"These rare salamanders, which can grow to over two feet long, lurk in the wild rivers of Appalachia. To spot one, you’ll need a snorkel, and some luck."

"“We just lost a decade’s worth of work,” said one green group leader." 

"The U.S. Congress has passed hundreds of laws protecting federal public lands over the past century through bipartisan efforts and with the support of local governments. Now, President Donald Trump’s administration and some Republican lawmakers in Congress are pushing policies and legislation that upend these protections."

"Two wildfires burning in the western United States — including one that has become a “megafire” on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon — are so hot that they are spurring the formation of “fire clouds” that can create their own erratic weather systems."

"Fireflies are lighting up summer evenings across the U.S. Northeast, putting on dazzling shows in backyards and city parks."

"Independent experts with the United Nations Human Rights Council on Friday publicly called on President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil to veto parts of a new law that would carve giant loopholes in the country's environmental regulations."

"The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will close its flagship, but deteriorating research site in Maryland as part of a major reorganization aiming to shift 2600 employees away from the nation’s capital area, the agency announced this week. At the same time, USDA said it plans to shutter most of its forest research stations around the country. "

"The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is opening crucial gorilla habitats and pristine forests to bids for oil and gas drilling, with plans to carve up more than half the country into fossil fuel blocks."

"Federal wildlife officials approved a plan last year to protect northern spotted owls by shooting other owls, but it has faced pushback from animal rights advocates and lawmakers — including conservatives. Now lawmakers could kill the plan."