Environment

Minnesota’s pheasant hunting season kicks off this weekend, but the outlook isn’t so bright for hunters this year. Record-amount snow and rain delayed pheasant nesting by 10 days later than average, and the longterm trend of pheasant population decrease continues this year, the DNR says.

Most of the bans aim to curb emissions and protect pedestrians. The bans are also sometimes touted as a way to help fight obesity, but past studies suggest they don't have that effect.

Programs that pay landowners to keep carbon sequestered in forests are beginning to spread, now that California has a cap and trade system designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Some say Minnesota should be a bigger player in the carbon offset market.

The annual competition is put on by Alaska's Katmai National Park & Preserve to choose the fattest bear. This year, Holly beat out Lefty in the championship round, winning 80 percent of the votes.

Washington state's Swinomish Tribe is building a clam garden in hopes of protecting their reservation from sea level rise. This aquatic garden will also provide a home for disappearing native clams.

There is no perfect, affordable way to dispose of deer carcasses potentially infected with chronic wasting disease. Crow Wing County offers a look at the stark challenges some Minnesota communities face as they try to keep the disease in check and control the environmental contamination.

From stadiums packed with energetic fans to food, beer and waste, sports can have a big carbon footprint. Many sports franchises in baseball, hockey, basketball and football are embracing sustainability in venue design, waste, water, energy and food operations. And some athletes are speaking out about the bigger world around them.

A 16-year-old Swedish climate activist who garnered international attention when she scolded world leaders at the United Nations is visiting American Indian reservations in the Dakotas to talk about oil pipelines.

Bears preparing for hibernation need to eat as much as they can for the winter. In Alaska, it's turned into an ursine March Madness with bears going head to head to see who is the fattest.

Fall colors are at or near their peak this weekend across much of northern Minnesota, including the North Shore — bringing a wave of red, orange and yellow to the rocky ridges overlooking Lake Superior.