"Ronald Gertson usually plants about 3,000 acres of rice each year on his family farm in Wharton County, Texas. But because of emergency water regulations set in 2012 due to central Texas' painfully persistent drought, Gertson could plant about 40 percent of that land."

"For nearly a year, disease detectives around the world have been trying to track down the source of a mysterious new virus in the Middle East that has infected 96 people and killed 47 since September."

"The tiny mosquito all too often has man on the run. And this summer, it seems even worse than usual."

"Officials raise alert as 'zombie' birds fall to earth amid fears city may be in grip of avian ailment Newcastle disease."

"Well-meaning home gardeners who buy plants to attract pollinators might be harming honeybees, according to a study that an environmental group released Wednesday."

"No more than 15 years ago, it would have made a bird watcher's week to see the seldom-seen wood stork. Today, a daily siting is not unusual."

"On John Bassler's 143-acre Piney Run Foxhound Training Preserve in Milford, Va., a densely wooded property lined with electrified fences to keep about 30 wild foxes inside contained, the chase is recreation, he said, part of a Virginia tradition commonly known as 'fox penning.'"

A legislative and regulatory battle over slaughter of wild horses is dividing conservation celebrities and American Indians in the Southwest and Mountain West.

"As fans of 'Duck Dynasty' can attest, hunting for nutria – big, water-loving rodents with bright orange front teeth – is hugely popular in Louisiana. This might not be exclusive to the bayou for long. As winters warm, nutria could migrate across the country, according to new research."

"It’s only a few weeks until the end of summer, a terrible time to be a moose in the New Hampshire wild."