You remember invasive carp, right? Scary critters with fins that are swimming up the Mississippi River toward Minnesota? Some are called grass carp, others bighead carp or black carp,

And the really awful, jumping carp? They're silver carp.

Silvers are the ones that have already populated rivers throughout the nation's midsection. The Illinois...Read more

Mass whale and dolphin strandings are common in the Keys. But turkey vultures?

Those scary birds that circle above their lifeless prey, then dive-bomb to feast on dead flesh, roadkill and rotting stuff in the dumpster down below?

It's rare, but vulture strandings are a thing. One happened on Monday, according to local marine mammal rescue ...Read more

Winter is home improvement season in the bald eagle world. In Allegheny County, five nests are bustling with activity and one eagle couple are, well, companions without commitment.

The eagles' return to the Pittsburgh area this century proved that the Smoky City is cleaning up its act, and in 2023 their story continues. Three experienced eagle ...Read more

As Florida wildlife officials grapple with how to reduce the amount of seabirds becoming entangled in fishing gear at the busy Skyway Fishing Pier State Park, new rules proposed Wednesday night attempt to find a middle ground between anglers and bird advocates who, for months, have disagreed on a solution.

Erika Burgess, a Florida wildlife ...Read more

A Department of Natural Resources gathering Friday in Bloomington with key stakeholders and Sarah Strommen, the agency's commissioner, detailed an ambitious $118 million onetime request Gov. Tim Walz is seeking from the state's surplus to repair and replace aging boat accesses, fish hatcheries and other outdoor-recreation infrastructure.

The ...Read more

The black bear population in Connecticut has gotten so large and aggressive, particularly in Litchfield and northwest Hartford counties, that one state legislator has proposed a bear-hunting lottery system.

State Rep. Karen Reddington-Hughes, R-Woodbury, has introduced the lottery bill, which would be overseen by the Department of Energy and ...Read more

Who does Bill Murray think he is? His 1993 rom-com radically changed popular understanding of southwestern Pennsylvania’s best-known mythological tale.

Before the movie “Groundhog Day” became a box office hit, Feb. 2 had nothing to do with a time loop that imprisons its temporal captives until they do what eternity intends. Since 1887, ...Read more

If you’ve ever dreamed of leaving a mundane life behind and exploring the country in a van, the Florida Van Life Gathering is for you.

The event, hosted at Withlacoochee River Park in Dade City on the first weekend in February, promises “three days of peace, love and vans.”

There will be live music, vendors, food trucks and activities ...Read more

The National Park Service wants to reinstate bans on what it describes as "controversial" hunting and trapping activities on Alaska's federal preserves, including luring bears with bait, shooting swimming caribou or killing wolf pups in their dens.

The agency, saying the activities do not meet traditional notions of sport hunting, is also ...Read more

Appointed Department of Natural Resources commissioner in 2019 by Gov. Tim Walz, Sarah Strommen is the first woman to lead the conservation agency. In the interview below Strommen, now reappointed by Walz, looks back at recent conservation successes and also at challenges that lie ahead. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Q: ...Read more

The newly chosen chief executive of Pheasants Forever says she will strive to broaden the organization's membership base and diversify its funding sources as she takes over one of the nation's most successful wildlife habitat groups.

Marilyn Vetter of New Richmond, Wis., was announced Monday as the successor to Howard Vincent, the president and...Read more

Three years ago almost to the day, Arik Matson cut short his dinner at a Waseca restaurant and sped in his police cruiser to a changed life.

A call had come in about a backyard prowler with a flashlight, and Arik, then 31 years old and wearing Waseca Police Department Badge 222, was going to check it out.

At home in nearby Freeborn, Arik's ...Read more

Eric Lewis' Christmas Eve hike up Cucamonga Peak offers a valuable lesson for anyone who's thinking about scaling the Southern California heights in the snow.

Lewis, 57, had been working his way through the SoCal Six-Pack of Peaks Challenge, and Cucamonga was his fifth in the series. But it was the first time he'd hiked a summit blanketed in ...Read more

John Ciccarelli and his buddy Ernest Slavis were out for an innocent Christmas Eve of Catholic Mass followed by some gambling.

After worship at St. Maurice at Resurrection Catholic Church, they headed across the street to the Casino @ Dania Beach, where they expected an adrenaline rush from a good hand, not a wild animal.

Around midnight, when...Read more

An omnibus spending bill passed by Congress late last year will supply funding to research and manage a fatal deer disease that was detected in Idaho for the first time last year.

The $1.7 trillion federal bill, which the U.S. House passed Dec. 23, included a provision to pass the Chronic Wasting Disease Research and Management Act. The ...Read more

A remarkable year of acquisition and enhancement of public land is in store for outdoor enthusiasts in 2023, starting with $167 million in projects recommended for legislative approval by the Lessard-Sams Outdoor Heritage Council.

The single-year, record amount of spending proposed by the council is anchored by the planned $22 million ...Read more