"MINERVA, N.Y. -- A 250-foot waterfall, one of the tallest in the Northeast, tumbles over giant slabs of marble. A chain of 13 crystalline lakes and ponds teems with bass and lake trout. A 10-mile stretch of the Hudson River gorge winds through dense stands of hemlock, white pine and red maple."

"WASHINGTON -- British mining giant Anglo American is abandoning its effort to develop Alaska's Pebble Mine, leaving Canadian explorer Northern Dynasty Minerals alone in its attempt to push through the massive and controversial project."

"The death threat itself didn’t bother Mike Ehlebracht. He’d been threatened plenty of times before."

"MILWAUKEE -- Placing water retention structures in the St. Clair River may not be enough to counteract the effects of a warming climate and raise Lakes Huron and Michigan to their normal levels, experts said Monday."

"In the reality TV series 'Prospectors,' gem hunters on a peak in central Colorado face the dangers of high-altitude lightning, rock falls, cave-ins and whiteouts while digging for valuable rocks 'just like their predecessors 150 years ago.'"

"ODANAH, WIS. -- While laughing children bob in kayaks along the sandy shores of Lake Superior, their somber parents hunch over picnic tables talking about their wild rice, their water, their fish and their way of life. Members of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa Indians worry about what is to become of their lake, a life source for their people."

"The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals deals a blow to a years-long effort by Drakes Bay Oyster Co. to extend its lease in Point Reyes National Seashore."

"DIRGIN, Texas -- Ida Finley smiles wistfully, recalling how she used to cook for an entire East Texas community -- nearly all descendants of slaves. The children would grab cornbread, greens and cookies from her kitchen while their parents grew vegetables in a tiny creekside village hidden among pine forests."

"A major feature of the Earth has escaped notice — until now. Scientists Thursday that they've discovered a vast canyon, twice as long as the Grand Canyon. It carves a deep scar from the center of the world's largest island out to the coast. And, oh one more detail: It's buried beneath as much as 2 miles of ice. Yes, we're talking about icy Greenland."

"NEW ORLEANS -- Flying over southeast Louisiana, it's easy to see human fingerprints on what's left of the wetlands below."