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Conservation starters: Some of the best science papers of 2024
Sukakpak Mountain lies in the Brooks Range of Alaska. Mountain environments were the subject of a conservation paper that found more protections are needed for the many differing types of montaine environments. “Mountains are super-important for biodiversity, ecosystem function, and the benefits people get from nature. We ignore them at our peril,” said a Society for Conservation Biology researcher. Bob Wick/Bureau of Land Management
Scientists churned out studies on life, the planet and the roles people play in the natural world
This story was originally published by The Revelator.
Every month scientific journals publish hundreds of new papers about endangered species and wildlife conservation. It’s a firehose of information in a world that feels increasingly in flames.
We asked researchers to send us their best or favorite papers of the past year. We received submissions that offer hope, guidance, analysis, and insight into emerging threats.
Aerin Jacob, director of science and research at Nature Conservancy of Canada, sent a coauthored paper from Conservation Biology about mountains — a habitat type that deserves more attention. “People often think that mountain ecosystems are so rugged and inaccessible that they don’t need habitat protection, but that’s not true,” she wrote. “We studied six major mountain regions around the world and found that on average half of them are as modified as the rest of the world; two-thirds of them don’t (yet) meet the 30×30 global protection target; and existing protected areas don’t include the vast majority of mountain ecosystem types. Mountains are super-important for biodiversity, ecosystem function, and the benefits people get from nature. We ignore them at our peril.”
One noteworthy study of 2024 was the role public information consumption plays in the perception of sharks, such as this endangered Caribbean Reef Shark. A researcher warns misinformation is polluting science. Brian Gratwicke via Revelator.
While wary of DC, NC presses on at state level to slow climate change
Written by Eric Tegethoff
Circa 1798: ‘Plan of the City of Washington in the Territory of Columbia; ceded by the states of Virginia and Maryland to the United States of America, and by them established as the seat of their government, after the year 1800.’ Ellicott/Thornton/Library of Congress
Groups to carry on air quality work, defend U.S. investments and ensure voices are heard from all communities
This story is from North Carolina News Service.
RALEIGH — President-elect Donald J. Trump retakes office in less than a week amid promises to roll back efforts to combat climate change. A friendly Congress could follow suit. But state-level efforts to address the crisis will continue in North Carolina, at least.
Trump has promised to repeal the Inflation Reduction Act passed under President Joe Biden, which earmarked billions for climate-resilience and alternative energy projects. Brittany Griffin with the nonprofit CleanAIRE NC says tinkering with the law would hurt the state, including its ability to prepare for more severe weather as climate change worsens. But she says there are still glimmers of hope on the state level.
“We still have a lot of state-led policies, and then our makeup now of the General Assembly looks different. We have a governor who also is pretty well-informed and, I believe, dedicated to addressing environmental issues in our state,” he said.
Griffin added that her organization will be working with community and legal partners to resist potentially harmful changes under the Trump administration, and ensuring that all citizens have a voice in their environment. CleanAIRE NC’s community science manager Daisha Walls is on the Environmental Justice Advisory Council for the Governor’s Office.
Griffin noted that there are a number of ways CleanAIRE NC is helping people feel more empowered, such as through its air monitoring networks in communities across the state and clean energy transportation efforts in rural areas, and said community member involvement is important to the state’s response to climate change.
“When they amplify their voice, it allows them to feel like they are participating in the process of shaping environmental policies as it relates to their communities,” she said.
North Carolina lawmakers have passed climate goals under the state’s Carbon Plan that aim to reduce Duke Energy’s carbon emissions by 70 percent by 2030 and reach carbon neutrality by 2050. But Griffin said the current plan falls short for the state’s underserved and impacted communities. However, it is renewed every two years and she hopes they have a larger say in the next iteration.
“We at CleanAIRE NC would like to make sure there’s more inclusion for all communities in the planning process so they can actually more directly benefit from it,” she said.
Five years after the start of a series of localized disasters, new boat ramps lead paddlers to water in Big South Fork
Written by Thomas Fraser
The Big South Fork on the Cumberland River as seen at Leatherwood Ford in March 2020 when it recorded a record height of 39 feet. One year later, it recorded a new record height of 41 feet. The flooding destroyed four boat ramps in the area, the park service has now rebuilt them all. Big South Fork is a very popular paddling destination. National Park Service
Big South Fork completes substantial repairs to four boat launches damaged in series of rain and windstorms
ONEIDA — Workers in Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area completed repairs to four popular boat launches damaged by significant generational flooding events over the past couple of years.
Park staff dismantled and rebuilt the boat launches at Blue Heron Mine-18, Brewster Bridge, Station Camp and Peters Bridge, all of which were severely damaged during flooding in March 2021 that arose after 8 inches of rain fell in and around Big South Fork. The Big South Fork of the Cumberland River reached 41 feet at Leatherwood Ford; three days prior it was at 7 feet.
The second-highest flow of the river since rain gauges were installed in the park in 1984 occurred just a year earlier in 2020 when the river hit 39 feet.
The park also experienced flooding in 2024, during which a man perished after he fell in a park waterway. Severe storms also damaged or destroyed multiple Big South Fork facilities and blocked roads and trails for weeks.
Big South Fork includes nearly 250 miles of rivers and streams and is a destination park for water recreation, and rock climbing.
Learn about using your forest as a carbon sink
KNOXVILLE — The next installment of Conservation on Tap is set for 7 p.m. Jan. 8 at Albright Grove Brewing Company, 2924 Sutherland Ave., Knoxville.
Join forester Sean Bowers to learn about the Family Forest Carbon Program, a partnership between the American Forest Foundation and The Nature Conservancy. The program allows owners of small tracts of forest access to carbon markets, empowering them to improve the health and wellbeing of their forests and help tackle climate change.
All proceeds from Conservation on Tap benefit Discover Life in America.
Helene: Storm left devastation from Mountains to Sea
Written by Mark Barrett
Water rose an estimated 15-18 feet on this side channel of North Fork of the Catawba River near Marion, N.C. Photos by Mark Barrett
Impromptu backcountry hike reveals extent of remote storm wreckage in WNC
Mark Barrett is an Asheville-based journalist. He reported for the New York Times at the height of Tropical Storm Helene.
MARION — I had a lot of chores to do Saturday but went hiking instead. I had read that the Mountains-to-Sea Trail was open from Woodlawn, N.C., a few miles north of Marion, east to the North Fork of the Catawba River so I decided to see what was left of the pedestrian bridge across the river after Helene.
I took a logging road part of the way there and before I reached the river I managed to make a wrong turn. Once I realized my mistake I decided to go cross country instead of retracing my steps since that would be shorter.
I walked into one of the scenes folks living in Western North Carolina are familiar with: Helene blew down two out of every three trees. Places like this make hiking a contact sport, and a slow and laborious one at that. Still, it was interesting to see.
After maybe half a mile of walking on, under and over downed trees, I made it into open woods and not far after that, to the spot where the bridge once stood. The only things visible were the abutments on either end and the pier, which had washed 50 to 100 yards downstream. Photos of the pier taken before Helene show it sitting on dry ground with an area behind it where it looks like water washed through during a flood. On my way back toward my car, I saw the main part of the bridge on the opposite side of the river a third of a mile or so downstream.
Helene: ORNL forest disturbance tool tracks devastation wrought by wind
Written by Stephanie G. Seay
The ForWarn vegetation tracking tool shows areas of red where extreme disturbance to the forest canopy occurred in Western North Carolina, East Tennessee and southern Virginia as a result of Hurricane Helene in late September 2024. Jitendra Kumar/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy
Information will help timber gleaning, fire-hazard mitigation
Stephanie Seay is a senior science writer and communications specialist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
OAK RIDGE — A visualization tool that tracks changes to the nation’s forests in near-real time is helping resource managers pinpoint areas with the most damage from Hurricane Helene in the Southeast.
The ForWarn visualization tool was co-developed by Oak Ridge National Laboratory with the U.S. Forest Service. The tool captures and analyzes satellite imagery to track impacts such as storms, wildfire and pests on forests across the nation.
When staff with the Forest Service’s Eastern Forest Environmental Threat Assessment Center in Asheville, North Carolina, were unable to work in the immediate aftermath of Helene due to utility outages, the ORNL-hosted ForWarn system continued monitoring the storm’s impact and providing reports. ForWarn indicated areas of severe disturbance to the forest canopy that were later confirmed by aerial photography.
“ForWarn helps quickly identify areas that may need remediation such as timber harvesting or prescribed burns as piles of felled trees dry out and potentially pose wildfire hazards,” said ORNL’s Jitendra Kumar.
Helene: A month after epic flooding, Smokies still reeling from storm effects
Written by Holly Kays
The Hiram Caldwell House looks out over a road rendered impassable following major flooding on Rough Fork Creek. Cataloochee Valley is closed until further notice. National Park Service
Damage to park infrastructure widespread on North Carolina side of Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Holly Kays is the lead writer for Smokies Life.
GATLINBURG — As Hurricane Helene gathered strength in the southern Gulf of Mexico, it seemed likely Great Smoky Mountains National Park would take a direct hit. The storm was a category 4 before slamming Florida’s Gulf Coast; then it headed north toward the Smokies.
But its course shifted east. Helene and its predecessor storm dropped unfathomable amounts of rain across Southern Appalachia — many places received well over a dozen inches in a matter of days, with some locations recording two dozen or more. The storm’s severity was unprecedented in the region, causing flash floods and landslides that have so far claimed at least 95 lives in North Carolina alone. Asheville, where extreme flooding destroyed entire neighborhoods and decimated the water system, logged more than 14 inches between September 24 and September 28.
Most of the park fell far enough west of Helene’s path to escape with only minor flooding, but its extreme eastern region — Cataloochee, Balsam Mountain, Big Creek — was inundated. Record-setting rains tore out trails and roads and damaged historic buildings, leading the park to close these areas until further notice.
Cataloochee Valley is closed until further notice after flooding from Rough Creek Fork rendered Upper Cataloochee Valley Road impassable. National Park Service
Helene: After frightful pause, nation’s historical weather data and its aggregators are safe at Asheville NOAA centers
Written by John Bateman
NCEI’s Physical Archive in Asheville, N.C. contains historical environmental data on paper and film. The Physical Archive remains safe and secure following Hurricane Helene and catastrophic flooding in the Southern Appalachians. NOAA
Staff and data holdings safe; webpages, products and services in the process of coming back online
John Bateman is a public affairs officer with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
ASHEVILLE — NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), headquartered in Asheville, is recovering from the impacts of Hurricane Helene. NCEI has confirmed that all of its employees and staff are safe, and is continuing to support them through the storm recovery. NCEI data holdings — including its paper and film records — are safe.
NCEI’s broadband internet provider is now fully operational. In addition to the recently reestablished connectivity, NCEI is leveraging facilities and staff in Colorado, Mississippi and Maryland to bring some system and data “ingest” capabilities back into operation. NCEI has resumed the majority of its data ingest streams and can confirm that data are being securely archived. We expect all ingest data pathways to be fully operational in the next two weeks.
NCEI continues to work with data providers to recoup data that were not ingested while systems were down. This work will take up to three months to be completed. NCEI will recover as much data as possible, however, some observations might eventually be unrecoverable.
The CSX rail line through the Nolichucky River Gorge near Erwin, Tennessee was one of many transportation and vital commerce links destroyed by epic river flooding spawned by Tropical Storm Helene Sept. 26-27, 2024. Jonathan Mitchell for Hellbender Press
ORNL Climate Change Institute: Weirdly warm water that spawned and fed Hurricane Helene was 500 times more likely due to climate change
OAK RIDGE — Hellbender Press spoke with Oak Ridge National Laboratory Climate Change Science Institute Director Peter Thornton about whether Hurricane Helene and its subsequent and disastrous impact on the Southern Appalachians was made worse by climate change. Citing an increasing scientific ability to link climate change to specific weather events, he said in a very matter-of-fact manner that yes, Helene was fueled by the symptoms and consequences of global warming caused by human emissions of carbon and other pollutants.
Thornton cited a World Weather Attribution report as a main source for his data and commentary, and summarized its research on Helene for Hellbender Press. Here is the interview, edited for clarity and brevity:
“I am the director of the Climate Change ScienceInstitute at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. I am a corporate fellow researchstaff at the laboratory in the area of earth system modeling and coupled carbon-cycle climatefeedbacks at the global scale all the way down to local scales.”
HP: The effects of Hurricane Helene were worsened by preceding rain events, correct?
“The event as it played out along the sort of the eastern flankof the Southern Appalachians was influenced strongly by precipitation that came beforethe storm even made landfall. There was what’s referred to as a stalled cold front, which was sitting over that SouthernAppalachian region and the front, kind of a linear element, stretched from Atlanta up along the flankof the Southern Appalachians.
“There were river stages that were already approaching record levels in some areasof that region before the storm arrived. There was probably moisture being pulled in from theouter bands of the storm into that stalled cold front, which was making that precipitation eventslightly bigger than it would have been otherwise. But it was an independentsynoptic-scale meteorological event.
(That could be linked to increased moisture, a hallmark of climate change, on the fringes of the tropical system, but there’s no data on that yet).
Peter Thornton, director of the Climate Change Science Institute at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, is shown here doing climate-research field work in 2015. ORNL
Updated Oct. 12: Helene: Recovery grinds along in Smokies, multiple major watersheds; questions arise about fate of Pigeon River sediment pollutants; major disaster averted at Waterville
Written by T. Fraser, JJ Stambaugh, P. Penland and W. Naegeli
Debris hangs from trees on the banks of the French Broad River near the main building of Hot Springs Resort and Spa. The river gauge at Hot Springs was offline during the main rain events immediately preceding the Sept. 27 floods but registered a peak just under 21 feet. The record stage is 22 feet, but that record will likely fall after review of provisional weather-gauge data by the National Weather Service. Thomas Fraser/Hellbender Press
Two weeks after epic floods, a far cry from normalcy; utility repairs continue; Del Rio still reels; Hot Springs limps; outpouring of help and mountain grit as battered communities take stock
This story will be updated.
The original story and updates continue below. We have been adding more images, videos, links, live or interactive graphs and specifics to our earlier reporting and updates.
GATLINBURG — Great Smoky Mountains National Park staff continue to assess the damage sustained by the country’s most-visited national park during Tropical Storm Helene. (The storm was at tropical storm strength when it struck the mountains Sept. 26-27, prompting a rare tropical-storm warning for Western North Carolina).
The Cataloochee and Big Creek areas on the North Carolina side in Haywood County were particularly hard-hit, and significant damage was reported to park cultural resources and road and bridge infrastructure. Those areas remain closed. Most roads and trails on the Tennessee side of the national park are open. Cataloochee is a valuable tourist draw during the fall rutting season of elk populations successfully reintroduced to the park in the 1990s.
Tropical Storm Helene destroyed Upper Cataloochee Road in Great Smoky Mountains National Park and damaged other park infrastructure and historical resources. National Park Service
Here’s an update from the National Park Service:
“The park experienced substantial damage, particularly in North Carolina, including Balsam Mountain, Big Creek and Cataloochee Valley.
More...
Updated Oct. 2: Helene hits the mountains: Death toll nears 200; factory scrutinized after worker deaths in Erwin; major roads and railroad links still cut; massive recovery underway; havoc in So. Appalachians
Written by T. Fraser, JJ Stambaugh; P. Penland and W. Naegeli
Helene fallout continues; hundreds still missing; at least 60 dead in NC; flooding and wind damage still widespread in Southern Appalachians; National Guard in action; land access, supplies, communications, water and power still spotty
This story will be updated.
The original story and updates continue below.
We have been adding more images, videos, links, live or interactive graphs and specifics to earlier updates, too. So, keep scrolling to glean them after touching the More… button. You may want to bookmark some of the interactive features for your own present and future use.
Demolished vehicles are seen in the area of what used to be Red Banks Campground in the Chestoa area of Unicoi County. Thomas Fraser/Hellbender Press
ERWIN — The death toll from Hurricane Helene climbed to at least 180 people on Wednesday, making it the deadliest hurricane to hit the United States in 50 years with the exception of Hurricane Katrina, which claimed over 1,800 lives in 2005 in what was also a largely impoverished area.
In one-hard hit community in the mountains of northeast Tennessee, emotions grew high as Spanish-speaking family of missing loved ones accused first responders through an interpreter of showboating, classism and preferential rescues during a tense press conference broadcast live on X.
The mounting death toll and increasingly fruitless searches came as millions of people spent their sixth day without running water or power and an ad hoc army of first responders, volunteers and National Guard troops struggled to deliver life-saving supplies to communities throughout the Southern Appalachians that were cut off by the record breaking flash floods spawned by the storm.
In Erwin, a town of 6,000 in Unicoi County, officials confirmed that a criminal investigation had been launched into the conduct of a manufacturing company that was accused of forcing employees to keep working even as floodwaters rose to dangerous levels.
State your case in local quest to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
KNOXVILLE — The Knoxville Regional Transportation Planning Organization seeks the public’s feedback on greenhouse gas emissions in East Tennessee. Take this brief survey and make your voice heard:
- The survey takes about 10 minutes to complete and covers topics like climate change, energy efficiency and transportation to shape ongoing efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the region. The survey is open through Sept. 30 at www.knoxbreathesurvey.com
- Residents of all nine counties within the Knoxville Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) — Knox, Anderson, Blount, Campbell, Grainger, Loudon, Morgan, Roane and Union — are encouraged to take the survey and make their voices heard.
- The Knoxville MSA was one of 82 metropolitan areas in the U.S. selected by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to receive a planning grant to create a regional emission reduction plan as part of the agency’s Climate Pollution Reduction Grants (CPRG) program. “BREATHE” is the name for the Knoxville region’s CPRG initiative.
- More information on “BREATHE” can be found at knoxbreathe.org
Editorial: Fight legislation that rolls back environmental protections
Written by Dan Ritzman
“Freedom of Speech.” Norman Rockwell/Library of Congress
Stand up for wildlands, wildlife and water — all threatened by proposed Congressional bills
Dan Ritzman is director of the Sierra Club Conservation Campaign.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Our public lands are facing unprecedented threats, and time is running out to protect them. Scientists tell us we need to double the amount of protected lands and waters in America by 2030 to fight the climate and extinction crisis. Congress is pushing through several dangerous bills that could dismantle essential safeguards and open up our natural treasures to devastating exploitation.
Here’s the urgent situation and what we’re fighting against:
- Fix Our Forests Act (HR 8790): This bill could weaken environmental protections, promote excessive logging and bypass crucial reviews, risking the health of our forests and worsening climate change.
- Save Our Sequoias Act (HR 2989): While claiming to protect Giant Sequoias, this legislation could actually harm these iconic trees by speeding up logging projects and removing key environmental protections.
- Forest Information Reform Act (FIR Act) (HR 200) & Senate Bill S 1540: These bills would exempt the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management from critical environmental consultations and reviews, ignoring new information and putting endangered species at risk.
- Cottonwood S1540: This bill aims to undermine important environmental checks established by previous court decisions, threatening sensitive habitats and wildlife.
- Wyoming Public Lands Initiative (S1348): This proposal could compromise protections for Wyoming’s public lands, increasing resource extraction and reducing conservation efforts.
Protecting wild places will keep drilling and logging from dumping pollution into the air, sequester emissions, provide protection from extreme weather, homes for wildlife and opportunities for people to enjoy the outdoors together.
Your support today will help ensure that our public lands remain protected for future generations.
Join the Rally for the Valley 2.0
NASHVILLE — Join the rescheduled Rally for the Valley on Sept. 21 2024 at Centennial Park for a day filled with fun, music, learning and community spirit.
The rally, organized by the Clean Up TVA Coalition, which includes Southern Alliance for Clean Energy and other allies, calls on the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) to stop its gas buildout and lead the way to a fossil-free future.
The decisions in front of TVA are significant. They will impact the health and safety of our communities, how much we pay to keep the lights on, and whether we meet our climate targets and achieve energy justice. We are mobilizing with communities from across Tennessee to urge TVA leaders to change course before its too late.
Are you in? Register today!