Searched for
FOREST CONSERVATION HISTORY
In the early 1930s, New York State bought 340,000 acres of abandoned farmland for trees. 26 years later, the new forests had significantly reduced runoff, with their effect stable through 1967New York's reforestation program transformed abandoned farmland into dense woodlands. This initiative significantly reduced streamflow and ...
An Idaho game warden in 1948 put a male beaver named ‘Geronimo’ in a parachute box and dropped it from a plane; 76 beavers later faced the same fate and eventually transformed a landscapeIdaho's game wardens introduced an innovative approach in the late 1940s, using parachutes to relocate beavers. They engineered unique boxe...
Quote of the Day by David Attenborough: “No one will protect the natural world we don’t care about...” — a powerful life lesson on nature, curiosity, responsibility, conservation and why we rarely protect what we have never learned to truly see, from the legendary broadcaster known for bringing the hidden world of wildlife into millions of homesQuote of the Day by David Attenborough: “No one will protect the natural world we don’t care about...” highlights a fundamental truth about...
In the 1980s, the richest closed-canopy mangroves covered 77,643 sq km globally. 43 years later, they had grown to 88,772 sq km, helping turn decades of mangrove loss into a net global gainMangroves are far more than trees growing along tropical and subtropical shorelines. They form complex coastal ecosystems that provide habi...
Earlier this year, Michigan researchers analyzed lake sturgeon records spanning decades. 300 years later, their findings point to fish still living around the Great lakes for nearly 3 centuriesNew research from Michigan researchers suggests that lake sturgeon in the Great Lakes may live far longer than previously believed. The stu...
In 1964, a mysterious 27-year-old woman bought abandoned 18-acre island off the coast of Maine & lived there alone; 22 years later, she donated it for a wildlife sanctuaryWitch Island off the coast of Maine has a fascinating history of private ownership and clairvoyance. Once known as Davis Island, it later b...
In 1903, John Muir spent three nights camping with President Roosevelt in Yosemite; three years later, the valley and Mariposa Grove came under federal controlIn 1903, President Theodore Roosevelt and naturalist John Muir shared an unforgettable camping experience in Yosemite. Over three nights, t...
In 1976, USACE made a landmark decision to block development that threatened Marco Island's mangrove wetlands. 6 years later, Deltona handed Florida 15,000 acres of habitat and received 160 acres of industrial land in returnIn 1976, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) refused to approve a major dredge-and-fill project proposed by the Deltona Corporation on...
Since 2022, Alaska crews have placed more than 1,000 whole trees in a creek damaged by gold mining, helping restore 2.3 miles of salmon habitatResurrection Creek in Alaska has been revitalized into a thriving river thanks to comprehensive restoration efforts. By introducing entire ...
In the 1800s, Americans planted tamarisk for windbreaks and erosion control; by 2005, the tree had spread across western river systems and become a major management concernTamarisk was originally brought in for various practical applications, but it has since proliferated across western waterways. This invasiv...
From 1877, officials stocked over 33 million fish in Yosemite for anglers, altering fishless lakes and reducing habitat for native yellow-legged frogsYosemite's lakes, once fishless, received over 33 million stocked fish between 1877 and 1990. Introduced trout preyed on native species and...
The bird on the Seychelles’ 25-rupee note once had only 12 survivors on one island; after another decline, conservationists helped rebuild it to around 280 across five islandsThe Seychelles magpie-robin was on the brink of extinction, with a mere twelve individuals left. In 1990, a concerted conservation effort k...
In 1990, Guatemala launched an ambitious mahogany restoration program in Petén to combat deforestation. Years later, it produced Central America's largest natural forest and transformed the province into a global conservation modelGuatemala's 1990 mahogany restoration program changed the future of the country's forests. Instead of losing more rainforest, the Maya Bios...
Amazon trees kept a rainfall diary in their rings; it shows wet seasons grew up to 22% wetter while dry seasons lost up to 13.5% of their rainResearchers have discovered that ancient Amazonian trees provide vital climate information through their annual rings. By examining oxygen ...
North America once had 400 million beavers, nearly wiped out by the 1900s; they are now helping shield wildfire-prone stream corridors in northeastern Washington from flamesBeavers, once a dominant presence in North America, shaped resilient ecosystems that thrived as they created vast wetland habitats. Their n...
268 feet tall, 1,600 years old: Meet the second-largest tree in the world. Travellers can hike through towering giant sequoias to reach this natural marvelRising in California's Kings Canyon National Park, the General Grant Tree is the world's second-largest tree and is believed to be more tha...
In 1986, Scottish ecologist Alan Watson Featherstone pledged to restore the Caledonian forest; volunteers later helped plant 1 million native treesAlan Watson Featherstone promised to restore Scotland's ancient Caledonian forest in 1986. His initiative, Trees for Life, began planting n...
The Amazon looks untouched. Lasers reveal a lost civilization that was once home to 3 million peopleAncient earthwork centers reveal a sprawling Aquiry civilization once thrived. This society supported millions across a vast Amazonian regi...
In the 1930s, the Dust Bowl devastated America but Franklin D. Roosevelt's massive tree-planting project is still protecting US farmland nearly 90 years laterThe Dust Bowl is one of the worst environmental disasters in American history, but it also sparked one of the country's largest conservatio...
In 1935, the United States began planting 220 million trees from Texas to Canada to stop the Dust Bowl, creating 18,600 miles of living windbreaks by 1942Giant dust storms ravaged the American Great Plains during the 1930s. President Franklin D. Roosevelt initiated a massive tree planting pro...