Read Conservation News

Keep up to date on conservation news, projects, and policies across the U.S. and beyond with our aggregated news feed. We make sure to choose stories that cover the state of conservation today, from conservation easements in your backyard to climate trends affecting the entire globe.

  • CA: Water Conservation Order Extended

    Executive order from Gov. Jerry Brown extends conservation measures in California to conserve water in preparation for a fifth year of drought.
    New York Times, 14 November 2015

  • 25m Birds Illegally Killed in Mediterranean Each Year, Says Report

    According to a study by BirdLife International 25 million birds are illegally killed each year in the Mediterranean.
    The Guardian, 21 August 2015

  • US: SCBI, long-stored spermatozoa beneficial for endangered species

    The Smithsonian National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI) announced 20 year old sperm, kept in frozen storage, was used to successfully inseminate, impregnate, and produce black-footed ferrets- a critically endangered North American mammal.
    CNET, August 16, 2015.

  • US: President Announces Final Clean Power Plan

    On Monday, President Obama and the EPA announced the release of the Clean Power Plan which sets limits on carbon dioxide emissions on power plants.
    National Geographic, 06 August 2015

  • OK: Reintroducing the ancient paddlefish

    A wildlife refuge in southern Oklahoma is the new home for 47 young paddlefish (Polyodon spathula), an ancient species that requires open waterways to breed.
    Longview News-Journal, 06 March 2014

  • FL: Invasive lizards on the loose

    The Tampa Bay area is seeing increasing numbers of black-and-white tegu lizards. The lizards are native to South America but were likely kept as pets in the area and released when they grew to their adult size of up to four feet.
    USA Today, 26 February 2014

  • World: History of destruction: bottom trawling

    This in-depth look at bottom trawling - fishing the seabed with weighted nets - describes 150 years of diminishing returns thanks to wrecked seafloor ecosystems.
    The Guardian, 08 February 2014

  • WY: Easement preserves historic ranch

    A conservation easement with a local land trust ensures that nearly 8,800 acres of the Kamp Cattle Company's ranch - which provides habitat for many imperiled species - will never be developed.
    Wyoming Business Report, 21 January 2014

  • World: How fungi sequester carbon

    Soil is by far the biggest terrestrial reservoir of carbon, and fungi are a big part of that sequestration. Soils dominated by a certain group of fungi hold up to 70% more carbon than soils with more common fungi.
    TIME, 08 January 2014

  • World: The Biodiversity Bubble

    A short piece on the importance of biodiversity and ecosystem services for human survival.
    Forbes, 30 December 2013

  • AK: The decline of the King

    An in-depth look at the history of chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) fishing in Alaska and efforts to restore this iconic species.
    Alaska Star, 25 December 2013

  • US: 360,000 acres of wetlands lost over four years

    Scientists found an alarming loss of wetland habitats, including both saltwater and freshwater wetlands; they blame storms, rising sea level, and development.
    Washington Post, 09 December 2013

  • Wisconsin: Whooping crane conservation

    A brief history of Wisconsin's efforts to preserve habitat and restore populations of the world's most endangered crane (Grus americana).
    The Post-Crescent, 27 November 2013

  • Chesapeake: Improving access to the Bay

    The Chesapeake Bay is surrounded by land with little or no opportunity for public access, a problem addressed in a 2009 presidential executive order to open 300 access points by 2025. Virginia and Maryland have started to respond.
    Washington Post, 29 July 2013

  • WA: Western bumblebee returns

    The western bumblebee (Bombus occidentalis), disappeared from a large part of its range along the west coast. Now a few have returned to the Seattle area, puzzling and delighting scientists.
    Reuters, 19 July 2013

  • Chesapeake: Making progress on pollution in the Bay

    Washington, DC and states in the Chesapeake Bay watershed are reducing the amount of pollution flowing into the nation's largest estuary, but none are on track to meet all of their strict new pollution goals.
    Washington Post, 08 July 2013

  • World: Starving migratory birds worry scientists

    Disturbing trends like starving chicks and decreased adult populations of several Atlantic migratory waterbird species are consistent with expected climate change effects.
    Washington Post, 20 June 2013

  • VA: Hellbenders disappearing across Virginia

    Hellbenders (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis)--the largest salamanders in the western hemisphere--require clean, cold water to survive. Their disappearance across parts of their range raises serious questions about water quality.
    Richmond Times Dispatch, 17 June 2013

  • US: Gray wolf to lose endangered status

    The gray wolf (Canis lupus) is due to lose protection under the Endangered Species Act thanks to successful reintroduction programs. Critics fear that it's too early to remove wolves from the list.
    Washington Post, 14 June 2013

  • KY: Trying to connect conservation islands

    Conservation groups across Kentucky are working to connect existing protected lands with the aim of providing wildlife with enough habitat to escape threats posed by development, mining, and climate change.
    The Courier-Journal, 09 June 2013

  • FL: Hope for critically imperiled butterfly

    Schaus' swallowtails (Papilio aristodemus) are critically imperiled in Florida--with only four individuals collected last year--but a captive breeding program caught a bit of a break when they found a female with seven eggs recently.
    CNN, 05 June 2013

  • NV: Bringing back a giant trout

    Federal biologists and the Paiute tribe partnered to successfully reintroduce the Lahontan cutthroat trout, possibly the nation's largest native trout, to lakes where it once thrived.
    New York Times, 03 June 2013

  • World: Shark fin soup worth less than shark tourism

    A new study found that shark-watching tourism generates $314 million per year and is projected to generate $780 million annually by 2033. The value of world shark fisheries is currently $630 million a year, and is expected to decline.
    NBC News, 31 May 2013

  • World: Linking biodiversity and health

    Writer Michael Pollan, author of The Omnivore's Dilemma, discusses what he learned about importance of biodiversity for human health while researching his new book.
    Yale Environment 360, 28 May 2013

  • US: Quantifying American amphibian decline

    A USGS study found that amphibians across the US are vanishing at a rate of almost 4 percent per year, with IUCN Red List species declining at a rate of 11.6 percent per year.
    San Francisco Chronicle, 23 May 2013

  • AK: America's first climate refugees

    The town of Newtok, on Alaska's west coast, faces the reality of being America's first climate refugees; residents have already started fleeing rising waters that may completely flood the town within five years.
    The Guardian, 15 May 2013

  • HI: First CO2 average over 400ppm

    NOAA's atmospheric research station at Mauna Loa records the most-cited atmospheric CO2 concentrations in the world. On Thursday, they measured a daily average over 400ppm CO2 for the first time.
    BBC, 10 May 2013

  • FL: New bass species discovered

    Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission scientists discovered that fish thought to be spotted bass were actually genetically distinct. They proposed the names Choctaw bass, Micropterus haiaka.
    Florida Today, 08 May 2013

  • ME: Portland moves toward Styrofoam ban

    The Portland City Council recently voted in favor of banning polystyrene packaging across the city. The ban will be reviewed and then go up for another vote this summer.
    Portland Press Herald, 07 May 2013

  • World: Preserving soil for greater harvests

    An account of farmers using no-till agriculture and other conservation agriculture practices to preserve the health of their soil.
    Inter Press Service, 03 May 2013

  • LA: Three years later

    Three years after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, Louisiana's once-thriving seafood industry is still reeling. Read an in-depth report on the state of the industry today.
    CNN, 27 April 2013

  • US: Whole Foods makes stricter food standards

    In a move that many hope will spur further action across the grocery industry, Whole Foods has adopted strict standards and a sustainability rating system for meat, seafood, genetically-modified foods, and other products.
    Austin American-Statesman, 13 April 2013

  • East Coast: Cicada Tracker

    The East Coast will see the emergence of millions of cicadas once the soil 8" down reaches a consistent 64-degrees F. The radio program Radiolab is tracking the insects' emergence, and shows you how to build your own detector.
    Radiolab, WNYC

  • FL: Algae bloom kills record number of manatees

    A toxic red algae bloom off the coast of southwestern Florida has already killed 241 of Florida's estimated 5000 manatees (Trichechus manatus), already almost double the previous record of manatees killed by toxic algae.
    New York Times, 06 April 2013

  • CA: 'Unusual mortality event' declared for California sea lion

    California sea lion (Zalophus californianus) pups have been washing up on the state's beaches, malnourished and abandoned--if alive at all--for months. Scientists are struggling to explain why.
    Los Angeles Times, 01 April 2013

  • US: EPA rules require cleaner gasoline

    The Environmental Protection Agency will move ahead Friday with a rule requiring cleaner gasoline and lower-pollution vehicles nationwide.
    Washington Post, 29 March 2013

  • World: Climate tipping points

    An exploration of the controversial debate over whether Earth's climate can change drastically and irrevocably over a very short time period.
    Scientific American, 25 March 2013

  • MD: Governor O'Malley on wind power

    Read Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley's editorial about developing a 200 megawatt wind farm off the shore of his state.
    Huffington Post, 19 March 2013

  • NC: Plans for power lines through wilderness

    An electric cooperative wants to run 12 miles of transmission lines through 6,000 acres of pristine private land, sparking a debate about threatened species protection, eminent domain, and private property rights.
    Charlotte Observer, 16 March 2013

  • Mexico: Monarch butterfly numbers at record low

    Citing drought, habitat degradation, and herbicide use, researchers saw a drop of almost 60% in the numbers of migrating monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) this year.
    The Guardian, 14 March 2013

  • US: The risks of shale gas development

    Resources for the Future conducted a survey of 215 shale gas experts from a variety of organizations, and found many similarities in their views on the most serious risks of hydraulic fracturing.
    Resources for the Future, 13 March 2013

  • World: Exploring mimicry in butterflies

    Recent genetic research has answered an old question about a certain kind of mimicry, first observed in butterflies by naturalist Fritz Müller in the 1850s.
    New York Times, 11 March 2013

  • World: New protections for turtle species

    More than half of the world's freshwater turtles are critically endangered, but now 47 species will receive greater trade protection thanks to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species meeting in Bangkok.
    BBC, 08 March 2013

  • US: Endangered species decisions

    The Fish and Wildlife Service has recently ramped up processing of endangered species candidates, promising to make decisions on at least 97 backlogged species by September.
    New York Times, 06 March 2013

  • US: Obama's new Energy and EPA appointments

    President Obama chose Gina McCarthy, current administrator of the EPA Office of Air and Radiation, to lead the EPA. He chose Ernest Moniz, an MIT Physicist, to head up the Department of Energy.
    Reuters, 04 March 2013

  • World: Sharks at risk of extinction from overfishing

    Scientists found that between 63 and 273 million sharks are killed annually around the world, driven largely by demand for shark fin soup in Asian countries.
    BBC, 01 March 2013

  • World: Loss of wild pollinators is a serious threat

    A study found that diverse populations of wild bees and other insect pollinators are twice as effective as imported honeybees at producing seeds and fruits on a variety of crops.
    The Guardian, 28 February 2013

  • TX: A modern fossil fuel boom

    Hydraulic fracturing, horizontal drilling, and newly discovered conventional oil basins have led to hundreds of new wells across Texas, with many more to come.
    My San Antonio, 25 February 2013

  • MO, IL: Crows rebounding after West Nile

    West Nile virus decimated populations of American crows (Corvus brachyrhynchos) during the early 2000s. Now their numbers have almost recovered, even in the most affected areas.
    St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 23 February 2013

  • LA: Sea level rising faster than predicted

    NOAA data currently under peer review shows Louisiana as the site of the highest rate of sea level rise on earth, meaning that some current restoration projects may be under water before they're even completed.
    Baton Rouge Advocate, 21 February 2013

  • World: Invasives exact huge economic toll

    Researchers found that invasive species cost Europe more than $16 billion annually, and they claim that this number represents a clear underestimate.
    Reuters, 20 February 2013

  • DC: Protesters call for Keystone XL rejection

    An estimated 30-40,000 people congregated on the National Mall to show their support for rejection of the controversial Keystone XL pipeline that would bring crude oil from Alberta to the Gulf of Mexico.
    NPR, 18 February 2013

  • New England: Renewables may bring energy prices down

    Read an analysis of how more renewables--and especially wind power--might affect New England's energy market, particularly during peak demand times like cold winter days.
    New York Times, 17 February 2013

  • World: Shrinking sea ice accelerates algae growth

    A new study found accelerating algae growth in thinning, shrinking Arctic sea ice. More algae could pull more CO2 from the atmosphere, but it may also have other consequences for local ecosystems.
    The Guardian, 14 February 2013

  • World: New ocean regulatory agency begins its work

    The Global Ocean Commission, a new organization that will advise the UN on preventing over-fishing and environmental mismanagement of the world's oceans, started work this week.
    Reuters, 10 February 2013

  • US: Poll shows more Americans believe in climate change

    According to a Duke University poll, 84% of Americans believe that climate change is either definitely or probably happening, and 64% favor specific steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
    Mother Nature Network, 08 February 2013

  • CA: Great whites may receive state protection

    California's Fish & Game Commission voted to consider a petition that would add great white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) to the state's endangered species list.
    San Jose Mercury News, 07 February 2013

  • IL: Scientists find rare freshwater shrimp species

    Employees at a forest preserve in northeastern Illinois found a species of glass shrimp previously unknown to the region. Officials credit recent restoration efforts with cleaning up new habitat for the sensitive species.
    Chicago Tribune, 05 February 2013

  • US: Wolverine likely to lose habitat to climate change

    Scientists expect climate change to produce large declines in suitable habitat for the wolverine (Gulo gulo) in the areas of the Northern Rockies where it still survives.
    Washington Post, 01 February 2013

  • MD: Chesapeake Bay threatened by toxic contaminants

    A recent report found toxic contaminants in 72% of the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. A coalition is pushing for a Pesticide Information Act to better understand the problem.
    Capital Gazette, 26 Janueary 2013

  • AK: Wood bison to be reintroduced

    The US Fish and Wildlife Service plans to reintroduce wood bison (Bison bison athabascae), a northern subspecies of the American bison, to Alaska, where they were eradicated more than a century ago.
    Alaska Dispatch, 17 January 2013

  • MA: Thoreau teaches us about climate change

    Henry David Thoreau's detailed accounts of spring flowering times allowed climatologists to determine that flowers bloomed an average of 20 days earlier in 2012 than in the 1850s when Thoreau recorded his observations.
    New York Times, 16 January 2013

  • World: Soot is second largest contributor to warming

    A recent study concluded that black carbon, the soot particles in smoke and smog, contributes more to global warming than any pollutant besides CO2.
    Science 2.0, 15 January 2013

  • CO: Sage-grouse may get endangered status

    The Gunnison sage-grouse (Centrocercus minimus) may receive protection under the Endangered Species Act, which would protect more than 1.7 million acres of its habitat in Colorado.
    Telluride Daily Planet, 13 January 2013

  • US: 2012 was hottest year in history

    The average temperature across the country in 2012 was 55.3 degrees F, a full degree hotter than the previous record, set in 1998. 2012 also saw over 34,000 daily record highs, compared with only 6,664 record lows.
    New York Times, 08 January 2013

  • US: Christmas Bird Count continues

    The Audubon Christmas Bird Count is the longest-running citizen science survey in the world. Participants have until tomorrow to complete their surveys for the CBC's 113th year.
    NPR, 04 January 2013

  • GA: Trying to stop the kudzu bug's destruction

    The bean plataspid (Megacopta cribraria) eats kudzu--another problematic invasive--but it also eats soybeans and other plants, and is spreading rapidly from northern Georgia, where it was introduced around 2008.
    Macon Telegraph, 03 January 2012

  • AK: No leaks from grounded drilling barge

    The Coast Guard found no signs of leaking fuel or hydraulic fluid from a Royal Dutch Shell drilling barge that ran aground off uninhabited Sitkalidak Island, about 200 miles south of Anchorage.
    CNN, 02 January 2013

  • World: Time is running out for many of the world's frog species

    Scientists rush to save a few individuals of frog species decimated by a disease caused by the fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, but captive breeding is difficult, and the fungus remains in affected ecosystems thanks to carrier species.
    Washington Post, 30 December 2012

  • World: Climate change may have driven human evolution

    Scientists believe that relatively rapid climate change in Africa during early human development may have significantly altered human evolution.
    The Telegraph, 26 December 2012

  • PA: Alternatives to antibiotics in meat

    A farm in Pennsylvania uses feed spiked with oregano and cinnamon, rather than antibiotics, to fight infections in their chickens--just one example of a trend away from using antibiotics in meat production.
    New York Times, 25 December 2012

  • US: Despite Solyndra, 2012 was a big year for clean energy

    An overview of some of the setbacks and advances for clean energy in the last year, highlighting California as the nation's climate policy and alternative energy leader.
    Inside Climate News, 21 December 2012

  • Antarctica: Invasive species threaten Antarctic

    An invasive mosquito species likely hitched a ride on a researcher or tourist and is now colonizing part of Antarctica, where it has the potential to alter long-isolated ecosystems.
    BBC News, 19 December 2012

  • PA: The struggle to save Pennsylvania's bats

    The loss of over 99% of Pennsylvania's bats to white-nose syndrome has authorities pushing for endangered status for three of the worst-hit species, but they face opposition from the timber, oil, and gas industries.
    Philadelphia Inquirer, 17 December 2012

  • US: EPA passes new soot regulation

    The EPA passed a new standard reducing the amount of soot released from smokestacks, trucks, and other sources by 20%. The measure is expected to save thousands of lives and billions in public health costs every year.
    Huffington Post, 14 December 2012

  • VA: Fisheries commission limits menhaden catch

    Due to overfishing, the Atlantic State Marine Fisheries Commission voted to reduce annual menhaden (Brevoortia tyrannus) harvest by 20%. Virginia catches 80% of these economically and ecologically important fish.
    Washington Post, 14 December 2012

  • MN: Endangered species list expanding

    The Minnesota Dept. of Natural Resources recently proposed adding 114 plants and 67 animals, including moose, to the state endangered species list. The proposal will be finalized next year.
    Duluth News Tribune, 11 December 2012

  • FL: Wildlife officials open python hunting contest

    The Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission is running a month-long contest to encourage hunting of invasive Burmese pythons. FWC is offering cash prizes to the hunters that kill the most and largest snakes.
    The Jacksonville Observer, 10 December 2012

  • World: Weaker Kyoto Protocol extended

    In the waning hours of UN climate talks in Doha, Qatar, nearly 200 nations agreed to extend the Kyoto Protocol to 2020, but many developed nations opted out of the greenhouse gas-limiting agreement.
    Washington Post, 08 December 2012

  • World: Quiz yourself on the strange effects of climate change

    Scientists expect climate change to affect certain areas in interesting and weird ways. Test your knowledge of some of the more well-known of these forecasted effects.
    The Christian Science Monitor, 05 December 2012

  • Colombia: Changing ecosystems threaten water supply

    Colombia's alpine ecosystems provide flood control and filtration for the country's cities. Changing weather patterns will disrupt this system, leading to unreliable water supply that can swing from destructive flooding to drought.
    Daily Climate, 03 December 2012

  • Appalachia: A symbolic victory for mountaintop removal opponents

    Bucking a long trend of legal protection for mining companies, Patriot Coal recently agreed to phase out mountaintop excavations, and acknowledged that mountaintop removal is damaging to local communities.
    Slate, 30 November 2012

  • US: Biggest fracking companies trying to clean up their practices

    The nation's largest hydrofracking mining companies are spending billions trying to figure out how to both increase their bottom lines and remove or reduce pollutants from their practices.
    Bloomberg, 29 November 2012

  • WA: Tackling ocean acidification

    Researchers estimate that anthropogenic carbon emission have increased ocean acidity by 30%. Read about the measures Gov. Gregoire has recently taken to address the issue in her state's waters, the first state-level efforts of their kind.
    Science AAAS, 27 November 2012

  • WI: On track to break heat record

    Wisconsin is on pace to break its hottest year on record, and the forecast for December means it may also break the record for the longest time between snowfalls.
    Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 25 November 2012

  • World: Why trees die in drought

    Scientists have recently found that even drought-tolerant tree species are at risk as climates dry out, because less water increases the likelihood of air bubbles in the trees' xylem.
    NPR, 23 November 2012

  • CA: First carbon-credit auction raises $290 million

    Despite selling just above their minimum price, and well below what many analysts expected, California's first auction of greenhouse gas pollution credits was seen as a success.
    Los Angeles Times, 20 November 2012

  • NY: NYC's emissions visualized

    Mayor Bloomberg's Office of Long Term Planning and Sustainability created a video visualizing the CO2 emissions of the city as large spheres. See the video and a response here.
    NPR, 17 November 2012

  • Mexico: Greening Mexico City

    Explore some of the ways Mexico City has been working to tackle pollution and other environmental problems, from urban gardening to electric taxis.
    Seed Daily, 15 November 2012

  • GA: Coal plants ready for retirement

    Georgia gets more electricity from coal-fired power plants than any other state, but a new report found that 60% of those plants should be retired based solely on economic considerations.
    Macon Telegraph, 14 November 2012

  • Washington, DC Area: Wild pigs are on their way

    Virginia is home to an estimated 3000 wild pigs, likely imported into the state for hunting. These pigs are multiplying and moving northward--they are expected to appear inside the beltway within 10 years.
    Washington Post, 12 November 2012

  • Chesapeake Bay: Cleanup plan threatened by opposition groups

    Opponents on both sides of the political spectrum are leveling lawsuits against the Chesapeake Bay watershed's most aggressive cleanup plan to date.
    Washington Post, 11 November 2012

  • World: Climate change threatens wild coffee

    A new study found that climate change could severely threaten wild Arabica coffee before the end of the century; wild coffee provides important genetic diversity to the coffee industry.
    BBC, 08 November 2012

  • CA: Food waste to generate electricity in Marin Co.

    A San Rafael sanitation plant will begin using commercial food waste to increase the efficiency of its methane digester, which already produces enough electricity to run the facility for 12 hours a day.
    Marin Independent Journal, 06 November 2012

  • World: Unprecedented carbon emissions cuts needed

    A new study found that carbon emissions must be cut by over 5% every year until 2050 to prevent global warming of more than 2 degrees C this century--the goal agreed upon by nearly 200 nations in 2010.
    Reuters, 04 November 2012

  • US: Environmental impacts of Hurricane Sandy

    The human cost of Superstorm Sandy is tragic and ongoing, but what about the environmental costs? Read about Sandy's impact on the environment, from seabirds to environmental regulations.
    International Business Times, 02 November 2012

  • World: Failure to create Antarctic marine preserves

    An international coalition failed to reach consensus on plans for three massive protected marine areas around Antarctica. The preserves would have banned some fishing and set areas aside for science.
    Nature, 01 November 2012

  • World: A new family tree for birds

    Researchers used fossil and DNA data to create a comprehensive family tree for all 9,993 known bird species alive today. The effort found a growing rate of avian speciation, a trend that's different from many other species groups.
    Yale News, 31 October 2012

  • MO: Cave fish may get endangered species listing

    Biologists identified the Grotto sculpin (Cottus sp.) as a candidate for protection under the Endangered Species Act after a single pollution source threatened to degrade their only known habitat.
    Southeast Missourian, 28 October 2012

  • MT: Missoula County to help purchase easement

    County commissioners approved a plan to help fund a conservation easement on 738 acres near Lindbergh Lake, about 40 miles north of Missoula, in a project brokered by the Montana Land Reliance.
    The Missoulian, 24 October 2012

  • OR: Wildfire recovery may be faster than expected

    The July 8-15 Long Draw fire in eastern Oregon burned 871 square miles so quickly that the roots of many plants may have escaped serious damage, allowing them to re-grow much faster than originally anticipated.
    The Oregonian, 22 October 2012

  • CA: Owls studied with audio recording software

    Researchers used a custom algorithm to differentiate great gray owls (Strix nebulosa) from other sounds in audio recorded from the owls' preferred habitat in Yosemite National Park, where only a small subpopulation survives.
    Huffington Post, 21 October 2012

  • World: Five myths of GMO seeds debunked

    Genetically modified organisms inspire a lot of controversy around the world, but some of that controversy is based on fallacy. Here's an overview of a few myths about GMOs.
    NPR, 18 October 2012

  • World: Causes of climate change-related extinction poorly understood

    In a review of 136 published studies attributing local species extinctions to climate change, researchers found that climate change-related extinctions are well documented, but not well understood.
    The Guardian, 17 October 2012

  • World: Cost of conserving global biodiversity

    A new study found that protecting the world's threatened terrestrial species will cost about $4 billion annually; protecting the significant areas where these species live would cost about $76 billion/year.
    Scientific American, 12 October 2012

  • CA: California's cap and trade

    On Jan. 1, California will become the first state to adopt a cap and trade system to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Read an overview of the project, its benefits, and some potential drawbacks.
    New York Times, 13 October 2012

  • MA: Huge settlement will help clean up harbor

    The largest settlement in the history of the federal Superfund program will help remove carcinogenic PCBs dumped into New Bedford Harbor by manufacturing companies.
    Boston Globe, 11 October 2012

  • ND: Oil boom impacting wildlife habitat

    Hydrofracking has opened up vast oil reserves in North Dakota, leading to a huge increase in wells and workers that has fragmented previously unbroken wetlands and other wildlife habitat across the state.
    Minnesota Star Tribune, 07 October 2012

  • NY: Tree planting project marches on

    Mayor Bloomberg's initiative to filter pollution, reduce runoff, and beautify New York City by planting a million trees is past the halfway mark--with over 600,000 trees planted since 2007.
    New York Times, 05 October 2012

  • CA: LA converts foreclosed property into urban green space

    Los Angeles has used the economic downturn as an opportunity to turn a percentage of foreclosed properties into small urban pocket parks. Now the question is what to do with the parks.
    Scientific American, 02 October 2012

  • US: Pesticide use increasing as GMO crops backfire

    Farmers across the country are using more herbicides and insecticides to combat the growing problem of weeds and insects resistant to genetically-engineered crops originally designed to decrease the use of these chemicals.
    Reuters, 01 October 2012

  • World: Climate change will shrink fish

    A groundbreaking new study found that climate change will shrink the body size of individual fish by up to 25%; climate change is also expected to shrink ocean fisheries already stressed by overfishing.
    The Guardian, 30 September 2012

  • World: Cybertaxonomy and species exploration

    Listen to Quentin Wheeler, director of the Institute for Species Exploration, discuss how the internet and other technology can help scientists speed up the discovery of new species.
    Yale Environment 360, 27 September 2012

  • VA: Cities partner with conservation organizations to clean up stormwater

    In an effort to improve water quality in the Chesapeake Bay, Arlington and Falls Church have partnered with non-profit organizations to develop infrastructure projects that slow or prevent contaminated stormwater runoff.
    Washington Post, 24 September 2012

  • Pacific Coast: Climate change will shift marine predators' habitats

    A new study found that top Pacific Ocean predators could lose up to 35 percent of their habitat by the end of the century as a result of climate change.
    Washington Post, 23 September 2012

  • TN: Man-made cave offers sanctuary for bats

    North of Nashville, an artificial cave dug into a hillside offers bats a refuge from fungus that causes the deadly white nose syndrome. The Nature Conservancy funded the project, which it hopes will eventually house up to 200,000 bats.
    NPR, 20 September 2012

  • World: Top environmental success stories

    View synopses of some of the best global environmental success stories from the last few decades.
    Bloomberg, 17 September 2012

  • CO: Sangre de Cristo Conservation Area

    Billionaire Louis Bacon and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar signed a conservation easement on 77,000 acres of Bacon's ranch in southern Colorado as part of what will hopefully become one of the nation's longest migration corridors.
    Denver Post, 14 September 2012

  • OK: Grants will help curtail runoff

    The EPA granted more than $2 million in additional funds to help Oklahoma limit various non-point sources of water pollution from both agricultural and urban sources.
    Oklahoma City Oklahoman, 14 September 2012

  • World: Major companies are concerned about climate change

    A recent survey of 379 major companies found that 78% integrate climate change into their business strategy, and 37% see physical risks of climate change as a present danger.
    The Guardian, 12 September 2012

  • World: IUCN Most threatened species

    IUCN has released "Priceless or Worthless? The world's most threatened species", an overview of 100 of the world's most imperiled species and what we must do to save them. Access the full text here.
    International Union for Conservation of Nature, 11 September 2012

  • Pacific Coast: Sea otters help mitigate climate change

    A study demonstrating the importance of intact ecosystems for climate change mitigation found that kelp forests absorb up to 12 times more CO2 when sea otters are present, because otters hunt kelp-eating sea urchins.
    Summit County Citizens Voice, 09 September 2012

  • LA: Hurricane Isaac dredges up BP oil

    Tests confirm that oil washed up on two Louisiana beaches after Hurricane Isaac came from BP's Macondo well oil spill in April 2010, raising concerns about the amount of oil still present in the Gulf.
    Huffington Post, 06 September 2012

  • World: One-fifth of invertebrate species at risk of extinction

    The Zoological Society of London released a report finding that one in five of earth's invertebrates, which represent roughly 99% of global biodiversity, are at risk of extinction.
    Nature, 03 September 2012

  • WI: Largest land conservation deal in Wisconsin history

    The Wisconsin Dept of Natural Resources now holds conservation easements on 45,000 acres across four counties, including 75 lakes and ponds, 14 miles of streams, and nearly 40 miles of multiple-use recreation trails.
    Duluth News Tribune, 01 September 2012

  • TX: Solar power can help strained grid

    Solar energy production could provide peak-time power to Texas's overdrawn energy grid, especially on hot afternoons when air conditioners are running full blast, and when solar would be the most effective.
    Texas Tribune, 29 August 2012

  • World: Arctic ice cap at lowest recorded level

    The Arctic ice cap has receded to its lowest recorded extent with two to three weeks still to go in the melting season. Scientists predict an ice cap-free Arctic summer by about 2050.
    Brisbane Times, 27 August 2012

  • NC: Conservation easements protect critical habitat

    An overview of how some of western North Carolina's conservation easements are protecting iconic and imperiled species.
    Blue Ridge Now, 26 August 2012

  • WA: Salmon return after dam removal

    About five months after removal of the Elwha dam, chinook salmon have been spotted in Olympic National Park, upstream of where the dam stood since 1913.
    Indian Country Today, 23 August 2012

  • MA: Climate change is shifting butterfly populations

    Research finds that a changing climate is causing populations of native cold weather butterfly species to plummet in Massachusetts, while once rare southern species are now increasingly common.
    Chicago Tribune, 22 August 2012

  • US: Americans throw away 40% of their food

    Up to 40% of Americans' food ends up in a landfill, representing a cost of at least $165 billion, not including the cost of resources used to produce and transport all that wasted food.
    Washington Post, 21 August 2012

  • OR: Scientists find new cave spider family

    Researchers working in caves in southern Oregon discovered a primitive spider (Trogloraptor marchingtoni) that turns out to be not only a new species, but a new genus and family as well.
    PBS, 20 August 2012

  • AZ, NM: Plans in place to protect jaguar habitat

    The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service plans to protect more than 800,000 acres in southern Arizona and New Mexico as part of an effort to help jaguars make a comeback in parts of their historic range.
    Summit County Citizens Voice, 18 August 2012

  • UT: Plans move forward for nation's first oil sands mine

    A Canadian company plans to start mining tar sands oil, or bitumen, in eastern Utah in 2014. Opponents are concerned about environmental impacts like high water usage in the nation's second driest state.
    Inside Climate News, 16 August 2012

  • World: Sustainable innovation

    Check out some interesting and promising sustainable innovations from around the world.
    New York Times, 13 August 2012

  • World: Ultraviolet radiation killing marine species

    A team of scientists studied the effects of ultraviolet B radiation on marine life, and found a close link between UVB levels and death rates in many species, especially corals, algae, and crustaceans.
    BBC, 10 August 2012

  • AL: Student finds snail thought to be extinct

    A University of Alabama grad student found a small but healthy population of oblong rocksnail (Leptoxis compacta) in the Cahaba River. The species was declared extinct in 2000.
    Scientific American, 08 August 2012

  • NJ: Microbes will clean up Superfund site

    After years of study, EPA officials have chosen to inject lactate into the soil at the Carlstadt Superfund site to feed naturally occurring microbes that will break down cancer-causing contaminants.
    The Record, 07 August 2012

  • OR: Wastewater plant will run on restaurant grease

    A wastewater treatment plant in Gresham, OR will begin using greasy wastewater from restaurants in its anaerobic digesters, helping the plant to create roughly three-quarters of its own electricity needs and all of its own heat.
    New York Times, 06 August 2012

  • US: Heatwave spells disaster for many waterways

    This summer's devastating heatwave is taking a toll on rivers throughout the central United States, raising water temperatures to lethal levels for many species, or just flatout drying up entire segments of normally rushing rivers.
    The Independent, 05 August 2012

  • CA, NV: Commercial crayfishing in Lake Tahoe

    Introduced crayfish have contributed to clouding of Lake Tahoe's famously crystalline waters, prompting Nevada state authorities to open the lake to commercial fishing for the first time since the 1930s.
    New York Times, 12 July 2012

  • Great Lakes: Voyage studying plastic waste sets sail

    A team of researchers will set sail in a replica flagship from the War of 1812 to study and quantify plastic pollution on the surface and floor of lakes Superior, Huron, and Erie.
    Buffalo WBFO Radio, 11 July 2012

  • US: America's dirtiest beaches

    A report by the Natural Resources Defense Council found that 8% of beaches in the country violated public health standards in 2011. Included is an interactive map of all tested beaches and a list of the worst offenders.
    Mother Jones, 09 July 2012

  • HI: How climate change affects the rare 'i'iwi

    The 'i'iwi (Vestiaria coccinea)--an iconic red honeycreeper once abundant at most elevations--has been pushed up the mountainsides by avian malaria, a threat that spreads up mountains as the climate warms.
    The Maui News, 08 July 2012

  • World: Dead coral reefs can recover, eventually

    A study off the coast of Panama found that coral reefs can slowly re-grow after being damaged, raising hopes that reefs around the world could recover from current and future climate change-related effects.
    NPR, 06 July 2012

  • NC: Voting mistake overrides fracking veto

    A state representative accidentally hit the wrong button to become the winning vote in a 72-47 override of Governor Bev Perdue's veto of legislation allowing hydraulic fracturing in the state.
    Associated Press, 04 July 2012

  • US: Nation takes leap towards wind energy

    The US Dept of Interior completed environmental reviews for wind energy projects off the coast of Rhode Island and Massachusetts, and in Wyoming, which--if built--will become one of the largest wind farms in the world.
    United Press International, 03 July 2012

  • NC: Governor vetoes fracking bill

    Governor Bev Perdue supports hydraulic fracturing, but she recently vetoed legislation that would open the state's doors to the controversial method of natural gas extraction, citing insufficient environmental protections.
    Reuters, 01 July 2012

  • World: Global network will track acidifying oceans

    An international collaboration will establish monitoring stations around the world to track ocean acidification, a result of atmospheric CO2 absorption that has led to about a 30% increase in ocean acidity since the Industrial Revolution.
    Nature, 29 June 2012

  • NY: Mercury sickens Adirondack loons

    10 years of research in Adirondack Park found that three-quarters of common loons (Gavia immer) are at moderate to high risk from mercury poisoning. Affected birds produce 40% less offspring, and may lack energy to care for their young.
    New York Times, 28 June 2012

  • World: Arctic sea ice levels at record low for June

    Satellite observations found Arctic sea ice at the lowest extent and density ever recorded in June, breaking the record set in 2007. Although still early in the melt season, the current melt rate is more than twice the historical average since 1979.
    The Guardian, 27 June 2012

  • CA: California condor still in trouble

    Despite decades of intensive conservation work, the California condor (Gymnogyps californianus) still faces a serious threat from lead poisoning, the same reason its numbers dropped to just 22 in 1982.
    Global Animal, 26 June 2012

  • East Coast: Sea level rise is fastest in the world

    A USGS study found that sea levels along the east coast from North Carolina to Massachusetts are rising at least three times faster than the global average, highlighting a controversial issue.
    Nature Climate Change, 24 June 2012

  • CO: Billionaire to donate huge easement

    Louis Bacon, founder of a multibillion-dollar hedge fund group, plans to donate 90,000 acres of his southern Colorado ranch to the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the largest ever donation of its kind.
    Santa Fe New Mexican, 23 June 2012

  • World: Rio+20 produces few results

    Despite promising steps from some corporations and individual nations, the UN Conference on Sustainable Development resulted in a non-binding declaration with moderate goals and many caveats.
    Washington Post, 22 June 2012

  • PA: Green power rivalry

    Philadelphia just became the largest Green Power Community Partner, an EPA program designed to encourage cities to purchase energy from renewable sources. Washington, DC previously held the distinction and has promised stiff competition for the title of city with the greenest power.
    Philadelphia Inquirer, 21 June 2012

  • World: Rio+20 conference begins

    More than 115 presidents, prime ministers, and other officials are attending Rio+20, the UN Conference on Sustainable Development, where the goal is to figure out how to help the world's poor without exhausting the planet.
    Los Angeles Times, 19 June 2012

  • World: In defense of parasites

    Only a handful of scientists work to assess the ecological value and imperilment status of parasitic organisms. They argue that parasites help keep ecosystems in equilibrium and drive evolution.
    New York Times, 18 June 2012

  • World: Accounting for natural wealth gains traction

    Green accounting, the process of putting dollar values on the ecosystem services provided by natural systems, has recently started gaining much more traction in global financial institutions.
    Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 17 June 2012

  • Mexico: Government cancels Baja mega-resort plans

    The federal government withdrew permits for a controversial mega-resort development in Baja California del Sur because developers failed to prove that it would not adversely impact the biodiversity of the Cabo Pulmo marine reserve.
    Los Angeles Times, 15 June 2012

  • US: Wildfires fuel urgency for forest restoration

    Ongoing wildfires in New Mexico, Colorado, and other western states highlight the need to recognize fire as a natural part of a forest's life cycle, and replace the policy of fire exclusion with controlled burns and mechanical thinning.
    Fresno Bee, 14 June 2012

  • WA: A farm forever

    One of Thurston County's largest dairy farms will remain a farm in perpetuity thanks to the terms of a conservation easement on 510 of its acres. The easement also protects 211 acres of riparian habitat that will not be farmed.
    The News Tribune, 13 June 2012

  • ME: Dam to be removed on the Penobscot

    The Penobscot Nation collaborated with conservation groups and industry and government officials to remove the Great Works Dam on the Penobscot River in central Maine.
    NPR, 09 June 2011

  • US: Nation lags behind Europe in clean energy production

    Despite tripling clean energy production in the last decade, the US gets only 2.7% of its energy from renewable sources, compared to 10.7% in Germany and 6.2% in Italy.
    USA Today, 11 June 2012

  • ND: Oil boom brings damage along with prosperity

    Hydraulic fracturing has helped make North Dakota the nation's second largest oil producer, but in 2011 there were over 1,000 accidental releases of oil, wastewater, or other contaminants, with many more spills going unreported.
    ProPublica, 07 June 2012

  • Northeast: Emissions fell under cap and trade system

    The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative helped nine northeastern states reduce carbon dioxide emissions from power plants by 23% in its first three years.
    New York Times, 04 June 2012

  • MD, VA: Snakehead tournament a big success

    The second year of the Potomac Snakehead Tournament removed over 1400 pounds of the predatory, invasive northern snakehead (Channa argus) from the Potomac and its tributaries.
    Washington Post, 03 June 2012

  • IN: Hard to tell how state's rivers stack up against rest of country

    State officials found that thousands of additional miles of Indiana waterways do not meet Clean Water Act standards, but the law allows states to test their waters very differently, making comparison difficult.
    Indianapolis Star, 03 June 2012

  • UT: Executive order restricts idling

    In an effort to reduce fuel consumption and emissions, Utah governor Gary Herbert signed an executive order requiring state fleet vehicles to be turned off if idling for more than 30 seconds.
    Herald Journal, 01 June 2012

  • World: Depolarizing climate science

    A recent study found that simply presenting more data actually widens the rift between the two sides of the climate debate, and that climate science must be framed very carefully to avoid further division.
    Science News, 30 May 2012

  • US: Supercomputer will increase resolution of climate predictions

    A new supercomputer called Yellowstone is on its way to Wyoming, where it will help climate scientists from across the country make finer-scale climate projections than ever before.
    Washington Post, 28 May 2012

  • World: To save some species, zoos must let others die

    In addition to providing entertainment, zoos are increasingly working on rare species conservation, but as with any conservation work, the practice involves some very difficult decisions.
    New York Times, 27 May 2012

  • MD: Stinky Memorial Day wake-up for the Bay

    Visitors to Baltimore's Inner Harbor were treated to a pungent mix of rotting algae and fish carcasses, courtesy of a large algal bloom fed by agricultural and suburban runoff from throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
    Baltimore Sun, 26 May 2012

  • CA: LA becomes largest city to ban plastic bags

    The Los Angeles City Council nearly unanimously approved a ban on single-use plastic bags and a 10-cent fee on paper bags. Businesses have either six or twelve months to phase out the bags.
    MSNBC, 23 May 2012

  • FL: 11th-hour land deal helps protect florida panther

    Just hours before the land was to go into foreclosure, more than 7 organizations came together to protect a 1,278-acre parcel of prime florida panther habitat between the Everglades and Big Cypress.
    WUSF News, 22 May 2012

  • World: Oceans are in serious trouble across the globe

    On May 22, the International Day for Biological Diversity, the UN Secretary-General released a bleak message about the state of the world's fisheries and marine biodiversity.
    Environmental News Service, 22 May 2012

  • US: Endangered Species Act meeting goals for 90% of species

    A new study found that of 110 species receiving federal protection under the Endangered Species Act, 90% are on-track to meet recovery goals. However, the majority of threatened species do not receive federal protection.
    Your Olive Branch, 21 May 2012

  • World: Citizen science creates a lot of valuable data

    While efforts to involve citizens in gathering rigorous scientific data have been around for over a century (Audubon's Christmas Bird Count), new websites and tools are making it easier and more helpful than ever.
    United Press International, 18 May 2012

  • ME: Huge conservation easement gets approval

    The Nature Conservancy, the Forest Society of Maine, and the Plum Creek timber company came together to create a conservation easement protecting 363,000 acres around Moosehead Lake.
    Kennebec Journal, 16 May 2012

  • US: Nation has hottest 12 months on record

    The period from May 2011 to April 2012 was the warmest 12 months, averaged across the entire country, since records began in 1895.
    Los Angeles Times, 15 May 2012

  • NJ: Ocean floor healthier than expected

    A study based on biological indicators found that the ocean floor off the coast of New Jersey is healthier than state and national officials expected.
    Asbury Park Press, 14 May 2012

  • US: Climate change threatens pine forests

    It will require ever-increasing effort to protect many of the nation's expansive pine forests as climate change intensifies, and scientists and forest managers are already struggling to keep up.
    Washington Post, 13 May 2012

  • World: Study links biodiversity and language loss

    Researchers have shown that biodiversity hotspots also tend to be language hotspots, and while this relationship requires further study to fully understand, it's clear that both are declining rapidly for many of the same reasons.
    BBC News, 12 May 2012

  • CO: Rare stonefly denied endangered status

    The Arapahoe snowfly (Capnia arapahoe), a species of stonefly known from only two streams, will not receive protection under the Endangered Species Act, despite its high vulnerability to climate change.
    Summit County Citizens Voice, 10 May 2012

  • Chesapeake Bay: The controversial water pollution cap-and-trade plan

    A cap-and-trade system for water pollution in the Chesapeake Bay watershed enjoys widespread support, but some environmental groups are concerned that the system could allow for increased pollution if implemented poorly.
    Greenwire, E&E News, 08 May 2012

  • World: Loss of plant biodiversity as detrimental as pollution, climate change

    A team of researchers found that, across a wide range of ecosystems, the negative impacts of losing plant biodiversity could easily rival those caused by other human-induced environmental changes like pollution and climate change.
    The News Tribune, 06 May 2012

  • VT: Vermont poised to become first state to ban fracking

    State legislators have sent a measure outlawing hydraulic fracturing to governor Peter Shumlin, who is expected to sign the ban into law.
    Vermont Public Radio, 04 May 2012

  • ID: Dairy farmer saves money with solar

    In a move that's making other farms take notice, an Idaho dairy farmer used USDA and other grants to offset the cost of 30 solar panels that now save energy costs by heating water used to sanitize his holding tanks.
    Idaho Press-Tribune, 30 April 2012

  • World: Wind-churned plastics litter deep ocean

    New research shows that tiny particles of plastic litter the oceans at much greater densities than previously thought. These particles are often missed because wind drives them below the water's surface.
    Futurity, 30 April 2012

  • We're Back!

    Apologies for the hiatus - We were away at NatureServe's annual conference Biodiversity Without Boundaries, but now we're back with more conservation news stories. Enjoy!

  • World: What we've learned about the Earth since last Earth Day

    A summary of some interesting scientific findings from the last year that have global significance.
    Smithsonian, 19 April 2012

  • Gulf Coast: Seafood deformities alarm scientists

    Scientists in many Gulf Coast states have noticed deformities in popular seafood species. They attribute the eyeless shrimp, claw-less crabs, and fish with lesions to oil from the BP oil spill and dispersants used in the cleanup effort.
    Al-Jazeera, 18 April 2012

  • MI: Kalamazoo River may reopen this summer

    A massive oil spill in 2010 closed much of the Kalamazoo River to recreation, but now a coordinator for the EPA says that parts of the river may be ready to reopen this summer.
    Detroit Free Press, 16 April 2012

  • CA: River otters rebound

    Thanks to environmental laws, habitat protection, and anti-hunting legislation, river otters (Lontra canadensis) are returning to waterways across the Bay Area.
    San Francisco Chronicle, 15 April 2012

  • US: How green are electric cars?

    The Union of Concerned Scientists released a report showing that how 'green' an electric car is depends on where you charge it, based largely on how much of an area's electricity comes from coal-fired power plants.
    New York Times, 13 April 2012

  • HI: Less inspectors could mean more invasives

    Due to budget constraints, Hawaii has cut many of the inspectors that examine shipping crates and tourists' luggage for potentially harmful invasive species.
    Dallas Morning News, 12 April 2012

  • Southern Rockies: Boreal toads move toward ESA protection

    The US Fish & Wildlife Service determined that boreal toads (Bufo boreas boreas) may qualify for protection under the Endangered Species Act.
    Center for Biological Diversity, 11 April 2012

  • NM: Officials looking out for invasive mussels

    Farmington city officials plan for the nearly inevitable introduction of harmful zebra and quagga mussels into Farmington Lake, which supplies the city's water.
    The Daily Times, Farmington 10 April 2012

  • UT: Environmentalists praise natural gas project

    Anadarko Petroleum Corp. worked closely with land managers and conservation groups to minimize negative impacts of the 3,765 new natural gas wells it has proposed to drill in Uintah County.
    KSL, 08 April 2012

  • NJ: Trees or solar panels?

    A Moonachie, NJ company recently cleared one of the borough's few remaining wooded lots to make way for 3,150 solar panels, sparking debate about the merits of competing 'green' interests.
    NorthJersey.com, 07 April 2012

  • World: Another study links insecticide to bee losses

    Harvard Public Health researchers demonstrated that beehives exposed to neonicotinoid insecticides, already implicated in colony-collapse disorder, still died, despite insecticide levels lower than federal regulations allow.
    Science News, 05 April 2012

  • MT: Proposal to add 170,000 acres to refuge complex

    A proposed conservation plan by the US Fish and Wildlife Service recommends preserving at least 170,000 more acres of critical wildlife habitat in the Blackfoot and Swan valleys.
    Missoulian, 03 April 2012

  • US: Military sees threat in global climate change

    The US military is investing heavily in mitigating its contribution to climate change, through initiatives like making the Navy SEALs have net-zero energy and water use, because of climate change's potential to accelerate instability.
    Daily Climate, 02 April 2012

  • WV: Largest mountaintop removal project ever moves forward

    13 years in the making, covering 2,278 acres, the largest mountaintop removal mining project in West Virginia history scored a victory when a federal judge ruled that the project could continue, despite objections from the public and the EPA.
    Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 01 April 2012

  • Chesapeake: Bay restoration ahead of schedule, sort of

    A report found that the federal strategy to restore the Chesapeake Bay is ahead of schedule for reducing nitrogen and sediment pollution, but the whole project is underfunded, and behind schedule for reducing phosphorous pollution.
    Daily Press, 30 March 2012

  • US: Birds adjusting slowly to climate change

    A study based on the North American Christmas Bird Count finds that birds take decades to move northward in response to warming winters, highlighting the need for habitat corridors to facilitate movement.
    ABC News, 28 March 2012

  • US: EPA to impose first greenhouse gas limits on power plants

    The Environmental Protection Agency recently began enforcing its new law requiring that any new power plant produce less than 1,000 pounds of CO2 per megawatt of electricity produced.
    Washington Post, 26 March 2012

  • GA: Savannah River to get thorough flow analysis

    A team of researchers will float down the Savannah River from Augusta to Savannah Harbor to determine trends in its flow regime and take other measurements. The study will help inform upcoming regulations limiting the amount of pollution businesses can discharge into the river.
    Augusta Chronicle, 24 March 2012

  • US: Companies picking up cost of recycling their packaging

    As local governments struggle to afford their own recycling programs, they've started turning towards companies that manufacture products housed in recyclable containers. Some of these companies already cover recycling costs or recoup costs with their own recycling facilities.
    New York Times, 23 March 2012

  • World: Climate change-related damage to oceans will reach $2 trillion per year

    A study by the Stockholm Environment Institute found that without measures to slow the trend of climate change, it will cost the world's oceans $2 trillion in damages every year through ocean acidification, sea level rise, species migration, fisheries disruption, coral bleaching, etc. The study also found that roughly $1.4 trillion of the annual cost is avoidable.
    Reuters, 20 March 2012

  • MD: State on track to reduce greenhouse gases

    Maryland is largely on track to meet its goal of reducing climate-warming pollution 25 percent by 2020. In addition to reducing the state's greenhouse gas emissions, the measures will create about 36,000 jobs, help protect the Chesapeake Bay, and improve air quality.
    Baltimore Sun, 20 March 2012

  • PA: Dreaded emerald ash borer arrives in Philadelphia area

    The emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis), an invasive beetle whose larvae bore into and often kill native ash trees, was recently found near Philadelphia for the first time. The potential damage of this insect's continued spread threatens to rival the Chestnut blight and Dutch Elm Disease.
    Philadelphia Inquirer, 18 March 2012

  • NC: Regulators say fracking can be done safely

    State environmental regulators released a report claiming that, with proper regulations, hydraulic fracturing can be safely used to extract natural gas. However, the report also cautioned that not enough is known about potential environmental and economic drawbacks of the process.
    Charlotte Observer, 16 March 2012

  • AL: White-nose fungus reaches Alabama

    White-nose syndrome, the fungal disease responsible for the deaths of nearly 7 million bats in the northeast US, has been found in Alabama. Scientists hoped that the fungus - which thrives in cold conditions - wouldn't spread so far south, especially because Alabama houses a wide variety of bats, including the endangered Gray Bat (Myotis grisescens).
    Washington Post, 14 March 2012

  • US: Young people not so 'green' after all

    A study based on over 40 years of surveys of high school seniors and college freshman shows that young people today are less likely to conserve resources or become personally involved in programs to clean up the environment than ever before.
    New York Times, 15 March 2012

  • OK: Work begins at Collinsville Superfund site

    The Oklahoma Dept. of Environmental Quality began working to clean up the EPA-designated Superfund site of Tulsa Fuel and Manufacturing, a zinc smelter during World War I where slag contaminated the surrounding area with heavy metals.
    Tulsa World, 12 March 2012

  • WA: Seattle food forest

    Plans are underway to establish a seven-acre food forest in the heart of Seattle. The forest will feature a variety of food-bearing trees, shrubs, and vines, and be free and open to the public.
    Living On Earth - Interview, 10 March 2012

  • ID: Native seed operation protected by conservation easement

    A collaboration between a Swan Valley couple, the Bureau of Land Management, and the Teton Regional Land Trust created a 160-acre conservation easement on which the couple grows native grasses and wildflowers to provide seeds for native vegetation restoration across the state.
    Upper Valley Standard Journal, 08 March 2012

  • US: Is energy independence within reach?

    New oil and natural gas exploration leads the way towards energy independence for the entire nation, a goal that has eluded the country for decades. Many in the industry and beyond hope that renewable energy sources will gain on oil and natural gas as the nation develops its energy future.
    NPR, 07 March 2012

  • MT: EPA to begin fish testing

    In April, the Environmental Protection Agency will begin a series of studies near a mine in northwestern Montana to begin to investigate the effects of Libby Amphibole Asbestos on wildlife.
    The Western News, 07 March 2012

  • World: Deepwater oil drilling picks up as BP disaster fades

    Almost two years after an explosion on a BP oil platform killed 11 workers and contaminated the Gulf of Mexico with millions of gallons of oil, deepwater oil exploration is picking back up because, put simply: 'we need the oil'.
    New York Times, 04 March 2012

  • World: Oceans acidifying at fastest rate in 230 million years

    A Columbia University study found that ocean acidification is occurring faster than at any time in the last 230 million years, thanks to the ocean's absorption of atmospheric CO2.
    Bloomberg, 02 March 2012

  • OR, CA: Big salmon run forecast for Klamath River

    This fall, nearly 1.6 million chinook salmon are expected to swim up the Klamath River to spawn. The forecast represents a sixfold increase over last year's numbers, baffling scientists and reversing the trend of plummeting salmon populations in the Pacific Northwest in recent decades.
    Los Angeles Times, 01 March 2012

  • US: Survey links Americans' belief in global warming with higher temperatures

    The University of Michigan and Muhlenberg College conducted a survey that found 62 percent of Americans think the Earth is getting warmer, the highest level in over two years. Nearly half of those people say their beliefs are based on personal observations of the weather.
    Washington Post, 29 February 2012

  • TN: Elevated mercury levels found in fish

    East Fork Poplar Creek has been posted as a hazard for decades because of mercury discharge from the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant at its headwaters. Now, despite decreased mercury output, fish throughout the area are exceeding EPA's mercury limit - including fish in the Clinch River, home of many endangered freshwater species.
    Knoxville News Sentinel, 27 February 2012

  • SC: Spartanburg Area Conservancy gains largest easement to date

    A Greenville resident worked with the Spartanburg Area Conservancy to secure a conservation easement on his 451-acre plot of forest and agricultural land - the largest easement for the organization to date.
    Spartanburg Herald Journal, 26 February 2012

  • World: Companies shipping smarter, cheaper, cleaner

    A new report finds high fuel prices pushing many large companies - like Wal-Mart, Nike, and IKEA - to increase their shipping efficiency, and in so doing, decrease their carbon footprints.
    Forbes, 24 February 2012

  • US: Bipartisan support for conservation easement incentive

    300 members of the House of Representatives, including a majority of both parties, co-sponsored The Conservation Easement Incentive Act that will enhance federal tax benefits for landowners who donate conservation easements.
    Sacramento Bee, 22 February 2012

  • TX: 5.6 million urban trees lost to current drought

    Texas Forest Service researchers found that the state's cities have lost 5.6 million trees due to the ongoing drought. These trees provided an estimated $280 million in environmental and economic benefits every year.
    Austin American-Statesman, 15 February 2012

  • World: For some animals, climate change offers a chance to flourish

    Numerous studies have found that animal species from killer whales to trumpeter swans to fleas actually benefit from a changing climate, at least in the short term.
    ClimateWire, Environment & Energy News, 20 February 2012

  • AK: Warming blamed for yellow cedar die-off

    A study by the US Forest Service confirms that a warming climate is behind the destruction of southeast Alaska's yellow cedar forests. However, the reason is somewhat counterintuitive: the trees' shallow roots are actually freezing because a warmer climate leads to less insulating snow on the ground during the winter.
    Anchorage Daily News, 19 February 2012

  • MA: Dolphin strandings remain a mystery

    Over the past five weeks, 178 common dolphins (Delphinus delphis) have stranded on Cape Cod, nearly five times the annual average for that species in the area. Scientists still have not determined any cause behind the strandings.
    Boston Globe, 17 February 2012

  • World: US leads small group of countries pushing to cut greenhouse gas emissions

    Officials from the US, Bangladesh, Canada, Ghana, Mexico, Sweden, and the UN Environment Program will announce plans to cut emissions of potent, short-lived greenhouse gases like soot, methane, and hydrofluorocarbons that are also detrimental to human health.
    New York Times, 15 February 2012

  • World: Conservation policies provide inadequate protection for freshwater

    Highlighting a worldwide trend, the most comprehensive assessment of Africa's freshwater biodiversity to date finds that conservation bias towards terrestrial and charismatic species means that freshwater species do not receive adequate protection.
    BioFresh, 14 February 2012

  • MD: Deadly virus hits turtles and amphibians

    Maryland biologists discovered an outbreak of the deadly ranavirus among box turtles, tadpoles, and salamanders. Ranavirus has the potential to devastate these animals' populations, which could be especially dangerous for slow-to-reproduce box turtles.
    Washington Post, 12 February 2012

  • SD: House nixes 30-yr limit on conservation easements

    After much debate, the South Dakota House of Representatives eventually rejected a proposal to limit conservation easements to only 30 years, ruling to keep easements binding in perpetuity.
    Aberdeen News, 09 February 2012

  • US: Combating the 'Yuck' reaction to treated wastewater

    Despite initial negative reactions, an increasing number of communities - especially in the drought-ravaged Southwest - are treating wastewater for use in agriculture, industry, and for drinking.
    New York Times, 09 February 2012

  • VT: McKibben: Vermont needs to lead on climate change

    In an appeal to Congress, writer and environmental activist Bill McKibben argued that Tropical Storm Irene was just one extreme example of the effects of climate change in Vermont, a state that he says needs to lead the charge in combatting global climate change.
    CBS News, 08 February 2012

  • CA: Sacrificing the desert to save the Earth

    In a difficult compromise for environmentalists, the large-scale solar energy project in the Ivanpah valley is degrading thousands of acres of Mojave Desert habitat.
    Los Angeles Times, 05 February 2012

  • NJ: 1800 acre tract to be preserved

    A $7.5mil collaboration between the Dept. of Defense, Ocean County, and the state Pinelands Commission will preserve a sand and gravel mine and surrounding woods just east of military runways at Naval Air Station Lakehurst.
    Asbury Park Press, 03 February 2012

  • World: Conservation 2.5 - An essential upgrade for human survival

    We are entering a new phase in the conservation movement, a time when an increasing number of big businesses are willing to place a real value on ecosystem services, and work towards conserving natural resources.
    Huffington Post, 01 February, 2012

  • TX: Climate scientists predict intensified drought

    A panel of climate experts from Columbia University predicted that North America's worst drought in a decade, centered in Texas, is just the beginning of water-shortages for the region, thanks in part to climate change.
    Chron.com, 01 February, 2012

  • Southeast: A plea for southern treasures

    The Southern Environmental Law Center, based in Virginia, released its 2012 list of the most environmentally endangered places in the Southeast. The list changes annually, but some areas like the Chesapeake Bay remain a top concern year after year.
    New York Times, 30 January 2012

  • WY: Historic ranch protected with conservation easement

    One of Wyoming's oldest ranches will provide quality wildlife habitat forever thanks to a conservation easement protecting more than 10,000 acres, including migration routes for grazing wildlife and wetland habitats for birds.
    Casper Star-Tribune, 28 January 2012

  • US: Snowy owls soar south in rare mass migration

    Thousands of snowy owls are leaving their typical Arctic habitat and flying as far south as Oklahoma. An overabundance of lemmings last breeding season allowed the owls to have more offspring than usual - birds that are now driving the population south as they compete for limited food resources.
    Reuters, 28 January 2012

  • World: Gene-altered crops are escaping into the wild

    Researchers find that 80% of canola plants along roadsides in North Dakota contain genes altered artificially to make them more herbicide-resistant. This is just one example among hundreds of genetically modified crops escaping cultivation and growing in wild habitats.
    Environmental Health News, 27 January 2012

  • World: Researchers conclude easily extracted oil peaked in 2005

    A new analysis looking at oil use and production trends finds that the earth's available reserves are no longer able to respond to increases in demand, and that extracting remaining reserves will become increasingly expensive, causing considerable damage to the global economy.
    Scientific American, 25 January 2012

  • World: Ocean acidification a hundred times greater than natural variation

    Researchers at the University of Hawaii found that calcium carbonate ion concentrations in seawater at many different sites worldwide are at their lowest levels in nearly a million years, endangering shellfish, corals, and other organisms that rely on calcium carbonate to survive.
    Mongabay, 24 January 2012

  • WV: DOE slashes gas estimate for Marcellus Shale

    The U.S. Department of Energy decreased its estimate of total natural gas reserves in the Marcellus Shale formation from 410 to 141 trillion cubic feet. The nation currently consumes about 24.1 trillion cubic feet every year.
    Charleston Gazette, 23 January 2012

  • FL: Conservation easement protects important swamp ecosystem

    The Suwannee River Water Management District has helped reach a deal with landowners that will protect 18,428 acres of wetland habitat around California Lake from development and logging.
    Suwannee Democrat, 20 January 2012

  • US: White-nose syndrome claims more than 5 million bats

    According to a new report, white-nose syndrome has killed between 5.7 and 6.7 million bats in eastern North America, often claiming 70-100 percent of individuals in infected caves. Each species fills a very specific ecological niche, and together they save farmers over $3 billion annually by eating crop pests.
    New York Times, 19 January 2012

  • ME: 17,600-acre forest conservation project

    The state of Maine received $8.73 million in federal awards to preserve two western Maine forest properties from development. The properties protect important forest habitats and buffer 10 miles of the Appalachian Trail.
    Sun Journal, 19 January 2012

  • US: Education group to defend climate change science

    The National Center for Science Education will begin offering support to public school teachers and schools on the contentious topic of climate change.
    Forbes, 18 January 2012

  • UT: Controlling nutrient water pollution

    The Division of Water Quality is studying how best to remove nutrient pollution from some of the state's most important waterways. Much of the rest of the nation already has stricter regulations on nutrient pollution, but the move is still expected to add hundreds of millions to Utah sewer bills.
    Standard-Examiner, 16 January 2012

  • World: Conserving biodiversity could benefit the world's poor

    A global analysis found that over half the global value of ecosystem services benefitting the world's poorest people originates in areas that are a high priority for conservation.
    American Institute of Biological Sciences, 12 January 2012

  • NV: Las Vegas water demands threaten rural valleys

    A decade-long drought has Las Vegas looking to diversify its water sources, but conservation groups and rural residents agree that pumping water away will be too detrimental for the targeted river basins.
    ClimateWire, Environment & Energy News, 11 January 2012

  • WA: Glaciers shrinking on Mount Adams

    A Portland State University study found that Mount Adams' 12 glaciers have shrunk by nearly half since 1904 and are receding faster than those on nearby Mount Hood and Mount Rainier.
    Associated Press, 08 January 2012

  • NC: State of the Environment report's data mixed

    A state report that itself received mixed reviews from environmental groups found that North Carolina's air quality is higher than 20 years ago, but that rising population is presenting new environmental challenges for the Tar Heel State.
    The News and Observer, 07 January 2012

  • NY: EPA announces proposals to clean up Gowanus Canal

    After conducting studies of Brooklyn's polluted Gowanus Canal, the EPA has offered two viable plans to turn the infamous 1.8-mile body of water into a healthy urban waterway.
    The New York Times, 04 January 2012

  • World: 2011 in energy and environmental policy

    A recap of a few of the biggest stories and trends in energy and environmental policy over the last year.
    The Washington Post, 26 December 2011

  • DC: Washington's big dig aims to clean up Potomac

    A $2.6 billion project will cut roughly 16 miles of tunnels to keep overflow sewage and stormwater out of the Potomac River. The project should be completed by 2025.
    Reuturs, 28 December 2011

  • ID, MT: Trucking trout to their native streams

    In an innovative conservation effort, biologists on the Clark Fork River are using genetic testing to help get bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus) back to their natal streams to spawn.
    The New York Times, 22 December 2011

  • World: Could public health benefits make combating climate change free?

    The rising global public health costs of climate change provide a powerful incentive to take serious steps toward mitigating its effects.
    Scientific American, 21 December 2012

  • Northeast: Bat scientists see ray of hope in white nose fight

    White nose syndrome - caused by a deadly fungus that grows on bats while they hibernate - has decimated many Northeastern bat populations, but scientists have recently found small intact populations that seem to resist the fungus. Now the question is why.
    Burlington Free Press, 20 December 2011

  • World: Warming will transform natural world

    A NASA study finds that rising global temperatures will drive nearly half the planet's ecosystems towards radical change. Species may find it difficult to adapt or migrate due to barriers created by human development.
    Miami Herald, 19 December 2011

  • VA: Some residents oppose preparations for climate related sea-level rise

    In a case of a minority voice trying to shout down the majority, some conservative Virginians are heatedly opposing local governments' preparations for sea level rise caused by climate change.
    The Washington Post, 17 December 2011

  • WI: Couple donates largest state conservation easement ever

    An Illinois couple donated 3,195 acres - nearly 5 square miles - of Squirrel River shoreline, pine barrens, and cross-country ski trails in Oneida County to a Wisconsin land trust.
    Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 16 December 2011

  • ID: New conservation easement forms part of pronghorn migration corridor

    Blaine County commissioners approved a grant to help fund the purchase of a 1,114 acre conservation easement. The land forms part of an important migration corridor for pronghorn antelope (Antilocapra americana).
    Idaho Mountain Express, 14 December 2011

  • MA: Cap and trade gives economy a critical boost

    Defying naysayers, a new report finds that the state of Massachusetts added 3,800 jobs and nearly $500 million in economic activity thanks to the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.
    Inside Climate News, 14 December 2012

  • US: Land trusts in the West thrive thanks to the Great Recession

    Even as many environmental groups trim budgets and federal conservation funding falters, private land conservation continues to grow in popularity and acreage across the American West.
    High Country News, 12 December 2011

  • Chesapeake Bay watershed: Cleaning the Chesapeake

    In an effort to improve the Chesapeake Bay's water quality, the EPA used its authority under the Clean Water Act to set total maximum daily loads for major pollutants entering the Bay.
    Chemical and Engineering News, 12 December 2011

  • World: Climate conference approves landmark deal

    The UN climate conference in Durban, South Africa announced Sunday that it reached a hard-fought agreement to set in place a means for controlling global climate change in the coming decades.
    Associated Press, 11 December 2012

  • World: A conversation about biodiversity

    Shahid Naeem, a biosustainability scientist and professor at Columbia University, shares his views on the importance of biodiversity and the changing face of modern ecology.
    The Atlantic, 10 December 2011

  • AK: US plans its first megadam in 40 years

    Alaskan authorities will soon file plans for a 213-meter hydroelectric megadam on the Susitna river near Anchorage. Opponents say the dam will disrupt a caribou migration route and destroy habitat for Sorex yukonicus, a rare and elusive shrew.
    New Scientist, 08 December 2011

  • TX: Boggy Slough conservation easement protects Neches River forests

    Temple-Inland and the Conservation Fund worked together to donate a conservation easement of 4,458 acres of bottomland hardwood forest along the Neches River in east Texas.
    Diboll Free Press, 07 December 2011

  • NJ: Organized crime gets into recycling

    Mobsters have a long history of making a killing in the garbage-hauling business, but a New Jersey commission says they have gone green by infiltrating the commercial recycling business.
    Seattle P.I., 06 December 2011

  • FL: Cautious hope for Everglades protection

    Despite a negative record on Everglades protection, recent promises by Florida Governor Rick Scott display a new dedication to preservation of the iconic wetlands.
    NPR, 05 December 2011

  • World - New study finds three-quarters of climate change almost certainly man-made

    A Swiss study found that natural climate variability is extremely unlikely to have contributed more than about one-quarter of the temperature rise in the last 60 years.
    Nature, 04 December 2011

  • World - Businesses warm to going green

    At a sustainability meeting for business executives, it's becoming clear that 'going green' often makes good business sense, and that many big businesses are becoming important proponents of sustainability.
    Marketplace, 02 December 2011

  • VA: Northern Virginians set aside land for the future

    Landowners in Northern Virginia protected nearly 4,000 acres through conservation easements between 2005 and 2010, according to a survey conducted by the Land Trust Alliance.
    Washington Post, 01 December 2011

  • CO: Complex world of soil studied by Colorado State scientists

    Colorado State University scientists are at the cutting edge of the study of soil microorganisms - an increasingly important science in the face of deteriorating worldwide soil quality.
    Denver Post, 29 November 2011

  • MN: High crop prices may pose a threat to conservation

    Federal contracts on 300,000 acres of Minnesota grassland currently protected under the Conservation Reserve Program will come up for renewal in 2012, and high crop prices may motivate many landowners to put these valuable grasslands under the plow.
    Star Tribune, 28 November 2011

  • World: Another try for global climate effort

    With intensifying climate disasters and global economic turmoil as the backdrop, delegates from 194 nations gather in Durban, South Africa to try to advance, if only incrementally, the world's response to dangerous climate change.
    New York Times, 27 November 2011

  • MD: State board approves lower shore land easements

    The Board of Public Works recently approved permanent conservation easements on 518 acres of environmentally sensitive land in Worcester, Wicomico, and Somerset counties.
    The Dispatch, 25 November 2011

  • Northwest: Oyster die-offs show ocean acidification has arrived

    The acidification of the world's oceans from an excess of CO2 emissions has already begun, as evidenced recently by the widespread mortality of oyster larvae in the Pacific Northwest.
    Yale Environment 360, 21 November 2011

  • World: Wealthy nations 'give up' on new climate treaty

    Despite concerns from developing nations, governments of the world's wealthiest nations privately admit that no new global climate agreement will be reached before 2016, and even then it would not take full effect until 2020.
    The Guardian, 20 November 2011

  • IN: Land conservation is encouraged by childhood experiences outdoors

    A survey of 64 Indiana conservation easement holders finds that certain experiences in the outdoors as a child, like unstructured play time, lead to pro-nature ideals in adulthood.
    Science 2.0, 19 November 2011

  • US: Obama administration seeks to double avereage gas mileage

    The Obama administration has proposed fuel economy standards that would almost double the average gas mileage for each automaker's passenger vehicle fleet to 54.5 mpg by 2025.
    Los Angeles Times, 17 November 2011

  • CA: Marin's critical marshes could face extinction as sea level rises

    Marshes that afford flood protection and support an array of wildlife along Marin's bay coast could drown as the sea level rises over the next 50 to 100 years, a new study finds.
    Marin Independent Journal, 16 November 2011

  • VA: Halifax Co. land donated to VA Department of Forestry

    A Halifax County couple donated a conservation easement protecting nearly 1,300 acres of woodland--the 50th easement donated to the Virginia Department of Forestry.
    WSLS, 14 Novermber 2011

  • VT: Falling in love with solar

    The 26,000 solar panels erected by Green Mountain Power since November 2008 have become an important source of electricity, especially during summer heat waves when demand is high and the sun is out.
    Burlington Free Press, 13 November 2011

  • MT: Blackfoot Valley divided over mine waste repository site

    1 million cubic yards of toxic historic mining waste is contaminating the headwaters of the Blackfoot River, the only question is where to move the waste now.
    Great Falls Tribune, 12 November 2011

  • NY: River strip saved from developers

    More than 180 acres along the western shore of the Hudson River have been protected from development forever thanks to a conservation easement donated by an unidentified property owner.
    Times Union, 10 November 2011

  • World: Introduced species could be important for survival of bees

    New research finds that introduced plant species - often considered to be purely destructive - may play an important role in feeding bees, whose global numbers have plummeted in recent years.
    Nature, 09 November 2011.

  • LA: State rejects oil spill cleanup transition plan

    Louisiana has refused to sign off on a Coast Guard-BP plan to transition from cleanup to long-term recovery following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, charging that the plan leaves coastal habitats vulnerable to contamination with no guarantee that BP will pay for future cleanups.
    New Orleans Times-Picayune, 09 November 2011

  • US: United flies first passengers using fuel from algae

    United Airlines flew the first U.S. commercial passengers on a Boeing 737 powered partly with biofuel made from algae. The algal-oil fuel currently costs about four times traditional jet fuel, but prices are expected to drop, and it requires no modifications to the aircraft.
    USA Today, 08 November 2011

  • World: Chytrid fungus likely born and spread in amphibian trade

    New research finds that the particularly virulent strain of the fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis responsible for decimating global amphibian populations likely developed and then spread thanks to the global amphibian trade.
    New Scientist, 07 November 2011

  • DE: Toxic site may become solar energy farm

    Delaware's most contaminated industrial site is one of 26 Superfund sites across the country to be evaluated for use as solar, wind, biomass, or geothermal renewable energy facilities.
    Delaware Online 06 November 2011

  • CA: Shady Dell deal preserves majestic redwood forest

    The Redwoods League purchased 957 acres of coastal redwood habitat, part of a complex deal to protect 50,635 acres of California's rugged coastline.
    San Francisco Chronicle, 04 November 2011

  • MA: Chemicals found in Cape Cod wells

    Most of the 20 private Cape wells tested by researchers showed evidence of chemicals from medicines or consumer products, suggesting wastewater contamination of drinking water wells.
    Cape Cod Times, 03 November 2011

  • WV, KY: Mountaintop removal mining linked to community health concerns

    New research finds that mountaintop removal, the major form of Appalachian coal mining, can lead to groundwater contamination and air pollution that may have serious health risks.
    Environmental Health Perspectives, 01 November 2011

  • MI: Townships collaborate to re-flood wetlands

    Whitehall and Montague townships will team up with the Muskegon Conservation District to improve water quality by re-flooding a former wetland.
    White Lake Beacon, 31 October 2011

  • TX: Catastrophic drought causes global economic ripples

    The driest year in the state's history leads to worldwide economic effects, especially in food and agriculture.
    New York Times, 30 October 2011

  • AZ: Obama administration freezes mining near Grand Canyon

    1 million acres of federal lands bordering the Grand Canyon receive protection from new uranium mines for 20 years.
    Christian Science Monitor, 26 October 2011

  • AK: Yukon delivers a plug of mercury in response to a changing climate

    A recent study finds that the Yukon River basin is carrying three to 32 times more mercury than similarly sized river basins, with thawing permafrost and industrial pollution to blame.
    The Daily Climate, 25 October 2011

  • PA: More protection advised for wells near gas drilling sites

    Researchers advise that owners of water wells within 3,000 feet of gas drilling sites should have more legal protection due to the possiblity of contamination.
    Pittsburgh Tribune, 25 October 2011

  • CA: Two fisheries collapsed unnoticed, study says

    Researchers say that the populations of the the kelp bass (Paralabrax clathratus) and the barred sand bass (Paralabrax nebulifer) have plummeted at least 90 percent in southern California since 1980.
    New York Times, 24 October 2011

  • World: Earth's population could reach 15 billion by 2100

    A United Nations report finds that the world population could reach 15 billion by 2100, far surpassing most former estimates.
    London Observer, 22 October 2011

  • US: Farmers nationwide plant bee-friendly habitat

    Farmers across the country have begun replacing some of their crops with flowers and shrubs preferred by honeybees in an effort to help restore these important pollinators' devastated populations.
    Washington Post, 21 October 2011

  • NH: Farmland preserved in concord

    The Concord City Council recently approved as much as $364,500 to purchase a conservation easement for the 76 acre Maplewood Farm.
    Concord Patch, 20 October 2011

  • NC: The Ridges at Wildflower creates 500 acre conservation easement

    Leed Enterprises, LLC, the new developer of The Ridges at Wildflower in Franklin, NC plans to donate 500 undeveloped acres as a conservation easement.
    Business Wire via MarketWatch, 18 October 2011

  • CA: EPA tests show widespread pollution in California waters

    Recent tests find more toxic material, bacteria, and pollution in California streams, bays, and lakes than ever before.
    San Francisco Chronicle, 16 October 2011

  • World: 7 billion humans and rising rapidly

    The world population is expected to reach 7 billion by October 31, 2011.
    Associated Press via StarTribune, 16 October 2011

  • US: What is the Keystone XL pipeline?

    Every aspect of the proposed trans-boundary pipeline project inspires controversy -- find out why.
    ProPublica, 14 October 2011

  • US: Studies link air pollution to obesity and diabetes

    New studies link particulate air pollution to obesity and type-II diabetes, raising questions about newly weakened air pollution legislation.
    Forbes.com, 10 October 2011

  • HI: Maui allows use of possibly contaminated wells, passes GMO labeling measure

    Maui city council approves the use of wells under scrutiny for contamination from agricultural chemicals. They also pass a product-labeling measure for GMOs.
    The Maui News, 8 October 2011

  • ME: Shellfish harvesters plagued by acidic 'dead muds'

    Scientists find that formerly fertile shellfish flats are becoming uninhabitable wastelands, and ocean acidification is to blame.
    Bangor Daily News, 7 October 2011

  • CO: Conservation easements preserve North Fork

    The Conservation Assistance Program and other land trusts preserve 8,300 acres (and counting) in the North Fork area of western Colorado.
    Delta County Independent, 5 October 2011

  • US: Draft report on Gulf after oil spill highlights restoration needs

    Coastal states must work together to restore the Gulf of Mexico before the ecosystem becomes so weak and polluted that it is no longer habitable for animals or people.
    Washington Post, 5 October 2011

  • DC: Armadillos in DC?

    New reports show the Nine-banded Armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus) expanding its range northward thanks to climate change.
    Washington Post, 5 October 2011

  • FL: Mysterious bee kill confounds, costs keepers

    Beekeepers in south Brevard County in east central Florida struggle to recover from an unexplained overnight bee kill that decimated their hives.
    Florida Today, 30 September 2011

  • PA: Mounting damage due to coal mining

    Reports of property damage mount as longwall mining for coal proliferates in Pennsylvania.
    The New York Times, 29 September 2011

  • IA: Grinnell couple donates conservation easement

    Decision to protect a diverse 80-acre Poweshiek County property benefits water quality, native species, and wildlife habitat.
    Newton Daily News, 5 July 2011

  • NJ: Hackensack River too dirty to host oysters

    Waterway remains so heavily polluted that oysters planted to help filter out contamination have either died or become deformed.
    NorthJersey.com, 2 July 2011

  • MN: County adds 40 acres in Lake Elmo as open space

    Easement near Lake Elmo Park Reserve connects with 180 acres of privately protected land and includes a public trail.
    Minneapolis Star-Tribune, 2 July 2011

  • US: Sen. Cardin hopes to bridge divide over water

    Maryland senator seeks to find he elusive common ground on where federal jurisdiction over water starts and stops.
    Greenwire via New York Times, 1 July 2011

  • OR: Conservation deal protects Long Tom tributary

    An easement will permanently conserve riparian and prairie habitats as well as 1.5 miles of the free-flowing Ferguson Creek.
    Corvallis Gazette Times, 1 July 201

  • TX: Drought declared natural disaster

    Drought and wildfires have led the U.S. Department of Agriculture to declare the entire state of Texas a natural disaster.
    Huffington Post, 29 June 2011

  • TX: Fracking provides another oil boom, but at huge water cost

    As West Texas' reservoirs run dry, oil companies are pumping out millions of gallons of freshwater from underground aquifers.
    Scripps Howard via Columbus Republic, 29 June 2011

  • SE: Court hands big victory to Ga. in tri-state water war

    A federal appeals court overturned an earlier decision that could have sharply curtailed Atlanta's water supply beginning next summer.
    Greenwire via New York Times, 29 June 2011

  • US: House fast-tracks bill to limit EPA power over mountaintop coal removal

    Vote expected next week on bipartisan legislation that would restrict rules covering mountaintop mining, waterways and wetlands.
    Solve Climate News, 29 June 2011

  • MN: Open Inwood Avenue property will stay that way

    Washington County Board approves buying a conservation easement on a portion of a 150-year family farm property.
    Oakdale Patch, 29 June 2011

  • PA: How a natural-gas tycoon tapped into Corbett

    In 2004, a flamboyant Oklahoma multimillionaire struck the political equivalent of a gushing wildcat well.
    Philadelphia Inquirer, 29 June 2011

  • NJ: Piles Creek species remain at risk despite environmental protections

    A strange ecosystem of creatures that seem cast from a bad toxic apocalypse movie inhabit one dead-end waterway.
    New Jersey Star-Ledger, 28 June 2011

  • FL: Suwannee river drought

    The iconic river embodies Florida’s vanishing water.
    St. Petersburg Times, 24 June 2011

  • TX: Behind veneer, doubt on future of natural gas

    In scores of internal e-mails and documents, officials within the Energy Information Administration voice skepticism about the shale gas industry.
    New York Times, 26 June 2011

  • VA: A new way of thinking as sea levels rise

    Outside of greater New Orleans, Hampton Roads is at the greatest risk from sea-level rise for any area its size.
    Washington Post, 26 June 2011

  • FL: Everglades suffering from sulfate runoff, Methylmercury contamination

    The use of sulfate in agricultural areas near the Florida Everglades is creating an insoluble mercury problem.
    Florida Independent, 2 May 2011

  • NC: Where birds fly offers clues to man

    Scientists find that the behaviors of frogs, ants and fish also provide hints of a change in climate.
    Charlotte Observer, 1 May 2011

  • PA: Farm preservation effort not hit hard by cuts to budget

    Program that allows local governments to buy the development rights to farmland remains mostly unscathed.
    Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, 1 May 2011

  • AR: Ivory-billed woodpecker sighted and recorded

    Scientists working independently published reported multiple sightings of and evidence for this elusive species.
    Science Daily, 29 April 2011

  • NY: Proposed law could open state land to maple producers

    Legislation would tap revenue from the leases to expand agricultural conservation easement programs.
    Glens Falls Post-Star, 28 April 2011

  • SC: Protecting Charleston's Angel Oak

    City considers using the last of its greenbelt funding to buy 6.5 acres of land surrounding parkland on Johns Island.
    The State, 19 Mar 2011

  • ME: Conservation is the future of Clark Farm

    Collaborators finalize the first phase of a three-step plan to preserve the entire 529 acres of open space.
    Windham Independent, 18 Mar 2011

  • TX: San Antonio takes lead in land conservation

    Buying land easements is part of an aggressive and unusual program by San Antonio to protect its main source of water.
    New York Times, 18 Mar 2011

  • CO: BoCo mulls $30M open space purchase

    Parks and Open Space Department is proposing that the county pay $30 million to buy 756 acres of largely undeveloped agricultural land.
    Longmont Times-Call, 17 Mar 2011

  • IA: Easement keeps nature's resources intact

    Protection of 133 acres along a fast-developing corridor in Plymouth County also links other nearby protected areas.
    Sioux City Journal, 16 March 2011

  • NC: County advisory board recommends funding easements

    Easements valued at $500,000 would protect 225 acres on the Pisgah Center Campus.
    Asheville Citizen-Times, 14 Mar 2011

  • CO: Farmland goes dry as suburbs secure water supplies

    Scramble for water rights intensifies as aging farmers rapidly pass control to thirsty cities.
    Denver Post, 13 Mar 2011

  • PA: Despite overhaul, gas wastewater still a problem

    Natural gas drillers are still flushing vast quantities of contaminated wastewater into rivers that supply the state’s drinking water.
    Pottstown Mercury, 12 Mar 2011

  • NJ: Lawmakers declare state a no-fracking zone

    Bill outlawing hydraulic fracturing is meant to send a clear message over growing concerns about natural gas drilling in the region.
    NJ Spotlight, 11 Mar 2011

  • TX: Rich With natural gas, state eyes more oversight

    Lawmakers file bills to increase industry oversight on issues ranging from the safety of natural gas pipelines to emissions from wells.
    Texas Tribune, 11 Mar 2011

  • PA: Marcellus Shale wastewater stats flawed

    Inconsistencies in DEP numbers do not accurately report the volume of wastewater reused in the natural-gas recycling efforts.
    Philadelphia Inquirer, 9 Mar 2011

  • PA: Governor gives energy executive supreme authority over environmental permitting

    Coal executive with track record of running up against environmental regulations would make critical environmental decisions.
    ProPublica, 9 Mar 2011

  • TX: Water pact helps Galveston Bay

    City and conservation coalition agree to landmark deal on treated wastewater release.
    Houston Chronicle, 8 Mar 2011

  • VA: Farmers, EPA clash over Chesapeake Bay regulations

    Stricter Chesapeake Bay rules may hurt farmers, who say they’re already doing their part to clean it up.< br /> Christian Science Monitor

  • PA: EPA steps up scrutiny of pollution in state's rivers

    Regulators say water samples show radioactivity levels “at or below” safe levels in seven of the state’s rivers.
    New York Times, 7 Mar 2011

  • TX: Natural gas fields have provided a fount of cash for cities

    The flip side to the anti-drilling argument requires drilling in densely populated areas that sprawl into the disappearing countryside.
    Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 7 Mar 2011

  • OH. Shale lifts prospects in struggling region

    Northeastern communities and residents begins to cash in as firms rush to buy drilling rights in the Utica Shale.
    Wall Street Journal, 7 Mar 2011

  • CO - Conservation easement to keep land open near city natural area

    99-acre easement will protect wide-open spaces west of Fort Collins’ North Overland Trail.
    The Coloradoan, 6 Mar 2011

  • TX: Deep in the heart of the gas drilling controversy

    The Lone Star state is several years ahead of Pennsylvania when it comes to deep natural gas drilling.
    Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 6 Mar 2011

  • MA: Perpetual beauty

    Conservation tax incentives may spur more owners to protect land.
    Boston Globe, 3 Mar 2011

  • CA: Mendocino redwoods conservation easement stalled by timber company concerns

    Timber company concerns over easement acquisitions has delayed the formation of the county’s largest working forest.
    Eureka Times-Standard, 3 Mar 2011

  • PA: Open space money in Monroe County saves a piece of Paradise

    Purchase brings county close to connecting several previous open space purchases and the Delaware State Forest as a contiguous unit.
    Pocono Record, 3 Mar 2011

  • AZ: University project could bring clean water to Navajos

    University of Arizona is working with partners to develop a water treatment process for remote areas of the Navajo reservation.
    Green Valley News, 2 Mar 2011

  • OR: Easement designated to protect wintering elk

    Owners of a ranch near Monument have taken steps to 10,334 acres of vital winter range for regional herd.
    Blue Mountain Eagle, 2 Mar 2011

  • AR: Earthquake activity gaining national attention

    Researchers are studying whether more than 800 quakes to strike the Fayetteville Shale area are connected to natural gas drilling.
    The Oregonian, 1 Mar 2011

  • AZ - Gold Dusters

    They are the Earth’s pollinators. And they come in more than 200,000 shapes and sizes.
    National Geographic Magazine, 1 Mar 2011

  • WEST: Climate change takes toll on the Lodgepole pine

    A new study finds that rising temperatures, drought and destructive insects will shrink the range of the lodgepole pine nearly 10% by 2020. New York Times, 28 Feb 2011

  • US - Federal program gives families “nature prescriptions”

    More than 100 wildlife refuges are piloting a link between federal agencies and health care providers with the goal of doctors, nurses, teachers, and therapists steering children and parents outdoors.
    USA Today, 28 Feb 2011

  • MT: Bill would dilute water quality, says Missoula health department

    City-county department says adopting House Bill 352 would create lowest state water quality standards in the U.S.
    The Missoulian, 28 Feb 2011

  • WY: Hydrofracked? One man's mystery leads to a backlash against natural gas drilling

    Louis Meeks' personal fight with hydrofracturing began with something simple: the energy industry's insistence that it couldn't contaminate water.
    ProPublica, 25 Feb 2011

  • GULF: Scientists investigating dolphin deaths in gulf

    Cause sought for 48 bottlenose dolphins washed up on the beaches of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida's Panhandle.
    St. Petersburg Times, 25 Feb 2011

  • NY: New York wine and tourism industry prepares to battle hydrofracking

    Recent steps by eastern cities to limit or ban drilling is spreading into the rural heart of the Marcellus Shale.
    DC Bureau, 24 Feb 2011

  • MD - Homeowners challenge county-imposed easement

    An easement in one Montgomery County neighborhood is raising questions over who knew what and when.
    WAMU-FM, 22 Feb 2011

  • CA - State may pay duck club to conserve land

    Officials revise proposed deal with a duck club to better protect wetlands next to the San Jacinto Wildlife Area.
    Riverside Press Enterprise, 22 Feb 2011

  • WY - Family protects working ranch along North Fork of Teton River

    2nd- and 3rd-generation ranchers use easement to conserve 275 acres.
    Teton Valley News, 21 Feb 2011

  • MD - Man seeks to preserve stone ruin in Owings Mills

    Remnant structure could be a barn or part of colonial defense works.
    Baltimore Sun, 21 Feb 2011

  • US - Bill would make conservation tax credit permanent

    The Rural Heritage Conservation Extension Act of 2011 would make easement tax credits permanent and benefit farmers and ranchers.
    Bloomberg BusinessWeek, 18 Feb 2010

  • TN - Tax law change seen as incentive to add green space

    Last year's federal tax overhaul may be boosting interest in conservation easements.
    Knoxville News Sentinel, 16 Feb 2010

  • US: An urban president hails America's Great Outdoors

    President Obama announces release of a new report on parks and open space and commits to full funding of the Land and Water Conservation Fund.
    Time, 16 Feb 2011

  • VA: County supervisors agree to land conservancy request

    Westmoreland supervisors agreed to partner with Northern Neck Land Conservancy to accept conservation easements.
    King George Journal, 15 Feb 2011

  • NE - Committee to hold over conservation easement bill

    State senator puts controversial bill outlawing permanent conservation easements in Nebraska on hold until next year.
    Lincoln Journal Star, 15 Feb 2011

  • CO - Council approves Valley Floor trails and river plan

    The Telluride Town Council approved a trails and river restoration plan for 570 acres along the San Miguel River.
    Telluride News, 13 Feb 2011

  • CA: Sonoma County OK's $1.7M land conservation deal

    Former SF Giant Ryan Klesko and a business partner sell a 2,700-acre easement on their ranch near Cloverdale.
    CBS-5, 13 February 2011

  • GA: Johns Creek neighborhood shelters park from development

    920 homeowners align to protect a 27-acre neighborhood park near the Chattahoochee River.
    Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 10 Feb 2011

  • PA: Salt on the roads - good for safety, bad for environment

    Researchers discover that over the past 60 years, the Delaware River's annual average sodium concentration has nearly tripled and chloride has increased fivefold.
    Philadelphia Inquirer, 29 Dec 2010

  • US: Conservation tax incentive extended by Congress

    A provision that allows landowners to get substantial benefits for donating easements on their land is one of the federal tax package's lesser-known elements.
    Humboldt Times-Standard, 26 Dec 2010

  • CA: Bruin Ranch conservation boosted with acquisition

    Placer County is teaming up with the state to contribute to the Placer Land Trust’s acquisition of 1,773 acres of oak woodlands located outside of Auburn.
    Rocklin & Roseville Today, 19 Dec 2010

  • OH: Dayton MetroParks establishes conservation area

    A 416-acre tract featuring scenic woodlands and vistas, a Civil War-era farm house, and remnants of the Miami-Erie Canal will be the basis of a future park.
    Dayton Daily News, 18 Dec 2010

  • WY: Industry cedes 28,000 acres of Wyoming Range for conservation

    By scaling back a project to protect critical big-game habitat, a natural gas developer offers a blueprint for future drilling across the West. Greenwire via New York Times, 17 Dec 2010

  • FL: After 1990s die-offs, birds flock back to Lake Apopka — and how

    The discovery of a booming bird population is a measure of redemption for restoration efforts at Lake Apopka in Lake and Orange Counties.
    Orlando Sentinel, 17 Dec 2010

  • NH: Expert says climate change is harming sugar maples

    Drop in sugar levels and dimming of fall color may mark the beginning of the loss the state's signature species.
    Nashua Telegraph, 6 November 2010

  • AK: Shell presses for drilling in Arctic Alaska

    Royal Dutch Shell is beginning a public lobbying campaign to drill in Alaska’s Beaufort and Chukchi seas.
    New York Times, 5 November 2010

  • GULF: Scientists find damage to coral near BP well

    First strong indication appears that the BP spill's damage to deep-sea coral and marine life could be significantly greater than previously acknowledged.
    Associated Press via Yahoo!, 5 November 2010

  • WV: State buys conservation easement to preserve land

    Purchase will protect nearly four square miles of mountainside habitat near the Potomac River from development.
    Associated Press via Businessweek, 5 November 2010

  • WV: Court gives OK to gas drilling in Chief Logan State Park

    The state Supreme Court has upheld a decision to allow oil and natural gas drilling, saying that a ban on mineral extraction in parks does not apply.
    Charleston Gazette-Mail, 3 November 2010

  • NJ: Orthodox congregation vows to preserve historic Teaneck tree

    Auction purchase by Netivot Shalom saves centuries-old red oak from the ax.
    North Jersey Record, 1 November 2010

  • AR: Buck Island upkeep easement signed

    NRCS’s Flood Plain Easement Program makes conservation of 880 acres of timber on a 1,500-acre island in the Mississippi River possible.
    Helena Daily World, 1 November 2010

  • FL: Tiger Lake Ranch wins permanent protection

    State approves preservation of 1,763 acres of eastern Polk County ranchland.
    Lakeland Ledger, 30 October 2010

  • ID: Easement to help protect Henry’s Lake migration lane

    711 acres protected at the crossroads of two major wildlife migration corridors for pronghorn, grizzly and black bears, mountain lions, wolves, and wolverines.
    Rexburg Standard Journal, 28 October 2010

  • CA: Oakley considers program to preserve agricultural land

    City leaders have agreed to explore setting up a program to preserve vineyard farmland.
    Contra Costa Times, 29 October 2010

  • MN. Prime 45 acres in East Bethel to be forever preserved

    Forest and grassland on the south side of Deer Lake that boom-time developers coveted has be protected with an easement.
    Anoka County Union, 27 October 2010

  • SC: Conservation easement saves a pristine lake, tall pines

    Deer, fox, hawks, and cranes receive permanent sancturary on a 50-acre fishing-cabin-turned-family-home.
    The State, 27 Oct 2010

  • NE: Unique landscapes preserved

    Separated by 230 miles and a state boundary, a Nebraska cattle ranch and a farm in western Iowa's Loess Hills have something in common.
    Omaha World-Record, 26 October 2010

  • SC: Keeping Edisto natural, open

    Land trust director has helped preserve half of the 48,000-acre barrier island and "jewel of the ACE Basin."
    Charleston Post and Courier, 25 October 2010

  • VA: Northamptom County seeks applicants in PDR program

    Land conservation program can help residents protect open space and the county’s rural agricultural setting.
    Daily Times, 25 October 2010

  • LA: Massive stretches of weathered oil spotted in Gulf of Mexico

    Fishers find miles-long strings of weathered oil floating toward fragile marshes on the Mississippi River delta.
    New Orleans Times-Picayune, 23 October 2010

  • WY: Mule deer declines in gas field warrant "serious" mitigation response

    Dramatic decline in herd numbers on the Pinedale Anticline is fueling concerns that intensified energy development has reduced its crucial winter habitat.
    Greenwire via New York Times, 22 October 2010

  • GA: Liberty County land preserved

    Agreement with Plum Creek protects 750 acres of high ground that could have been developed along with more than 5,000 acres of salt marsh.
    Savannah Morning News, 19 October 2010

  • MN: Refuge from city to be preserved in East Bethel

    45-acre easement serves to extend habitat of adjacent wildlife refuges.
    Minneapolis Star-Tribune, 19 October 2010

  • MT: Popular Waterworks Hill trail to be rerouted around sensitive plants

    Native plants are being dug up and saved to replant in over-hiked parts of the conservation easement trail.
    The Missoulian, 18 October 2010

  • PA: Parks, forests eyed for the fuel beneath

    Protected areas may not be safe from natural gas development.
    National Geographic Daily News, 17 October 2010

  • CO: New conservation easements on 10,000 acres in Colorado

    Three big new conservation easements will help ensure perpetual access to favored hunting and fishing spots.
    Summit County Voice, 17 October 2010

  • KY: New 387-acre Shelby County park to be dedicated

    A conservation easement on a 387-acre farm has secured its place as a community nature preserve and equestrian park.
    Louisville Courier-Journal, 15 October 2010

  • ME: Conservation easement protects 4,632-acre parcel in three towns

    An anonymous New Hampshire land donor's wishes have been realized through an easement that protects 4,632 acres as working forest.
    Lewiston Sun Journal, 14 October 2010

  • NY: Wolf center vs. land trust in court battle over wolf habitat

    Two preservation groups that often support each other's endeavors faced off in court over plans to create a fenced-in wolf habitat on a Lewisboro preserve.
    Lower Hudson Journal News, 13 October 2010

  • VT: Vermont Land Trust conserves Jericho farm

    An easement on the 236-year-old Barber Farm will protect 148 acres of prime agricultural land from development.
    Burlington Free-Press, 13 October 2010

  • DE: Geolocators show red knots' flights extraordinary

    A tiny tracking device on the small shorebird's leg gave scientists their first intimate view of a yearlong journey that had their jaws dropping.
    Philadelphia Inquirer, 11 October 2010

  • WEST: The Colorado River Runs Dry

    Dams, irrigation, and now climate change have drastically reduced the once-mighty river. Is it a sign of things to come?
    Smithsonian, October 2010

  • OR: Deal preserves forest forever

    The Bonneville Power Administration has agreed to purchase a 1310-acre easement of mostly Douglas fir forest in the Red Hills of Dundee.
    Yamhill Valley News Register, 4 October 2010

  • TN: Governor asks feds to protect stretch of Cumberland ridges from mining

    If the petition from Gov. Phil Bredesen is granted, a long section of craggy Cumberland Mountain ridges would be off-limits to coal mining.
    The Tennessean, 1 October 2010

  • VT: Residents may help restore Allen Brook

    Town planners hope residents with land directly abutting a polluted brook will allow for further restorative efforts and actions.
    Williston Observer, 30 September 2010

  • WY: Landowners donate easements as estate planning tool

    Two landowners have conserved 630 acres and protected vital ranching places and iconic viewsheds.
    Wyoming Business Report, 29 September 2010

  • NC - Appalachian receives 369 acres for educational use; land will expand the sustainable development program

    An Ashe County couple's love of the land will provide research, teaching and educational outreach to the region for generations.
    Appalachian State University News, 24 September 2010

  • CA: Mining plan near Sequoia park divides region

    Environmental and cultural interests battle economic needs in Fresno County dispute.
    Los Angeles Times, 26 September 2010

  • MD: Butterflies protected at Kitzmiller sanctuary

    An easement on 15-acre Woodhill Sanctuary will conserve habitat for rare butterflies species including the Baltimore checkerspot, the official state insect.
    Cumberland Times-News, 20 September 2010

  • WI: Public access sought for Spring Lake easement

    Ensuring public lake access is key to a proposal to use state and federal funds to protect a large farm in Sheboygan County from development.
    Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, 20 September 2010

  • DE: Poplar Grove donates conservation easement to protect property's future

    The owner of a historic 15-acre farmstead in Pender County has donated a conservation agreement for the land to non-profit organization.
    Greater Wilmington Business Journal, 17 September 2010

  • OR: Power authority easement will help Trappist Abbey conserve forest habitat

    The Bonneville Power Authority plans to buy an easement on 1,310 acres of forest and farmland from Our Lady of Guadalupe Trappist Abbey.
    The Oregonian, 22 September 2010

Copyright © 2024 NatureServe. All Rights Reserved.