"Nine people are now confirmed dead, and a further 19 remain unaccounted for as a slow-motion environmental catastrophe continues to unfold following the collapse of two mining dams in Brazil’s mineral-rich state of Minas Gerais."

"With their garish blooms, there's something special about orchids, and in the U.S., no place has more native species than Fakahatchee Strand Preserve. The state park in Southwest Florida was the setting for the 1998 book The Orchid Thief. Scientists there are working to bring back varieties lost through the years to poachers and habitat destruction."

"A celebratory signing on Tuesday of a memorandum of understanding between the Interior Department and Energy Department formally established the Manhattan Project National Historical Park, one that will span three states and recount a pivotal moment in world history."

"House Natural Resources Chairman Rob Bishop has received praise and criticism from his Republican colleagues over his proposal to overhaul the Land and Water Conservation Fund, a sign of potential headwinds as the Utahan seeks to advance his bill."

"Louisiana's projections for funding its 50-year master plan for coastal restoration and hurricane storm surge protection are at least $71 billion short of the inflation-adjusted $91.7 billion price tag, according to a study released Friday (Nov. 6) by the Tulane Institute on Water Resources Law & Policy."

"It's not unusual for thunderstorms to drench Death Valley this time of year, but this October was different."

"MARIANA, Brazil -- "Three days after a massive mudflow and flood caused by ruptured dams at an iron ore mine, Brazilian authorities are still struggling to determine a cause or even recover the bodies of as many as 28 people possibly swept away in the torrent."

"House Natural Resources Chairman Rob Bishop (R-Utah) [Thursday] proposed comprehensive reforms to the Land and Water Conservation Fund in a bill that would send significantly more money to states and greatly curtail the purchase of new federal lands."

"Casualties from a collapsed dam at a Brazilian mine owned by Vale and BHP Billiton mounted on Friday after rescue teams worked through the night to find the dozens missing in mudslides that devastated a nearby village."

"For years, the company operating oil wells in New Mexico’s Aztec National Monument was exempt from being regulated by the National Park Service, which manages the site to protect ancient Pueblo structures. As a result, a dirt access road to one of the wells runs directly over buried ruins. A park archeologist once watched as a grader resurfacing the deeply rutted road exposed archeological remnants."