Nature Notes from Marfa Public Radio

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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?

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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.”

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

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.

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

“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.

“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

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.

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

“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

“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.

“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

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.

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

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.

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

“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.”