landscape

Germany is turning abandoned coal mines into 23 lakes; the former mining landscape is becoming Europe’s largest artificial wetland

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Germany is turning abandoned coal mines into 23 lakes; the former mining landscape is becoming Europe's largest artificial wetland

In eastern Germany, enormous pits carved into the landscape by decades of lignite mining are being transformed into a vast network of lakes, wetlands and restored land. The Lusatian Lakeland, spread across Brandenburg and Saxony between Berlin and Dresden, is being created by flooding former open-cast mines and reshaping their surroundings. The tourist destination now … Read more

In 1997, Martha Stewart bought Edsel Ford’s 63-acre Maine estate for reportedly under $6 million; she restored its historic landscape while preserving the 12-bedroom stone house and Ford family china

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In 1997, Martha Stewart bought Edsel Ford's 63-acre Maine estate for reportedly under $6 million; she restored its historic landscape while preserving the 12-bedroom stone house and Ford family china

In 1997, Martha Stewart bought Edsel Ford’s 63-acre Maine estate for reportedly under $6 million (Image Credit: Architectural Digest) Perched above Seal Harbor on Maine’s Mount Desert Island, Skylands carries nearly a century of history tied to the Ford family and is now closely associated with Martha Stewart. Stewart bought the 63-acre estate in 1997, … Read more

An American artist traded a painting and $10 for a 153-acre Connecticut farm in 1882; more than a century later, his home and studios became part of a nationally protected landscape devoted to art

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An American artist traded a painting and $10 for a 153-acre Connecticut farm in 1882; more than a century later, his home and studios became part of a nationally protected landscape devoted to art

Julian Alden Weir/Image: National Park Service A painting that once cost American artist Julian Alden Weir $560 ended up helping him acquire something far more lasting, a 153-acre farm in Connecticut.In July 1882, Weir exchanged the painting and $10 for the Branchville property, a deal that would shape much of the rest of his artistic … Read more

15 years ago, a Colorado couple bought a battered ranch; they now turned its damaged landscape into a wildlife-friendly working ranch

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15 years ago, a Colorado couple bought a battered ranch; they now turned its damaged landscape into a wildlife-friendly working ranch

Eagle Rock Ranch of Park County has been selected as the recipient of the 2026 Colorado Leopold Conservation Award. Image Credit: Colorado Cattlemen’s Agricultural Land Trust Eagle Rock Ranch in Colorado’s Park County has undergone a major transformation since Dave and Jeannie Gottenborg took ownership of the property. What they inherited was a badly damaged … Read more

Tennessee’s Andrew Jackson estate spans 1,200 acres; its new plan puts much of a 70,000-square-foot visitor center underground so the building does not interrupt views across the historic landscape

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Tennessee's Andrew Jackson estate spans 1,200 acres; its new plan puts much of a 70,000-square-foot visitor center underground so the building does not interrupt views across the historic landscape

Plans for a $132 million redevelopment of The Hermitage, the 1,200 acre historic estate of former US President Andrew Jackson, will put much of a new 70,000 square foot visitor and education center underground to protect sightlines across the historic grounds. The Andrew Jackson Foundation announced the project, calling it a “generational transformation,” to replace … Read more

In 1910, Oregon planted European beachgrass to stabilize shifting dunes; it spread along the coast, reshaped the landscape and squeezed open sandy habitat used by native wildlife

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In 1910, Oregon planted European beachgrass to stabilize shifting dunes; it spread along the coast, reshaped the landscape and squeezed open sandy habitat used by native wildlife

European beachgrass (Ammophila arenaria) is now well established in the Oregon dunes In 1910, Oregon introduced European beachgrass near Coos Bay to stabilise its shifting dunes. The plant trapped moving sand and helped hold the dunes in place as it was meant to. But as the beachgrass spread, it changed the coastal landscape and reduced … Read more

An Ontario couple paid C$200 for a landscape painting at a rural yard sale; six years later the work was identified as E J Hughes’s Lake Okanagan and sold at auction for C$402,500

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An Ontario couple paid C$200 for a landscape painting at a rural yard sale; six years later the work was identified as E J Hughes’s Lake Okanagan and sold at auction for C$402,500

Hughes spent much of his career focusing on the landscapes of British Columbia An Ontario couple who paid just C$200 for a landscape painting at a rural yard sale in 2001 later discovered that they had bought a work by renowned Canadian artist E J Hughes, literary weboste BC Booklook reported. Six years after the … Read more

California turns 67 acres of former farmland into wetlands and grasslands; restored Carr Lake landscape opens September 20

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California turns 67 acres of former farmland into wetlands and grasslands; restored Carr Lake landscape opens September 20

The project is designed to recreate a historic wetland landscape that existed in the area more than a century ago California is turning 67 acres of land once used for agriculture into a restored floodplain with wetlands, grasslands and public trails. The restoration area at Ensen Community Park in Salinas is being developed by Big … Read more

A former fuel-tank farm beside an Alaska national park visitor center has been erased; a young conservation crew restored 15,000 square yards of landscape and built 500 feet of new trail

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A former fuel-tank farm beside an Alaska national park visitor center has been erased; a young conservation crew restored 15,000 square yards of landscape and built 500 feet of new trail

The project also created about 500 feet of new pedestrian trail, connecting the visitor center with the Lakeview Tinitun trail and the broader trail network. What was once a utilitarian patch of ground beside an Alaska visitor center is now becoming part of the landscape again. At Lake Clark National Park and Preserve, a young … Read more

Florida completed a 2,560-acre stormwater treatment landscape with 4,750 acre-feet of storage to help protect the Indian River Lagoon

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Florida completed a 2,560-acre stormwater treatment landscape with 4,750 acre-feet of storage to help protect the Indian River Lagoon

USACE celebrates advancement of the Indian River Lagoon South Restoration Project A major environmental restoration project in South Florida has reached an important milestone with the completion of a 2,560-acre stormwater treatment area designed to capture, clean, and store runoff before it reaches vulnerable coastal waterways, according to US Army Corps of Engineers.The completion of … Read more