 Land
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Wounded Warrior Project Family Resiliency outdoor event in Branson, MO
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Honoring 9/11 Veterans Who Are Finding Peace In Nature
On this 17th anniversary of the September 11th attacks, an increasing number of veterans are getting the chance to hike, bike and enjoy time outdoors with their families thanks to the Wounded Warrior Project. The Wounded Warrior Project organizes outdoor activities all around the country at parks like Starved Rock State Park in Illinois, and Red Rock Canyon in Colorado. The WWP program gatherings provide opportunities for injured veterans to form bonds with one another, their families, and their communities — through camaraderie, exercise and a mental break outdoors. “This was something that both my wife and I have always wanted to try,” said Army veteran Marcia Falls. “Hiking was on our bucket list. It was very exciting and invigorating.” The group learned more about hiking opportunities in their area, and they shared experiences and resources with other warriors.
“I’ve found a lot of healing in the outdoors,” said National Guard veteran Allison Sage, “and I feel much more comfortable outdoors with others than inside. I signed up for the hike so that I could experience nature with other veterans.” In addition to the Wounded Warrior Project, there are groups like Veterans Trek, which aims to provide healthy outdoor activities and education to get Veterans into the restorative environment of nature, and Veterans Expeditions, which is determined to ensure inclusiveness in their outdoor programs.
Why This Matters: These veterans have sacrificed greatly to ensure our freedom and democracy. Parks provide them a refuge for bonding and healing with friends, family and fellow veterans. We as a nation should recognize the importance of parks and conservation for them and for all of us. This is yet another reason why the fight to preserve monuments and maintain our parks is so important. And why groups like the National Parks Conservation Association is working with veterans to protect and increase funding for national parks.
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This story was brought to you by the National Wildlife Federation. To learn more about how the National Wildlife Federation can help you connect your family with the outdoors, click here.
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 Climate Change
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Climate Change to Drastically Alter Yellowstone
Yellowstone is one of America’s most beloved national parks and its popularity amongst visitors is only growing: since 2008 annual visits have grown by nearly 40% with 2017 experiencing well over 4 million visitors to the park. The features that make Yellowstone such a desirable place to visit, like its forests, meadows, and abundant wildlife are increasingly under threat from a warming planet. As USA Today reported, scientists have already documented dozens of changes in the park in the past 50 years, including 30 fewer days with snow on the ground per year, 80 more days above freezing per year at the northeast entrance and higher average temperatures overall, especially during the nighttime.
Scientists are also trying to understand what warming soil and air temperatures will mean for native plant species like aspen, pine, sagebrush and even alpine species at higher elevations. As precipitation continues to decrease it means that the park’s wetlands will dry up and amphibians and some birds will lose their habitat. Additionally, we’ve seen the devastation to ecosystems that massive wildfires can inflict (like at Yosemite this past summer) and warmer air temperatures and drier vegetation make manageable wildfires burn out of control. For Yellowstone, wildfires that burn down forests mean that invasive species like cheatgrass are able to settle alter the landscape to include far more grassland and shrubs.
Why This Matters: This sounds obvious but everything within an ecosystem is interconnected so when even a small species suffers, the ramifications can be felt all the way up the food chain. Symptoms of climate change like lack of snowfall, migration of plants to higher elevations, and earlier springs affect Yellowstone’s most iconic species like grizzly bears, bison, elk, foxes, and even the tiny pika. Ann Rodman who is the director of geographic information system operations at Yellowstone explained that while the park has endured a changing climate in the past but the difference now is the timescale on which these changes are happening. Big temperature shifts used to take 5,000 to 10,000 years now they’re happening in decades.
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 Energy
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In Midterms, Fracking and Property Rights on the Ballot in Colorado
In Colorado, dueling ballot initiatives are heating up ahead of the midterm elections. The first, brought by the group Colorado Rising would require 2,500-foot setbacks, or buffer zones, between new oil and gas development and any occupied buildings or “vulnerable areas,” which include playgrounds, public open space, any body of water or an area designated by the local government. However, federal lands, which make up roughly one-third of the state, would be exempt from this initiative. An analysis done by the state concluded that the initiative would rule out 85 percent of non-federal land to development and drastically reduce property taxes paid down from the $470 million in fiscal year 2016-17. It would upend development of new oil and gas in a state that’s become the nation’s No. 5 natural gas producer and No. 7 producer of oil.
Also on the ballot is an initiative that is backed by the oil and gas industry and landowners that would expand the rights of property owners to seek government compensation for actions that diminish the “fair market value,” not just the physical value, of their property. The AP reports that President Trump’s nominee to be U.S. Attorney in Colorado, Jason Dunn, drafted the initiative, according to Shawn Martini, vice president of advocacy for the Colorado Farm Bureau, the measure’s prime backer. The “just compensation” amendment was funded heavily by Protect Colorado, a political issue group funded by the oil and gas industry, according to Colorado Public Radio.
Why This Matters: This matters for two big reasons — litigation and money. The just compensation initiative requires landowners to receive “fair market value” for their “taken” property, but the courts would have to decide what this term means on a case by case basis, one lawsuit at a time. Second, no one knows who would pay the just compensation even after the amount is determined. Sam Mamet, executive director of the Colorado Municipal League, warned, “I don’t know what ‘fair market value’ means. No one has a definition of it,” Mamet said. “I told our local governments: If this passes, I wouldn’t act. If you do, you’ll get sued. They have deep pockets. We don’t.” And if voters approve both the new setback and the just compensation initiative, then the state would have a huge potential liability to oil and gas developers and drillers in those cases where the new setbacks prevent access to deposits.
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 People
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Record Death Tolls for Wildfire Firefighters
So far in 2018 and in California alone, 5,701 wildfires have erupted that have incinerated 1,325,023 acres (which is just about the size of the state of Delaware). Wildfires are hotter and more destructive than they have ever been and fighting them takes a serious toll on firefighters. This year 5 firefighters along with a contract bulldozer operator and a mechanic lost their lives fighting wildfires in California, which is a record even in a state prone to wildfires.
The Guardian explained that firefighters are pushing themselves to their physical and emotional limits to battle these blazes, staying awake for days, sleeping in the dirt, working away from their homes for more than a month. They are doing so even as their colleagues die, and they are grappling with grief and a profound exhaustion that some in the field believe may have contributed to those deaths. The work is relentlessly hot, smoky and tiring. Firefighters wear hoods, jackets, pants, boots, and goggles to protect themselves and often hike long distances wearing heavy packs in temperatures exceeding 104F (40C). In a day’s work firefighters can lose about 13 pounds of water weight and constantly feel thirsty because of how much they sweat. It’s backbreaking work and these men and women toil every day to protect people’s homes and property.
Why This Matters: While firefighters have always lost their lives on the line of duty, the loss of life has never been so severe as it was this past year as they’ve fought raging wildfires. Unfortunately, climate change making drought more prevalent which dries out trees and vegetation and makes wildfires far more dangerous. Today, on the 17th anniversary of 9/11 we honor firefighters and all first responders who put their lives on the line to ensure our safety. Working to slow climate change isn’t just a lofty goal, it can help protect the lives of the people that save ours.
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 Weather
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Hurricane Florence and Friends
Hurricane Florence is expected to make landfall in the Carolinas on Thursday and as she surges across warm ocean water she now has the potential to become a category 5 storm. South Carolina’s Governor Henry McMaster ordered mandatory evacuations for coastal communities in the state which means that an estimated 1 million people are expected to evacuate in South Caroline alone. But while all attention is on Florence there are at least 5 other major storms threatening coastlines on the Pacific and Atlantic oceans.
- Hurricane Helene is still closer to Africa than North America and will likely head north in the Atlantic and not make landfall, according to the National Hurricane Center.
- Hurricane Isaac, according to AccuWeather, will churn westward and bring strong winds and heavy rain to the Lesser Antilles during the second half of the week and has the potential to develop into a Category 2 storm.
- Tropical Storm Olivia is forecast to begin to affect the Hawaiin islands Tuesday night with tropical storm force winds, heavy rainfall, and large, damaging surf.
- Typhoon Mangkhut is located outside the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR), strengthened further and slowed down on Monday evening. The danger is that while it remains over water, it might still strengthen into a super typhoon
Why This Matters: Monday was the peak of the Atlantic hurricane season, when storm activity has historically been at its highest. Most importantly, these storms are a reminder of how quickly they can intensify and pose a serious threat to cities and human lives. We keep saying this but it’s really important: PLEASE listen to evacuation orders and don’t dismiss warnings and preparedness recommendations even if you think they’re overly cautious.
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 Animals
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Photo: Raleigh Kitchen, Sea Island Naturalist
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They Hatched!
Last summer during a family trip to Sea Island, Georgia, I (Monica) “adopted” on behalf of Our Daily Planet a loggerhead sea turtle nest that had been laid while I was there. Raleigh and Haley, the Naturalists, promised to keep us up to date on the progress of the nest and let us know once the turtles were close to hatching. Last Saturday during their dawn patrol they found that the turtles had indeed hatched! They took stock and found a total of 97 hatched eggs along with 4 undeveloped eggs and one live straggler down in the nest. Our nest, with a 94% hatch rate, was well above the 60% hatch rate that they consider a success! Best of all, they rescued the last straggler in the nest and set it on its way to the sea. Ironically, my own children left the nest last week too — off to start a new year of college and grad school. I am feeling very much like an empty nester today! But watching this video makes me smile and think of my own kids heading out into the big world on their own. Good luck little turtles!
H/T to Raleigh Kitchen and Haley Watkins of the Sea Island Nature Center for taking such good care of our turtle eggs while they incubated, and to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources for their support of nesting sea turtles!
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The Last ODP Turtle Nest Straggler Heads Out to Sea!
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