This January, just off the coast of Mozambique, a team of marine biologists notched a historic first for the scientific community: tagging the incredibly rare smalleye stingray.  Smalleye stingrays can grow up to 10 feet long, making them the world’s largest species of ocean ray. Though they’re not hard to spot once they’re close by, [...]

Thanks to years of dedicated trail work, Bentonville, Arkansas has finally sealed its reputation as the mountain biking capital of the nation. Last month, USA Cycling named Bentonville the new home of the U.S. National Mountain Bike Team. With the next summer Olympics coming up in 2028, that could turn out to be a key [...]

When wildlife biologists recovered footage from a Boulder, Colorado trail camera last week, they found 580 photos. 400 of them were bear selfies.  Boulder’s Open Space and Mountain Parks (OSMP) division has nine trail cameras distributed across more than 46,000 acres of public land. The cameras allow the biologists to observe wildlife up close without [...]

The hole in the ozone layer, which shocked humanity when it was first discovered 40 years ago, is now on track to heal completely—and soon. According to a new United Nations report, the vast majority of the earth’s ozone layer should be healed by 2040. That excludes areas over the poles, which are recovering at [...]

On January 24, 2023, Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed an executive order launching the Natural State Initiative, a program designed to ramp up trail maintenance, improve park programming and improve public health outcomes in Arkansas. The state’s renewed passion for the outdoors is great news for visiting recreationists and locals alike; in addition to [...]

Do you know that song about catching lightning in a bottle? Well, with this space-age new tech, the idea might not be so far-fetched after all. An international team of scientists has recently used a powerful laser to capture and divert lightning strikes. They tested the technology on one of the most lightning-prone mountains in [...]

For the past year, scientists have been watching a brilliant green comet approaching Earth. While it’s already visible to the naked eye, the comet will reach its nearest (and brightest) point on February 2, making this the best weekend to see it. The comet, which is called “C/2022 E3 (Z.T.F.),” last passed earth about 50,000 [...]

Walk down the snowy streets of Longyearbyen, Svalbard in Norway, close to the Arctic Circle, and you may not be shocked to find sled dogs around every corner. Finding them under your chair while you sip your espresso, however, might still come as a bit of a surprise.  The patrons of Café Huskies don’t seem [...]

In Ohio’s Wayne National Forest, December 27 is known as “sinking day.” The makeshift holiday comes just two days after Christmas when forlorn holiday trees begin showing up on curbs across the U.S. Several years ago, the U.S. Forest Service decided to take advantage of all the cast-off greenery and use it to fulfill a [...]

On January 17, 2023, the Biden Administration announced a sweeping, multibillion-dollar wildfire plan that could bring much-needed relief to 11 wildfire-prone U.S. states. Over the past 10 years, record-breaking wildfires have swept across the American West, destroying homes and beloved recreation areas alike. The toxic air quality has been especially difficult for millions of locals, [...]