Short Wave

The Race To Rescue The Guadalupe Fescue


Listen Later

Big Bend National Park in Texas is home to the only remaining Guadalupe fescue in the United States. The grass is tucked away in the Chisos Mountains, high above the Chihuahuan Desert. These mountaintops form a string of relatively wet, cool oases called "sky islands" — unique, isolated habitats. But as the planet warms, species that depend on "sky island" habitats tend to get pushed even higher up the mountain — until they eventually run out. Carolyn Whiting, Park Botanist at Big Bend, talks to host Aaron Scott about why the little things are worth preserving.

Check out all the other episodes in our series on the research happening in U.S. public lands.

We're on Twitter now! Tweet us @NPRShortWave. We also happily accept emails at [email protected].

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy
...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Short WaveBy NPR

  • 4.7
  • 4.7
  • 4.7
  • 4.7
  • 4.7

4.7

6,031 ratings


More shows like Short Wave

View all
Science Friday by Science Friday and WNYC Studios

Science Friday

6,201 Listeners

Radiolab by WNYC Studios

Radiolab

43,817 Listeners

Planet Money by NPR

Planet Money

30,664 Listeners

Freakonomics Radio by Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher

Freakonomics Radio

32,098 Listeners

TED Radio Hour by NPR

TED Radio Hour

21,892 Listeners

Hidden Brain by Hidden Brain, Shankar Vedantam

Hidden Brain

43,337 Listeners

Science Vs by Spotify Studios

Science Vs

11,798 Listeners

The Daily by The New York Times

The Daily

110,705 Listeners

Up First from NPR by NPR

Up First from NPR

55,945 Listeners

The Indicator from Planet Money by NPR

The Indicator from Planet Money

9,510 Listeners

Throughline by NPR

Throughline

16,077 Listeners

Life Kit by NPR

Life Kit

4,355 Listeners

Consider This from NPR by NPR

Consider This from NPR

6,004 Listeners

Unexplainable by Vox

Unexplainable

2,235 Listeners

The Economics of Everyday Things by Freakonomics Network & Zachary Crockett

The Economics of Everyday Things

1,608 Listeners