Twenty-one year old Drake L. Kramer remains missing at Grand Canyon National Park; and a six day search by the National Park Service has turned up no additional clues as to his whereabouts. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/kramer-limited.htm

Grand Canyon National Park's North Rim will open Friday, May 15 for the 2015 summer season. All NPS operations will be available by 8 am that day and Grand Canyon Lodge North Rim and Canyon Trail Rides will also commence their operations. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/north-rim-to-open-may-15-2015.htm

A National Park Service search mission continues in efforts to find Morgan Heimer. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/rangers-search-for-missing-river-guide.htm

North Rim operations will begin seasonal shut-down of most visitor services on Friday, October 16. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/north-rim-seasonal-closure.htm

The Arizona Department of Transportation has closed State Route 67 between Jacob Lake and the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. The North Rim is now closed to vehicle traffic for the winter. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/north-rim-winter-closure.htm

Search and Rescue crews continued looking for missing woman Diana Zacarias of Natchitoches, LA. Crews spent yesterday and today looking for Zacarias by foot above and below the rim. The park helicopter has assisted ground searches. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/search-continues-zacarias.htm

The gate at the entrance to North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park will open on Sunday, May 15 at 7:30 am. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/north-rim-open-2016.htm

A National Park Service Search and Rescue crew was flown into the Canyon early this morning to begin the search for missing river guide, Joshua Tourjee. Tourjee was reported missing on September 12 by his river trip after failing to return to camp the previous evening. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/search-river-guide.htm

National Park Service crews searched by air, water, and foot yesterday and today for missing river guide, Joshua Tourjee. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/search-continues-for-river-guide.htm

North Rim operations will begin seasonal shut-down of most visitor services on Saturday, October 15. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/season-close-north-rim.htm

After five days of extensive searching, today the National Park Service (NPS) is reducing the scale of the search for two hikers who went missing at Grand Canyon National Park on Saturday, April 15. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/search-continues-limited-mode.htm

On Tuesday, June 13 at approximately 7:45 pm, the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a call reporting an overdue hiker. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/missing-hiker-grand-canyon.htm

Search efforts continue in Grand Canyon National Park for missing hiker, 72 year-old Raafat “Ralph” Nasser-Eddin of Los Angeles, CA and Lebanon. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/missing-hiker-search-continues.htm

After three days of extensive searching, the National Park Service (NPS) will reduce the scale of the search for missing hiker, 72 year old Raffat "Ralph" Nasser-Eddin of Los Angeles, CA and Lebanon. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/missing-hiker-update.htm

The National Park Service is conducting a missing person's search within Grand Canyon National Park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/missing-person-at-grand-canyon.htm

North Rim operations will begin seasonal shut-down of most visitor services on Sunday, October 15. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/north-rim-to-close.htm

The National Park Service is conducting a search for a missing person within Grand Canyon National Park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/legus-missing-person.htm

The gate at the entrance to the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park will open on Tuesday, May 15, 2018 at 7:30 am. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/north-rim-2018-season.htm

North Rim operations will begin seasonal changes on the morning of October 16, 2018. The North Rim transitions to reduced services with the Visitor Center, gift shop, campground and entrance station remaining open for visitor use. The Grand Canyon Lodge, food services, Canyon Trail Rides and park ranger programming will no longer be available. These operations will resume on May 15, 2019. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-north-rim-operations-begin-seasonal-changes-oct-16-2018.htm

Following a series of breaks in the Transcanyon Waterline earlier this month, Grand Canyon National Park now has enough water in storage to scale back to Level 1 basic water conservation measures. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/level-1-water-conservation-seasonal-trail-water.htm

The gate at the entrance to the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park will open on Wednesday, May 15 at 7:30 a.m. to mark the official opening of the North Rim for the 2019 season. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/north-rim-2019-season.htm

Grand Canyon National Park's summer season is set to begin in the next few weeks, plan ahead to make the most of your trip! https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/visitation-tips.htm

The National Park Service is conducting a missing person search within Grand Canyon National Park.  https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/missing-person.htm

Grand Canyon National Park would like to invite the public to the eighth annual season of "Echoes from the Canyon". This living history event will feature day time and evening programs August 16 –19th. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/echoes-from-the-canyon.htm

Grand Canyon National Park's North Rim will begin day use operations on Nov. 1, 2019. Visitors exploring the North Rim after Oct. 31 should plan to be self-sufficient, bringing enough food and water for their stay, as services will not be available. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-n-r-to-begin-seasonal-day-use-operations.htm

The National Park Service (NPS) is conducting a missing person search at Grand Canyon National Park for Martin Edward O'Connor, 58, of La Porte, Texas, last seen on Dec. 22, 2019, at Yavapai Lodge on the South Rim of Grand Canyon. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/missing-person-search-initiated-at-grand-canyon-2019-12-30.htm

North Carolina researchers are now trying to spread the word about their tried-and-true decontamination method for surgical masks.

The post Researchers Have Found a Way to Sterilize and Reuse Face Masks During Pandemic appeared first on Good News Network.

Similarly to how sauna bathing has been linked to some surprising health benefits, this new study says that regularly taking hot baths is good for you too.

The post Taking Hot Baths Every Day is Linked to Lower Risk of Stroke or Heart Disease appeared first on Good News Network.

Kyoto University researchers said the vaccine for Alzheimer’s was effective and was also shown to have zero side effects observed in the mice.

The post New Alzheimer’s Nasal Spray Shown to Reduce Proteins Which Cause the Disease in Mice appeared first on Good News Network.

This new research has outlined yet another benefit to intermittent fasting—that may arise from the time you eat, rather than what you eat.

The post New Intermittent Fasting Program Shown to Suppress Cancer and Metabolic Disease in Mice and Humans appeared first on Good News Network.

Iceland's two whaling companies have cancelled hunting for a second straight year as demand drops and the COVID-19 pandemic poses difficulties.

The post Harpoons Are Silenced: Iceland’s Whaling Boats Spend Second-Straight Season Tied Up in Port appeared first on Good News Network.

Visibility in parts of southern Ontario, Canada, was severely affected as a snow squall blanketed areas of the province — including the town of Barrie — on May 9, reports said . A frost advisory notice was issued for the area by the Canadian government, warning that “near or below freezing temperatures” were expected through Wednesday, May 13. Reports said that the unseasonable snowfall can be attributed to a polar vortex sweeping over the region. Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield posted a video of snow falling outside his Ontario home, saying, “It’s May 9. Cut it out.” This video, filmed by local resident Tom Eves, shows a snow squall in Barrie, north of Toronto. “Well what can you do but laugh,” wrote Eves on Twitter. Credit: Tom Eves via Storyful

Western Australia will establish a multi-million-dollar fund to boost research into the coronavirus and to ramp up the state's testing regime.

Sustainable working landscapes are critical to the conservation of biodiversity in the American West and its cultures of rural ranching and forestry.

Societies use biologically active chemicals as medicines and pesticides to protect human and agricultural health. But widespread use of synthetic compounds raises concerns about their safety, and resistance development in targeted pests.

Diameter growth is seasonal in Douglas-fir, the evergreen tree found in much of western Washington, Oregon, and northern California. Initiation and cessation of diameter growth are both triggered by environmental cues. The tree responds to these cues to improve its chances of growing under favorable conditions. As environmental conditions change, however, land managers want to know how warmer summers and falls may affect diameter growth in Douglas-fir.

This guidebook describes The Island Research Natural Area, an 84-ha (208-ac) tract established to represent examples of the western juniper/big sagebrush/bluebunch wheatgrass (Juniperus occidentalis/Artemisia tridentata/Pseudoroegneria spicata), and the western juniper/big sagebrush-antelope bitterbrush/bluebunch wheatgrass (Juniperus occidentalis/Artemisia tridentata-Purshia tridentata/Pseudoroegneria spicata) plant associations.

This guidebook describes Horse Ridge Research Natural Area, a 243-ha (600-ac) tract established to represent an example of the western juniper/big sagebrush/ threadleaf sedge (Juniperus occidentalis/Artemisia tridentata/Carex filifolia) plant association.

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Forest managers are seeking practical guidance on how to adapt their current practices and, if necessary, their management goals, in response to climate change. Science-management collaboration was initiated on national forests in eastern Washington where resource managers showed a keen interest in science-based options for adapting to climate change at a 2-day workshop. Scientists and managers reviewed current climate change science and identified resources vulnerable to expected climate change. Vulnerabilities related to vegetation and habitat management included potential reductions in forest biodiversity and low forest resilience to changing disturbance regimes. The vulnerabilities related to aquatic and infrastructure resources included changing water quality and quantity, the risk to roads and other facilities from changes to hydrologic regimes, and the potential loss of at-risk aquatic species and habitats. Managers then worked in facilitated groups to identify adaptations that could be implemented through management and planning to reduce the vulnerability of key resources to climate change. The identified adaptations were grouped under two major headings: Increasing Ecological Resiliency to Climate Change, and Increasing Social and Economic Resiliency to Climate Change. The information generated from the science-management collaborative represents an initial and important step in identifying and prioritizing tangible steps to address climate change in forest management. Next would be the development of detailed implementation strategies that address the identified management adaptations..

In the mid-1990s, forest managers on the Malheur National Forest were concerned about their prescribed fire program. Although they have only a few weeks of acceptable conditions available in the spring and fall, they were worried that spring-season prescribed burning might be exacerbating black stain root disease and having negative effects on understory plants.

The Pacific Northwest Research Station launched a Biodiversity Initiative to assist natural resource professionals in integrating complex biodiversity concepts into natural resource management processes. We canvassed clients from various affiliations to determine the main challenges they face in biodiversity management, to define their information needs, and to understand how best to deliver biodiversity information within a collaborative framework. The biodiversity management challenges that emerged included (1) the lack of well-defined biodiversity management policies, (2) understanding and quantifying the interaction effects between a number of factors (e.g., disturbance types, management practices) and biodiversity, (3) the lack of applied biodiversity monitoring strategies, (4) difficulty in locating and accessing biodiversity information, and (5) balancing conflicting values relating to biodiversity. We also list the biodiversity information product needs of clients, as well as preferred technology transfer methods, and we discuss the future direction of the Biodiversity Initiative.

A century of fire suppression has resulted in dense fuel loads within the dry pine forests of eastern Oregon . To alleviate the risk of stand-replacing wildfire, forest managers are using prescribed fire and thinning treatments. Until recently, the impact of these fuel treatments on soil productivity has been largely unknown. Such information is essential for making sound management decisions about the successful reintroduction of fire to the ecosystem to retain biodiversity of soil fungi and achieve the desired future condition of large ponderosa pines with low fuel loads. In a recent pair of studies, led by researchers at the PNW Forestry Sciences Laboratory in Corvallis, Oregon, novel molecular techniques were utilized to investigate the response of soil ecosystems to prescribed burning and thinning. The research compared impacts of the season of burn and various combinations of fuel-reducing treatments. Results suggest that overly severe fires can damage soil productivity and that less intense fires can be used to gradually reduce accumulations of fuel. The findings are currently being implemented in decisions about forest management and contribute important new information to the science.

This problem analysis describes a variety of human-resource interaction issues and identifies related social science research and development needs that serve as the foundation for the Alaska Communities and Forest Environments Team within the Pacific Northwest Research Station. The document lays out a research agenda that focuses on understanding relations between human communities and natural resources.

Integrated research is about achieving holistic understanding of complex biophysical and social issues and problems. It is driven by the need to improve understanding about such systems and to improve resource management by using the results of integrated research processes. Traditional research tends to fragment complex problems, focusing more on the pieces of problems rather than the whole that comprises multiple interrelationships and interactions. The outcome is that a lot is known about the parts (e.g., recreation, fish, and wildlife) but relatively little about how they are interrelated. There seems to be general agreement that integrated questions must drive the search for integrated understanding, but tradition, inertia, institutional culture,budgets, training, and lack of effective leadership foster reductionism (at worst) or minimal degrees of integration (at best) rather than any substantial, sustainable effort toward integrated research. In this paper, a phased approach to framing integrated research questions and addressing the substantial barriers that impede integrated efforts are discussed. A key conclusion is that to make any significant progress toward comprehensive integrated research will require more than rhetoric. Progress must begin with more effective leadership throughout various levels of research organizations.

This guidebook describes the High Peak/Moon Creek Research Natural Area, a 617.5-ha (1,526-ac) tract of coniferous forest containing stands dominated by 100- to 150-year-old Douglas-fir, a small old-growth (500+ years) Douglas-fir stand, and riparian vegetation within the western hemlock zone of the Coast Range in western Oregon.

Roger Lake Research Natural Area (RNA), a 174.7-ha reserve in north-central Washington, contains a rich diversity of landforms, plant communities, and wildlife habitats. Spreading outward from the lake itself, sedge and sphagnum fens give way to upland coniferous forest, granitic cliffs, and a relictual, high-altitude big sagebrush-whitebark pine (Artemisia tridentata-Pinus albicaulis) meadow. Five sensitive plant species and several vertebrate species that are rare in the region occur in the RNA. Dynamic ecological processes in action in the RNA are revealed in the paludification of the forest edge; aging, broken beaver dams; and widespread bark beetle-induced conifer mortality.