https://www.smithsonianmag.com/rss/tag/environmental-preservation/RSS feed for Environmental PreservationenThu, 16 Apr 2026 13:00:17 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-glowing-sphere-towering-over-utah-sent-an-urgent-artistic-message-the-great-salt-lake-is-drying-up-180988553/Olafur Eliasson's latest installation married visuals with a soundscape to draw the public's attention to the plight of the important ecosystemThu, 16 Apr 2026 13:00:17 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-glowing-sphere-towering-over-utah-sent-an-urgent-artistic-message-the-great-salt-lake-is-drying-up-180988553/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/endangered-proboscis-monkey-easily-identifiable-by-one-physical-trait-supersized-schnoz-180988420/When you see this primate's nose, you know you're in Borneo, where efforts are underway to restore its habitatMon, 06 Apr 2026 12:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/endangered-proboscis-monkey-easily-identifiable-by-one-physical-trait-supersized-schnoz-180988420/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/cascade-red-foxes-notoriously-reclusive-how-photographer-captured-stunning-images-endangered-species-180988419/Even the scientists who study the animals rarely see them except on camera. But Gretchen Kay Stuart spent a season documenting them up closeTue, 31 Mar 2026 11:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/cascade-red-foxes-notoriously-reclusive-how-photographer-captured-stunning-images-endangered-species-180988419/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/will-a-dazzling-display-of-wildflowers-spread-across-california-this-spring-180988193/Superblooms are rare events that occur when conditions perfectly align. Officials hope that visitors will be able to see brightly colored landscapes in the weeks aheadFri, 13 Feb 2026 17:06:28 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/will-a-dazzling-display-of-wildflowers-spread-across-california-this-spring-180988193/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-massive-hillside-figure-has-mystified-historians-for-centuries-now-a-fundraising-campaign-has-successfully-secured-the-surrounding-landscape-180988145/The National Trust has purchased the land around England's Cerne Abbas Giant, which will help protect the mysterious chalk figure and nearby wildlife for future generationsThu, 05 Feb 2026 20:46:52 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-massive-hillside-figure-has-mystified-historians-for-centuries-now-a-fundraising-campaign-has-successfully-secured-the-surrounding-landscape-180988145/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/the-hidden-world-of-cold-water-corals-rises-to-the-surface-with-these-glass-sculptures-that-are-resurrecting-a-lost-craft-180988011/As increased industrial activity puts fragile deep-sea ecosystems at risk, one artist is raising awareness about imperiled corals through scientific model makingThu, 15 Jan 2026 12:30:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/the-hidden-world-of-cold-water-corals-rises-to-the-surface-with-these-glass-sculptures-that-are-resurrecting-a-lost-craft-180988011/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-landscape-inspired-some-of-georgia-okeeffes-best-known-work-now-its-receiving-new-protections-180987853/A conservation plan will help preserve 6,000 acres of land in northern New Mexico, a region that frequently appears in the 20th-century artist's paintingsTue, 16 Dec 2025 16:54:55 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-landscape-inspired-some-of-georgia-okeeffes-best-known-work-now-its-receiving-new-protections-180987853/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/ancient-literature-suggests-indias-savannas-are-much-older-than-previously-thought-180987790/Plant species mentioned in texts from the past 800 years hint the wooded grasslands of western India have been there since ancient times, pushing back on the narrative that they are remnants of long-gone forestsFri, 05 Dec 2025 16:31:10 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/ancient-literature-suggests-indias-savannas-are-much-older-than-previously-thought-180987790/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/this-rare-endangered-orchid-only-exists-in-two-locations-can-dogs-cows-and-fungi-help-it-thrive-180987340/A Smithsonian ecologist is trying to restore the plant, Spiranthes delitescens, which grows on Arizona’s sky islandsTue, 16 Sep 2025 11:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/this-rare-endangered-orchid-only-exists-in-two-locations-can-dogs-cows-and-fungi-help-it-thrive-180987340/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/new-science-aeroecology-tells-more-about-amazing-creatures-humans-can-ensure-survival-180987151/The sky above us is a complex ecosystem, just like the land and sea. A new field of research is bringing a fresh understanding of the birds, bugs and other species that live thereTue, 02 Sep 2025 17:29:16 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/new-science-aeroecology-tells-more-about-amazing-creatures-humans-can-ensure-survival-180987151/