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Mark Ranger

@markr4nger.bsky.social
142 followers 203 following 46 posts

Environmental journalist and outdoor guide. Currently based in Greater Yellowstone. markdegraff.com

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Mark Ranger @markr4nger.bsky.social · 11/12/2025
Wolves saved Yellowstone’s aspens… right? Turns out the real story isn’t so simple. Read it here. 🧪🌿🌎
mountainjournal.org
Have Wolves Saved Yellowstone’s Aspens? - Mountain Journal
Claims that wolves have rescued Yellowstone National Park aspen trees through a ‘trophic cascade’ oversimplify a complex story
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Mark Ranger @markr4nger.bsky.social · 29/10/2025
More historical events that occurred on January 6. It says:

"1601–1900
On January 6, 1641, the Parliament of Quillín convened during the Arauco War, establishing a temporary truce between Spanish colonial forces and Mapuche indigenous groups in southern Chile.[16] This diplomatic assembly, the first of its kind in the conflict, recognized Mapuche military resilience after a century of resistance, halting hostilities and delineating a de facto boundary that persisted into the 19th century, thereby constraining Spanish expansion and preserving Mapuche autonomy."
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Mark Ranger @markr4nger.bsky.social · 29/10/2025
The beginning of the section of the Grokipedia article on Historical Events before the January 6 Capitol Attack. It says:
"Historical Events
Pre-1600
Raymond of Peñafort (c. 1175–1275), a Catalan Dominican friar, theologian, and canon lawyer, died on January 6, 1275, in Barcelona at about age 100.[11][12] Commissioned by Pope Gregory IX, he compiled the Decretales Gregorii IX (also known as the Liber Extra), a systematic collection of papal decretals from 1234 that organized ecclesiastical legislation into five books on judicial matters, decrees, and doctrine, serving as the primary source of canon law until the 1917 Codex Iuris Canonici.[11][12] This work replaced Gratian's Decretum as the standard reference, influencing legal scholarship, inquisitorial procedures, and church governance across Europe."
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Mark Ranger @markr4nger.bsky.social · 29/10/2025
The beginning of the Grokipedia article on the January 6 Capitol Attack. It says:

"January 6
The events of January 6, 2021, at the United States Capitol involved a large protest by supporters of President Donald Trump against the congressional certification of the 2020 presidential election results, amid claims of widespread irregularities and fraud; during the ensuing breach, an estimated 2,000 to 2,500 individuals entered the Capitol building, temporarily halting the joint session of Congress tasked with formalizing Joe Biden's electoral victory.[1][2] The gathering, drawing between 10,000 and 30,000 people to Washington, D.C., followed a rally where Trump reiterated election concerns and called for supporters to "peacefully and patriotically" demonstrate their support.[3] Barriers were overcome amid clashes with police, leading to unauthorized access through windows, doors, and areas where officers appeared to facilitate entry in some instances, though the overall violence was limited relative to crowd size, with most entrants engaging in non-destructive activity inside
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Mark Ranger @markr4nger.bsky.social · 29/10/2025
This sentence cites a report from the Global Warming Policy Foundation, a group created by a British politician and investment banker who in 2017 said that global temperatures had "slightly declined" over the past ten years. Interesting, the coral reef report has since been taken off their website.
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Mark Ranger @markr4nger.bsky.social · 29/10/2025
A section of the Grokipedia article on sea ice demonstrating its bias to downplay the impacts of climate change. 
"A 2025 study found that multi-model averages predict faster near-term loss (0.6 million km² per decade) than observed recently, highlighting unresolved discrepancies between simulations and data that fuel debates over projection reliability.[205] Skeptics emphasize that such overpredictions, often amplified in media and policy circles despite empirical slowdowns, exemplify a pattern of alarmism disconnected from verifiable trends, potentially eroding public trust in scientific communication."
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Mark Ranger @markr4nger.bsky.social · 29/10/2025
This is a screenshot from the Grokipedia post on glaciers that demonstrates its bias to downplay the impacts of global warming. It says:
"Subsequent analyses revealed that such projections fueled exaggerated alarms about Himalayan water crises, with early claims predicting river flow collapses by mid-century; however, empirical data indicate that monsoon-driven precipitation sustains river volumes even amid glacier retreat, rendering "water tower collapse" narratives overstated.[220][221] Peer-reviewed reassessments, including those critiquing alarmist models, have documented relative stability in aggregate glacier mass for High Mountain Asia through the 2010s, contrasting with projections of uniform, rapid loss and underscoring model sensitivities to precipitation variability over temperature alone."
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Mark Ranger @markr4nger.bsky.social · 29/10/2025
I looked at the #grokipedia articles about five major environmental topics: coral reefs, sea ice, Amazon rainforest, wildfire, glacier. The five articles mentioned the phrases climate change/global warming a total of 4 times. They said alarm/alarmism/alarmist 12 times. 🧪🌿🌎
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Mark Ranger @markr4nger.bsky.social · 29/10/2025
"Thermal bleaching tied to ENSO variability, have shaped reef assemblages over millennia by periodically resetting community structure while creating niches for recolonization."
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Mark Ranger @markr4nger.bsky.social · 29/10/2025
In a section titled "Policy and Alarmism Critiques," it states that "global assessments indicate no consistent long-term decline in reef ecosystems, with fluctuations attributed to natural variability rather than irreversible anthropogenic forcing."
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Mark Ranger @markr4nger.bsky.social · 29/10/2025
The #grokipedia on coral reefs mentions "global warming" and "climate change" zero times. It also emphasizes reefs' resilience to "thermal stress." 🧪🌎🦑
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Mark Ranger @markr4nger.bsky.social · 22/09/2025
I wrote about it here: nautil.us/this-forest-...
nautil.us
This Forest Survived a Megafire
Why Do Some Forests Survive Megafires? How do some stands survive such a devastating fires almost intact while others perish entirely?
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Mark Ranger @markr4nger.bsky.social · 22/09/2025
Most Sierra Nevada forests are adapted to low-intensity fire every 10ish years. Frequent burns keep the understory sparse and starve wildfires of the fuel they need to ignite large trees. To protect forests from catastrophic wildfires, we need more prescribed burns—a lot more.
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Mark Ranger @markr4nger.bsky.social · 22/09/2025
We can protect California's forests from megafires. Last month, I visited part of the Sierra Nevada that burned in 2021. In unmanaged areas, most trees died. But where land managers had thinned trees and conducted prescribed burns, nearly every tree survived. These photos show the difference.🧪🌿🌎
A ponderosa pine stand in Plumas National Forest that was killed by the 2021 Dixie Fire. This stand of trees was unmanaged during previous decades.A ponderosa pine stand in Plumas National Forest that was killed by the 2021 Dixie Fire. This stand of trees was unmanaged during previous decades.A healthy stand of ponderosa pines in Plumas National Forest that survived the Dixie Fire. This area received thinning and a prescribed burn between 2003 and 2005.A healthy stand of ponderosa pines in Plumas National Forest that survived the Dixie Fire. This area received thinning and a prescribed burn between 2003 and 2005.
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Mark Ranger @markr4nger.bsky.social · 15/09/2025
Oak‑savanna birds thrive after fire, a new study found. Dozens of species preferred areas that burned in the 2018 Mendocino Complex Fire over unburned areas. So far, these ecosystems are proving resilient to increasingly severe wildfires, the authors concluded. 🧪🌿🌎
kneedeeptimes.org
Mendocino County’s Burned Oak Savannas Attract Birds – KneeDeep Times
A new study has found that birds are thriving in the nutrient rich oak savannas that burned in the 2018 Mendocino Complex Fire.
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Mark Ranger @markr4nger.bsky.social · 03/09/2025
‪This was a fun story to write. Last year, environmental police in Brazil stumbled upon thousands of climbing bumblebee catfish. Scientists know almost nothing about this species, which only became known to science in 2017. 🧪🌿🌎
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Mark Ranger @markr4nger.bsky.social · 20/08/2025
Don't worry, the article says it is "supported by editorial technologies."
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Mark Ranger @markr4nger.bsky.social · 13/08/2025
Botanical surveys of more than 2,000 European cemeteries found that they support at least 65 native orchid species. Graveyards might be the last best plant habitat around cities, the study authors said. 🧪🌿🌎 nautil.us/orchids-thri...
nautil.us
Orchids Thrive Among the Dead
Cemeteries are a gravely overlooked habitat for wild orchids in Europe
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Mark Ranger @markr4nger.bsky.social · 10/08/2025
There are so many fascinating studies you can find while looking through recent issues of scientific journals. Here is an article I wrote about a study that used high-speed videos of volcanic eruptions to determine the shapes of the projectiles they shoot. 🧪
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Mark Ranger @markr4nger.bsky.social · 06/08/2025
Burning coal and smelting metals vaporizes small amounts of iron. Some of the iron produced by East Asian industry has been wafting into the North Pacific, where it supercharges an algal bloom. 🧪🦑
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Mark Ranger @markr4nger.bsky.social · 05/08/2025
The point I made is that forests no longer have 300 or 400 years to recover now that climate change is increasing the frequency of wildfires.
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Mark Ranger @markr4nger.bsky.social · 05/08/2025
Intense fires do 'kill' trees and a forest with nearly 100% tree mortality has been 'eviscerated,' even if the fire that did it is perfectly natural. Effective science communication requires down-to-earth, accurate language, not technical jargon like 'tree mortality.'
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Mark Ranger @markr4nger.bsky.social · 05/08/2025
Me too. The Yellowstone forests that historically burned very infrequently are the most vulnerable to increasing fire frequency caused by climate change. These forests have few adaptations to fire and take centuries to regenerate. The same could be true for boreal forests.
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Mark Ranger @markr4nger.bsky.social · 05/08/2025
"...In areas that burned in both fires, one-sixth as many new trees sprouted after the 2016 fire when compared to the 1988 fire, subsequent field research led by Turner revealed....Repeated fires could cause a gradual collapse in forests across the GYE, they added."
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Mark Ranger @markr4nger.bsky.social · 05/08/2025
Actually, that is not entirely true. From the story: "But in a changing climate, all three scientists agree that the interval of time between fires is decreasing...the 2016 Maple Fire reburned forests previously scorched in 1988...(continued in the thread)
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Mark Ranger @markr4nger.bsky.social · 04/08/2025
In 1988, wildfires razed one-third of Yellowstone National Park. While most park woodlands are regenerating, some have turned into meadows. A new study digs into why. 🧪🌿🌎
mountainjournal.org
Yellowstone’s 1988 Fires Eviscerated Forests. Will They Ever Recover? - Mountain Journal
While most park woodlands are regenerating, some have turned into meadows. A new study digs into why.
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Mark Ranger @markr4nger.bsky.social · 16/02/2025
Whether it’s ice cream, a greasy hamburger, or a heap of french fries, everybody loves fatty foods. For coyotes, that meal is a blubbery seal pup, according to a new study led by UC Santa Cruz scientists. 🧪🌎🦑 They published the first known videos of California coyotes hunting harbor seals.
news.ucsc.edu
New study documents California coyotes eating harbor seal pups
A paper published on February 12 in the journal Ecology details how the researchers used motion-triggered cameras placed at MacKerricher State Beach on California's North Coast during harbor seal pupp...
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Mark Ranger @markr4nger.bsky.social · 19/01/2025
I would love to be added! I'm a science communication student and my personal website is here: Markdegraff.com
markdegraff.com
About, The Personal Website of Mark DeGraff
About Me I am Mark DeGraff, a science communicator who specializes in environmental issues.
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Mark Ranger @markr4nger.bsky.social · 19/01/2025
Happy #salmonsunday!! 🦑🌎🐟 The Santa Cruz Mountains are home to the world’s southernmost coho salmon runs. Although this population of fish is critically endangered, scientists are finding that they were relatively unaffected by a major wildfire.
kneedeeptimes.org
Wild Coho Salmon Are Surviving Four Years After CZU Fire
At the southern end of their range, coho salmon in Scott Creek are adapting to wildfire and warming.
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Mark Ranger @markr4nger.bsky.social · 15/01/2025
Coincidentally, I published a story today about how coho salmon in the Santa Cruz mountains proved surprisingly resilient following a 2020 wildfire. Fingers crossed steelhead are the same.
kneedeeptimes.org
Wild Coho Salmon Are Surviving Four Years After CZU Fire
At the southern end of their range, coho salmon in Scott Creek are adapting to wildfire and warming.
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Mark Ranger @markr4nger.bsky.social · 11/01/2025
Happy #saltmarshsaturday!! 🌎🦑 Salt marshes are powerful tools in the fight against climate change because they trap more carbon than nearly any other ecosystem. In this story, I wrote about the scientists who are measuring how much carbon is stuck in the muck of a northern California salt marsh.
mercurynews.com
Stuck in the muck: Scientists study carbon trapped by Elkhorn Slough
Salt marshes, which have historically been drained and turned into farms or land ripe for real estate development, are emerging as a powerful tool in the fight against global warming.
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Mark Ranger @markr4nger.bsky.social · 09/01/2025
This is absolutely terrifying
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Mark Ranger @markr4nger.bsky.social · 09/01/2025
It's a bummer that land agencies are using that rationale to remove large trees. It seems like there is a lot of scientific research around forest thinning right now, but the consensus is strong that the older, larger trees must be left alone.
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Mark Ranger @markr4nger.bsky.social · 09/01/2025
That's so cool! I love seeing the species that take advantage of the open space created by fire.
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Mark Ranger @markr4nger.bsky.social · 08/01/2025
Walking through a coastal northern California forest that burned a little over 4 years ago. Toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolia), madrone (Arbutus menziesii) and manzanita (Arctostaphylos spp) are THIRVING. 🌎🌿🔥
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Mark Ranger @markr4nger.bsky.social · 07/01/2025
Young trees and saplings are choking out many forests in the western United States after 150 years of grazing and fire supression. I really enjoyed reporting on this Navajo-led project to reverse these changes. 🌎
news.mongabay.com
Students and scientists collaborate to maintain Navajo Nation forests
Surviving desert heat, alpine cold, and meager rainfall each year, two-needle pinyon pines (Pinus edulis) are the backbone of many forests in the southwestern United States. Their stout branches offer...
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Mark Ranger @markr4nger.bsky.social · 07/01/2025
I don't think it ever stopped being mainstream :(
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Mark Ranger @markr4nger.bsky.social · 06/01/2025
Thanks for the link! That's really interesting. We have a similar situation here in California where present-day politicians are being blamed for a housing crisis that began decades ago.
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Mark Ranger @markr4nger.bsky.social · 05/01/2025
At this point, we should be boosting everything that doesn't emit CO2
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Mark Ranger @markr4nger.bsky.social · 05/01/2025
I didn't know that (I'm not from NY). What are your thoughts on congestion pricing?
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Mark Ranger @markr4nger.bsky.social · 05/01/2025
I'm curious to see how this plays out. It should encourage people to use public transit, but its impact might fall disproportionately on the lower class.
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Mark Ranger @markr4nger.bsky.social · 03/01/2025
Got to watch a prescribed burn for a story I’m writing about using fire to revive prairies. The most incredible thing about it was that the actual burning only lasted about 15 minutes. Fire moves fast through dried grass. #photography #nature 🌎
Firefighters spread flames across a grassland during a prescribed burn.
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Mark Ranger @markr4nger.bsky.social · 02/01/2025
Anyone here give a hoot about owls? 🦉🌎 If you do, I recommend burrowing into this story about burrowing owls. They are a candidate for endangered species protection in California, and scientists are working to protect one of the last populations in the Bay Area.
mercurynews.com
How a surprising San Jose spot became a last refuge for the Bay Area’s burrowing owl population
Sandwiched between office buildings and the sewage plant, a 200-acre slice of land is home to some of the last burrowing owls in the Bay Area.
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Mark Ranger @markr4nger.bsky.social · 26/12/2024
Blub 🐟🫧 Blub 🐟🫧 Blu…efin tuna are swimming toward recovery! Down to just 2% of historic levels in 2014, international cooperation is now reeling them back from extinction—and faster than expected. 🦑
mercurynews.com
Pacific bluefin tuna are swimming toward sustainability
The aquarium’s Seafood Watch upgraded some bluefin caught off the coast of California and Mexico from red (avoid) to yellow (good alternative).
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Mark Ranger @markr4nger.bsky.social · 24/12/2024
Sperm whales abound off the coast of California, according to scientists at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute. They found these elusive creatures not with their eyes, but with their ears. 🦑 www.mercurynews.com/2024/10/21/a...
mercurynews.com
A (sperm) whale of a discovery in Monterey Bay
“We actually found that these animals are here quite a bit more often than we had realized,” says Will Oestreich, a researcher from MBARI and the lead author of a study published last month in Move…
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Mark Ranger @markr4nger.bsky.social · 16/12/2024
Connect science to what matters to them. Are they a conspiracy theorist who doesn't trust the authorities? Great! Show them science that is decentralized and transparent that debunks agendas being peddled by businesses and politicians.
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