Latest news with #ParkRanger
Asharq Al-Awsat
27-05-2025
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Insect-Eating Venus Flytraps Thrive in the Carolinas as Hikers Peek into Their Native Ecosystem
Park ranger Jesse Anderson leads dozens of people on a weekly hike in North Carolina to see some of the most unique living things in the world: plants that supplement the nutrients they get from sunlight by digesting ants, flies and spiders. But the Venus flytraps aren't like the human-size, ravenous and cruel Audrey in "Little Shop of Horrors." In the wild, Venus flytraps are the size of a lima bean and pose no harm to anything other than insects. Their special hairs snap their leaves together when brushed, but only twice in about 20 seconds or less to reduce the amount of false alarms by dust or rain. Once inside, the insect is doomed to become plant food, Anderson said. "It continues to trigger those hairs and the trap slowly closes and eventually starts releasing digestive enzymes to start breaking down the insect. And because they're in nutrient-poor environments, they supplement their food with insects," Anderson said. Anderson's hike at Carolina Beach State Park on the southeast North Carolina coast also showcases other carnivorous plants. There are vase-shaped pitcher plants with liquid at the bottom that traps insects, then digests them. Butterworts and sundews attract insects with glistening leaves, then secrete an adhesive to trap them in place. Bladderworts work similarly to Venus flytraps. And the hike is one of the few places to see Venus flytraps. The plant only grows in 12 counties in southeast North Carolina near Wilmington and a few nearby places in South Carolina, which made the organism the state's official carnivorous plant in 2023. Now is an especially good time to take that hike. Venus flytraps bloom from about mid-May to mid-June, Anderson said. The flytrap is a fragile plant that needs fire to survive. Wildfires in the pine forests where they grow clear off the denser overgrowth to provide the abundant sunlight the plants need. They face two big enemies: poachers and development. Harvesting the plants without permission is a felony in North Carolina and a misdemeanor in South Carolina. In 2016, a man was sentenced to 17 months in prison for taking nearly 1,000 Venus flytraps from game land in Hampstead, North Carolina. And the flytraps live in one of the fastest-growing parts of the US, where neighborhoods and businesses have been built over their habitats. Most of the plants can now be found in preserves and other undisturbed areas. Scientists counted only about 300,000 flytraps in the Carolinas several years ago. While Anderson's hike is one of the few ways to see Venus flytraps in their natural environment, he said commercially grown plants can be found around in greenhouses and plant stores around the world and can thrive in homes in the right conditions "They like nutrient-poor soils, and also they can't stand typical well water or tap water. So they need things like rainwater or distilled water or versus osmosis," Anderson said. Venus flytraps need abundant sunlight and soils that are moist but not drenched. And they don't have to eat bugs if they can get enough nutrients from photosynthesis. Please don't feed them hamburger meat, that's not what they eat. And try not to trigger the leaves shut without something to digest. That takes a lot of energy the plant needs to replace.
Washington Post
27-05-2025
- Washington Post
Insect-eating Venus flytraps thrive in the Carolinas as hikers peek into their native ecosystem
CAROLINA BEACH, N.C. — Park ranger Jesse Anderson leads dozens of people on a weekly hike in North Carolina to see some of the most unique living things in the world — plants that supplement the nutrients they get from sunlight by digesting ants, flies and spiders. But the Venus flytraps aren't like the human-size, ravenous and cruel Audrey in 'Little Shop of Horrors.'
Associated Press
27-05-2025
- Associated Press
Insect-eating Venus flytraps thrive in the Carolinas as hikers peek into their native ecosystem
CAROLINA BEACH, N.C. (AP) — Park ranger Jesse Anderson leads dozens of people on a weekly hike in North Carolina to see some of the most unique living things in the world — plants that supplement the nutrients they get from sunlight by digesting ants, flies and spiders. But the Venus flytraps aren't like the human-size, ravenous and cruel Audrey in 'Little Shop of Horrors.' In the wild, Venus flytraps are the size of a lima bean and pose no harm to anything other than insects. Their special hairs snap their leaves together when brushed — but only twice in about 20 seconds or less to reduce the amount of false alarms by dust or rain. Once inside, the insect is doomed to become plant food, Anderson said. 'It continues to trigger those hairs and the trap slowly closes and eventually starts releasing digestive enzymes to start breaking down the insect. And because they're in nutrient-poor environments, they supplement their food with insects,' Anderson said. Anderson's hike at Carolina Beach State Park on the southeast North Carolina coast also showcases other carnivorous plants. There are vase-shaped pitcher plants with liquid at the bottom that traps insects, then digests them. Butterworts and sundews attract insects with glistening leaves, then secrete an adhesive to trap them in place. Bladderworts work similarly to Venus flytraps. And the hike is one of the few places to see Venus flytraps. The plant only grows in 12 counties in southeast North Carolina near Wilmington and a few nearby places in South Carolina, which made the organism the state's official carnivorous plant in 2023. Now is an especially good time to take that hike. Venus flytraps bloom from about mid-May to mid-June, Anderson said. The flytrap is a fragile plant that needs fire to survive. Wildfires in the pine forests where they grow clear off the denser overgrowth to provide the abundant sunlight the plants need. They face two big enemies — poachers and development. Harvesting the plants without permission is a felony in North Carolina and a misdemeanor in South Carolina. In 2016, a man was sentenced to 17 months in prison for taking nearly 1,000 Venus flytraps from game land in Hampstead, North Carolina. And the flytraps live in one of the fastest-growing parts of the U.S., where neighborhoods and businesses have been built over their habitats. Most of the plants can now be found in preserves and other undisturbed areas. Scientists counted only about 300,000 flytraps in the Carolinas several years ago. While Anderson's hike is one of the few ways to see Venus flytraps in their natural environment, he said commercially grown plants can be found around in greenhouses and plant stores around the world and can thrive in homes in the right conditions 'They like nutrient-poor soils, and also they can't stand typical well water or tap water. So they need things like rainwater or distilled water or versus osmosis,' Anderson said. Venus flytraps need abundant sunlight and soils that are moist but not drenched. And they don't have to eat bugs if they can get enough nutrients from photosynthesis. Please don't feed them hamburger meat — that's not what they eat. And try not to trigger the leaves shut without something to digest. That takes a lot of energy the plant needs to replace. ___ Jeffrey Collins in Columbia, South Carolina, contributed to this story.
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Campers move to private grounds as state ones remain closed this Memorial Day weekend
HUNTINGDON COUNTY, Pa. (WTAJ)– Due to the ongoing federal hiring freeze pushing back the opening date of Raystown Lake campground to July 15, several people's Memorial Day traditions will look different this year. 'The vast majority of folks that we talk to are very understanding but disappointed, and I would say that is reflective of how we feel as well,' Park Ranger Jenna Conner said. Conner is one of four permanent rangers who work year-round at the lake, and they usually hire around twelve more every summer. She said the closures could result in a loss of visitors and revenue. Cambria County Farm Bureau teaches students importance of agriculture 'Seven Points alone is one of the highest revenue generating campgrounds in the US Army Corps of Engineers,' Conner said. 'We consistently rank about first or second. That generates about one point two million dollars every year.' But some campers are returning, opting instead for privately owned options like Pleasant Hills Campground. 'We have a lot of new guests coming in this year that are first timers,' Owner of Pleasant Hills Campground Rachel Lentz said. 'Our hope is that they'll enjoy their time here and repeat camp with us in the future.' The campground has 140 sites that are expected to be full most of the holiday weekend. But while they are capitalizing on the opportunity, there is concern that fewer visitors could have a large impact on local businesses that rely on tourism. 'I'm hoping that the community will rally around these businesses and show their support this summer to kind of make up for some of that loss that I'm sure they will experience,' Lentz said. 'It's hard to determine what that number is going to be,' Conner said. 'We know it's going to be significant but it's hard to determine how much.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
BBC News
09-05-2025
- General
- BBC News
The park ranger who alerted world to Sycamore Gap tree's fate
The deliberate felling of the iconic Sycamore Gap tree on Hadrian's Wall in Northumberland angered people around the world. For the man who was first on the scene, it was a moment that changed his life forever. Park ranger Gary Pickles was in once had stood arguably England's favourite tree, there was now just the call had come through earlier that morning, Gary had thought it was a working day on 28 September 2023 had barely started when a farmer called his office to report the tree was down."I doubted a farmer would be telling us a silly story so I thought 'oh my god, I think this might be true'." The team of park rangers were alerted by email and Gary got in his van to drive to the every passing minute of the short journey, his anxiety levels increased."As I got nearer and nearer, I just thought 'it's gone, it's gone'."He'd arrived at the road adjacent to the tree and had to "double take" as he saw it for the first time lying on its side."It was shock," said Gary, who was met with a gaping hole in the landscape. At this stage, he presumed the tree had been damaged in Storm Agnes, which had brought strong winds overnight."When you look and it's gone, it's my god," he said."It's a landmark. It's a piece of the landscape."Gary needed to investigate further. He parked his van in a nearby car park and rushed on foot to the fallen tree. The sadness he was feeling soon turned to anger and panic."When I got there I realised it had been chopped down and not blown down."There was a clean cut so that escalated it up."Once you realise it's been chopped down, then it's going to become a massive worldwide story."The seriousness of the developing situation quickly became hastily reported back to Northumberland National Park's headquarters that it appeared that the tree had been cut down deliberately. At this stage there was no time to consider who by or why. Just after 09:00 BST, the National Park alerted colleagues at the National Trust, including general manager Andrew Poad."My personal phone started lighting up. Messages were coming through on my laptop."Once I realised it was a deliberate act, crisis mode kicked in," said Andrew, whose priority was to personally inform people before they saw it on social media."It was like ringing people up to tell them that someone had passed away."On the day I was using the expression 'it's like losing a loved one'. We all went through that grief."There were numerous members of staff in tears."Viral photographs shared on social media showed the tree on its side, as the PR teams at the National Park and the National Trust frantically collaborated on an official response."Within the hour it was global, effectively," Andrew said. Shortly before 11:00, a statement from the organisations confirmed the tree had been cut down. At around midday, Northumbria Police announced it was being treated as "a deliberate act of vandalism".Local journalists were already carrying out interviews at the scene, before reporters from around the world turned the grassy mound opposite the stump into a "sea of camera tripods"."It is the largest press story that the National Trust has ever dealt with," Andrew said."It was one of the things that surprised us. The sheer scale of the global reach of the interest really took us back a bit."The usual calming sound of the vast countryside was drowned out by the clicks of cameras and the engines of broadcast trucks."We knew it was popular, but we didn't know how popular," Andrew said. The international interest also surprised Gary."My sister lives in France, my brother is in America, and by dinner time they'd both rung me, so it was global news at such a fast rate."Senior management from the National Park and the National Trust spent the afternoon at the fallen tree, speaking to the crowds of emotional walkers and gathered shocking footage of the trunk draped over a now damaged Hadrian's Wall. This idyllic, tranquil spot that had brought peace to so many was now a crime scene wrapped in blue and white police tape. Forensic officers in white suits also gathered DNA from the months on from its felling, Andrew and Gary regularly reflect on the day that north-east England lost "a massive local landmark.""It's just senseless. Who or what were they trying to get at?" said Andrew."It's still a huge part of my life dealing with this. It's a big gap in all our lives, never mind the landscape." The jury in the trial of the pair accused of cutting down the tree - Daniel Graham and Adam Carruthers - found both guilty. Follow BBC North East on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
