Environment

John Vaillant
In 2016, a large forest fire jumped the Athabasca River and headed straight for Fort McMurray, a large oil town 600 miles south of the Arctic Circle. In this excerpt from “Fire Weather: A True Story from a Hotter World,” writer John Vaillant chronicles the moment the fire enters town, forcing nearly 90,000 people to flee in what remains the largest, most rapid single-day evacuation in the history of modern fire.

The sad situation is a reminder to visitors to avoid handling wild animals

Apples no one has ever tasted are still out in the wild. Dave Benscoter, a retired FBI agent, has spent a decade searching for these 100-year-old heirlooms.

There are far better ways to deal with your shit.

Phoenix recorded its earliest 100-degree day in 80 years

At five feet tall, she was the smallest wildland firefighter in her crew and worried she couldn’t keep up. But on her very first blaze, she discovered her strength.

When the largest tornado ever recorded touched down in central Oklahoma, storm chasers, meteorologists, and thrill seekers were expecting a show. What they got was a deadly lesson in the power of nature.

A crazy-sounding idea—build a tube from the Pacific to bring water to Utah’s Great Salt Lake—raises a larger question: Are we willing to do absolutely anything to fight climate change?

Two humongous male grizzly bears square off in one of the craziest, most mesmerizing battles caught on video

The $450 Lomi Home Composter doesn’t actually create compost. But the product is still awesome—if you can afford it.

Clean water is just the latest front in the GOP's judicial war on your rights

Show up on Earth Day with these easy, powerful actions

Grace Gibson-Snyder is one of 16 young people suing the state of Montana over climate change.

Sixty-seven percent of all new vehicles will need to be electric by 2032

In his daily conversations, diet, business practices, and play time, Jones is always working for the planet

Sponsor Content: Sawyer

In Fiji and 99 other countries, the same Sawyer water filtration technology used by outdoor adventurers is helping to solve the global water crisis

Cyclists, snowboarders, and trail runners unite to discuss their journeys to climate action in this three-part series, which is playing on Outside Watch now

Sponsor Content: Visit Montana

Follow the Missouri and Yellowstone Rivers on a loop packed with history and adventure

As a sponsor of the 2022 Defender Service Awards, Outside is helping to support the critical work of this nonprofit, which also gets to take home a brand-new Land Rover Defender 130

The marine biologist learned the hard way that we have to give people hope when it comes to the health of our planet

In collaboration with Backpacker, this is our guide to wild ursines

Ross Reid, under the name Nerdy About Nature, has been steadily gaining traction for his fast-paced, good-natured ecology lessons

By swapping out bagged potatoes for loose ones, and eggs in cardboard cartons instead of styrofoam, you’ll lighten your environmental footprint

It took a powerful experience on a glacier in Iceland for the scientist to see reason for hope in a rapidly transforming world

Volunteers in Montana recently dug a migration corridor through chest-high snowdrifts. They hope the passage prevents bison from being struck by motorists.

A state-by-state guide to climate change impacts already unfolding, and how to get involved in local mitigation and resiliency projects

We can save this planet.

The bloodsuckers are waking up—and biting—earlier each year

How to handle plastic bags, batteries, milk cartons, metals, and...bowling balls

President Carter added protections to more than 157 million acres of public land and created 39 total national park units

A man says he required lifesaving when he accidentally ignited a 2018 wildfire. An Arizona court determined that his negligence made him culpable.

Lake Elsinore has already closed access to one of the most popular areas for checking out the wildflowers

Luckily for the bear, a wildlife official arrived and rescued it from the chilly predicament

Producing 286 million metric tons of carbon pollution, the ConocoPhillips Willow project will double the emissions the administration hopes to save through renewable energy progress elsewhere

Los Padres National Forest received 100 percent of its annual rainfall over the past 30 days. Now, roads, campgrounds, and trails are shuttered due to flooding and erosion.

A mother and her one-year-old son died after being mauled in the coastal town of Wales

Seacliff State Beach near Santa Cruz, California, felt the wrath of Mother Nature last week. These photos show the full extent of the damage.

Officials say the annual tradition is good for aquatic ecosystems

Across America, youth-centered nonprofits are reshaping the face of the environmental movement

This bruin’s journey across four states is a reminder that hikers and campers should be extra careful with food and trash

Sponsor Content: Land Rover

The inaugural Destination Defender event celebrated the winners of the Defender Service Awards—and treated hundreds of Land Rover enthusiasts to a weekend of outdoor adventure, education, and family fun

Wolves in Colorado should benefit both humans and the ecosystem, but can they survive the culture war?

Three figures are working to initiate change in public-lands leadership after four years of decline and mismanagement under the previous administration

Donziger was released from two years of house arrest in 2022, the latest wrinkle in his decades-long fight for justice in the Amazon rainforest

Co-founder of the Outdoorist Oath, Pattie Gonia discusses the importance of outdoor joy

“The Forest Service is embarking on an exciting study of the first-ever use of electric vehicles in a natural resources field setting”

Vitriolic messages appeared on Camp Tamarack’s social media after the incident. Oregon’s LGBTQ+ community has rallied behind the camp.

With Lake Mead drying up due to drought and climate change, the famous desert reservoir is revealing grisly secrets from the past, including the remains of people thought to be victims of Las Vegas foul play. Mark Sundeen hits Nevada for a freewheeling exploration of dark deeds, a rapidly unfolding apocalypse, and a parched future that will dramatically affect the entire American Southwest.

Sponsor Content: Jackery

A global leader in energy innovation, Jackery is building a more sustainable future with affordable solar power that goes anywhere

Wolverines once roamed North American in hordes. Now an endangered species, one team is trying to recover their population in Washington.

“As the world warms, the United States warms more,” reads the latest National Climate Assessment

Two agencies will investigate bringing grizzlies back to the Pacific Northwest

Officials in the Dutch province of Gelderland say the area’s wolves are getting too comfortable around humans

The Sonoran desert toad is under threat from hunters who seek their toxic secretions

Your guide to voting on national, state, and local levels this November

Shopping responsibly isn’t easy. We asked an expert for help.

If we’re all truly well and doomed and the climate apocalypse is impossible to stop, then doing nothing is exactly as futile as doing something. This is the case for dreaming up absolutely ridiculous solutions in an effort to get the juices flowing.

The Ute Indian Tribe says the White House did not meaningfully consult their government about Camp Hale-Continental Divide National Monument, which is located within the tribe’s ancestral lands

A Wyoming court has punished a Utah man for holding illicit motorcycle races on grasslands inside the park for at least nine years

The newest national monument sits in the heart of Colorado’s ski country. Here’s what you need to know about Camp Hale–Continental Divide National Monument.

With a possible Antiquities Act designation looming, what is Camp Hale, and why does it merit protection? 

A new homeowner digs deep into the world of native gardening after learning her yard is an environmental sin.

In Colorado, there’s a new ballot-first model to bring the contentious species back to the state, and it could be a prototype for the rest of the country

Here’s what we know about the Mosquito Fire, how local communities are being affected, and what Western States 100 race organizers are doing to respond

Perplexed by shadowy images on a satellite photo, a climate scientist packed up and set out for the Alaskan Arctic. What he found should alarm all of us.

Harrowing flooding in eastern Kentucky offers a window into what climate change will—and does—look like

How to do it, why it matters, and where to find birds

Zion National Park, Carlsbad Caverns, and areas around Moab, Utah, were inundated by water after heavy rainfall pummeled the U.S. Southwest

We’ve collected tales about curious mountain lions, amorous warthogs, hardworking beavers, and more from our adventures in the wild

Western Rewilding Network calls for replacing livestock grazing on public lands with protected habitat for two of the most controversial wild species

The compromise offsets climate spending with big wins for oil and gas, too

We’re not putting our heads in the sand. But there are reasons to be hopeful and things everyone can do in the face of unprecedented change.

The Colorado Craig Interagency Hotshot Crew spends their summers fighting fires in places like California and Montana

Long-standing rules for how we do our business in the wilderness are changing in a very big way—and it’s about time

According to law enforcement in Curry County, Oregon, local residents tied a suspected arsonist to a tree after he got “combative”

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