Articles tagged with Wilderness
Researchers at Utah State University found that more than 1000 tons of microplastics are deposited onto protected lands in the western US each year, equivalent to over 123 million plastic water bottles. The study's findings highlight the source, transport, and fate of plastics on Earth surfaces.
The updated guidelines recommend avoiding prolonged overhydration during exercise and encouraging individuals to drink according to their thirst. This approach aims to prevent exercise-associated hyponatremia (EAH) and its potential life-threatening outcomes.
The Wilderness Medical Society has released new clinical practice guidelines addressing critical issues in wilderness medicine, including diabetes management and spinal cord protection. The guidelines emphasize personalized care and evidence-based approaches to prevent complications and optimize patient outcomes.
A new study found that half of all buildings destroyed by wildfire in California are located in the wildland-urban interface (WUI) area, which has less grasses and trees to fuel fires. The WUI accounts for 82% of all building losses, with 50% occurring in the interface portion.
A University of Queensland and CSIRO study finds that wilderness areas reduce species extinction risk by half, highlighting the urgent need for protection. Vital 'at-risk' wilderness areas require immediate conservation efforts to prevent loss of biodiversity and ecosystem disruption.
New maps reveal that over 3 million square kilometers of wilderness have been lost since the 1990s, threatening species extinction. However, conserving these areas can halve the world's extinction risk, according to a recent study published in Nature.
A comprehensive case report documents the dermatological progression of a patient stung by a box jellyfish off Cambodia's coast. The patient recovered fully with proper wound care and management, healing without skin grafting.
Cristina Watkins, a UTIA doctoral student, has won a national scholarship to study the connection between wilderness areas and diverse societies. Her research focuses on socio-demographic groups' values of wilderness areas and creating accessible opportunities for minority groups in outdoor recreation.
Conservation scientists find that only 23% of the world's landmass can be considered wilderness, with the rest lost to human activities. Wilderness areas are crucial buffers against climate change and provide refuges for declining species.
The world has lost over 77% of land and 87% of ocean to human modifications, with only polar regions remaining untouched. International conservation targets are urgently needed to protect the last remaining wilderness.
A Montana State University study examines 35 ecological vital signs in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, finding increased human population and density, as well as a changing climate, are affecting its overall health. The research also highlights opportunities for citizen scientists to gather data and contribute to ecosystem assessments.
A new study suggests that protecting key habitats outside of existing wildernesses and preserves is essential for conserving at-risk species with small ranges. The analysis shows that even half of the world's large wilderness areas may not be enough to protect many more species.
A study by University of Queensland scientists reveals that only 13% of the ocean can be classified as wilderness, leaving it vulnerable to loss. Marine areas devoid of intense human impacts are being protected, but most remaining wilderness is located in remote regions and is unprotected.
A new study finds that the ocean has lost most of its untouched areas, leaving only 13% classified as wilderness due to human activity such as fishing and shipping fleets. The authors call for conservation policies to protect marine wilderness, which is home to high levels of species diversity.
Researchers mapped global marine wilderness, finding only 13% of the world's ocean can still be classified as wilderness. The remaining areas are mostly located in remote regions, such as Arctic and Pacific Island nations, while coastal regions have almost no wilderness left. Protecting what remains is crucial to preserve biodiversity.
The study reveals that new WUI area expanded by over 46 million acres, with significant growth in the East region. The expansion poses broad challenges for natural resource management and wildfire management, highlighting the need for effective planning and policy to reduce risk.
The study found that WUI area in the coterminous US grew by 33% between 1990 and 2010, with a 41% increase in houses. The areas experiencing wildfires had fewer homes in 1990 compared to 2010, highlighting the growing wildfire risk.
A recent study has made wilderness area maps freely available to aid researchers and conservationists in mitigating climate change. The majority of remaining wilderness areas are found in Central Australia, the Amazon rainforest, and boreal forests.
Niassa National Reserve in Mozambique has lost 108 square kilometers of forest due to agriculture and human settlement since 2001.
A team of researchers has uncovered rare, living stromatolites in a remote Tasmanian valley, revealing a unique ecosystem that thrived due to mineral-rich groundwater. The discovery is significant as stromatolites are rare globally and not previously known from Tasmania except as ancient fossils.
A new study urges the UNESCO World Heritage Convention to better conserve wilderness areas by designating Natural World Heritage Sites (NWHS). Only 1.8% of the world's wilderness is currently protected, highlighting broad gaps in conservation coverage across the globe.
A University of Queensland-led study highlights the urgent need for increased wilderness conservation in World Heritage Sites, which currently protect only 1.8% of global wilderness areas. The World Heritage Convention can play a crucial role in addressing this gap by recognizing and protecting these critical ecosystems.
A special supplement to Wilderness & Environmental Medicine outlines the transferability of military trauma care techniques to austere environments. Key findings include the reduction of preventable trauma deaths from bleeding, airway obstruction, and collapsed lungs with TCCC guidelines.
The new guidelines emphasize avalanche avoidance as a primary tactic for preventing injuries and deaths. They also provide detailed recommendations for rescue protocols, including the use of transceivers, probes, and shovels, as well as guidelines for resuscitation in burial situations.
A new study suggests that the Ivory-billed Woodpecker may still exist, prompting a call for conservation efforts. The bird is highly elusive and its habitat is difficult to access, making it challenging to obtain conclusive photographic evidence. Researchers believe that a more pragmatic approach is needed to document the species while...
A new study found that improvised wound irrigation tools in the wilderness can be effective, producing pressures similar to commercial devices. The research examined various options and found that all systems using compressible water bottles met or exceeded pressure standards.
Catastrophic declines in wilderness areas have occurred globally over the last two decades, with almost 10% of the world's land area lost. The Amazon and Central Africa have been severely impacted, highlighting the need for international policies to protect remaining wilderness.
Researchers report catastrophic declines in global wilderness areas over the last 20 years, with an estimated 3.3 million km2 of wilderness lost, primarily in South America and Africa. The study emphasizes the urgent need for proactive global interventions to protect remaining wilderness areas.
Research reveals catastrophic decline in global wilderness areas, with an estimated 3.3 million square kilometers lost since the 1990s, highlighting the urgent need for conservation efforts and international protection.
Researchers found that more than 1.2 million acres of U.S. federal and tribal wildlands were sprayed with about 200 tons of herbicide in 2010, equivalent to 930,630 football fields. Glyphosate was the most commonly used active ingredient, posing a higher risk to native plants.
The Wilderness Medical Society has released comprehensive guidelines for preventing and treating drowning, with a focus on rescue, resuscitation, and clinical management. The new recommendations aim to reduce the 10 daily US fatalities and 3,800 annual drownings, emphasizing importance of water safety measures.
Research shows that restoring and protecting streamside meadows can help keep streams cool for the California golden trout, which are threatened by rising temperatures. The study found that water temperatures approached the upper limit of tolerance in areas with suitable habitat, but were cooler in ungrazed meadow areas.
Two MGH physicians, Renee Salas and Annekathryn Goodman, share their experiences in Nepal earthquake relief, highlighting the challenges of wilderness medicine in remote environments. The teams worked together to provide emergency care and support, while also addressing emotional devastation inflicted on villagers.
A new study highlights nine key issues to consider when addressing the environmental impacts of rapid infrastructure expansion, including keeping wilderness areas road-free and engaging with local communities. The authors emphasize that the threat to wild places is exacerbated by illegal development activities.
The study highlights nine issues that must be addressed to limit the environmental impacts of infrastructure projects. These include preserving wilderness areas, recognizing the consequences of paved roads, and considering indirect effects in cost-benefit analyses. The researchers emphasize the need for a new approach to protect vulner...
A new study has created a 'global roadmap' for prioritizing road building across the planet, identifying areas with most potential benefit and conflict zones. The approach balances competing demands of development and environmental protection.
A new study by University of New Hampshire researchers finds that wilderness and adventure therapy programs significantly reduce the risk of injury compared to everyday activities. The programs boast lower injury rates than sports like football, snowboarding, and downhill skiing.
A global plan for road building is proposed to reduce environmental damage by concentrating roads in suitable areas. Properly planned roads can improve farming, increase farm profits, and enhance food security, helping to feed the growing global population.
A collaboration developed and studied a community-based first response training program in a remote Indigenous community in northern Canada. The program, funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and Northern Ontario Academic Medical Association, improved emergency care outcomes.
The Wilderness Medical Society has released new guidelines to prevent and treat lightning injuries, with recommendations for effective medical treatments post-strike. These guidelines aim to lower the likelihood of being killed or injured from lightning strikes.
Researchers found that high biodiversity regions are linguistically diverse, with 3,202 languages spoken in 35 hotspots and 1,622 in five wilderness areas. Linguistic loss threatens biodiversity as well, with up to 90% of languages disappearing by the end of the 21st century.
Research shows that maintaining wildlands in and among vineyards significantly improves carbon storage. This approach can help balance global atmospheric carbon by increasing vegetation and biodiversity while reducing emissions.
Elsevier presents awards to exceptional wilderness medicine professionals who demonstrate dedication to saving lives in austere environments. Recipients receive an e-reader pre-loaded with critical medical content, including Dr. Paul Auerbach's 'Medicine for the Outdoors and Wilderness Medicine.'
A North Carolina State University researcher is working on a project to develop new testing technologies for evaluating gear worn by wildland firefighters. The goal is to create clothing that provides better balance between comfort and thermal protection. The team will use an instrumented manikin called RadMan to study radiant heat and...
The Wilderness Medical Society has published evidence-based practice guidelines for the prevention and treatment of frostbite. The guidelines emphasize preventing frostbite through measures such as maintaining blood flow to extremities, exercising, and minimizing exposure and heat loss. Treatment options include field-thawing followed ...
A study by Lisette Cantú-Salazar and Kevin J. Gaston found that large protected areas are crucial for preserving natural species assemblages, while also being vulnerable to inadequate management and human activities such as logging and mining. The researchers suggest that these areas should be prioritized for conservation efforts
The Wilderness Medical Society (WMS) supports the administration of epinephrine to treat anaphylaxis by trained non-medical professionals in emergency situations. This practice is recommended for organizations with staff who provide first aid, particularly those working with students at risk for anaphylaxis.
The USDA Forest Service has developed an early warning system to monitor forest health using satellite imagery and land surface phenology data. The system aims to provide near-real-time information on forest conditions impacted by insects, diseases, wildfires, or extreme weather events.
A rapid assessment program expedition to Papua New Guinea's highlands wilderness revealed 50 new spider species, three frogs, two plants, and one gecko. The discovery underscores the region's critical role in sequestering carbon dioxide and highlights the importance of indigenous knowledge for conservation.
A study by the Wildlife Conservation Society found that roads in Central Africa's Congo Basin are creating 'siege mentality' among forest elephants, forcing them to become isolated and confined. This reduces their ability to find suitable habitat and increases the risk of poaching.
A human clinical study by Montana Center for Work Physiology and Exercise Metabolism found that wildland firefighters who consumed a yeast-based antioxidant supplement, Wellmune WGP¹, had significantly fewer upper respiratory tract infections compared to a placebo group. The study showed a strong statistical trend of 23% fewer infectio...
Scientists discover two new mammal species, a tiny possum and giant rat, in the remote Foja Mountains. The region is also home to numerous rare and little-known bird species, including the 'lost' Bird of Paradise.
A new study by Conservation International warns that the Amazon rainforest is at risk from the IIRSA initiative, which could lead to widespread deforestation and loss of biodiversity. However, the report offers pragmatic approaches for reconciling economic development with environmental protection, including the use of carbon credits, ...
A new communication protocol, SCP-MAC, has been developed to optimize energy efficiency for wireless sensor networks, reducing monitoring time from 2-3% to under 2 minutes per day. This improvement enables sensornets to watch wildlife or oilfields with longer-lasting batteries.
Two studies use spatially explicit models to quantify ecosystem services and their costs, guiding conservation planning in Paraguay and California. The approaches reveal tradeoffs between biodiversity and ecosystem services, highlighting the need for a systematic framework that balances both.
A study analyzing government census data finds that housing growth in and around US national forests is threatening biodiversity and ecosystem health. The number of housing units within national forest boundaries increased from 500,000 to 1.5 million between 1950 and 2000, largely due to private land ownership.
Researchers analyzed over 100 water samples in the Sierra Nevada and found that more than half had no water quality issues. E. coli and other bacteria pose a greater risk of waterborne illnesses than Giardia in this region.
A global analysis reveals that 44% of the Earth's land surface consists of 24 wilderness areas, but they are occupied by only 3% of the world's population. These high-biodiversity wilderness areas face significant threats from human activities, and conservation efforts are necessary to protect them.
The World Legacy Awards honor three tourism projects for their exceptional balance between nature conservation, heritage protection, and social responsibility. Wilderness Safaris in South Africa, ATG Oxford in Italy, and the REST Project in Thailand were recognized for their contributions to sustainable tourism.
Global analysis reveals 46% of the Earth's land surface is still intact wilderness, but only 2.4% of the world's population inhabits it. The areas are under threat from encroaching agriculture and resource extraction, with only 7% enjoying protection.