Over the last 27 years, coral cover in the Great Barrier Reef has decreased by more than 50 percent due to a combination of beaching, increased storm activity, and a boom in coral-eating starfish. At the current rate, the amount over coral cover will halve again within 10 years, according to a collection of studies published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal. From 1985 to 2012, the amount of coral cover decreased from 28 to 13.8 percent. About two-thirds of the los... Read More
Ramón Julian Puigblanque of Spain and Jain Kim of Korea took first place in the U.S.'s only lead climbing World Cup over the weekend, edging out Jakob Schubert and Maja Vidmar with strong performances in the semifinals. The victories come just a few days after the International Federation of Sport Climbing announced that it would focus its 2020 Olympic bid exclusively on lead climbing, leaving out the other two disciplines of bouldering and speed climbing. Puigblanque and Kim both curre... Read More
Whale remains left by the Arctic Alaskan town of Kaktovic after the annual hunt drew record numbers of polar bears to the small community last month. Researchers who use the town to monitor bear populations counted 80 bears in a single day, besting the previous record of 65, set in 2004. The sharp increase has been attributed in large part to the record retreat of Arctic sea ice, which reached an all-time low in August. The bears, who traditionally rely on fat reserves during the summer months... Read More
Photographer: Damian Cromwell/Bella Coola Heli Sports
Washington's Methow Valley Ranger District has issued a notice of noncompliance to a heli-skiing company that cut more than two dozen trees on a high ridge in the North Cascades. Mazama-based North Cascade Heli-Skiing illegally cleared and topped the trees in at least two areas in the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest in order to create better landing sites. Backcountry skiers took pictures of the stumps of whitebark pine, subalpine larch, and fire trees, some of which were around 300 years o... Read More
Several trails in Banff National Park are closed following a fatal attack on a dog by a grizzly bear last week. Leo Mitzel was hiking with his Jack Russell terrier on Thursday when the adult bear approached them and killed the dog, which was on a leash at the time of the attack. Mitzel, who runs the nearby Skoki Lodge, was not harmed. In response, officials immediately closed Merlin Meadows and Red Deer Lakes campgrounds; they have since closed additional trails and campgrounds at Hidden Lake ... Read More
