BRIANNA RANDALL

Ships tune in to underwater sounds, using acoustics technology to protect vulnerable marine giants. By Brianna Randall, published in Reasons To Be Cheerful On a gray morning this past March, a half-dozen scientists scanned the sea while bobbing offshore of Chile’s Atacama Desert. When an enormous whale surfaced, their small […]

The Indigenous community-owned Chalalán Ecolodge offers family adventures and rare wildlife encounters in the Bolivian Amazon. We heard the snorts first, echoing like gunshots through the sauna-thick air. Then eight heads jack-in-the-boxed out of the lake near our dugout canoe. “Wow, giant otters!” whispered Gilder Macuapa, our guide at Chalalán Ecolodge in […]

‘Jet packs’ and ultrasounds could reveal secrets of pregnant whale sharks – Until now, our knowledge of pregnancy in the world’s largest living fish came from one female.  Read more >

America’s Billion-Dollar Tree Problem Is Spreading – Grasslands are being overrun by drought-resistant invaders that wreck animal habitats, suck up water supplies, and can cost landowners a fortune. Read more >

“5 Reasons You Need to Adventure With Your Baby.”  It’s true: you SHOULD take your baby with you for outdoor adventure! Read on for first-time family trip ideas and tips, including floats, hikes, and camping adventures.

What Are Flash Droughts? – Harmful to crops, streams and wells, researchers find flash droughts difficult to predict. Read more >

“Invasive grasses are taking over the American West’s sea of sagebrush” – Highly flammable cheatgrass and similar nonnative plants dominate one-fifth of the Great Basin. Read more >

“How Ketamine Helps Alleviate Depression” –  An alternative treatment for mood disorders like depression and anxiety uses one of the only legal psychedelics in the U.S. Researchers still grapple with how exactly it heals the mind.  Read more >

Cutting Trees Gives Sage-Grouse Populations a Boost, Scientists Find – A new study in Oregon shows that removing conifers has helped the imperiled bird’s local numbers grow more quickly. Read more >

The Science Behind Cold Water Plunges – People are plunging into icy water for invigoration and health benefits. Are they onto something?  Read more >  

The ultra-marathoner who crosses borders –  Mike Foote is an ultra-marathon champion who concocts elaborate, human-powered adventures through North America to highlight hot-button issues like climate change and immigration.  Read more >

Archaeologists Have Found Prehistoric Rock Structures Under the Great Lakes. Learn what the stones tell us about communal hunting patterns of early humans. Read more >

“Welcome to Polebridge, one of the US’ last frontiers” – For more than a century, settlers have been drawn to this pioneering town because of the sheer beauty of the surrounding wilderness – but residents worry that may soon change. Read more >

The Great Plains prairie needs fire to survive – These ranchers are bringing flames back to the grasslands. Read more >

“Another Consequence of Suppressing Wildfire: Trees Are Invading the Prairie” – Left unburned, woody vegetation is crowding out habitat, but proactive landowners are learning to use fire to restore America’s grasslands.  Read more >

“Ranchers take on cheatgrass fight” – Controlling this invasive weed can protect Western grazing lands. Read more >  

“Dads Experience Postpartum Depression, Too” –  New fathers face many changes after their child’s birth, and need more support, experts say. Read more >>

“Beavers, Trout, and a Changing Climate” – Research seeks to ensure beaver-related stream restoration is a boon rather than a bother for native trout. Read more >

“Noah Strycker is on a mission to bring birding to the masses” – North America has lost nearly 3 billion total birds over the past 50 years, according to recent research. One birder hopes to change that, in part, by attracting new recruits to his lifelong profession and pastime.  Read more >

“Swimming with Hawaii’s charismatic spinner dolphins stirs controversy” – In Hawaii, swimming with wild dolphins is possible and popular — partly because these marine mammals keep showing up near shore to greet their human visitors. But some scientists worry people may be unintentionally harming the dolphins. Read more >>

“What to do when you’re giving a tropical island” – When Ben and Lisa Newton sold their businesses and homes to sail through the South Pacific, they never expected to own one of the islands they dreamed about.  Read more >>

“Meet Earl, the gatekeeper to Paradise” – Paradise, population one, is halfway along one of the roughest roads in the US West, perched between two vast wilderness areas that total 1.4 million hectares. That’s where we met Earl. Read the full story here.