vast

In 1888, George Vanderbilt began building a vast North Carolina estate; 26 years later, his widow sold 86,700 acres for $433,500, helping create the core of Pisgah National Forest in 1916

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In 1888, George Vanderbilt began building a vast North Carolina estate; 26 years later, his widow sold 86,700 acres for $433,500, helping create the core of Pisgah National Forest in 1916

A major property deal that began more than a century ago with a grieving widow turned a huge private wilderness in North Carolina into one of the most important public conservation achievements in American history. In May 1914, Edith Vanderbilt agreed to sell 86,700 acres of valuable mountain forest from the private Biltmore Estate to … Read more

Saudi Arabia released 313 desert gazelles; 20 years later, both species had established in a vast protected desert

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Saudi Arabia released 313 desert gazelles; 20 years later, both species had established in a vast protected desert

Across one of Saudi Arabia’s largest protected desert landscapes, a conservation experiment that began in the 1990s is still visible two decades later. A total of 313 captive-bred Arabian and sand gazelles were released into Uruq Bani Ma’arid, where their movements were first followed with radio tracking. When researchers returned in 2015–2016, a large camera-trap … Read more

Brazil planted vast eucalyptus forests for pulp; 45 years later scientists found groundwater had fallen by 4.5 metres

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Brazil planted vast eucalyptus forests for pulp; 45 years later scientists found groundwater had fallen by 4.5 metres

Brazil’s eucalyptus industry was built on a simple promise: grow trees quickly, harvest them for pulp and create a renewable supply for the global paper industry. Over decades, however, the enormous plantations have transformed landscapes across parts of the country, raising concerns about what happens to water beneath the trees. In one eucalyptus-growing region of … Read more

US moves to open vast tracts of pristine forests to logging

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US moves to open vast tracts of pristine forests to logging

President Donald Trump’s administration on Tuesday proposed a rule change that would open 44 million acres of wild, undisturbed forest for road construction and logging. US moves to open vast tracts of pristine forests to logging The proposal would rescind the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule, enacted in the final days of the Clinton administration, … Read more