Conservation
Conflict between wolves and ranchers is just about as old as, well, as there have been ranchers in the West. Wolves were nearly hunted, poisoned and trapped to extinction in the Lower 48 a few decades ago, due in part to the threat they posed to livestock.
Videos
In 1942, there were fewer than 20 whooping cranes left alive in the world. Their habitats were vanishing, and they had been hunted almost to extinction. If we were to keep them from blinking out, we needed to think in new and bold ways. With the help of science, we did.
Nature & Wildlife
After more than 50 years, the largest captive-breeding-and-release program for whooping cranes is closing. Housed at the U.S. Geological Survey Eastern Ecological Science Center in Laurel, Maryland, the $1.5 million program was cut from the federal budget for fiscal year 2018, which began October 1, 2017.
Videos
I love trees, and I’m not alone. There are those of us that write letters to them, that single-handedly plant forests of them, or—in my case—write books about them. The reasons we have for so loving our trees are many.
Videos
Halloween and owls have a long and storied history with each other. It’s thought that the connection may have been forged around ancient Halloween bonfires. As nocturnal hunters of bats, owls would often be seen in the light of the flames as they flew low, searching for food.
Videos
Ever since I read Edgar Allan Poe’s poem “The Raven” in junior high school, the bird has fascinated me. Corvids, such as ravens and crows, are among the smartest of all birds and have a reputation for solving more and more complicated problems invented by increasingly creative scientists.
Conservation
This summer, the world lost a Nebraska-size chunk of forests. Logging, expanding palm oil plantations and wildfires are to blame. This continuing deforestation trend could have devastating implications for the climate. Simply put, forests aren’t merely pretty places. We need them.
Conservation
A full 25 percent of all the marine life on the planet calls coral reefs home. But around the world, these natural habitats are in trouble. According to World Wildlife Fund, about one-quarter of coral reefs are considered damaged beyond repair, with another two-thirds under serious threat.
Nature & Wildlife
Known as “the man of the forest,” the unique, colorful, highly intelligent orangutan went from an estimated 300,000 individuals in 1900 to only a handful of remaining populations today. And nowhere else is there a better place to see—and save—these incredible creatures, than in the wilds of Borneo.
Videos
Wolverines are exceedingly rare. It’s estimated that less than 250 of them still roam the Lower 48, almost exclusively in the rugged Rocky Mountains and North Cascades in the West.
Conservation
There’s a sinister bill making its way through Congress, but you probably don’t know about it. The reason you don’t know about it is because of its name. It’s called the “SAVES Act” (Saving America’s Endangered Species Act, H.R. 2603). Sounds like it could be a good law, right? You couldn’t be more wrong.
Nature & Wildlife
It’s a story too often told. Once, a predator roamed wildlands and then was relentlessly hunted to extinction or to the brink of it. In the Lower 48, the histories of bison, gray wolves, beavers, grizzly bears and whooping cranes come to mind. In Great Britain, the story includes Eurasian lynx.
