Natural Resources

"A river in the far north of Siberia turned bright red this week, residents said, leading Russians to nickname the tributary the 'blood river.'"

"Unspoiled lands are disappearing from the face of the Earth at an alarming pace, with about 10 percent of wilderness regions - an area double the size of Alaska - lost in the past two decades amid unrelenting human development, researchers said on Thursday."

"In its biggest expansion in decades, Yosemite National Park on Wednesday broadened its western boundary by adding 400 acres of lush meadowlands edged with cedars and ponderosa pines that provide habitat for some of California’s most threatened wildlife."

"Oregon State Police and Parks officials watched the viral video showing the toppling of a popular sandstone pedestal at Cape Kiwanda earlier this week, and the agencies said Monday they would "review the incident immediately" and decide how to respond to the apparent vandalism."

"The State of Michigan on Friday announced its intention to approve, over tribal protests, an open pit mine near burial and other culturally important sites in the Upper Peninsula."

"One of the world’s smallest ethnic groups is finding its cultural traditions on the wrong side of Mongolian law, putting its very existence in peril."

"U.S. President Barack Obama will dramatically expand the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument off the coast of Hawaii on Friday, the White House said, an action that will ban commercial fishing from more than 582,500 sq miles (1.5 million sq km) of the Pacific Ocean."

"Tropical Storm Colin ripped across the Gulf of Mexico in June and hit the coast of southwest Florida with 60-mile-an-hour winds. Before it arrived, a team from the U.S. Geological Survey used a new computer model to predict how far inland the waves would invade."

"President Obama designated a large swath of Maine’s North Woods as a new national monument Wednesday, creating what is likely to be the last large new national park ever established on the East Coast."

"2016 marks the centennial of the National Park Service, the mission of which is to preserve 'unimpaired the natural and cultural resources and values of the National Park System for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future generations. The Park Service cooperates with partners to extend the benefits of natural and cultural resource conservation and outdoor recreation throughout this country and the world.'"