Nature Notes from Marfa Public Radio

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Nature Notes explores the natural world of the Llano Estacado and the Chihuahuan Desert. We look at the plants, animals, and ecology of this unique region, as well as places to experience it and people working to conserve it. This free 4 1/2-minute weekly environmental feature is produced by Marfa P…

Marfa Public Radio


    • Sep 21, 2023 LATEST EPISODE
    • every other week NEW EPISODES
    • 5m AVG DURATION
    • 129 EPISODES


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    Latest episodes from Nature Notes from Marfa Public Radio

    Dive into deep time: discovering the vanished creatures of Big Bend's ancient sea

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 21, 2023 4:00


    West Texas today is high and dry. But long ago it was beneath a shallow sea. In "Dinosaurs and Other Ancient Animals of Big Bend," the book's authors guide readers into the region's singular fossil record — including the teeming life of this ancient ocean.

    Of rain and redolence: Sept. 14 talk by Gary Nabhan is a journey into the desert 'osmocosm'

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 7, 2023 4:00


    Our region's vistas are iconic, but its desert scent — especially after a rain — is just as distinctive. Renowned writer Gary Nabhan will speak on the fragrances of the Chihuahua desert at Marfa's Crowley theater.

    A new book brings Big Bend's ancient animals to life

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 31, 2023 4:00


    Big Bend National Park has a singular fossil record, spanning 130 million years. In "Dinosaurs and Other Ancient Animals of Big Bend,” that epic story is told, bringing vanished creatures, and vanished worlds, to life.

    Autumnal glory: probing the mysteries of West Texas Aspens

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 24, 2023 4:00


    The West Texas sky island mountains sustain wondrous biodiversity, but there's one particularly graceful being concealed here: Populus tremuloides, the trembling aspen. New research into West Texas aspens could shed light on their history, and on the continent-wide story of this iconic species.

    In “Cemetery Birding,” discovering bittersweet beauty close at hand

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 17, 2023 4:00


    Jennifer Bristol's new book, “Cemetery Birding," takes readers into the bittersweet beauty of these reflective places. Bristol is the keynote speaker at this year's sold-out Davis Mountains Hummingbird Celebration.

    On the centennial, Texas state parks are poised for a “new golden age”

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 10, 2023 4:00


    In November, Texans will vote on the Centennial Parks Conservation Fund, a billion dollars to buy new state parklands. It would be a victory for a long fight for state-park funding.

    On the centennial, remembering the women activists behind Texas state parks

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 3, 2023 4:00


    Few policy matters unite Texas as broadly as state parks. Yet, the history of this beloved institution is one of uphill political battles. As the Texas state park system marks its centennial, a new book reveals the central role women activists played in its origins.

    texas centennial texas state parks women activists
    100 years on, chronicling the origin of Texas state parks

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 27, 2023 4:04


    As the state parks system marks its centennial, a new book chronicles its history and showcases the visionary Texans who birthed one of the state's most beloved institutions.

    origin texans chronicling texas state parks
    West Texas Jurassic: new fossils are a Texas first

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 13, 2023 4:00


    Thanks to Hollywood, the Jurassic Period — with its dinosaurs and other charismatic reptiles — holds a special place in the popular imagination. But the Jurassic in Texas has long been a blank. Now that's changed.

    On an isolated hill, archeologists unearth an unknown Chihuahuan Desert society

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 15, 2023 4:00


    The ancient Egyptians lived in an arid land, but they marshaled the Nile River's floodwaters to build a farming society. Now, researchers have learned something similar unfolded in our region's deep past.

    The Permian and the parks: the science of methane monitoring

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 1, 2023 4:00


    The national parks at Guadalupe Mountains and Carlsbad Caverns are helping scientists understand an unseen but consequential phenomena — the emissions of methane from the Permian Basin oilfield.

    At Agave Festival Marfa, a cinematic journey into ancient Indigenous foodways

    Play Episode Listen Later May 25, 2023 4:30


    The “Three Sisters” — corn, beans and squash — have sustained Indigenous societies across the Americas, including in the Big Bend area. What are the roots of this ancient cultural heritage?

    Rio Grande Rockies: Tracing the Laramide Orogeny in Big Bend

    Play Episode Listen Later May 18, 2023 4:00


    Big Bend is defined by geological diversity, which has been shaped by diverse tectonic forces. And scientists are now taking a closer look at one of those forces — known as the Laramie Ororgeny.

    Anthropologist traces the “multi-species politics” of javelinas and humans

    Play Episode Listen Later May 10, 2023 4:00


    If you're a West Texas hiker, you've likely interacted with javelinas, or collared peccaries. Anthropologist Adam Johnson is studying these interactions and relations, and he's discovering a complex “multi-species politics” among people and peccaries.

    With careful science and Indigenous input, an archeologist unlocks rock-art mysteries

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 27, 2023 4:00


    As enthralling as it is, prehistoric rock art has long resisted scientific analysis. But one archaeologist is now changing that.

    April 29 native plant sale showcases the “queen of yuccas”

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 20, 2023 4:00


    Native plant gardening is booming in the U.S., including in West Texas.

    The Conchos pupfish: a new partnership aims to restore the “napoleon” of desert waters

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 13, 2023 4:00


    Today, the Conchos pupfish can only be found in the Devils River. But there are new efforts to restore this small but mighty West Texas creature.

    Desert renewal: signs of spring in West Texas

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 16, 2023 7:31


    Right now, spring is announcing itself across West Texas in diverse ways.

    Icons of adaptation: tracing the evolutionary journey of West Texas' blanched lizards

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 9, 2023 7:31


    As scientists look more closely at the lesser earless lizards found in West Texas, they're gaining insight into the mechanisms that drive the diversity of life on Earth.

    Arachnid among the Ants: The Saga of the “Texas Mystery Spider”

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 23, 2023 8:01


    In West Texas, the discovery of the 'Texas Mystery Spider' two decades ago launched an international scientific journey. And now researches are gaining surprising, if grisly, insights into this tiny desert creature.

    Pinyon Jays star in an “irruptive” year for West Texas birds

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 9, 2023 7:04


    The West Texas mountains host a wonderous diversity of birds — from colorful full-time residents to migrating hummingbirds. But this winter has been something special. From Alpine to the Guadalupe Mountains, birds rarely seen in Texas have made their winter abodes here.

    Ghost River: Reconstructing the “Paleo-Hydrology” of the Big Bend Rio Grande

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 26, 2023 7:31


    The drying of the Rio Grande in Big Bend last spring was stark evidence of its dire condition — and restoring it requires knowing something of its original state.

    Of Fangs and Feces: Unearthing a Venomous Mystery in a Prehistoric Latrine

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 19, 2023 5:00


    The rock shelters of the Pecos Canyonlands are an archeological treasure trove, preserving a remarkable record of prehistoric life. Some of those treasures are literally waste: coprolites, fossilized human feces, from the caves have yielded vivid insights into the diets and ritual lives of ancient people.

    After Dramatic Drying, A Pulse of Life for the Big Bend Rio Grande

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 18, 2023 7:30


    When the Rio Grande ran dry in Big Bend National Park last spring, photographs of the park's iconic canyons framing an empty riverbed sparked concern not only in Texas, but nationally. The response was justified.

    Desert Dwelling in Deep Time: Archeologists Catalog Big Bend National Park's Rich Human Past

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 4, 2023 8:00


    Today, Big Bend National Park is a place to escape from the modern world and into the wilderness. But this harsh and majestic place was also home to countless people, from archaic hunters to 20th-century farmers.

    Borderlands Research Institute Marks 15 Years of Cutting-Edge Science for West Texas Wildlife

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 8, 2022 8:00


    Now celebrating 15 years, Alpine's Borderlands Research Institute fuses scientific rigor with practical conservation.

    Prairie Pueblos: Archeology Reveals a “Dual Economy” on the Prehistoric Plains

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 1, 2022


    The first European to encounter Native American life in our region bore witness to a distinctive phenomenon. When Cabeza de Vaca arrived at La Junta de los Rios, present-day Presidio-Ojinaga, in the 1530s, he found farming communities. The starving Spaniard was fed beans and squash. But he also learned that many La Juntans were away, “hunting cows,” he wrote. The evidence of that “cow” hunting was on display – bison robes abounded at La Junta.

    Prairie Pueblos: Archeology Reveals a “Dual Economy” on the Prehistoric Plains

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 1, 2022


    The first European to encounter Native American life in our region bore witness to a distinctive phenomenon. When Cabeza de Vaca arrived at La Junta de los Rios, present-day Presidio-Ojinaga, in the 1530s, he found farming communities. The starving Spaniard … Continue reading → Hosted by for KRTS

    The Evening Primrose is the Center of an Aromatic Drama in the Desert Night

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 24, 2022


    Poet Rita Dove wrote that the plants “wait until the world's tucked in and the sky's one ceaseless shimmer – then lift their saturated eyelids and blaze, blaze all night long for no one.” A century and a half earlier, the English Romantic John Clare claimed that, “hermit-like, shunning the light, it wastes its fair bloom upon the night.”

    The Evening Primrose is the Center of an Aromatic Drama in the Desert Night

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 24, 2022


    Poet Rita Dove wrote that the plants “wait until the world’s tucked in and the sky’s one ceaseless shimmer – then lift their saturated eyelids and blaze, blaze all night long for no one.” A century and a half earlier, … Continue reading → Hosted by for KRTS

    With Buried Bison Bones, Excavating the Insights of Prehistoric Hunters

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 10, 2022


    A vivid image leaps to mind when we imagine traditional Native American life in the West: the bison hunt. We're told the iconic creatures were both revered and relied upon – that every part of the animal was put to use. We might even think Native Americans on the West Texas plains subsisted exclusively on bison meat.

    With Buried Bison Bones, Excavating the Insights of Prehistoric Hunters

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 9, 2022


    A vivid image leaps to mind when we imagine traditional Native American life in the West: the bison hunt. We're told the iconic creatures were both revered and relied upon – that every part of the animal was put to … Continue reading → Hosted by for KRTS

    The Salt Flat Spider: An Enigmatic Arachnid Finds Sanctuary in the Harshest Desert Places

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 3, 2022


    “They create a desert and call it peace,” a first-century Celtic chieftain said of the Roman army devastating his land, rousing his warriors to resistance. Our species can indeed lay the Earth to waste – rendering places lifeless through plunder and violence. But natural deserts are never sterile. They're places of austerity, but also of hidden life.

    The Salt Flat Spider: An Enigmatic Arachnid Finds Sanctuary in the Harshest Desert Places

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 3, 2022


    “They create a desert and call it peace,” a first-century Celtic chieftain said of the Roman army devastating his land, rousing his warriors to resistance. Our species can indeed lay the Earth to waste – rendering places lifeless through plunder … Continue reading → Hosted by for KRTS

    Lechuguilla Cave: Exploring a Wondrous World Beneath the Guadalupe Mountains

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 27, 2022


    Carlsbad Cavern is a global destination. Each year, hundreds of thousands of visitors from around the world descend into the cavern's “Big Room” – to tour the immense labyrinth of otherworldly cave formations. And on summer evenings, there's the spectacle of hundreds of thousands of bats taking flight from the cave's entrance.

    Lechuguilla Cave: Exploring a Wondrous World Beneath the Guadalupe Mountains

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 26, 2022


    Carlsbad Cavern is a global destination. Each year, hundreds of thousands of visitors from around the world descend into the cavern’s “Big Room” – to tour the immense labyrinth of otherworldly cave formations. And on summer evenings, there’s the spectacle … Continue reading → Hosted by for KRTS

    At Midland's Sibley Center, an Ice Age Adventure is Underway

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 13, 2022


    Mammoths and mastodons. Camels and horses. Giant ground sloths. Beavers the size of bears. Herds of massive bison antiquus. And the immense predators – the American lion, the scimitar-toothed cat. A day in Ice Age West Texas would have put the grandest African safari to shame. It's exhilarating, if terrifying, to imagine it.

    At Midland’s Sibley Center, an Ice Age Adventure is Underway

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 13, 2022


    Mammoths and mastodons. Camels and horses. Giant ground sloths. Beavers the size of bears. Herds of massive bison antiquus. And the immense predators – the American lion, the scimitar-toothed cat. A day in Ice Age West Texas would have put … Continue reading → Hosted by for KRTS

    The Making of a Mountain: the Glass Range

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 6, 2022


    The writer Edward Abbey described his first sight of the Rocky Mountains, as a 17-year-old hitchhiker from Pennsylvania:

    The Making of a Mountain: the Glass Range

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 5, 2022


    The writer Edward Abbey described his first sight of the Rocky Mountains, as a 17-year-old hitchhiker from Pennsylvania: “On the Western horizon… was a magical vision, a legend come true. The image of those mountains struck a fundamental chord in … Continue reading → Hosted by for KRTS

    The Making of a Mountain: the Chinati Volcano

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 29, 2022


    How is a mountain made? The story often spans millions of years. But not always.

    The Making of a Mountain: the Chinati Volcano

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 29, 2022


    How is a mountain made? The story often spans millions of years. But not always. On one explosive day, some 33 million years ago, the Chinati Volcano erupted. Chinati Peak, the monumental summit 40 miles southwest of Marfa, is one … Continue reading → Hosted by for KRTS

    As the Park Marks 50 Years, Guadalupes Supt. Eric Leonard Seeks New Ways to Connect Visitors to this Singular Place

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 22, 2022


    “Guadalupe Mountains National Park has a reputation as a hiker's paradise. It's deserved.”

    As the Park Marks 50 Years, Guadalupes Supt. Eric Leonard Seeks New Ways to Connect Visitors to this Singular Place

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 22, 2022


    “Guadalupe Mountains National Park has a reputation as a hiker’s paradise. It’s deserved.” That headline from a New York Times article distills the dominant image of Guadalupe Mountains National Park. When the park was born – 50 years ago this … Continue reading → Hosted by for KRTS

    On the Park's 50th, Guadalupe's Supt. Eric Leonard Shares Tales of a Texas Wilderness

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 8, 2022


    “I look to the mountain,” the Psalmist of the Bible says, speaking for many of us. Our eyes are drawn to summits – mountain peaks have enthralled humankind across cultures and ages.

    On the Park’s 50th, Guadalupe’s Supt. Eric Leonard Shares Tales of a Texas Wilderness

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 3, 2022


    “I look to the mountain,” the Psalmist of the Bible says, speaking for many of us. Our eyes are drawn to summits – mountain peaks have enthralled humankind across cultures and ages. Modern Texans are no exception. At 8,751 feet, … Continue reading → Hosted by for KRTS

    At “Lizard Camp,” Scientific and Personal Discovery on the Dell City Dunes

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 1, 2022


    Women have made critical contributions to the sciences for centuries. But despite efforts to increase female participation in STEM – science, technology, engineering and math – there's still a yawning gap. Both globally and in the United States, less than 30 percent of scientific researchers are women.

    At “Lizard Camp,” Scientific and Personal Discovery on the Dell City Dunes

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 1, 2022


    Women have made critical contributions to the sciences for centuries. But despite efforts to increase female participation in STEM – science, technology, engineering and math – there’s still a yawning gap. Both globally and in the United States, less than … Continue reading → Hosted by for KRTS

    At Paquime, Unearthing a Great Prehistoric City's Deep Local Roots

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 25, 2022


    Paquime, or Casas Grandes – a few hours drive from El Paso in Chihuahua, Mexico – is a stunning archeological site, the largest urban center known from the prehistoric North American deserts. Thousands lived here, with multi-story adobe apartments, ball courts and monumental earthen sculptures, a system of reservoirs and canals for drinking water and wastewater. Goods speak of extensive trade connections, and the city exported its own beautiful ceramics. Surrounding peaks are topped with watchtowers and signaling sites, which likely enabled rapid communication across vast desert expanses.

    At Paquime, Unearthing a Great Prehistoric City’s Deep Local Roots

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 25, 2022


    Paquime, or Casas Grandes – a few hours drive from El Paso in Chihuahua, Mexico – is a stunning archeological site, the largest urban center known from the prehistoric North American deserts. Thousands lived here, with multi-story adobe apartments, ball … Continue reading → Hosted by for KRTS

    Visiting Paquime, the Prehistoric “Water City” of the Chihuahuan Desert

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 18, 2022


    “There are many houses of great size, strength and height,” the Spanish chronicler Baltasar Obregon wrote in the 1560s. “They are six and seven stories, with towers and walls like fortresses.” “The houses contain large and magnificent patios paved with enormous and beautiful stones,” he wrote, with “walls whitewashed and painted in many colors and shades with pictures.”

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