A classic battle between utility companies and environmental groups at Delaware Water Gap National Recreational Area is the latest example of similar issues all across the country. This debate is over a proposed major "upgrade" of existing power lines that cross the park, and public meetings will be held this week. You can also comment from afar if you're interested.

If you want to know whether Spring is on the way, don’t look to groundhogs for the answer. Instead, listen for the frogs. Certain species of frogs, such as the wood frog, begin singing even when there is still snow on the ground.

When it comes to piping plovers, a threatened species, the nesting habitat at Cape Lookout National Seashore is some of the best in North Carolina. That's evidenced by the fact that in 2009 the 37 nests counted at the seashore represented 70 percent of all piping plover nests in North Carolina. While the tally reflected a slight decline from 2008's record high of 46 nests, the number of chicks that fledged was a record high.

They are Jackson Hole’s first family of environmental protection, this valley’s version of Aldo Leopold, John Muir, Henry David Thoreau, Margory Stoneman Douglas, and St. Francis rolled into one clan. Newcomers soon discover the progeny of the Muries, both the amazing children and grandchildren connected to them directly by bloodline and the eminently larger number of ideological descendants.