Big Bend National Park

While recent research shows the night sky is getting brighter every year across North America, the Big Bend area has fended off the light glow that washes out starry nights.

Heath Canyon Ranch was purchased by the Nature Conservancy in Texas and will be part of the Black Gap Wildlife Management Area.

McDonald Observatory astronomers worked with energy companies to dim their lights.

“If that’s a stump, it’s the weirdest stump I’ve ever seen.”

The plant, formally known as Ovicula biradiata, is especially notable for being the simultaneous discovery of a new species and genus. It was found with help from the community science app iNaturalist.

Applications are open for the park’s artist-in-residence program, which includes housing and a small stipend for supplies.

The Texas General Land Office purchased the private Brewster Ranch that had been listed for sale at more than $245.6 million. State officials did not disclose a final sale price.

No one knows how much water sits beneath the desert of Terlingua. Residents worry their wells will run dry, as developers and local officials cheer the tourism boom.

A new 48-page report from Texas A&M University takes a deep-dive look at tourism trends at Big Bend National Park, which saw more than half a million visitors in 2022.

Preliminary data from the National Park Service show Big Bend National Park saw an 11% drop in visitors last year, a slowdown from a record-high year in 2021.