Conservation

Bright red coals burn inside a charred redwood tree.
Rebuilding an Iconic California State Park With Birds and Wildfire In Mind
July 08, 2022 — In 2020, a blaze consumed Big Basin Redwoods State Park, incinerating cabins, blackening ancient trees, and imperiling endangered murrelets. Staff now want to reimagine the park to better ensure the seabird’s future.
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Black smoke billows from a fire that burns trees and grasses. At the bottom left, a person on an all-terrain vehicle monitors the scene.
In Nebraska’s Loess Canyons, Setting Trees Ablaze Gives Prairie Birds a Boost
July 07, 2022 — For generations Great Plains ranchers saw fire as a foe. Now they’re banding together and embracing it as a tool to restore grassland habitat.
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Double-crested Cormorants take flight from a green bridge over a wide river. In the background are buildings on the river’s forested shore.
A Photographer Considers the Northwest’s Cormorant Quandary
July 07, 2022 — In Morgan Heim’s images, the Columbia River’s colonies of trouble-making waterbirds become as fascinating as they can be frustrating.
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A sign affixed to a metal post on a beach reads "Piping Plover nesting area." The posts, connected by string, designate a restricted area.
Should I Talk to a Stranger Walking a Dog Off Leash Near Nesting Birds?
July 01, 2022 — Experts say it depends on the situation—and your comfort level.
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Supreme Court Ruling Deals a Blow to Biden’s Climate Agenda
June 30, 2022 — The court curtailed the EPA’s authority to regulate emissions from power plants—a decision that could endanger all sorts of rules that protect the planet and public health.
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Supreme Court Ruling is Bad News for Birds and Everyone Else, Too
June 30, 2022 — The court's ruling in the West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency case limits our ability to respond to the climate crisis and could have other serious implications.
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Wildlife Officials Want to Make it Easier to Relocate Climate-Imperiled Species
June 24, 2022 — A proposed change to the Endangered Species Act would allow protected plants and animals to be introduced outside their historical range.
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Bell Bowl Prairie Activists Stay Steadfast as a Rare Habitat Remains in Limbo
June 13, 2022 — With planned construction on hold, advocates are fighting fatigue and rallying support for a small but species-rich grassland in Illinois.
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Birds Have a Role to Play in Confronting a Notorious Tree-Killing Beetle
May 27, 2022 — Twenty years after the invasive emerald ash borer was detected in North America, researchers are finding that woodpeckers, working in tandem with introduced wasps, can help to control the pest’s spread.
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How the World’s Largest Wildlife Overpass Could Brighten a Low-Flying Bird’s Future
May 19, 2022 — Wrentits don’t exactly soar, and a 10-lane highway has cut off populations from each other—a growing threat as the climate heats up.
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