Habitat loss and development in the Rockies drove America's last caribou population in the lower 48 states to near extinction. The few remaining individuals were captured and sent to British Columbia. Now a mulitnational effort is underway to bring them back and protect old-growth forests. 🌎

Today marks one year into President Trump's second term. And one thing has become clear: This puts corporations over people and the environment every time. “I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that President Trump is the most anti-conservation president we’ve seen,” said one policy expert.

The beluga whales at a now-shuddering marine park could be killed because they have no place to go. This new sanctuary could provide a lifeline. It's still controversial among advocates. 🌎

For members of the LGBTQ community, being in nature can mean choosing between having the outdoor experience they crave and facing isolation, stigma, and a unique set of challenges that come with being queer in rural areas. This org is fostering an environment where they can feel safe to explore.

This final installment of a year-long project follows three households impacted by the January 2025 Eaton Fire in Los Angeles. The diverse stories of these neighbors offer an intimate glimpse into the complexities of disaster recovery and the decisions that must be made long after the breaking news.

Though it might sound counterintuitive, the best antidote to a cold winter season is birding. Watching birds not only gets us outdoors, but it also gives us an opportunity to observe the many species that thrive during the time of year many of us spend largely indoors.

Developers were set to fell this treasured, local forest and turn it into apartments. Then this resident spoke up and mobilized. The end result turned into a protected space that will be protected, ensuring people who live in Troy, New York, have a green space for people and wildlife.

Even in progressive Canada, leaders are propping up American fossil fuel companies at the cost of taxpayer money and the environment. They say they're in the national interest, but these projects really only benefit a few. Solar and wind are cheaper than imported gas and come with much fewer risks.

These youth activists are showing how powerful naturally flowing rivers can be. Even hydrodams, a tool championed by some leaders, have disastrous effects on ecosystems and the climate. Read more about how this group of organizers from the West is taking their message on the road.

Most people are simply annoyed at the tiny blood-sucker feasting on their arm. But getting to know these creatures can help broaden our understanding of the natural world. And learning about how they feed can even help researchers refine medical tools. Get to know who's biting you.

It's clear that Trump’s Venezuela takeover is more about capturing its oil than stopping drug traffickers. But even this hides the full truth. Here's a look at why the US is suddenly interested in regime change in South America ... again. Thx to @amywestervelt.bsky.social for allowing us to repost!

The role of keystone species, animals whose behavior significantly impacts a habitat, is well understood on land. However, it is less understood in the sea. With research on tiger shark behavior in the Pacific Ocean, that's starting to change.

This tiny sparrow was nearly wiped out by development. A group of researchers banded together to save it.

The floor of the Pacific Ocean is packed with metals that power the devices we use daily, from electric cars to cell phones. Now, companies are eager to mine this resource. But conservation groups and ocean communities wonder if the consequences are worth the potentially disastrous risks.

If you’ve grown weary of the endless scroll and ticking through one shocking headline after another, you’re not alone. Here's just a small selection of Sierra magazine stories from 2025 that remind us that even in the midst of a troubled world, joy, wonder, and discovery live on.

The number one killer of whales is not offshore wind but entanglements with fishing gear, especially those used to catch lobster and crabs. Whales get caught in the ropes used to tether pots to buoys. But it doesn't have to be this way. New tech and sheer will can end entanglements for good. 🌎

Loons are beloved across the north. Yet they’re populations are still struggling to rebound in some areas. We know what’s killing them—lead poisoning caused by sinkers left behind by fishermen. The good news is that there’s an easy fix. 🌎

Following years of labor, Leah Penniman opened Soul Fire Farm. She wanted to challenge the system that often underlies unequal access to fresh, affordable food. Since then, she's started a fellowship program and come out with a book. Next, she's hoping to empower the next generation of farmers.

In the 1960s, leaders in Rochester, NY, tore through Black and brown neighborhoods to build a highway. Now, they're rebuilding communities by filling in the old highway, restoring a street grid to the city's downtown core. The end result will be a place built for people, not cars.

At a time when division and polarization define our culture and politics, and climate shocks continue to upend lives, how can we chart a path toward a more sustainable future that serves all life on this planet? Collectively, these four books invite us to begin walking that path.

A coalition of environmental advocacy groups sued the Trump administration today to force the release of more than $2 billion in federal funding through the Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Grant Program.

In November, a remarkable study came out that found Hawaiian monk seals have 25 distinct underwater calls, dramatically eclipsing the six underwater calls recently documented from a captive member of the species. 🌎

In 2014, Iceland’s Okjökull glacier was declared dead, a consequence of global warming. Few humans have spent as much time within the vanishing cryosphere as James Balog, a 73-year-old environmental photographer who has dedicated his career to documenting the world in flux.

Conservationists are urging the public to comment on a set of proposed regulatory changes that would gut the way one of the nation's strongest environmental laws is enforced. One of the key changes would allow officials to consider economic factors when deciding if a species should be protected. 🌎

Nemonte Nenquimo cofounded an alliance of orgs dedicated to defending land, water, and Indigenous rights across the Amazon. She insists on a truth: We are not visitors here. We are children of the earth. If the forest dies, so do we. Her work has won her awards, recognition, and legal victories.

Just dropped: Sierra magazine's Winter issue, featuring Rosario Dawson as guest editor. This edition's theme is endurance, an acknowledgment of the many challenges our communities and our planet face and the inspiring ways people are responding.

In the shadows of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, Joshua Tree National Park, and the city of Palm Springs, this group is helping farmworkers tackle a list of problems they regularly face, including sexual harassment, wage theft, pesticide-related illnesses, and heat stress.

Lawmakers have framed the Fix Our Forests Act (FOFA) as a necessary response to disastrous wildfires, but critics argue the bill’s solutions are a mirage. They say it would allow officials to push through large management projects indiscriminately, while limiting avenues for public oversight.

In Montana, regulators approved a plan that would let the state’s largest utility overcharge customers so that it could continue operating. Now, officials at NorthWestern, which runs the plant, say they want to keep it open at least until 2042.

Mangroves are largely celebrated for their power to mitigate the effects of rising sea levels. But these Florida residents are worried about what they’re inward migration means for the region's current grassland ecosystems. 🌎

Here’s how thousands of miles of abandoned railways got turned into hiking, biking, and horseback riding paths for all to enjoy.

As the Great Salt Lake disappears, so too does the home of the orb weaver. Without the water to support their prey and the plants they rely on to move, the spiders face an increasingly inhospitable situation.

Steve Pearce has spent the last few decades quietly propping up and profiting from the oil and gas industry. His likely ascension to lead the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is another sign that this administration favors profiteers over people and the public.

On the opening day at COP30, the United Nations’ annual climate summit, the scene was emblematic of a shifting order. With the United States absent, all eyes were on China.

The United Nations Environmental Programme reported in its latest emissions report that new Paris Agreement climate pledges have only slightly lowered global temperature projections for this century. The planet, according to the report, is still on track for catastrophic climate events and damage.

When Hurricane Melissa slammed into Jamaica, it unleashed torrential rainfall, life-threatening storm surge, and catastrophic winds. These types of massive storms—and the devastating impacts that result—are a sign of what is in store as the fossil-fueled climate crisis accelerates, scientists warn.

As global climate talks enter their third decade, the world’s biggest greenhouse gas emitter, the United States, is absent. The Trump administration, which formally withdrew from the Paris Agreement, has declined to send a delegation to COP30 in Belém, Brazil. That silver lining is new leadership.

Living beings have been wielding deadly molecules to kill each other for hundreds of millions of years. In response, many animals have evolved ways to survive these toxins. Scientists are beginning to unravel these defenses and hope as a result to identify better treatments for poisonings in people.

The Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana is collaborating with the Grand Caillou/Dulac Band of the Biloxi-Chitimacha-Choctaw to return oyster shells to reefs from which they came. In the process, they are rebuilding an ecosystem that can help thwart erosion and provide a home for native wildlife.

This long-distance trekker has relied on a slimy goop to fuel its global journey between North and South America. Now, a shipping container port threatens this delicate balance between life and death. 🌎

Meet Dr. Clarice Gaylord, one of the environmental heroes who helped bring environmental justice to the Environmental Protection Agency.

When most people think of solar energy, they think of rows of photovoltaic (PV) panels on rooftops or vast solar farms out in the desert. But portable plug-in solar devices small enough to generate power right off a balcony could be coming to an area near you.

Debra Mackenzie works with tribes throughout the Southwest to bring Indigenous artwork to health care communications. She and her team use Native American symbology to make it easier for people to understand health and science research in a way that honors Indigenous values and culture.

Western Alaska has become the testing ground for America’s climate future—one where disasters are not distant hypotheticals. For residents in the region, the costs of climate change are no longer abstract; they’re measured in flooded homes, displaced families, and reshaping of coastlines.

Hundreds of moose are hit and killed along a stretch of road that wends through Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula every year. Now, efforts are underway to build a wildlife crossing to help all sorts of critters avoid the busy road to reduce fatalities and accidents. 🌎

A NYC plant lover wanted to grow food for their community. They had one problem: land was expensive. To help, a cohort of nonprofits connected the would-be farmer and their collaborators with willing land sellers so they could set up shop.

Maps have long been used as tools of colonial power. “More Indigenous territory has been claimed by maps than by guns,” wrote American geographer Bernard Nietschmann in 1994. To kick off Native American Heritage Month, Sierra contributor Chloe Berger explores counter-mapping.

Burying a loved one can be toxic for the environment. Here’s how some undertakers are turning a passion for environmental conservation into a novel form of afterlife care.

Data centers are often touted as a boon for local economies. But the reality is that those benefits are created in a bubble. The construction brings jobs at first, but the operations drain local water sources, increase utility bills, and provide few long-term benefits to locals.

The Trump administration has not been friendly to the notion of protected marine areas. The administration has moved to open previously protected marine areas to fishing. And, a new report from the University of Exeter indicates that Earth’s natural systems are crossing significant tipping points.