Nature Notes
Why do rattlesnakes rattle and hummingbirds hum?
How do flowers market themselves to pollinators?
Why do tarantulas cross the road?
Nature Notes investigates questions like these about the natural world of the Chihuahuan Desert region and the Llano Estacado every week. Through interviews with scientists and field recordings, this Marfa Public Radio original series reveals the secrets of desert life.
Join host Dallas Baxter on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 7:45 am during Morning Edition and 4:45 pm during All Things Considered. New episodes premier on Thursdays and replay on Tuesdays. Episodes are written and produced by Andrew Stuart and edited by Marfa Public Radio and the Sibley Nature Center in Midland, Texas.
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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. -
Researchers once believed hunting and gathering were the sole means of subsistence in our region. Now, it's clear that farming was part of Indigenous life here for more than 5,000 years. -
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.
