Nature Notes from Marfa Public Radio: Recent Episodes
Marfa Public Radio
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 Public Radio in Marfa, Texas, in conjunction with the Sibley Nature Center in Midland, Texas. Through interviews with scientists and field recordings, Nature Notes reveals the secrets of desert life. The program airs Tuesday and Thursday on KRTS Marfa at 93.5 FM and KXWT at 91.3 FM in the Permian Basin.
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.
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.
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.
It’s at the heart of what residents and visitors alike treasure about this place. The desert-mountain country of the Trans-Pecos is Texas at its wildest, and, in recent years, efforts have surged to understand and safeguard its singular natural heritage. … Continue reading → Hosted by for KRTS
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, … 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 … 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 … 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 … 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 … 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 … 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 … 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: “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. 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
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.” 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
“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. Modern Texans are no exception. At 8,751 feet, … 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. 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 … 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 … 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 … Continue reading → Hosted by for KRTS
“These are the days of miracle and wonder, and don’t cry, baby, don’t cry.” Those lines from a Paul Simon song resonate in a time of unprecedented and heartbreaking developments. Weather events that would once have been unheard of are … Continue reading → Hosted by for KRTS
“The Old Man in the Fur Coat.” “Old Slew Foot.” “Mama Grizzly.” “Child of the Mountain God.” Bears have always held a special place in the human imagination. They’re powerful creatures, that warrant a healthy respect. But it’s hard not … Continue reading → Hosted by for KRTS
The return of desert bighorn sheep to West Texas is one of the state’s marquee conservation stories. These majestic animals had been eradicated here by the 1960s. Some 1,500 now roam the Texas mountains – a testament to the sustained … Continue reading → Hosted by for KRTS
The Borderlands Research Institute – at Alpine’s Sul Ross State University – was founded in 2007, with a mission to empower land managers to conserve the region’s natural resources. In the Trans-Pecos, that means private landowners. National and state parks … Continue reading → Hosted by for KRTS
In 1894, a 22-year-old Texas Ranger named Everett Townsend was tracking stolen mules when he arrived at the South Rim of the Chisos Mountains. He looked out from forested heights upon a panorama of mountains, mesas and desert badlands, to … Continue reading → Hosted by for KRTS
“There seemed to be nothing to see; no fences, no creeks or trees, no hills or fields. There was nothing but land: not a country at all, but the material out of which countries are made.” In that description of … Continue reading → Hosted by for KRTS
“The past,” it’s famously been said, “is a foreign country.” But the deep human past is better described as another continent. We humans have had the same traits and abilities – for abstract thinking and sociability, for creating art, music … Continue reading → Hosted by for KRTS
Camp this summer in the Guadalupe, Davis or Chisos mountains – the West Texas “sky islands” – and you’ll awaken to a symphony of birdsong. As the sun bakes the land below, you’ll walk in hidden canyons, shaded by oaks, … Continue reading → Hosted by for KRTS
Think of West Texas wildlife, and aquatic creatures aren’t what comes to mind. But the Rio Grande and its tributaries are home to a stunning diversity of fish, mussels and turtles. Many are found nowhere else on Earth. But the … Continue reading → Hosted by for KRTS
The Rio Grande – like all the world’s great rivers – meets many needs, and means many things. It’s water for drinking and farming – a foundation for societies past and present. It’s a place of beauty, and a resource … Continue reading → Hosted by for KRTS
It’s a life-giving stream in a desert land, that for millennia has sustained human communities and creatures found nowhere else on Earth. The deep canyons it’s carved are among the most remote and spectacular places on the continent. Its great … Continue reading → Hosted by for KRTS
Twelve thousand years ago, the great ice sheets that had long covered most of Canada and the northern U.S. receded. The jet stream – the continent’s storm track – abruptly shifted course. And the Southwest – which had been a … Continue reading → Hosted by for KRTS
With the celebration Friday of Earth Day, there’s occasion for both despair, and hope. In the 52 years since the first Earth Day, we’ve witnessed ecological destruction without parallel in human history. But there are also signs we might be … Continue reading → Hosted by for KRTS
The mountainous landscapes of West Texas testify to diverse aspects of the Earth’s past – to the tectonic upheavals that raised the Rockies, to episodes of powerful volcanism, to a seaway that covered this land in the Age of Dinosaurs. … Continue reading → Hosted by for KRTS
“History” is said to begin with the written word. And that can make us think that, in the absence of a written record, human life was somehow static or unchanging. But the human journey has always been characterized by innovation … Continue reading → Hosted by for KRTS
There’s a “solace in open spaces,” as the title of Gretel Ehrlich’s memoir of life in Wyoming would have it, and Americans appear to have found that especially true in the midst of a pandemic, when outdoor vacations beckon as … Continue reading → Hosted by for KRTS
Catastrophic wildfires have become numbingly familiar in the 21st Century American West. Smoke often obscures the summer sky. Air quality becomes dangerous. Homes are threatened or destroyed. Lives are lost. The causes are likewise familiar – climate change is making … Continue reading → Hosted by for KRTS
West Texas has a rich history in paleontology. Scientists have made finds here that have illumined the story of life on Earth. Now, an important new find has dropped. In remote Spirit Eye Cave, near Pinto Canyon in Presidio … Continue reading → Hosted by for KRTS
Finding a “potsherd” – a fragment of prehistoric pottery – is arresting, a potent reminder of the Native American past. It’s always best to leave such objects in place – both so others can have the experience, and because, for … Continue reading → Hosted by for KRTS
Stock tanks are as common as corrals and loading chutes in rural West Texas – this is ranching country, after all, and water for livestock is a high priority. But in Presidio County, a few stock tanks have come to … Continue reading → Hosted by for KRTS
They’re among the most powerful animals on the planet. Like 200-pound pit bulls, they’re stocky and square-jawed, with a bite that can readily crush a turtle’s shell, or a mammal’s skull. They’re also graceful – they can swim and climb … Continue reading → Hosted by for KRTS
The recent dating of fossilized human footprints in White Sands National Park – to 23,000 years old – makes it plain: people have lived in our region for a very long time. Much of that history was highly mobile. In … Continue reading → Hosted by for KRTS
“You just can’t live in Texas,” as Waylon Jennings sang, “unless you gotta lotta soul,” and West Texans might reasonably think it applies to them more than those in softer parts of the state. But there’s a West Texas creature … Continue reading → Hosted by for KRTS
Big Bend residents who’ve taken visitors to the Rio Grande have heard some version of the wisecrack: “What’s so ‘grand’ about this river?” You explain that flowing water – in any quantity – is the pearl of great price in … Continue reading → Hosted by for KRTS
The Animal Kingdom – that category of living things of which we count ourselves members – is staggeringly diverse, and it’s a diversity we’ve only begun to comprehend. There are thought to be more than 7 million animal species on … Continue reading → Hosted by for KRTS
There are few recent archeological finds as awe-inspiring as the “ghost tracks” of White Sands National Park, near Alamogordo, New Mexico. These footprints, or trackways – which exist in the thousands, and become visible and then vanish, depending on moisture … Continue reading → Hosted by for KRTS
A rainy summer has brought a special beauty to all of West Texas. But the Salt Lakes at Salt Flat – the playas beneath the Guadalupe Mountains – have been the season’s stars. The lakes are shallow and short-lived, but … Continue reading → Hosted by for KRTS