Rewilding & Conservation News and Discussions

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caltrek
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Birmingham Embraces Conservation of Endangered Darter Species
by John Brackin
April 15, 2022

https://www.courthousenews.com/birmingh ... r-species/

Introduction:
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (Courthouse News) — Hundreds of Birmingham revelers joined together at a local brewery last Sunday afternoon in celebration of an unlikely subject: the three federally endangered species of darter found only in central Alabama.

The darter is a small freshwater fish native to eastern North America, and in Jefferson County, Alabama, there are three species currently listed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as endangered: the vermilion darter, the rush darter and the watercress darter.

At the aptly named Darter Festival, which was held at Avondale Brewing Company in downtown Birmingham on April 10, organizers made sure that festivalgoers had a good time, while also leaving with a better understanding of the imperiled fish.

“This festival is part of a general education program to take out the politics,” said Roald Hazelhoff, the director of the Southern Environmental Center at Birmingham-Southern College. “To bring it down to the level of saying, you like this little fish? It can only survive in the cleanest of water. You think we should support that?”

This year marked the city’s ninth annual Darter Festival, which is both a festival in the traditional sense and a fundraiser for the Southern Environmental Center, which manages nearby Turkey Creek Nature Preserve, where the three darter species can be found.
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caltrek
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The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes Have Assumed Full Management of Former National Bison Range
March 22, 2022

https://www.fws.gov/refuge/benton-lake/news

Introduction:
(U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) On January 2, 2022, the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT) assumed full management of the Bison Range, formerly known as the National Bison Range.

The Bison Range land was restored to the CSKT by the Montana Water Rights Protection Act when it was enacted on December 27, 2020. That legislation created a two-year period for transitioning management of the Bison Range from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), to the CSKT.

CSKT Chairman Tom McDonald says that the reunification with the land and resources has been a long time coming.

“Our reunification with this specific buffalo herd means more to us than we can express,” said McDonald. “In addition to our wildlife management, the CSKT wants to ensure the story of our people is told at the Bison Range, which we believe will enhance the public experience and foster a better understanding of Indigenous people.”

“Returning the Bison Range to its people is a momentous occasion, honoring lands, relationships, and conservation successes of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes,” said Service Director Martha Williams. “We’ve worked collaboratively with CSKT for many years and look forward to continuing to work together to conserve wildlife. I can’t wait to visit the CSKT’s Bison Range in the future.”
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caltrek
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Animal Crossing: World’s Biggest Wildlife Bridge to be Built Over California Highway
by Katherine Gammon
April 9, 2022

https://www.theguardian.com/environment ... SApp_Other

Introduction:
(The Guardian) Imagine cruising down a 10-lane highway and knowing that, high above your head, a mountain lion is quietly going along its way. This remarkable image could soon be reality for drivers on one of California’s busiest roads, as the world’s largest wildlife overpass begins construction this month.

The history-making project will comprise a green bridge built across the 101 highway near Los Angeles, creating a corridor between two parts of the Santa Monica mountains. Stretching 210ft long and 165ft wide, the overpass will allow safe passage for lizards, snakes, toads and mountain lions, with an acre of local plants on either side and vegetated sound walls to dampen light and noise for nocturnal animals as they slip across.

The project, nearly a decade in the making, comes at a crucial time. Highways in this car-heavy landscape crisscross critical habitat for the protected mountain lions and other animals, forcing them to make what can be deadly crossings. At least 25 of the big cats have been killed on Los Angeles freeways since 2002. The latest death was just weeks ago, on 23 March, when a young lion was struck and killed on the Pacific Coast highway.

Beth Pratt, a conservation leader with the National Wildlife Federation, feels as if she is running the last mile of a marathon. Pratt has spent most of the last decade planning the project, persuading transportation officials of its importance, and bringing together stakeholders and donors to fund it. “I’m a little dizzy still, but I feel relieved: we have the chance to give these mountain lions a shot at a future.”

A groundbreaking ceremony to mark the start of construction for the $90m crossing – called the Wallis Annenberg wildlife crossing – will take place on Earth Day, 22 April. Construction will mostly happen at night and the project isn’t expected to be complete until early 2025.
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caltrek
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Jaguars Could Return to the US Southwest – but only if They Have Pathways to Move North
by Ganish Marin and John L. Koprowski

https://theconversation.com/jaguars-cou ... rth-177990

Introduction:
(The Conversation) Jaguars are the only species of big cat found on the American continent. They range as far south as Argentina, and once roamed as far north as the Grand Canyon in the U.S. Today the northernmost breeding population is in the northwest Mexican state of Sonora, just south of the border with Arizona.

In the Americas, the jaguar has long been an icon and symbol of power and connection to the spiritual world in mythology, philosophies, culture and art. Jaguars are apex predators with diverse diets that include more than 85 different prey species. This gives them a specific but prominent role in each ecosystem where they are found.

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature classifies jaguars as “near threatened,” with total population estimates ranging between 64,000 and 173,000. But evidence shows that local populations across the continent are decreasing at alarming rates. Jaguars’ total range has shrunk by more than half in the past 70 years, mainly because of hunting and habitat loss.

Could jaguars return to the Southwest U.S.? Some experts think it’s possible. Jaguars from southern populations in Mexico could recolonize their former territories in Arizona and New Mexico, or humans could reintroduce them there.
Conclusion:
In our view, making it possible for jaguars to naturally recolonize suitable habitat in the U.S. is a unique opportunity to foster animal movement in the borderlands. Keeping these landscapes connected will benefit all species in this ecologically unique region that serves as a wildlife source and pathway.
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Over 21% of reptile species at risk of extinction
https://phys.org/news/2022-04-reptile-s ... ction.html

At least one in five reptile species are threatened with extinction, including more than half of turtles and crocodiles, according to the first major global assessment of the world's so-called cold-blooded creatures.

Catastrophic declines in biodiversity across the world are increasingly seen as a threat to life on Earth—and as important as the interrelated menace of climate change.

Threats to other creatures have been well documented. More than 40 percent of amphibians, 25 percent of mammals and 13 percent of birds could face extinction.

But until now, researchers did not have a comprehensive picture of the proportion of reptiles at risk.

In a new global assessment, published in the journal Nature, researchers assessed 10,196 reptile species and evaluated them using criteria from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of threatened species.

They found that at least 1,829—21 percent—were either vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered.
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Iceland used to be covered in forests.
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Shipping Poses Significant Threat to the Endangered Whale Shark
May 9, 2022

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/951806

Introduction:
(EurekAlert) Marine biologists from the Marine Biological Association (MBA) and the University of Southampton have led ground-breaking research which indicates that lethal collisions of whale sharks with large ships are vastly underestimated, and could be the reason why populations are falling.

Whale shark numbers have been declining in recent years in many locations, but it is not entirely clear why this is happening.

Because whale sharks spend a large amount of time in surface waters and gather in coastal regions, experts theorised that collisions with ships could be causing substantial whale shark deaths; but there was previously no way of monitoring this threat.

Scientists from 50 international research institutions and universities tracked the movements of both whale sharks and ships across the globe to identify areas of risk and possible collisions. Satellite tracked movement data from nearly 350 whale sharks was submitted into the Global Shark Movement Project, led by researchers from the MBA.

The team mapped shark 'hotspots' which overlapped with global fleets of cargo, tanker, passenger, and fishing vessels – the types of large ships capable of striking and killing a whale shark – to reveal that over 90 per cent of whale shark movements fell under the footprint of shipping activity.
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A glimmer of hope. :)

To know is essentially the same as not knowing. The only thing that occurs is the rearrangement of atoms in your brain.
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EPA proposes protections for world's biggest sockeye salmon fishery
Source: Washington Post
The Biden administration announced Wednesday it will protect waters in Alaska home to one of the world’s biggest salmon spawning grounds, the culmination of a long-running dispute that pitted Alaska Natives against mining interests. The proposal from the Environmental Protection Agency is a potentially fatal blow to a plan to mine in the Bristol Bay watershed for gold, copper and other valuable metals.

Bristol Bay, the source of 37.5 million sockeye salmon a year, helps sustain a $2 billion commercial fishing industry as well as a way of life for Alaska Natives, who have vigorously opposed the construction of the Pebble Mine. The EPA’s action, if finalized, may finally put an end to a decade-long legal and political tussle over the fate of this corner of southern Alaska as President Biden strives to protect a greater share of the nation’s wilderness.

“The Bristol Bay watershed is a shining example of how our nation’s waters are essential to healthy communities, vibrant ecosystems, and a thriving economy,” EPA Administrator Michael Regan said in a statement. Mike Heatwole, a spokesman for the mine’s sponsor, said in an email that Pebble Limited Partnership is “waiting to see the final details before offering specific comments.” Using a rarely used authority under the Clean Water Act to protect wetlands from being dumped with waste, agency officials found the proposed mine would destroy 8.5 miles of streams and lead to “unacceptable” injury to the region’s salmon.

The silvery-red fish has been a source of food for southwest Alaska’s Indigenous peoples for generations and today attracts big-spending fishing enthusiasts from around the world. Alannah Hurley, executive director of United Tribes of Bristol Bay, a consortium of more than two dozen tribal governments, called the EPA’s announcement a “monumental step.” “Our tribes have been asking for this for the last 12 years,” added Hurley, who is Yup’ik. But she warned the federal government has come close to protecting these waters in the past only to fall short. “We’ve been here before,” she said.
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate- ... ay-salmon/
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Work begins to turn 99,000 hectares in England into ‘nature recovery’ projects

Thu 26 May 2022 06.00 BST

Up to 99,000 hectares of land in England, from city fringes to wetlands, will be focused on supporting wildlife in five major “nature recovery” projects, the government has said.

The five landscape-scale projects in the West Midlands, Cambridgeshire, the Peak District, Norfolk and Somerset aim to help tackle wildlife loss and the climate crisis, and improve public access to nature.

They will share an initial £2.4m pot from the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and Natural England, for work to create new habitats, manage land for nature and carbon storage and increase footpaths and connect with communities, with further funding expected from other sources and partners.

[...]

The environment minister Rebecca Pow said: “These five projects across England are superb examples of exciting, large-scale restoration that is critically needed to bring about a step-change in the recovery of nature in this country.

“They will significantly contribute to achieving our target to halt the decline in species abundance by 2030 and our commitment to protect 30% of our land by 2030, enabling us to leave the environment in a better state than we found it.”

https://www.theguardian.com/environment ... y-projects
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