Natural Resources

Humans have been influencing landscapes and ecosystems on a global scale for far longer than people usually think, archeologists said in a newly published study.

"RIM OF CEDAR MESA, Utah — For centuries, humans have used the red sandstone canyons here as a way to mark their existence. ... Now, President Obama is weighing whether and how he can leave his own permanent imprint on history by designating about 2 million acres of land, known as the Bears Ears, as a national monument."

"As the Park Service approaches its centennial, it is grappling with a puzzle: Why are employees so unhappy, even while they love the work they do? And how can the agency fix it?"

"The long-term fate of a major conservation program [the Land and Water Conservation Fund] could end up being a key sticking point in negotiations over federal energy policy reform."

"Andrew Herrington slips on a battered green backpack, stashes a .308 bolt-action rifle under his arm and steps off a boat onto the steep, rocky shores of Great Smoky Mountains National Park."

"The Florida Everglades is a swampy wilderness the size of Delaware. .. But beneath the surface a different story is unfolding. Because of climate change and sea level rise, the ocean is starting to seep into the swampland. If the invasion grows worse, it could drastically change the Everglades, and a way of life for millions of residents in South Florida."

"The National Park Service has lost an early round of legal maneuvering over Yosemite National Park’s trademarked names, as a multi-front fight narrows to the court venue preferred by the aggrieved former concessionaire."

"The nearly 88,000 acres were meant to be a gift, donated along with a $40 million endowment so that part of Maine’s pristine North Woods might be protected forever as a national park. But it’s not easy to give away a national park; Roxanne Quimby, the wealthy, polarizing co-founder of Burt’s Bees, has been trying for more than a decade. Her effort has bitterly divided this corner of New England, where shuttered paper mills have led to crippling unemployment and a shrinking population, and where distrust of the federal government runs as deep as the rivers and streams."

"Grand Canyon National Park Superintendent Dave Uberuaga, who has shouldered responsibility for not acting more aggressively in response to long-running allegations of sexual harassment in the park, has announced his retirement rather than accept a move to the National Park Service's Washington headquarters."