Outdoors

DENVER — The kind of avalanche that killed five people in Colorado over the weekend is among the most difficult to predict and trigger, and it’s dangerous because of the amount of snow normally involved.

Sandhill cranes are in Northern Utah in good numbers right now, and opportunities to see and hear the giant birds abound. 

One of the best places to experience sandhill cranes is the Ogden Bay Waterfowl Management Area west of Hooper.

BILLINGS, Mont. -- Aggressive gray wolf hunting and trapping took a toll in much of the Northern Rockies last year as the predator's population saw its most significant decline since being reintroduced to the region two decades ago.

JOSHUA TREE NATIONAL PARK, Calif. — Joshua trees, those spiky sentinels of the Mojave Desert, are having a blossom bonanza and nobody is quite sure why.

Millions of the trees have been bursting into bundles of greenish-white flowers in California, Arizona, Nevada and Utah. Just about every tree has bloomed this spring when usually far fewer do and they produce fewer flowers, biologists said.

Wildlife biologists are recommending a modest decrease in the number of permits available to hunt buck deer in Utah this fall, but they’re still looking for public input on the matter.

After surveying the herds from the ground and the air, and analyzing data collected from hunters — data that provides important information about how big game animals are doing in Utah — the biologists are ready to share their big-game hunting permit recommendations for this fall’s hunts.

This ATV adventure began when I learned that the trail started near Babylon, Utah. Knowing the biblical significance of the name, I was curious about the reason for the name. The settlers of Babylon ran the Stormont Mill along the Virgin River. It was the only water-driven silver mill in the area. Run by “Gentiles” and surrounded by a sea of Mormons, it was dubbed the Babylon Mill and the residents of Babylon were happy with the distinction.

RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA, Calif. -- Crews resumed the search for one of two teenage hikers missing in Southern California's Cleveland National Forest, the morning after her male companion was found dehydrated and disoriented in heavy brush.