U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials have agreed to conduct a status review on Pinyon jay populations in the West to determine whether the species needs protection under the Endangered Species Act.

An inability to hire enough staff for this summer is forcing Blue Ridge Parkway officials to close the Otter Creek Campground for the season on August 24.

As the M/V Ocean Endeavour pushed cautiously through a challenging patch of sea ice on route to clearing customs in Resolute, a couple of harp seals frolicked in the water of Lancaster Sound just off the ship’s bow. Their heads popped straight up so they could playfully stare us down for a few seconds before disappearing briefly and then bobbing to the surface in a never-ending loop.

Dimples in the flatiron reefs of rock deep within Denali National Park tell stories of hundreds of dinosaurs from the Late Cretaceous Period milling about a large floodplain, heading perhaps to a watering hole.