"California’s redwoods, sequoias and Joshua trees define the American West and nature’s resilience through the ages. Wildfires this year were their deadliest test."

"Firefighters battled to tame a wildfire on hillsides southeast of Los Angeles late on Thursday, some 24 hours after it broke out in a wooded canyon, apparently triggered by a faulty domestic generator."

"Trees appear to communicate and cooperate through subterranean networks of fungi. What are they sharing with one another?"

"Climate change, voracious beetles and disease are imperiling the long-term survival of a high-elevation pine tree that’s a key source of food for some grizzly bears and found across the West, U.S. officials said Tuesday."

"If Native treaty rights had been honored, the natural landscape of the U.S. might look very different today."

"Wildfires in the western United States are increasingly destroying forests by turning them into grasslands and shrublands that exacerbate soil erosion and minimize carbon capture, according to new research."

"Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon topped 11,000 square kilometers for the first time since 2008 reports the Brazilian government."

"Alabama’s Mobile River basin has the most aquatic biodiversity in the country. But we’re in danger of losing it before we even know what’s there."

"After record-breaking wildfires this year, thousands of people across the West are still clearing piles of charred debris where their homes once stood in the hope of rebuilding their lives. ... But most states don't require rebuilding with fire-resistant materials, an NPR analysis has found."