We'll take you to Colorado, and one of the most breathtaking places you've probably never heard of. More than 30 years after Mt. St. Helens blew, researchers witness an amazing rebirth. High fashion took a huge toll on America's wading birds that have now recovered to face new threats. Loggers and environmentalists reach a "timber truce" that seems to be working. And moose, bears and elk are just not the same up close as they are on TV; what's the National Park Service doing to keep humans and wildlife superstars at a safe distance?
Dazzling natural formations below a New Mexico recreation area. Researchers use GPS technology to help endangered bighorn sheep living in very rugged terrain. Doggie detectives in Oregon help scientists save rare plants. The search for energy takes us in two directions: riskier tactics to extract fossil fuels; and a bold and promising new possibility for renewable energy. Some stunning scuba diving in possibly the last state you would ever imagine!
Some natural sights in Las Vegas will make casinos look just plain dull! Bats get a bad rap in the animal kingdom, but you've never seen them like this! And since bats and zombies often go together: "zombie subdivisions" are threatening what were beautiful, wide open spaces in the West. Good guys in Oregon use new technology to fight outlaws committing age-old crimes. The Colorado River serves a lot of needs, and that tug of war is getting critical.
Teens from big cities join a new program to recruit them for careers in the National Park Service. In an emergency effort like Noah's Ark, researchers rescue endangered frogs, toads and salamanders from a deadly fungal disease. Are there too many snowmobiles in Yellowstone National Park? Saltwater fishermen in Georgia offer quick lessons on protecting habitats needed by the most popular fish species.
Paddling and protecting the spectacular Cascadia Marine Trail along Washington's coastline. Robotic underwater gliders investigate mysterious "dead zones" off the Pacific coast. Young students in Oregon learn how destructive crayfish were transported across the Rockies for science experiments in their own school! A landfill gets a second career as a solar power station. Powerful grizzly bears test new designs for bear-proof trash cans.
Volunteers clean up and restore a desert wilderness in Oregon. Local residents campaign to protect a mining-scarred but still spectacular landscape in Colorado’s San Juan Range. “Animal magnetism” guides loggerhead turtles across thousands of miles of open ocean. With a rich population of raptors, a conservation area in Idaho draws visitors eager to learn about hawks, eagles and falcons. Invasive insects destroy countless majestic hemlock trees in the southern Appalachians. A feisty
A paradise for birdlife, Arizona’s San Pedro River faces threats from development. Conservationists race against time to save Florida panthers from extinction. Locals debate whether the Rock Creek area of the Bighorn Mountains deserves federal protection as wilderness. It's about the size of a garbage can, but a new ocean-going device helps scientists do critical water analysis. Innovative ideas for growing winter vegetables in the frigid Rockies.
Facing spreading development, how can wildlife habitat be saved in Montana? In Kansas, researchers develop revolutionary ideas for growing perennial food crops that slow the degradation of cropland and offer greater food security in the face of everharsher climates. Is the Colorado National Monument the right place for a Tour de France style bike race? Counting tree rings, scientists solve history’s mysteries and predict our future. Just a few minutes from downtown Washington, D.C., a wildlife preserve is an oasis for hikers, bird watchers and anyone who needs a natural retreat.
Paleontologists find new dinosaur species in nearly two million acres of deep canyons at Grand Staircase Escalante Monument in Utah and Arizona. Fly-fishing is almost a spiritual endeavor for some Georgia anglers, and keeping waters clean is one of their aims. Clean water is hard to find around the port of San Diego -- decades of shipbuilding have left a toxic mess. In Wyoming, energy companies contribute to a fund that preserves migratory pathways. Rising sea levels threaten the delicate balance of fresh and salt-water marshes around the world.
With an appreciation for nature as part of their training, high school girls and boys get more speed at a running camp at Steens Mountain in Oregon. Renewed efforts to mine uranium in New Mexico cause concern among residents and former uranium miners. Smith Island in the Chesapeake Bay is known for its unique culture, but climate change could force all its residents to evacuate by the turn of the century. Mother birds are under increasing pressure from habitat loss, taking a toll on their offspring.
A special episode on American bison. While big herds are coming back from near extinction a century ago, restoring these iconic animals is a complex and ongoing challenge. For the Crow Indians, the buffalo was far more than a source of food and clothing, and it still plays a key spiritual role in their culture. How are bison herds and tallgrass prairie conservation linked together? Ranchers and restaurants create a market demand for bison that could guarantee their survival for future generations. Linguists learn more about hand signing from newly discovered old films showing the use of intertribal sign language.
While shuttle missions are no longer taking off from the Kennedy Space Center, scientists are still making discoveries at central Florida's Space Coast: the Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge is a rich ecosystem. Protecting the upper Rio Grande is important for both Hispanic and Native American culture. Recovering from near extinction, California condors now face poisoning by lead bullets as wildlife authorities educate hunters about alternative ammunition. Urban "heat islands" are taking some clues from Mother Nature: green roofs in big cities are helping cool things off, recycle water, and offer a resting place for birds and butterflies.
A special episode on controversial plans for offshore oil drilling off Alaska's Arctic coast. Two decades after the Exxon Valdez spill, lingering oil is still found on beaches in Prince William Sound. How could offshore spills affect the lives of Inupiat Native Americans who depend on subsistence hunting and fishing? Native Alaskans find kinship with those who suffered from the Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf of Mexico. A passionate marine scientist uses a deep ocean submersible to study the impact of the Gulf spill hidden in the depths.
The Colorado River brings drinking water, irrigation, recreation and livelihood to millions of people in the West. But it’s clear now that there’s not an unlimited supply of this precious resource. Business owners on and near the river are working to make sure their neighbors, and policy makers in Washington, get a complete picture of how critical this river is. Traveling through Arizona and northern Mexico, Bruce Burkhardt shows us there’s a lot that needs to be done to protect these waters now and for the future.
Among the most solitary and elusive mammals in North America, wolverines were wiped out decades ago by fur traders and poison in the lower 48 states. Now these mammals with a ferocious reputation are making a slow comeback, migrating south from Canada. It takes rugged and dedicated scientists—and photographers!—to sneak a peek into their world! See how they are working to understand and preserve the wolverine’s habitat.
Ferrets and Prairie Dogs: After being nearly wiped out in the early 20th century, the black- footed ferret is making a comeback. It’s taken a complicated conservation effort and a captive breeding program to restore this species to the Great Plains. The health of the ferret is tied directly to the success of prairie dogs— animals that have also had plenty of run-ins with humans. Keeping these two playful, adorable species in good shape is also helping save 130 unique plants and animals in this North American prairie ecosystem.
Fiddler Crabs: Between their digging and mating rituals, fiddler crabs can amuse us endlessly! That big, odd claw on the male can be a weapon or an enticement to a female. But these little crustaceans also have a big impact on their environment. From watching them surround their burrows with mud balls, to viewing a parade of thousands of crabs scurrying across the wetlands, scientists are still trying to understand just where these animals fit into the coastal ecosystem.
he buffalo are back! One hundred years after Native American Michael Pablo sent his captive bison herd to Canada to help preserve the dwindling species, dozens of their direct descendants were released into the bison herd on the American Prairie Reserve in northern Montana. The World Wildlife Fund has been collaborating with the American Prairie Reserve to help restore the grasslands habitat for the bison, birds, and other important native species that roamed the region when Lewis and Clark arrived in 1805.
Canyon Mysteries: A canyon can be an inspiring classroom, whether you are eight or 80. The stories behind two Georgia canyons could not be any different: Cloudland Canyon in the north is a natural wonder. But Providence Canyon in the southwest is now a tourist destination, in spite of the way earlier residents abused the land. Both intriguing stories come from Georgia Public Broadcasting.
Beaver Builders: Beavers are nature’s engineers. It turns out they are also good at restoring ailing ecosystems. In eastern Oregon, researchers are doing some extreme fieldwork (snorkeling in rivers and streams in the middle of the night, in the middle of winter!) to learn more about how beaver dams are helping create healthier streams and rivers for salmon, trout, songbirds, and for nearby communities.
Digging for Dinosaurs: Talk about a special delivery! Co-host Caroline Raville got to witness the recovery of thousands of pounds of dinosaur fossils by helicopter, deep in the Utah desert. Paleontologists from the Bureau of Land Management call Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument one of the best “bone yards” on the planet. Scientists continue to identify new species of dinosaurs and other reptiles in this remote area. Many are 75 million years old!
Arctic White Geese: Snow geese and Ross’s geese make an almost unimaginable 3,000-mile migration each year. So it’s no wonder they enjoy spending a month or so in eastern Oregon, “bulking up” on tender grasses and nutritious bugs. The folks from Oregon Field Guide have captured the beauty of thousands of these birds on their stopover to the Arctic. Dedicated “citizen scientists” spend time during the birds’ respite to study them. Some say the sky is so filled with geese that it often looks like a snowstorm!
Montana Wilderness: There’s an ambitious plan to protect 700,000 acres of new wilderness in Montana. And after many years of argument, it looks like local residents, loggers, hikers, and conservation groups have put aside their differences so nature is the big winner. You’ll meet one veteran outdoorsman, Smoke Elser, who’s almost as comfortable in this back woods as the elk and the bears are!
Idaho Wilderness: Its wild residents could fill a volume of some of the most iconic American wildlife: From elk and moose to spawning salmon, mountain goats and sheep to black bears and cougars. Efforts are underway to protect central Idaho’s Boulder-White Clouds Mountains, designating 330,000 acres as wilderness. The proposed federal legislation would both protect these lands, and ensure economic sustainability.
Saving the Upper Rio Grande: In northern New Mexico the Rio Grande runs through a spectacular gorge formed by a rift in the Earth’s crust. This river corridor is a critical flyway for migratory birds, and the arid plateau on either side of it is a major migration habitat for elk and deer. A pending bill in Congress would protect these areas as the Rio Grande del Norte National Conservation Area, in addition to designating two majestic cinder cone mountains east and west of the plateau as protected wilderness. The bill has widespread support among local Hispanic farmers and ranchers because it would allow their traditional hunting, grazing, fishing and wood-gathering to continue, preserving the culture that developed there over hundreds of years.
Future Conservation Leaders: Santa Cruz Island, off the coast of California, is home to bald eagles, scrub jays, and the most adorable foxes you may ever see! This summer, the island is also home to high school students from the Los Angeles area, working side by side with scientists. Co-host Caroline Raville spent some time with these young people to learn about LEAF, Leaders in Environmental Action for the Future. This Nature Conservancy program not only gives high school students a chance to enjoy nature, but provides a spark for many of them to pursue careers in science and conservation.
Critical aquifer underneath the Great Plains Farmers and ranchers work with NRCS advisers to find ways to conserve the Ogallala Aquifer, a vast expanse of prehistoric water now threatened by overuse Trout in the classroom Students in the Sierras in California help to restore threatened Lahontan cutthroat trout by raising the fish from eggs and releasing them in an approved stream Yellowstone grizzlies achieve dramatic recovery While the need for continued listing under the Endangered Species Act is still debated, grizzly bears have multiplied under federal protection since 1975, re-occupying areas where they had been absent for decades
Artificial cave fights deadly bat disease White nose fungus is likely to be the worst wildlife disaster of our time, and researchers in Tennessee hope that a human-built cave can attract enough hibernating bats to slow the spread of the infection Rocky Mountain fracking riles Colorado residents Rich deposits of oil shale in Garfield County yield huge amounts of natural gas and oil for energy companies, but local residents are pushing back against intrusive air and water pollution, noise and traffic Colorado farmers and ranchers win fight against drilling The federal government shelved plans to auction leases for oil and gas drilling in the North Fork Valley after local residents came out overwhelmingly against it as a threat to their new economy rooted in tourism, wineries and organic produce Backpacking with llamas in Oregon Older hikers have an alternative to carrying heavy backpacks: an outfitter providing sturdy, affable llamas loaded with chairs, tables, wine and other luxuries that allow full enjoyment of wilderness treks
National monument would be first for West Virginia: Supporters say the monument would be a job-creating natural asset, protecting the headwaters of six regional waterways -- including thousands of acres of wild terrain with some of the best hunting and trout fishing in Appalachia.
Navajos in Utah want protection for lost ancestral lands The proposal for a national conservation area would preserve Cedar Mesa and adjacent areas that are filled with some of America's oldest archaeological treasures that need urgent protection A new way to save sport fishermen's bycatch Off the coast of San Diego, marine biologists test an experimental device for increasing the survival rate of bottom-dwelling fish that are released at the surface as bycatch but are traumatized by changes in water pressure More wilderness protection proposed for remote mountains in New Mexico In the southeastern corner of the state, the Brokeoff Mountains are a little-known stretch of rugged canyons and peaks that are still relatively untouched by development
Grass for gas: new frontiers in growing biofuels In Iowa and Tennessee, researchers and farmers are on the front lines of the biofuel revolution where switchgrass, sourgum and miscanthus are grown specifically as renewable fuel sources Backyard wilderness in Los Angeles Unlike most wilderness areas that are remote and hard to access, the San Gabriel Mountains are within easy reach of the L.A. urban sprawl, forming the centerpiece of an imaginative plan for a 600,000-acre national recreation area Restoring native plants in Utah High school students in Kanab learn the importance of protecting vanishing native plants and tackling invasive species. Harvesting native seeds, sprouting them in a greenhouse and transplanting them in acre-sized test plots, they track the plants' progress with GPS technology
Saving precious Sierra water Melting snow from the Sierras in California generates $400 billion in economic activities, supports four million acres of farmland, and supplies drinking water for more than 23 million people. NRCS advisers assist farmers and ranchers with techniques to conserve water and preserve its quality downstream from the mountains to the coast New appreciation for central Nevada wilderness In the dry, harsh landscape between Las Vegas and Reno, most people have seen only wasteland with a few gold and silver mines. More Nevadans now see the sustainable value of these lands as protected wilderness and destinations for outdoor recreation Uniting to protect a rich watershed in Colorado A grass-roots collaboration of water officials, hikers, mountain bikers, hunters, fishermen and others initiated the drafting of a bill in Congress to establish protection for the 108,000-acre Hermosa Creek Watershed north of Durango, preserving some historic uses in most areas while designating 38,000 acres of wilderness and a 43,000-acre roadless area
Researchers on the Oregon coast study the role that forage fish play in the food chain. Sometimes called “bait fish”, sardines, anchovies, smelt and other small fish are vitally important in sustaining larger species – including sea birds, salmon, and marine mammals like sea lions. Humans also catch forage fish, mainly for animal feed, and there’s growing concern that large-scale commercial harvesting of forage fish comes at the expense of other marine life, potentially with catastrophic results.
Much of Oregon is a desert; and in the dry, remote southeastern corner of the state there’s a wild and captivating canyon landscape carved by the Owyhee River. It’s been described as the largest intact, unprotected stretch of the American West, but it needs more protection from development pressure, including mining. A robust campaign for wilderness designation is making progress.
Marking the fiftieth anniversary of the Wilderness Act, we explore its origins and success in protecting more than 100 million acres of unspoiled natural wilderness, a distinctly American achievement. There are still many more areas of wild nature that deserve protection, and the Wilderness Act remains an essential law in the cause of conservation.
Using special recording technology to document the spawning of endangered fish like the Nassau grouper, scientists in the Caribbean study spawning aggregation sites that are critically important for the survival of many ocean species. We follow them to one of these sites off the western coast of Puerto Rico that has been severely impacted by overfishing; conservationists say an effectively enforced marine protected area is urgently needed there.
Every spring, on the Saugatucket River in Rhode Island, tens of thousands of river herring try to swim upriver from the Atlantic to spawn, facing dams on the river that block their way. Many fish find it too exhausting to use fish ladders on the dams, and they give up their struggle. But happily there are people who volunteer to help the fish on their journey, using buckets in an effort called a “fish lift” to get the herring over the dams.
Rafting down the Etivluk River in Alaska's National Petroleum Reserve; the western sagebrush habitat; coal ash sickens residents of the Moapa River Indian Reservation.
Protecting the southeast Bering Sea's seafood harvests; students restore oyster beds in New York Harbor; grassroots campaign to ban fracking in Dryden, N.Y.
Citizens raise concern over waste from an industrial hog farm; preventing runoff of chemicals that could pollute the Mississippi River; bison in Montana.
A campaign for permanent protection of forests, watersheds and wildlife habitat in Montana; growing crops organically; effect of pesticides.
A bill designates permanent protection of public lands in Los Padres National Forest; Louisiana farmers add cover crops and rotational practices to improve soil health; coal ash poisons drinking water in West Virginia.