Environment & Science

Officials gathered at the Lehigh Valley Zoo Thursday evening for a ribbon cutting to celebrate the opening of Rothrock Red Panda Peak. It's the first time the zoo has had red pandas in residence.

The complaint alleges Sunshine Act violations from the township supervisors and legal filings from the township solicitor with no official approval beforehand.

The Storm Prediction Center has maintained a marginal risk (1 out of 5) for the Lehigh Valley and surrounding areas Thursday, with the primary threat being damaging winds.

Environmental and county officials this week began dismantling a dam over Bushkill Creek in an effort to restore the creek. The removal will improve water quality, stormwater function and connectivity for fish and other organisms.

“The pleasant stretch of weather we encountered early in the week is beyond us,” the National Weather Service said in its latest forecast discussion, with the Lehigh Valley at risk of excessive rainfall Wednesday.

After a raging fire on Saturday night destroyed his Center Valley barn, tractors, trucks and equipment, Leroy C. Stahler Jr. vows to rebuild and continue the Stahler family legacy of farming, said his daughter, Tracy Beers.

While monitoring continues, Lehigh Valley Breathes officials used the most recent project update to explain results from the research this spring at Lehigh University.

When all was said and done, May was the Lehigh Valley’s sixth consecutive warmer-than-normal month, with an average temperature of 63.4 degrees – or 1.4 degrees above normal. So what will summer bring?

Voyager 1 is now the furthest man-made object from Earth, having traveled to a distance of around 15 billion miles away.

During this year’s spring migration count, which runs from April 1 through mid-May, Hawk Mountain volunteers and staff tallied 1,001 birds of prey.

The Community and The Arts Clean Up aims to combine community service and engagement through a tournament-style competition – with prizes for the team that fills the most trash bags – followed by a gathering with live music and food.

Severe storms during the summer are very difficult to predict. That's evident in dueling forecasts Thursday for the Lehigh Valley.

Lafayette College in late May submitted a replanting plan to the city after officials threatened to stop work when 46 trees were cleared from the slope without approval. It's unclear whether the plans have been approved.

From 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Friday, July 21, the Rodale Institute’s headquarters at 611 Siegfriedale Road in Kutztown will be open to the public for its annual field day.

The newest proposal, one involving 848.47 acres near the landfill, may also receive a public hearing at a later date. The possibility to rezone 275.7 acres will see discussion on Aug. 30 at 9 a.m.

Mostly sunny skies on Tuesday may be dimmed slightly as another plume of wildfire smoke drifts over the region, the National Weather Service warned.

Storms pounded eastern Pennsylvania, including the Lehigh Valley, with widespread flooding before the heavy rainfall pushed to the east and gradually weakened overnight.

Berks County recorded the highest rainfall totals locally, with storm total accumulations at 10 inches near Oley Township and surrounding areas just after 5 p.m., according to social media reports.

It is predicted that there will be numerous flash floods on Sunday, affecting the area.

Take a look at stories that ran throughout the week of which we are most proud, had a profound impact on readers or that you might want to look at again.

Plans to demolish three dams in the Easton area on Bushkill Creek are set to improve water quality, remove hazards and allow species to once again move upstream

While the Lehigh Valley is no stranger to the effects of climate change, the new record is a startling reminder about how how global warming has local impacts.