• What is an Asian swamp eel and what does it look like?

    > What is an Asian swamp eel and what does it look like? Swamp eels are freshwater fish, but they are not closely related to other living eels or snake-like marine and freshwater fishes. In addition to the name swamp eel, other English common names used for members of this group of fish include…

  • Species Profile -- Common Buckthorn

    Posted by USDA's National Invasive Species Information Center -- Species Profile -- Common Buckthorn Common buckthorn is an invasive plant introduced to the U.S. in the early 1800s (or possibly earlier) as an ornamental plant. Common buckthorn forms dense stands that dominate ecosystems and…

  • Join the National Conversation on the Future of Our Communities

    By Susan Conbere Over the next 15 years, how do we create communities that are green, inclusive, and economically robust — and also cool places to be? Can we breathe new life into city centers that are rundown and in desperate need of an economic injection? Will rural areas find ways to grow that…

  • Floating Dock from Japan Carries Potential Invasive Species (Jun 7, 2012)

    Posted by USDA's National Invasive Species Information Center -- Floating Dock from Japan Carries Potential Invasive Species (Jun 7, 2012) When debris from the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan began making its way toward the West Coast of the U.S., there were fears of possible radiation and…

  • A Planet in Peril: Is Earth Approaching a Tipping Point? (Jun 12, 2012)

    Posted by USDA's National Invasive Species Information Center -- A Planet in Peril: Is Earth Approaching a Tipping Point? (Jun 12, 2012) Scientists from around the world looked at past research on ecological change, and found that the planet may be approaching a "critical transition,"…

  • NOAA urges emergency beacon owners to check their registration information before heading out

    As warming temperatures continue to lure more boaters, campers and hikers to the great outdoors this summer, NOAA satellites are ready to capture distress signals from emergency beacons.

  • Fishing and photo contest to reconnect youth to the ‘Great Outdoors’

    NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, in partnership with the Sportfishing Conservancy, has launched a free summer-long fishing and photo contest to encourage families and youth to experience America’s great outdoors.

  • About That Commute

    By Eric Nelson Four-thirty on a Thursday afternoon and I’m Cape Cod bound on a commuter bus, inching away from Boston in rush-hour traffic. I look out at the cars slowly passing us, or being passed, and the drivers all look familiar. I’ve been commuting for too long. The faces in the bus look…

  • Pictures Can Save a Thousand Worlds

    by Jeanethe Falvey Not many can say they’ve been to the Serengeti countless times, much less been there to save it. One of the first photographers chosen for Documerica, Boyd Norton, has dedicated his life to protecting some of our planet’s most incredible places. If you’ve opened up an…

  • High-tech coastal mapping ship commissioned in Norfolk, Va.

    NOAA today commissioned a state-of-the-art coastal mapping vessel, NOAA Ship Ferdinand R. Hassler, during a special ceremony at NOAA’s Marine Operations Center-Atlantic in Norfolk, Va.

  • U.S. experienced second warmest May & warmest spring on record

    A new climate analysis by NOAA also finds the contiguous U.S. also experienced record warm year-to-date and twelve-month periods.

  • Don’t Let Your Child’s Summer Go To Waste

    By Lina Younes Summer is nearly here. Children are getting out of school. They are very happy to get away from tests, papers, and other school related tasks. However, we often see that over the summer months many students, especially in the lower grades, lose many of their academic skills during the…

  • My Secret Love Affair

    By Amy Miller I’ve never written about my love affair before. Most people who cross my path – my boss, for instance, or my child’s math teacher – have no idea how I love numbers. After all, I am paid to write words, not add and subtract numbers. Sometimes I talk about probability while…

  • New Courses/Training for Professionals for 2012

    Posted by USDA's National Invasive Species Information Center -- New Courses/Training for Professionals for 2012 Explores opportunities related to continuing education for invasive species management professionals. Pollinator Conservation Planning Short Courses (various States and dates)…

  • Species Profile -- Chestnut Blight

    Posted by USDA's National Invasive Species Information Center -- Species Profile -- Chestnut Blight Chestnut Blight is a fungal disease that virtually eliminated mature American chestnuts from the U.S. The disease was introduced on nursery stock imported from Asia and was first discovered in…

  • Species Profile -- Butternut Canker

    Posted by USDA's National Invasive Species Information Center -- Species Profile -- Butternut Canker Butternut Canker is a lethal disease which is killing butternut trees throughout its range in North America. The disease was first detected in the U.S. in 1967, but may have been present before…

  • Updated Invasive Species Conference Calendar

    Posted by USDA's National Invasive Species Information Center -- Many New Upcoming Invasive Species Related Conferences added (U.S. and International), including : Florida Lake Management Society 23rd Annual Conference - "Lake Management in a Time of Budget Cuts" -- Jun 18-21, 2012…

  • Pollinator Week 2012 -- Jun 18-24, 2012

    Posted by USDA's National Invasive Species Information Center -- Pollinator Week 2012 -- Jun 18-24, 2012 Five years ago the U.S. Senate's unanimous approval and designation of the final week in June as "National Pollinator Week" marked a necessary step toward addressing the urgent…

  • 2. Why study landslides?

    Landslides are a serious geologic hazard common to almost every State in the United States. It is estimated that in the United States they cause in excess of $1 billion in damages and from about 25 to 50 deaths each year. Globally, landslides cause billions of dollars in damages and thousands of…

  • Great Input Keeps the Great Lakes Great

    By Cameron Davis I am happy to share that on May 30, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, who chairs the Great Lakes Interagency Task Force of 16 federal agencies coordinating to restore the Great Lakes, announced the formation of a committee to help make Great Lakes recovery even more effective.…

  • What is an Asian swamp eel and what does it look like?

    > What is an Asian swamp eel and what does it look like? Swamp eels are freshwater fish, but they are not closely related to other living eels or snake-like marine and freshwater fishes. In addition to the name swamp eel, other English common names used for members of this group of fish include…

  • Species Profile -- Common Buckthorn

    Posted by USDA's National Invasive Species Information Center -- Species Profile -- Common Buckthorn Common buckthorn is an invasive plant introduced to the U.S. in the early 1800s (or possibly earlier) as an ornamental plant. Common buckthorn forms dense stands that dominate ecosystems and…

  • Join the National Conversation on the Future of Our Communities

    By Susan Conbere Over the next 15 years, how do we create communities that are green, inclusive, and economically robust — and also cool places to be? Can we breathe new life into city centers that are rundown and in desperate need of an economic injection? Will rural areas find ways to grow that…

  • Floating Dock from Japan Carries Potential Invasive Species (Jun 7, 2012)

    Posted by USDA's National Invasive Species Information Center -- Floating Dock from Japan Carries Potential Invasive Species (Jun 7, 2012) When debris from the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan began making its way toward the West Coast of the U.S., there were fears of possible radiation and…

  • A Planet in Peril: Is Earth Approaching a Tipping Point? (Jun 12, 2012)

    Posted by USDA's National Invasive Species Information Center -- A Planet in Peril: Is Earth Approaching a Tipping Point? (Jun 12, 2012) Scientists from around the world looked at past research on ecological change, and found that the planet may be approaching a "critical transition,"…

  • NOAA urges emergency beacon owners to check their registration information before heading out

    As warming temperatures continue to lure more boaters, campers and hikers to the great outdoors this summer, NOAA satellites are ready to capture distress signals from emergency beacons.

  • Fishing and photo contest to reconnect youth to the ‘Great Outdoors’

    NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, in partnership with the Sportfishing Conservancy, has launched a free summer-long fishing and photo contest to encourage families and youth to experience America’s great outdoors.

  • About That Commute

    By Eric Nelson Four-thirty on a Thursday afternoon and I’m Cape Cod bound on a commuter bus, inching away from Boston in rush-hour traffic. I look out at the cars slowly passing us, or being passed, and the drivers all look familiar. I’ve been commuting for too long. The faces in the bus look…

  • Pictures Can Save a Thousand Worlds

    by Jeanethe Falvey Not many can say they’ve been to the Serengeti countless times, much less been there to save it. One of the first photographers chosen for Documerica, Boyd Norton, has dedicated his life to protecting some of our planet’s most incredible places. If you’ve opened up an…

  • High-tech coastal mapping ship commissioned in Norfolk, Va.

    NOAA today commissioned a state-of-the-art coastal mapping vessel, NOAA Ship Ferdinand R. Hassler, during a special ceremony at NOAA’s Marine Operations Center-Atlantic in Norfolk, Va.

  • U.S. experienced second warmest May & warmest spring on record

    A new climate analysis by NOAA also finds the contiguous U.S. also experienced record warm year-to-date and twelve-month periods.

  • Don’t Let Your Child’s Summer Go To Waste

    By Lina Younes Summer is nearly here. Children are getting out of school. They are very happy to get away from tests, papers, and other school related tasks. However, we often see that over the summer months many students, especially in the lower grades, lose many of their academic skills during the…

  • My Secret Love Affair

    By Amy Miller I’ve never written about my love affair before. Most people who cross my path – my boss, for instance, or my child’s math teacher – have no idea how I love numbers. After all, I am paid to write words, not add and subtract numbers. Sometimes I talk about probability while…

  • New Courses/Training for Professionals for 2012

    Posted by USDA's National Invasive Species Information Center -- New Courses/Training for Professionals for 2012 Explores opportunities related to continuing education for invasive species management professionals. Pollinator Conservation Planning Short Courses (various States and dates)…

  • Species Profile -- Chestnut Blight

    Posted by USDA's National Invasive Species Information Center -- Species Profile -- Chestnut Blight Chestnut Blight is a fungal disease that virtually eliminated mature American chestnuts from the U.S. The disease was introduced on nursery stock imported from Asia and was first discovered in…

  • Species Profile -- Butternut Canker

    Posted by USDA's National Invasive Species Information Center -- Species Profile -- Butternut Canker Butternut Canker is a lethal disease which is killing butternut trees throughout its range in North America. The disease was first detected in the U.S. in 1967, but may have been present before…

  • Updated Invasive Species Conference Calendar

    Posted by USDA's National Invasive Species Information Center -- Many New Upcoming Invasive Species Related Conferences added (U.S. and International), including : Florida Lake Management Society 23rd Annual Conference - "Lake Management in a Time of Budget Cuts" -- Jun 18-21, 2012…

  • Pollinator Week 2012 -- Jun 18-24, 2012

    Posted by USDA's National Invasive Species Information Center -- Pollinator Week 2012 -- Jun 18-24, 2012 Five years ago the U.S. Senate's unanimous approval and designation of the final week in June as "National Pollinator Week" marked a necessary step toward addressing the urgent…

  • 2. Why study landslides?

    Landslides are a serious geologic hazard common to almost every State in the United States. It is estimated that in the United States they cause in excess of $1 billion in damages and from about 25 to 50 deaths each year. Globally, landslides cause billions of dollars in damages and thousands of…

  • Great Input Keeps the Great Lakes Great

    By Cameron Davis I am happy to share that on May 30, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, who chairs the Great Lakes Interagency Task Force of 16 federal agencies coordinating to restore the Great Lakes, announced the formation of a committee to help make Great Lakes recovery even more effective.…