"Every time Dean Finnerty sees the locked neon-yellow gate and "No Trespassing" sign deep in Oregon's Elliott State Forest, he bristles at the growing movement to transfer federally owned land to U.S. states."

"The unique mix of microbes in soil has a profound effect on which plants thrive and which ones die".

"The Netherlands, home to windmills and clogs, legalized prostitution and marijuana, is also home to intensively farmed cropland. Holland’s small size and large population have meant that the country his historically needed savvy agriculturalists to feed its people. But as it grows less and less of its own food, the government has  to buy out farmers to return cropland to a wilder state.

"To offset lost mining jobs, officials, business leaders and environmentalists are setting aside political feuds to try to create an entrepreneurial economy."

"Think of Mesa Verde National Park and you probably imagine iconic cliff dwellings sketched in sandstone. Those homes were built by the Ancestral Pueblo before they left the area in the late 13th Century. Climate change may be putting some of those dwellings in jeopardy."

"A leading U.S. coal regulator announced plans on Tuesday to toughen what it called "out-of-date" rules for guaranteeing mine cleanups."

"The race is on to win President Barack Obama's attention as he puts some final touches on his environmental legacy. Conservation groups, American Indian tribes and federal lawmakers are urging his administration to preserve millions of acres as national monuments. Such a designation often prevents new drilling and mining on public lands, or the construction of new roads and utility lines."

"'Glamping,' or glamorous camping, has spiked in popularity over the last decade."

"Night owls and stargazers, get ready for something spectacular on Thursday. The annual Perseid meteor shower, already one of the most reliably impressive celestial events, promises to be especially good this year."

"From Appalachia to Wyoming, surging demand for cheap natural gas, tougher environmental regulations and multiple coal company bankruptcies have left behind a devastated coal business, lost jobs and billions of dollars in cleanup work. Many of the jobs are gone for good, but ex-miners can repair the damaged land and shape a post-coal economy, Interior Secretary Sally Jewell said on a recent visit to coal country, offering up a future starkly different from Donald Trump's."

"U.S. states should force coal companies to set aside collateral to pay for future mine cleanups and protect taxpayers as the industry braces for further declines, a leading federal regulator said on Tuesday."