the East Coast. Thomas Elliott is a wildlife biologist and district supervisor with the wildlife services program of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and… Read More
A New Bloodsucking Leech Species Found Hiding Outside Washington, D.C.
By: Leila Fadel | Peter Breslow | NPR
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Smithsonian researcher Anna Phillips led the recent discovery of the new medicinal species. Its superficial similarities to a North American leech species helped prevent its detection before.
Deadly Virus Detected in West Virginia White-Tailed Deer
By: Associated Press
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SOUTH CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) – Wildlife officials say a deadly virus has been detected in white-tailed deer in southern West Virginia. The state Division of Natural Resources says in a news release that the deer were found dead in Greenbrier, Monroe and Summers counties. It says a lab confirmed the presence of epizootic hemorrhagic disease… Read More
Trump Administration Makes Major Changes To Protections For Endangered Species
By: Nathan Rott | NPR
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Interior Secretary David Bernhardt says the revisions will make the landmark conservation law more efficient. Critics say it will hurt endangered plants and animals as they face mounting threats.
Mussel Woman: Biologist Passes Along Pearls Of Wisdom About Threatened Mussels
By: Brittany Patterson | Ohio Valley ReSource
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Janet Clayton is standing thigh-deep in a back channel of the Elk River. Clad in a wetsuit and knee pads, the silver-haired biologist with the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources reaches into a bright orange mesh bag submerged in water. Inside are a half dozen mussels she plucked from the rocky river bottom. “This… Read More
Don’t Cut Those Trees — Big Food Might Be Watching
By: Dan Charles | NPR
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Dozens of food companies have promised to stop their suppliers from clearing forests in order to grow crops or graze cattle. Now the companies have a tool to monitor those farmers from space.
Birds Are Trying To Adapt To Climate Change — But Is It Too Little, Too Late?
By: Pien Huang | NPR
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By breeding and migrating earlier, some birds are adapting to climate change. But it’s probably not happening fast enough for some species to survive, according to new research.
Power Plant: How A Grass Might Generate Fuel And Help Fix Damaged Mine Lands
By: Liam Niemeyer | Ohio Valley ReSource
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Down bumpy back roads deep in central West Virginia, a flat, bright green pasture opens up among the rolling hills of coffee-colored trees. Wildflowers and butterflies dot the pasture, but West Virginia University Professor Jeff Skousen is here for something else that stands above the rest of the Appalachian scenery – literally. Thick stalks of… Read More
Cleveland Area Rocks After Earthquake Reported in Lake Erie
By: Associated Press
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CLEVELAND (AP) – Federal geologists say an earthquake with an estimated magnitude 4 has been detected just northeast of Cleveland in Lake Erie. There were no reports immediately of damage, and the U.S. Geological Survey is collecting responses from people who felt the tremors. A magnitude 4 earthquake can cause moderate damage. The 10:50 a.m…. Read More
Spotted: A Swarm Of Ladybugs So Huge, It Showed Up On National Weather Service Radar
By: Merrit Kennedy | Dani Matias | NPR
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Meteorologists in Southern California were puzzled by the big green blob on their radar — it looked like a rainstorm on what was a clear day. Then they discovered it was beetles.
Wild About Winter!
Join the Hocking College Natural and Historical Interpretation Capstone students for a FREE event at The Market on State Street celebrating the wild and wonderful workings of the winter world. The event will feature fun, educational activities for younger members of the family and will take place at the same time as the Athens Farmers… Read More
Scientists Spy On Bees, See Harmful Effects Of Common Insecticide
By: Merrit Kennedy | NPR
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Bees exposed to a type of insecticides called neonicotinoids dramatically changed their behavior — becoming sluggish, antisocial and spending less time caring for the colony’s young, researchers say.
Fall Treasures in your Woodland
Fungi, Lichens and more… Explore the forest in search of fungi, lichens and other organisms that are present in the fall. Learn about the ecology and function of these often overlooked organisms.
Family Day in The Woods
The “Family Day in the Woods” program is scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 18 at Vinton Furnace State Forest. Held between 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., families will enjoy a day of wagon rides, nature walks, wildfire prevention activities with Smokey the Bear and other activities. The program is free, though families are encouraged to RSVP… Read More
After 17 Days And 1,000 Miles, A Mother Orca’s ‘Tour Of Grief’ Is Over
By: Jenny Gathright | NPR
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After carrying her calf’s corpse for an unusually long time, a “remarkably frisky” Tahlequah, or J-35, as the orca’s known, was seen Saturday chasing a school of salmon with fellow members of her pod.
Video: Can You Find The Mimics In America’s Largest Insect Collection?
By: Madeline K. Sofia | NPR
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Insects are nature’s masters of disguise. Take a backstage tour of the largest insect collection in America to experience nature’s most convincing mimics.
Spring Is Springing Sooner, Throwing Nature’s Rhythms Out Of Whack
By: Nathan Rott | NPR
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A warming climate is knocking nature’s rhythms out of sync. High in the Rocky Mountains, scientists have been tracking the impact for decades.
VIDEO: “Snot Otters” Get A Second Chance In Ohio
By: Madeline K. Sofia | NPR
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North America’s largest amphibian, the Hellbender salamander, is in trouble. They are endangered in several states. A team in Ohio is trying to save them before it’s too late.
How Do Trees Collaborate?
By: NPR/TED Staff | NPR
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Ecologist Suzanne Simard shares how she discovered that trees use underground fungi networks to communicate and share resources, uprooting the idea that nature constantly competes for survival.
When Spiders Go Airborne, It’s Electric — Literally
By: Nell Greenfieldboyce | NPR
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Many spiders ply the skies by riding “balloons” of silk. And they rely on something more than just the wind to take them high up and far away.