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HABITAT LOSS AND PRESERVATION
In the late 1800s, California introduced red foxes for hunting and fur farms; at Seal Beach, they drove light-footed Ridgway's rails down to just 5 pairs in 7 yearsIn the late 1800s, non-native red foxes wreaked havoc on the population of Ridgway's rails, bringing them perilously close to extinction. F...
Louisiana used 13 million pounds of discarded oyster shells to build 8,000 feet of living shoreline; studies found oyster reefs can reduce wave heights under some conditionsIn Louisiana, discarded oyster shells are being creatively transformed into living shorelines to combat coastal erosion and rising sea leve...
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 1970s, Pulitzer Prize-winning poet W.S. Merwin & his wife Paula bought barren land in Hawaii and turned it into 19-acre forest with 3,000+ palmsW.S. Merwin, a Pulitzer Prize-winning poet, transformed a barren plot of land in Hawaii into a thriving palm sanctuary. Initially focused o...
For years, a Florida family used their 24,300 acres of land for hunting. In 1989, their decision to part with the ranchland helped save one of America's rarest big catsOnce the prominent Collier family, the biggest private landowners in Florida, used their vast acres of land for hunting and sport. However,...
Five generations of one Texas family cared for 1,029 acres of land. In 2005, they handed hundreds of acres over to wildlife instead of developers for protection of 2 species of America's rarest birdsA Texas family chose conservation over development, helping protect 1,029 acres of land cared for by five generations. The Trust for Public...
In 1955, Hawaiʻi released a predatory snail to control giant African snails; it climbed into native forests and helped wipe out rare tree snailsIn Hawaii, the introduction of the rosy wolfsnail was intended to combat a pest, but it drastically backfired. Instead of targeting its int...
Canadian researchers “cleaned up” burned forest by removing every dead tree; bird abundance fell 50% in areas without snags for food, perching, and nestingClearing away dead trees after forest fires can lead to a notable decline in bird numbers. These standing dead trees are essential, offerin...
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...
The hidden danger inside Spain's eucalyptus forests that worries scientistsSpain's eucalyptus plantations appear green but support fewer native birds and insects. These monocultures lack the diverse vegetation and ...
Rare yellow flower unseen on California public land for 68 years resurfaces after cattle clear invasive weedsA rare yellow flower, unseen for 68 years, has reappeared on public land. Botanists discovered the caper-fruited Tropidocarpum in Californi...
A 400-year-old English forest could be sacrificed for stone used in Britain's historic landmarksA woodland in southeast England faces quarrying for building stone. Kent County Council approved a plan to extract stone from Oaken Wood. L...
An American gambler spent $90 million buying 54,000 acres of logged Florida land; 8 million longleaf pines later, a lost forest is returningM.C. Davis transformed 54,000 acres of Florida Panhandle land into a longleaf pine forest. This ecosystem, once widespread, had nearly vani...
In 1969, a Texas businessman asked a realtor to find him the worst ranch available; decades later, the lifeless land had become a 5,500-acre preserve with flowing springs and 220 bird speciesA Texas businessman transformed a severely degraded ranch into a thriving nature preserve. He cleared invasive cedar trees and planted nati...
Quote of the Day by Sir David Attenborough: 'We live our comfortable lives in the shadow of a disaster of our own making...'- Thought-provoking lesson on environmental responsibility, and why protecting nature begins with the choices we make by the British naturalistSir David Attenborough's poignant remarks draw a connection between our comfortable lives and the looming environmental crises we face. He ...
World’s loneliest tree: A plant reduced to a single wild survivor is making an unexpected comebackWorld's loneliest tree making a comeback: A beacon of hope shines for 'Dendroseris neriifolia', a rare tree daisy reduced to a single wild ...
Lost world of birds and frogs: Scientists open a million-year-old cave time capsule in New Zealand, where 12 bird species and four frogs reveal a lost world reshaped by volcanoes and climate long before humans arrivedA remarkable fossil discovery in a New Zealand cave has unveiled a lost world of ancient birds and frogs, dating back one million years. Th...
Florida has moved more than 97,000 gopher tortoises since 2009, but the booming rescue industry may be hiding a harder question about whether these reptiles can actually survive the shuffleFlorida's gopher tortoise relocation program, designed to protect the species from development, faces scrutiny. While developers pay to mov...
In the 1950s, Swiss farmers intensified and mechanized their fields; nine decades of records now reveal an unexpected divide: butterflies are still struggling, while forest beetles have fully bounced backButterflies and beetles are disappearing at an alarming rate. A Swiss study reveals significant butterfly losses since 1930, linked to farm...