Water connectivity to Grand Canyon's South Rim is restored. The park has removed water restrictions and resumed basic water conservation measures. A valve leak, which prevented water from being pumped between Indian Garden and the South Rim was identified and replaced by park staff. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-np-s-rim-returns-to-normal-water-operations-2019-10-15.htm

Grand Canyon National Park backcountry users can seek out shade and an opportunity to rest from the elements at the new Tipoff Shelter along the South Kaibab Trail. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/south-kaibab-trail-shelter-now-available-2019-11-04.htm

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

This publication describes the bird communities of major mainland rivers of southeast Alaska and is based on a review of all known relevant studies as well as recent fieldwork. We synthesized information on the composition, structure, and habitat relationships of bird communities at 11 major mainland rivers. Information on current management concerns and research needs are also included.

Two series of single and stereo photographs display a range of natural conditions and fuel loadings in post-hurricane forests in the southeastern United States. Each group of photos includes inventory information summarizing vegetation composition, structure and loading, woody material loading and density by size class, forest floor loading, and various site characteristics. The natural fuels photo series is designed to help land managers appraise fuel and vegetation conditions in natural settings.

Log moisture content has an important impact on many aspects of log home construction, including log processing, transportation costs, and dimensional stability in use. Air-drying times for house logs from freshly harvested trees can depend on numerous factors including initial moisture content, log diameter, bark condition, and environmental conditions during drying. In this study, we evaluated air-drying properties of young-growth Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis (Bong.) Carr) and of western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla (Raf.) Sarg.) from logs harvested in southeast Alaska.

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.

A series of single and stereo photographs display a range of natural conditions and fuel loadings in evergreen and deciduous oak/juniper woodland and savannah ecosystems in southern Arizona and New Mexico. This group of photos includes inventory data summarizing vegetation composition, structure, and loading; woody material loading and density by size class; forest floor coverage and loading; and various site characteristics. The natural fuels photo series is designed to help land managers appraise fuel and vegetation conditions in natural settings.

The work described in this report was initiated during the Interior Columbia Basin Ecosystem Management Project (ICBEMP). The ICBEMP produced a broad-scale scientific assessment of ecological, biophysical, social, and economic conditions for the interior Columbia River basin and portions of the Klamath and Great Basins. The broad-scale assessment made extensive use of potential vegetation (PV) information. This report (1) discusses certain concepts and terms as related to PV, (2) describes how a PV framework developed for the broad-scale ICBEMP assessment area was stepped down to the level of a single section in the national hierarchy of terrestrial ecological units, (3) describes how fine-scale potential vegetation types (PVTs) identified for the Blue Mountains section were aggregated into the midscale portion of the PV hierarchy, and (4) describes the PVT composition for each of the midscale hierarchical units (physiognomic class, potential vegetation group, plant association group).

Many stands in southeast Alaska harvested since 1950, especially where there has been a high degree of disturbance of mineral soil, have regenerated to red alder (Alnus rubra Bong.) and are now approaching maturity. The availability of red alder raises questions addressed in this study about the recovery of lumber from this resource. Information in this study was obtained from trees estimated to be 46 years old on a site outside of Ketchikan. Rates of recovery using a thin-kerf portable band mill were higher than those reported by larger production mills in Washington and Oregon. Grade yields of the Alaska material are comparable to those attained in other regions. This study determined that there were no significant differences in material characteristics that would set this Alaska log resource apart from red alder in the other regions of North America. The potential value of the products is sufficient to allow production in Alaska for use in the manufacturing of value-added products within the state or shipment of finished lumber to domestic or export markets.

This study's objective was to document and describe the current seedling bank of Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis (Bong.) Carr.) and western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla (Raf.) Sarg.) stands in southeast Alaska that were partially cut between 1900 and 1984.

This report highlights key findings from the most recent (2004–2008) data collected by the Forest Inventory and Analysis program across all ownerships in southeast and south-central Alaska. We present basic resource information such as forest area, ownership, volume, biomass, carbon sequestration, growth, and mortality; structure and function topics such as vegetation and lichen diversity and forest age distribution; disturbance topics such as insects and diseases, yellow-cedar decline, fire, and invasive plants; and information about the forest products industry in Alaska, the potential of young growth for timber supply, biofuels, and nontimber forest products. The appendixes describe inventory methods and design in detail and provide summary tables of data and statistical error for the forest characteristics sampled.

This report documents the results from the first “5-year” round of understory responses to the Tongass-Wide Young-Growth Studies (TWYGS) treatments, especially in relation to their effects on food resources for black-tailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus sitkensis). Responses of understory vegetation to precommercial silviculture experiments after their first 4 to 8 years posttreatment were analyzed with the Forage Resource Evaluation System for Habitat (FRESH)-Deer model. The studies were conducted in western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla)-Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis) young-growth forests in southeast Alaska. All four TWYGS experiments were studied: (I) planting of red alder (Alnus rubra) within 1- to 5-year-old stands; (II) precommercial thinning at narrow and wide spacings (549 and 331 trees per hectare, respectively) in 15- to 25-year-old stands; (III) precommercial thinning at medium spacing (420 trees per hectare) with and without pruning in 25- to 35-yearold stands; and (IV) precommercial thinning at wide spacing (203 trees per hectare) with and without slash treatment versus thinning by girdling in >35-year-old stands. All experiments also included untreated control stands of identical age. FRESHDeer was used to evaluate the implications for deer habitat in terms of forage resources (species-specific biomass, digestible protein, and digestible dry matter) relative to deer metabolic requirements in summer (at two levels of requirements—maintenance only vs. lactation) and in winter (at six levels of snow depth).

Sitka, Alaska, has substantial hydroelectric resources, limited driving distances, and a conservation-minded community, all suggesting strong opportunities for achieving a low community carbon footprint.

Over the past decade, wood-energy use in Alaska has grown dramatically.

Southeast Alaska is a remote area, located approximately 700 miles north of Seattle, Washington. Most of the region’s goods are imported by barge, creating logistical and economic challenges not faced by many other parts of the United States. In this context, we used life cycle assessment (LCA) to evaluate the potential environmental impact on global warming potential (GWP) of converting home heating systems from heating oil to wood pellets in southeast Alaska. Once the current level (status quo) was established, we evaluated imported pellet utilization at 20-, 40- and 100-percent penetration into the residential heating oil markets. We also modeled local production of wood pellets in southeast Alaska, assuming a 20-percent penetration. Our research found that reductions in GWP resulting from the conversion to wood pellets ranged from 10 to 51 percent, with the greatest reductions being associated with the highest levels of imported pellets. The scenario of producing wood pellets in southeast Alaska to meet local needs had a reduction in GWP of 14 percent (versus the status quo).

This research models a wood pellet heating system at the Tlingit-Haida Regional Housing Authority in Juneau, Alaska, used to provide thermal energy to a 929-m2 warehouse, as an alternative to a heating system that burns more costly fossil fuels. Research objectives were to evaluate project economics of the pellet system and to conduct cost:benefit analysis on key variables (initial capital cost, fuel oil cost, and wood pellet cost). Economic results of interest included net present value, payback, internal rate of return, and cost:benefit ratio. Monte Carlo simulations were conducted using RETScreen software with the parameters of heating oil cost, wood pellet cost, fuel price escalation, and heating load. Cost:benefit analysis was conducted for capital cost versus wood fuel cost and also versus alternative fuel cost. This research found that economic performance was favorable over a wide range of normal operating conditions, even when paying a relatively high price for wood fuel. A pellet production facility in southeast Alaska could lead to lower wood fuel costs and even more favorable regional economics.

McDonald's will reopen 15 restaurants in the south of England next week - but none in the North East

Urban Southern creates handcrafted, honest leather bags that simply fit your everyday. Made in the southern U.S.A. from full grain, locally tanned saddle leather.

We recently completed a website design and development project for Family Health Centers of Southwest Florida. This National Health Service...continue reading

By learning from a MERS outbreak in 2015, South Korea was prepared and acted swiftly to ramp up testing when the new coronavirus appeared there. Meanwhile, the U.S., plagued by delay and dysfunction, wasted its advantage. By Stephen Engelberg, Lisa Song and Lydia DePillis ProPublica…

[IMAGE-1] Part of being a music lover is also being a snob, and even though my mind has opened considerably as I've aged, I still remember all the genres I just couldn't give any time to when I was growing up. Southern rock was definitely verboten for much of my life.…

[IMAGE-1] The people were unequivocal: The South Perry District and Manito Park are the most popular reasons to visit the South Hill, and for good reason. Manito Park is sprawling and beautiful, with 78 acres of native and cultivated landscape and 20 acres of botanical gardens.…

I was wondering why the iconic Civic Centre clock in Southampton is not lit up blue on Thursday at 8pm to clap for the NHS.

As shocking fact is laid upon shocking fact, it becomes hard to judge SS Mendi- Dancing The Drill Of Death at NST City as a piece of theatre, such is one’s outrage at how the British behaved towards black people from the Empire a hundred years ago. But Isango Ensemble have created a powerful musical to tell the human story behind the appalling facts.

Women In Power at the Nuffield Southampton Theatres’ city venue is a new version of Aristophanes' Assemblywomen. It sticks pretty closely to the original story in which women take over the government from the weak and incompetent men.

Brian Batchelor, once described by the Daily Echo as ‘the most versatile singer in the South’, has died at the age of 87.

A SOUTHAMPTON home has been pelted with bricks in a series of targeted attacks.

POLICE have arrested a man for assaulting officers after he was told he was breaching the new coronavirus laws.

CIVIC chiefs are working with police and residents’ groups after an attempted murder in the city centre.

A MAN used homophobic slurs and threatened to "spread coronavirus" towards two Southampton police officers after he broke a window.

IT was the perfectly scripted Hollywood ending for a distinctly familiar cinema audience.

A SOUTHAMPTON grandmother spent years battling cancer.

HE'S BEEN an integral part of Saints' rise from League 1 to European football - and to mark his birthday, we've got a special José Fonte photo gallery.

It's 40 years today since Southampton FC began their memorable journey to glory in the 1976 FA Cup - and we've got some never before seen photos.

The Dancing Man Brewery is located on Town Quay and next to the Southampton docks.

HE’S the former England cricket captain best known for his ability as an all-rounder.

MARCUS Barnes scored a stunning consolation goal as Eastleigh’s FA Cup run ended with a 3-1 defeat at League Two Crewe Alexandra.

All the photos from Saints' 1-0 victory against Crystal Palace, as Sadio Mane's late goal decides the match.

Saints bag themselves a well deserved point at Stamford Bridge after Dusan Tadic equalises with a penalty.

Pictures from Saints' victory over Burnley at St Mary's Stadium.

Check out our picture gallery from Saints v Hull.

Despite Morgan Schneiderlin drawing first blood at Britannia Stadium, two second-half goals from Stoke sends Saints away without a point.

Two goals from Graziano Pelle ensured that Saints took the lead twice at St Mary's Stadium, but equalisers from Erik Lamela and Nacer Chadli meant both teams came away with a point.

Despite an equaliser from Sadio Mane, Saints suffer a 2-1 defeat to Sunderland The Stadium of Light.

Saints had a battle on their hands after Leicester scored two goals in the first 19 minutes of play. No further goals were scored.

Photos from Saints' 6-1 win against Aston Villa, in which Sadio Mane scored a hat-trick in 2mins 56secs - the fastest in Premier League history.

Pictures from the Barclays Premier League clash between Manchester City and Southampton.

Pictures from the first leg of Europa League play-off between Saints and Midtjylland.

Pictures from the Barclays Premier League match between Watford and Saints.