POLITICS President Donald Trump sharply reduced the size of two national monuments by about two million acres, the largest rollback of federal land protection in the nation’s history. The Society of Vertebrate Paleontology is one of the groups suing the government over the decision. (Science) Why is the Trump administration rethinking the scope of national monuments? Use our study guide to find out. Teachers, scroll … Continue reading Why Are Paleontologists Suing the Trump Administration?
ENVIRONMENT Mexico’s government has created the largest ocean reserve in North America around the Pacific archipelago of the Revillagigedo islands. (The Guardian and National Geographic) What’s going on around the Revillagigedo islands? Learn more from our Pristine Seas expedition. Teachers, scroll down for a quick list of key resources in our Teachers Toolkit. Discussion Ideas Mexico just created a 150,000-square-kilometer (57,000-square-mile) marine reserve surrounding … Continue reading Mexico Creates One of the Largest Marine Reserves in the Pacific
POLITICS President Trump on Wednesday ordered the Interior Department to review the size and scope of some national monuments larger than 100,000 acres created since 1996. (Nat Geo News) Use today’s MapMaker Interactive map to explore your public lands under review. Teachers, scroll down for a quick list of key resources in our Teachers Toolkit, including today’s MapMaker Interactive map. Discussion Ideas President Donald Trump … Continue reading What You Need to Know about the National Monument ‘Rethink’
UNITED STATES On Saturday, a group of about 20 armed protesters occupied the headquarters of a National Wildlife Refuge in rural eastern Oregon. Federal ownership of land in the western United States has triggered such conflicts for decades. Why? (Nat Geo News) Use our Oregon Tabletop Map to identify Burns, Malheur Lake, and the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. Teachers, scroll down for a quick list … Continue reading Why Are Federal Lands So Wildly Controversial in the West?
Last weekend, I tried (unsuccessfully) to attend an
astronomy event.Long story, short, we
failed to read the Northern Virginia Astronomy Club’s website correctly and
landed at a different astronomy event than the one we had had in mind, at a
different state park, which had closed 15 minutes before my compatriots and I
arrived.Feeling dejected but not
entirely discouraged, we meandered through the roads of rural Virginia, looking for
a place to stargaze.What we found was a
lot of open country, surrounded by a lot of locked gates.
Sky Meadows State Park, our unattained destination. Photo credit: John Cushing, MyShot, 12/02/2009.
