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Biodiversity – the diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems – is declining globally, faster than at any other time in human history. Csondy / Getty Images
By Marie Quinney
Biodiversity is critically important – to your health, to your safety and, probably, to your business or livelihood.
<p>But biodiversity – the diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems – is declining globally, faster than at any other time in human history. The world's 7.6 billion people represent just 0.01% of all living things by weight, but humanity has caused the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/may/21/human-race-just-001-of-all-life-but-has-destroyed-over-80-of-wild-mammals-study" target="_blank">loss of 83% of all wild mammals and half of all plants</a>. (Biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse is one of the top five risks in <a href="https://www.weforum.org/reports/the-global-risks-report-2020" target="_blank">the World Economic Forum's 2020 Global Risks Report</a>, too.)</p><p>In celebration of <a href="https://www.cbd.int/idb/" target="_blank">the International Day for Biological Diversity</a>, we break down the five ways in which biodiversity supports our economies and enhances our wellbeing – and has the potential to do even more.</p>
1. Biodiversity Ensures Health and Food Security.
<p>Biodiversity underpins global nutrition and food security. Millions of species work together to provide us with a <a href="https://www.cbd.int/health/doc/Summary-SOK-Final.pdf" target="_blank">large array of fruits, vegetables and animal products essential to a healthy, balanced diet</a> – but they are increasingly under threat.</p><p>Every country has indigenous produce – such as wild greens and grains – which have adapted to local conditions, making them more resilient to pests and extreme weather. In the past, this produce provided much-needed micronutrients for local populations. Unfortunately, however, the <a href="http://www.fao.org/3/a-i1620e.pdf" target="_blank">simplification of diets, processed foods and poor access to food have led to poor-quality diets</a>. As a result, <a href="https://www.bioversityinternational.org/research-portfolio/diet-diversity/biodiversity-for-food-and-nutrition/" target="_blank">one-third of the world suffers from micronutrient deficiencies</a>.</p><p>Three crops – wheat, corn and rice – <a href="https://enviroliteracy.org/food/crops/" target="_blank">provide almost 60% of total plant-based calories consumed by humans</a>. This leads to reduced resiliency in our supply chains and on our plates. For example, <a href="http://www.fao.org/3/a-i1620e.pdf" target="_blank">the number of rice varieties cultivated in Asia has dropped from tens of thousands to just a few dozen; in Thailand, 50% of land used for growing rice only produces two varieties</a>.</p><p>People once understood that the conservation of species was crucial for healthy societies and ecosystems. We must ensure this knowledge remains part of our modern agricultural and food systems to prevent diet-related diseases and reduce the environmental impact of feeding ourselves.</p>2. Biodiversity Helps Fight Disease.
<p>Higher rates of biodiversity have been linked to an increase in human health.</p><p>First, plants are essential for medicines. For example, <a href="http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_New_Nature_Economy_Report_2020.pdf" target="_blank">25% of drugs used in modern medicine are derived from rainforest plants</a> while <a href="http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_New_Nature_Economy_Report_2020.pdf" target="_blank">70% of cancer drugs are natural or synthetic products inspired by nature</a>. This means that every time a species goes extinct, we miss out on a potential new medicine.</p><p>Second, <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/news.2010.644" target="_blank">biodiversity due to protected natural areas has been linked to lower instances of disease</a> such as Lyme disease and malaria. While the exact origin of the virus causing COVID-19 is still unknown, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5711306/" target="_blank">60% of infectious diseases originate from animals</a> and <a href="https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/631980-Machalaba-Anthropogenic%20Drivers%20of%20Emerging%20Infectious%20Diseases.pdf" target="_blank">70% of emerging infectious diseases originate from wildlife</a>. As human activities encroach upon the natural world, through deforestation and urbanization, we reduce the size and number of ecosystems. As a result, animals live in closer quarters with one another and with humans, creating ideal conditions for the spread of zoonotic diseases.</p><p>Simply put: <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/news.2010.644" target="_blank">more species means less disease</a>.</p><img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzMxMDYyOC9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0MDA4MjA5MH0.7QU59zfy44cq0wSAwMxeqjyygJi9ef1aEyYHQZ3gCts/img.png?width=980" id="77368" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="18d555bb10422495fc147f109cb72b3b" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Human activity is eroding biodiversity. World Economic Forum Nature Risk Rising
3. Biodiversity Benefits Business.
<p>According to the World Economic Forum's recent <a href="http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_New_Nature_Economy_Report_2020.pdf" target="_blank">Nature Risk Rising Report</a>, more than half of the world's GDP ($44 trillion) is highly or moderately dependent on nature. Many businesses are, therefore, at risk due to increasing nature loss. <a href="https://wwf.panda.org/our_work/biodiversity/protected_areas/arguments_for_protection/goods_services/medicine/" target="_blank">Global sales of pharmaceuticals based on materials of natural origin are worth an estimated $75 billion a year</a>, while natural wonders such as <a href="https://wwf.panda.org/knowledge_hub/all_publications/living_planet_report_2018/" target="_blank">coral reefs are essential to food and tourism.</a></p><p>There is great potential for the economy to grow and become more resilient by ensuring biodiversity. <a href="http://wedocs.unep.org/xmlui/handle/20.500.11822/31813" target="_blank">Every dollar spent on nature restoration leads to at least $9 of economic benefits.</a> In addition, <a href="https://www.foodandlandusecoalition.org/global-report/" target="_blank">changing agricultural and food production methods could unlock $4.5 trillion per year in new business opportunities by 2030</a>, while also preventing trillions of dollars' worth of social and environmental harms.</p>4. Biodiversity Provides Livelihoods.
<p>Humans derive approximately <a href="https://livingplanetindex.org/home/index" target="_blank">$125 trillion of value from natural ecosystems each year</a>. Globally, <a href="http://www.unesco.org/new/en/natural-sciences/environment/water/wwap/wwdr/2016-water-and-jobs/" target="_blank">three out of four jobs</a> are dependent on water while the agricultural sector employs over <a href="https://www.conservation.org/priorities/livelihoods" target="_blank">60% of the world's working poor</a>. In the Global South, forests are the source of livelihoods for <a href="https://www.conservation.org/priorities/livelihoods" target="_blank">over 1.6 billion people</a>. In India, forest ecosystems contribute <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19915547" target="_blank">only 7% to India's GDP yet 57% of rural Indian communities' livelihoods</a>.</p><p><span></span>Ecosystems, therefore, must be protected and restored – not only for the good of nature but also for the communities that depend on them.</p><p>Although some fear environmental regulation and the safeguarding of nature could threaten businesses, the "restoration economy" – the restoration of natural landscapes – provides more jobs in the United States than most of the extractives sector, with the potential to create even more. According to some estimates, the restoration economy is worth <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0128339" target="_blank">$25 billion per year and directly employs more than the coal, mining, logging and steel industries altogether</a>. Nature-positive businesses can provide <a href="https://www.greenbiz.com/article/10-things-you-need-know-about-restoration-economy" target="_blank">cost-effective, robot-proof, business-friendly jobs</a> that stimulate the rural economy without harming the environment.</p>5. Biodiversity Protects Us.
<p>Biodiversity makes the earth habitable. Biodiverse ecosystems provide <a href="https://www.nature-basedsolutions.com/" target="_blank">nature-based solutions</a> that buffer us from <a href="https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/coral_protect.html" target="_blank">natural disasters such as floods and storms</a>, <a href="https://digital.iucn.org/water/nature-based-solutions-for-water/" target="_blank">filter our water</a> and <a href="https://www.naturebasedsolutionsinitiative.org/publications/the-superior-effect-of-nature-based-solutions-in-land-management-for-enhancing-ecosystem-services/" target="_blank">regenerate our soils</a>.</p><p>The <a href="https://blogs.worldbank.org/voices/miracle-mangroves-coastal-protection-numbers" target="_blank">clearance of over 35% of the world's mangroves for human activities</a> has increasingly put people and their homes at risk from floods and sea-level rise. If today's mangroves were lost, 18 million more people would be flooded every year (an increase of 39%) and annual damages to property would increase by 16% ($82 billion).</p><p>Protecting and restoring natural ecosystems is vital to fighting climate change. Nature-based solutions could provide <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/114/44/11645" target="_blank">37% of the cost-effective CO2 mitigation needed by 2030</a> to maintain global warming within 2°C (35.6 F).</p><p>Natural ecosystems provide the foundations for economic growth, human health and prosperity. Our fate as a species is deeply connected to the fate of our natural environment.</p><p>As ecosystems are increasingly threatened by human activity, acknowledging the benefits of biodiversity is the first step in ensuring that we look after it. We know biodiversity matters. Now, as a society, we should protect it – and in doing so, protect our own long-term interests.</p>From Your Site Articles
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The Ebo Forest in Cameroon, Africa, is a biodiversity hotspot, home to an amazing range of wildlife, including forest elephants, gorillas, drills, chimpanzees, grey parrots and the goliath frog. San Diego Zoo Global
By Lamfu Fabrice Yengong and Sylvie Djacbou Deugoue
Biodiversity loss is a global crisis. In May last year, the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) warned that over 1,000,000 species are threatened with extinction worldwide. On May 22, the International Day of Biodiversity, it is important to recall the silent victims of our country's obsession for industrial growth at the expense of our forests.
<p>Tropical rainforests are estimated to harbor more than half of the world's plant and animal species. They are also essential for access to water, regulating temperature and preventing soil erosion. It's time to return the forests to indigenous and local communities. </p><p>In our country, Cameroon, the conservation of biodiversity, global climate goals and human rights of indigenous and local communities are all put at stake for industrial exploitation of the rainforest, driven by short-sighted thinking. Biodiversity hotspots are put at risk by industrial logging and agriculture, as trees are cut for the tropical timber market and entire forests cleared to make room for oil palm and rubber plantations. The government tries to assure conservationists that some space will be reserved for the wildlife in the forest it trashes, but even protected areas are not truly safe. </p><p>Companies, usually foreign-owned, are rapidly destroying rainforests that have existed for years. Local communities are left poorer after their traditional source of livelihood is desecrated. The only ones getting rich are a small group of beneficiaries that are close to the circles of power. </p><p>Some low-income countries that are rich in forests are resorting to quick solutions like logging and industrial agriculture. But industrial logging concessions and rubber and palm oil plantations are never the job-creating mechanism they promise to be. That has been demonstrated over and over again in forest countries around the world.</p>
<p>For example, <a href="https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/407/" target="_blank">the Dja Faunal Reserve</a>, a UNESCO world heritage site in the South of Cameroon, is home to more than 100 species of mammals, including at least 14 primates, such as the endangered western lowland gorilla, chimpanzee, and white-collared mangabey, as well as species such as the endangered forest elephant, and the African grey parrot, bongo antelope and leopard.</p><p>The Dja Faunal Reserve is adjacent to the Sudcam rubber plantation, mainly owned by rubber giant Halcyon Agri. Sudcam has cleared more than 10,000 hectares (approximately 25,000 acres) of dense tropical rainforest in the South region of Cameroon – an equivalent of 10 football pitches a day – to make way for a rubber plantation between 2011 and 2018. The rubber plantation has rattled the lives of several indigenous communities, namely the Baka, but it has also aggravated the lives of those numerous protected species in the Dja Reserve.</p><p>To indigenous and local forest dependent communities, the rainforest serves as a source of nutritious foods and traditional medicine, much of which science has yet to explore. The forest is also the foundation of their social life, from recreational to ritual practices. Furthermore, biodiversity loss itself is a direct and immediate threat to the livelihood of indigenous peoples like the Baka next to the Sudcam plantation.</p><p>Upon the arrival of rubber company Sudcam, the indigenous community has lost access to its forest and specifically to the animals and plants they rely on. As Sudcam gets richer, it leaves entire communities in impoverishment, abjectness and destitution. </p>
<p>That is the fate which the chiefs of the Banen people of the Littoral region in Cameroon are trying to avoid <a href="http://www.cameroon-info.net/article/cameroun-denonciation-le-peuple-banen-du-littoral-soppose-a-la-confiscation-de-ses-terres-371484.html" target="_blank">in their current struggle</a> against the destruction of large parts of the Ebo forest. </p><p>The <a href="https://www.globalwildlife.org/blog/ebo-forest-a-stronghold-for-cameroons-wildlife/" target="_blank">Ebo Forest</a> is a biodiversity hotspot, one of the intact forest ecosystems in the Gulf of Guinea, stretching over 2000 square kilometers (approximately 772 square miles). Ebo Forest is home to an amazing range of wildlife, including forest elephants, gorillas, drills, chimpanzees, grey parrots and the goliath frog – the largest living frog on the planet. Accordingly, it was designated over a decade ago by the Cameroon Government as a National Park. </p><p>However, on February 4, the same government of Cameroon authorized two logging concessions (<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1P8O3pc1JeLaAnDF1ERXvRrIAzjnw09SG/view" target="_blank">UFA07005</a> and <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1n2cgvavirDdYmApiTd5vLV0hQRova6Ed/view" target="_blank">UFA07006</a>) inside the area of Ebo Forest. The planned concessions are enormous – about the size of London. Again, the government of Cameroon wants to convince us that conservation can be done with chainsaws. </p><p>Biodiversity loss doesn't only mean our children would get to see some of the world's most marvelous creatures only in documentary films. The consequences are far greater and more tangible.</p>
<p>The extinction of forest elephants, for example, small relatives of African Savanna elephants, might also reduce the number of large trees that they support, trees that excel at storing carbon. In the Congo Basin forest, the disappearance of forest elephants might mean a loss of about three billion tons of carbon – equivalent to France's CO2 emissions over more than 25 years, according to a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/19/science/elephants-climate-change.html" target="_blank">New York Times article</a> on recent research published in the journal <em>Nature Geoscience.</em> </p><p>Cameroon's government has made public commitments to preserve and protect biodiversity. Positive declarations and ambitious plans may win applause and some international funding, but all eyes should be on implementation. <a href="https://www.greenpeace.org/africa/en/press/8593/we-were-told-not-to-go-into-the-forest-anymore-greenpeace-investigation-exposes-human-rights-violations-by-halcyon-agri/" target="_blank">Field investigations by Greenpeace Africa</a> and others clearly show how far we are from protecting biodiversity. </p><p>In Cameroon's government, as well as in the meeting rooms and corridors of development agencies, decision makers often hold outdated views. Too often we hear that only through rapid and massive removal of the rainforest in favor of large-scale logging and industrial agriculture plantations can the country emerge out of poverty. </p><p>Yet that model has repeatedly failed the people, as short-term high profits always remained accessible only to a small circle of beneficiaries. On the contrary, local communities who have lived in harmony with nature for many generations are likely to face poverty, abuse, hunger and alcoholism <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-sustainable-development-ravaged-the-congo-basin/" target="_blank">wherever</a> forests are suddenly destroyed. It is becoming increasingly clear that the best solution for both human rights and the planet is for forests to be managed by local communities. They do so much better than the industrial loggers or plantation owners. </p>
<p>The Cameroonian government needs to realize that trashing forests is not the way to make the economy grow. Rapid and intensive exploitation of nature has more far-reaching consequences than short-term economic growth. To prevent the extinction of fauna and flora species, indigenous communities that live among them need the rights to manage their forest.</p>
<p>Standing for biodiversity means communities should get the rights to manage their forests, instead of the corporations that destroy them. </p>
<p class=""><em>Lamfu Fabrice Yengong is a Congo Basin researcher. </em></p><p><em>Sylvie Djacbou Deugoue is a forest campaigner for Greenpeace Africa.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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More than 45 transportation and energy companies, as well as dozens of private landowners, have agreed to create or maintain monarch butterfly habitat along "rights-of-way" corridors across the United States. DebraLee Wiseberg / Getty Images
By Liz Kimbrough
The side of the road isn't usually thought of as ideal habitat. But for insects, such as butterflies and their caterpillars, the long expanses of land along roads and utility corridors add up to a considerable amount of home turf.
<p>More than 45 transportation and energy companies, as well as dozens of private landowners, have agreed to create or maintain monarch butterfly (<em>Danaus plexippus</em>) habitat along "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right_of_way" target="_blank">rights-of-way</a>" corridors across the United States.</p><p>The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) have signed a historic <a href="https://www.fws.gov/news/ShowNews.cfm?ref=historic-agreement-will-conserve-millions-of-acres-for-monarch-b&_ID=36540" target="_blank">agreement</a> that allows participant landholders to dedicate a percentage of their lands to monarch conservation management in exchange for regulatory flexibility on the rest of their enrolled lands.</p><p>Populations of both <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2020/03/number-of-monarch-butterflies-wintering-in-mexico-down-by-more-than-half/" target="_blank">eastern monarchs</a> and <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2020/02/western-monarch-butterfly-numbers-critically-low-for-second-straight-year/" target="_blank">western monarchs</a> have declined by more than 80% over the past decade and are nearing a <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2020/02/western-monarch-butterfly-numbers-critically-low-for-second-straight-year/" target="_blank">tipping point</a> for migratory collapse. In light of these declines, the USFWS is set to decide in December 2020 if the monarch butterfly will be classified as a federally endangered species under the <a href="https://www.fws.gov/endangered/laws-policies/" target="_blank">Endangered Species Act</a>.</p><p>Land managers and businesses expressed concerns that if they voluntarily created monarch habitat and the monarch was then listed as federally endangered species, the resulting regulations to protect monarchs could complicate their operations or subject them to additional permitting requirements.</p>
<p>"Some companies wanted to wait to see how the listing would play out," Iris Caldwell, a program manager at the Energy Resources Center at UIC, told Mongabay. "But if you are following what's happening with the butterflies you know we really can't wait. We need to be creating habitat on a variety of different landscapes, as much as we can."</p><p>This led Caldwell and her colleagues in the <a href="http://rightofway.erc.uic.edu/" target="_blank">Rights-of-Way as Habitat Working Group</a> (a group of 200 transportation, energy, government, and nonprofit organizations) to ask what kinds of tools existed to eliminate these regulatory uncertainties faced by landowners.</p><p>"How can you incentivize a regulated entity or a utility to do this voluntary proactive work," Caldwell asked, "and still give them kind of the flexibility and the certainty that they need and be able to, in fact, invest in that work without kind of a fear of repercussion?"</p>
<p>The group decided to make use of the USFWs Candidate Conservation Agreement (CCA) and Candidate Conservation Agreement with Assurances (CCAA). Both are formal, voluntary agreements between participant landowners and the USFWS aimed at conserving and protecting at-risk species.</p><p>In the CCAA, the USFWS provides assurance that the landowner participants will not be required to take additional conservation measures on their enrolled lands if the monarch butterfly later becomes listed as an endangered species.</p><p>"So they can just kind of go about business as usual. And if they happen to accidentally kill monarchs in that process, they won't be subjected to the under the endangered species laws," Tara Cornelisse, a senior scientist at the <a href="https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/" target="_blank">Center for Biological Diversity</a>, an organization who submitted comments on the agreement, told Mongabay. "So, in turn, what they're supposed to do is give a percentage of those enrolled lands over to conservation."</p><p>Some of the conservation actions available and recommended to the landholder participants are: adjusting the timing of mowing practices to avoid periods when the monarch larva will be present; moving away from broadcast herbicide spray to targeted herbicide applications; replanting after a construction project on their right-of-way; and using a native seed mix across their system that help promote beneficial plants.</p>
<p>"Some of these organizations manage hundreds of thousands of acres of land and implementing some of these actions across a system of that scale is no small feat," Caldwell said. "I think that kind of learning curve early on and rolling out and implementing some of these conservation measures at scale, may present a challenge for some."</p><p>This is why the role of UIC in coordinating efforts among all the partners who are involved will be really important, Caldwell says. UIC will serve as an intermediary between the landowner participants and the USFWS. The participants will be required to monitor certain data and self-report annually to UIC. UIC will follow up on any discrepancies or concerns and will then submit an annual report summarizing all of the overall work and efforts and any findings across the agreement to the Fish and Wildlife Service.</p><p>This is the largest and first nationwide CCAA in history, and Caldwell said she's hopeful that the data collected will lead to insights to inform best management and adaptive management practices for the conservation of monarchs.</p>
<p>"The elephant in the room," Cornelisse said, "is if this would preclude the listing of the species [as a federally endangered species]."</p><p>Monarchs have a much wider range of habitat and potential habitat than rights-of-way corridors. Up to 75%, of potential monarch habitat is on agricultural lands. Over the past few decades, urban sprawl, pesticide and herbicide‐intensive agriculture, and climate change have contributed to the <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2020/05/insects-decline-on-land-fare-better-in-water-study-finds/" target="_blank">global declines of insects</a>, including monarchs. An ESA listing would afford the species greater protection across their range.</p><p>"The enrolled lands outside the adopted acres [areas managed for conservation] cannot be credited with benefiting monarchs," the Center for Biological Diversity said in written public comments to the USFWS. "It is important that when the Service weighs the value of these lands in other contexts, such as the [Endangered Species Act]‐ listing decision, that not all enrolled lands be considered to be providing habitat for monarchs."</p><p>"I think anybody who knows the science behind the monarch's decline, and the extent of it would say, yes, this [agreement] could provide some benefits, but it cannot preclude the listing of the species," Cornelisse said.</p>
<p>The USFWS anticipates that between 2 million and 26 million acres (809,000 to 10.5 million hectares) of land may be enrolled in the CCAA and CCA agreements, but the percentage of the enrolled land that will be managed for conservation is still to be determined.</p><p>"What is striking to me is so often we just don't think of these [rights-of-way] as conservation landscapes," Caldwell said. "Oftentimes, we don't think of them at all. We're just driving past thousands of miles of roadsides and utility corridors. And so, the whole idea of being able to maximize these landscapes to create habitat for species that really need it, I think, is really exciting."</p>
<p class=""><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2020/05/historic-agreement-gives-monarch-butterflies-the-right-of-way/" target="_blank">Mongabay</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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Trump Admin Denies Endangered Species Protections to Pacific Fishers Across Most of Their Range
15 May
Animals
A Pacific fisher. Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
Today is Endangered Species Day but the Trump administration isn't giving one imperiled critter much reason to celebrate.
<p>The Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) announced Thursday it would deny <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/endangered-species-act" target="_self">Endangered Species Act</a> protections to the weasel-like Pacific fisher throughout most of its West Coast range, only protecting a subset of its population in the California Sierras.</p><p>"The Trump administration's denial of protection for fishers is an unwarranted gift to the timber industry that ignores key science on these at-risk animals," <a href="https://biologicaldiversity.org/" target="_blank">Center for Biological Diversity</a> (CBD) <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/endangered-species" target="_self">endangered species</a> director Noah Greenwald said in a <a href="https://biologicaldiversity.org/w/news/press-releases/trump-administration-denies-endangered-species-protection-for-pacific-fisher-across-most-of-species-range-2020-05-14/" target="_blank">press release</a>. "These awesome forest weasels face huge threats, including the logging of their old-growth forest homes, rodenticide poisoning and a warming world. They absolutely should have been granted much broader safeguards."</p>
<iframe width="100%" height="150" scrolling="no" class="rm-shortcode twitter-embed-1260989956425687041" id="twitter-embed-1260989956425687041" lazy-loadable="true" src="/res/community/twitter_embed/?iframe_id=twitter-embed-1260989956425687041&created_ts=1589478408.0&screen_name=CenterForBioDiv&text=BREAKING%3A+The+Trump+administration+just+denied+Endangered+Species+Act+protection+to+Pacific+fishers+across+most+of%E2%80%A6+https%3A%2F%2Ft.co%2FqVVe936JKH&id=1260989956425687041&name=Center+for+Bio+Div" frameborder="0" data-rm-shortcode-id="7d530010ff8b1747528da6e1e709d904"></iframe>
<p>Tens of thousands of Pacific fishers once lived in the woods from Southern California to British Columbia, but, beginning in 1900, their numbers started to decline as trappers sought them for their pelts and loggers destroyed their habitat, <a href="https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-usa-fishers-endangered/u-s-denies-full-protection-for-pacific-fisher-relative-of-the-weasel-idUKKBN22R06U" target="_blank">Reuters explained</a>. In recent years, they have also been threatened by rodenticides used to protect illegal marijuana farms and the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change/" target="_self">climate crisis</a>.</p><p>There are now only two populations: 100 to 500 in the southern Sierra Nevadas and around 3,000 in Northern California and Southern Oregon. Studies have shown that they are genetically distinct, the <a href="https://goldrushcam.com/sierrasuntimes/index.php/news/local-news/23439-u-s-fish-and-wildlife-service-to-protect-the-southern-sierra-nevada-population-of-fisher-as-endangered" target="_blank">Sierra Sun Times reported</a>. It is the first and smaller of these populations that FWS <a href="https://s3.amazonaws.com/public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2020-09153.pdf" target="_blank">announced</a> Thursday it would protect as endangered.</p>
<p>The Sierra population does face unique threats, <a href="https://defenders.org/newsroom/us-fish-and-wildlife-service-announces-endangered-species-listing-of-sierra-nevada-fisher" target="_blank">Defenders of Wildlife explained</a>. It was listed as threatened under the California Endangered Species Act of 2016 and is partly at risk from climate-related <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/trees" target="_self">tree</a> loss. <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/wildfires" target="_self">Wildfires</a> burn through its habitat, and a drought from 2011 to 2015 combined with warmer temperatures led to a rise in native bark beetles, which killed more than 130 million trees in the Sierra Nevada region.</p><p>FWS argued that the larger population did not need protection because it was not in danger of extinction, "nor likely to become so in the foreseeable future," Reuters reported.</p>
<p>The agency also determined that existing <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/conservation" target="_self">conservation</a> efforts were already ensuring the success of the northern population.</p><p>"Voluntary conservation efforts by state and private timber owners have contributed to the Northern California-Southern Oregon population of fisher appearing stable within a large range of suitable habitat," Paul Henson, state supervisor for the FWS Oregon office, told the Sierra Sun Times. "Over two million acres of private land have been enrolled under six conservation agreements protecting existing and promoting new fisher habitat, with three additional applications in process. The heavy lifting done by our partners greatly alleviates the need for regulation."</p>
<p>But <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/wildlife" target="_self">wildlife</a> advocates disagreed.</p><p>"While the decision to list the Sierra Nevada fisher is a great step towards the recovery of this critically imperiled population, it is disappointing to see the West Coast population left without protections," Pamela Flick, California program director for Defenders of Wildlife, said in a press release. "Both populations face a wide variety of threats and need federal protections in order to survive and thrive."</p>
<p>Even this much protection has been the result of a long fight, as CBD explained:</p><blockquote>The Center for Biological Diversity, along with Sierra Forest Legacy, the Environmental Protection Information Center (EPIC), Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center and others first petitioned for endangered species protections for fishers in 2000. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service found they warranted protection in 2004, but that such protection was precluded by listing of other species. Following further litigation, the agency proposed protection for the fisher in 2014, but again reversed course in 2016 denying protection. Represented by Earthjustice, the groups sued and the decision was remanded resulting in the species again being proposed for protection in 2019 and then finally again partially denied today.</blockquote><p>Greenwald told Reuters that CBD was looking at Thursday's ruling to decide whether to bring another court challenge.</p>
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In the wake of news about "murder hornets" invading the West Coast, the Southeast has its own scourge to contend with: an invasive, South American lizard that can grow up to 4 feet in length. The lizard has been spotted for the third year in a row, according to a Facebook post from the Orianne Society, a reptile conservation group, as The Associated Press reported.
<p>The Argentine black and white tegus was first spotted in Florida, but they have now migrated north to establish themselves in Georgia's Toombs and Tattnall counties, said John Jensen of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources' Wildlife Conservation in a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkRNMUhG4Hw" target="_blank">YouTube</a> video.</p><p>In the video, Jensen explained, "Many of the public that encounter these often report them, thinking that they look like a baby alligator well away from the water. They eat just about anything they want, plant and animal matter."</p>
<p>"Tegus will eat the eggs of ground-nesting birds—including quail and turkeys—and other reptiles, such as American alligators and gopher tortoises, both protected species," according to the <a href="https://georgiawildlife.com/tegus" target="_blank">Department of Natural Resources' Wildlife Conservation's website,</a> as <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/14/us/georgia-invasive-lizard-trnd/index.html" target="_blank">CNN</a> reported. The lizards will also eat fruit, vegetables, pet food and small animals—including grasshoppers and gopher tortoises.</p>
<p>The tegus' voracious appetite means it poses a threat to native <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/wildlife">wildlife</a>, especially protected species like American alligators and gopher tortoises. The black and white tegus have been seen hiding in gopher tortoise burrows and eating tortoise and alligator eggs, as well as baby tortoises, according to <a href="https://apnews.com/b20aadfb5ac8e25953ebe38743983504" target="_blank">The Associated Press</a>.</p><p>"Established from escaped or released pets, these large lizards are voracious predators that have been found consuming a variety of native wildlife in the longer-established Florida populations," the Orianne Society <a href="https://www.facebook.com/OrianneSociety/posts/2948053241909425" target="_blank">wrote on Facebook</a>.</p><p>The society said it believes tegus are able to survive the state's winters, which means it has the potential to spread quickly. "It is critical to remove invasive species early in the invasion process to have the best chance of success," the society said, according to <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/tegus-lizard-giant-invasive-lizards-4-feet-long-georgia/" target="_blank">CBS News</a>.</p>
<p>The lizards weigh about 10 pounds and live up to 20 years. They are black to gray with white, speckled bands across their bodies. They also multiply quickly, with females laying about 35 eggs per year. They also thrive since they do not have many predators," according to the <a href="https://georgiawildlife.com/tegus" target="_blank">Department of Natural Resources' Wildlife Conservation's website,</a> as <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/14/us/georgia-invasive-lizard-trnd/index.html" target="_blank">CNN</a> reported.</p><p>In the video, Jensen asked for people to help Georgia officials stop the lizard from gaining ground in the state. Jensen encouraged locals to report any <a href="https://www.gainvasives.org/tegus/" target="_blank">tegu sightings online</a>, to help officials' efforts in tracking and removing them. "If you're able to safely and humanely dispatch of the animal, we encourage that and we want that information, too," Jensen said, as <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/tegus-lizard-giant-invasive-lizards-4-feet-long-georgia/" target="_blank">CBS News</a> reported.</p><p>The lizards are legal as pets in Georgia, so Jensen added that anyone who has kept a tegu as a pet and no longer wants it should give it to a reptile adoption group. "Releasing it into the wild is the absolute worst thing to do, it will affect our native species and we can't have that," he said.</p>
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Asian giant hornets (Vespa mandarinia japonica) drinking sap from tree bark in Japan. Alpsdake/Wikipedia, CC BY-SA
By Akito Y Kawahara
Editor's note: According to recent press reports, two Asian giant hornets – a species not known to occur in North America – were found in northwest Washington state in late 2019, and a hornet colony was found and eliminated in British Columbia. Now scientists are trying to determine whether more of these large predatory insects are present in the region. Entomologist Akito Kawahara explains why headlines referring to "murder hornets" are misleading.
<p><br/></p>
<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/akito-y-kawahara-739749" target="_blank">Akito Y Kawahara</a> is an Associate Professor and Curator of Insects at Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida.<br/></em></p><p><em>Disclosure statement: </em><em>Akito Y Kawahara does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</em></p><p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-are-asian-giant-hornets-and-are-they-really-dangerous-5-questions-answered-137954" target="_blank">The Conversation</a>.</em></p>
1. How Common Are These hornets in Asia, and How Much Alarm Do They Cause?
<p>The Asian giant hornet (<em>Vespa mandarinia</em>) is fairly common in many parts of Asia, where it is called the "Giant hornet." Growing up in Japan, I saw them relatively frequently in the mountains outside of Tokyo.</p><p>These insects are large and distinctive, with a characteristic orange head and black-banded orange body. Like any other social wasp, they will defend their nest if the colony is disrupted. But in most cases they will not do anything if people aren't aggressive toward them.</p><p>Giant hornets have longer stingers than a honeybee's, and hornets do not break off their stingers when they sting. Because hornet stingers can puncture thick clothing, people should avoid hornets and their nests whenever possible.</p><p>Giant hornets frequently are attracted to tree sap: I was stung by one when I was looking for butterflies on trees. The sting is painful, but the swelling and pain in most cases subside in a few days.</p><p>Just as with honey bee stings, an allergic reaction, or anaphylaxis, can occasionally put people in the hospital. In rare cases, <a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/bee-stings/symptoms-causes/syc-20353869" target="_blank">severe reactions can become fatal</a>. But wasp and hornet stings killed <a href="http://www2u.biglobe.ne.jp/~vespa/vespa0562.htm" target="_blank">less than 13 people a year in 2017 and 2018 in Japan</a> – less than 0.00001% of the national population – in a country where many people spend time in the woods.</p><p>If you are allergic to bee and wasp stings, it is best to avoid getting close to these insects and their nests, wear white clothing outdoors (they are attracted to dark colors), and avoid carrying open-top sweet drinks such as sodas in the woods.</p>
2. Are You Surprised That the Hornets Have Appeared in North America?
<p>To some degree, yes. Most likely, a single, fertile queen hornet entered Canada via shipping packaging and created the colony that was discovered in 2019.</p><p>It's easy for invasive species to travel this way. More than 19,000 cargo containers <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/policing-americas-ports-108008881/" target="_blank">arrive daily at U.S. ports</a>, and inspectors can only do random searches of shipping containers. One estimate suggests that just <a href="https://www.ncrs.fs.fed.us/pubs/jrnl/2001/nc_2001_haack_004.pdf" target="_blank">2% of shipments</a> are searched for evidence of harmful organisms such as plant pests. Many invasive species are intercepted, but some do get through.</p><p>It's very unlikely that an entire colony of hornets was transferred to North America. Colonies of this hornet are often large, and the hornets would be visible and potentially aggressive if their nest were disturbed.</p><p>A genetic test indicated that one of the hornets found in Washington was <a href="https://news.ucr.edu/articles/2020/05/06/murder-hornets-invade-headlines-not-us" target="_blank">not related to the Canadian colony</a>, but those results have not been published or peer reviewed. The Giant hornet has not been found in 2020 in either the U.S. or Canada.</p><img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzI3OTM0OC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0NjY1MzYxMX0.r_Wa-PDa8oNFiB_ociakQHDhDnjSqAmc7nVin0-0FYQ/img.jpg?width=980" id="f4562" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="cdc146b7493cb5256374321f9336ca5d" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Four wasp and hornet species often confused with the Giant hornet. Upper left: European hornet (Vespa crabro). Upper right: Common aerial yellowjacket (Dolichovespula arenaria). Lower left: European paper wasp (Polistes dominula). Lower right: Baldfaced hornet (Dolichovespula maculata). gailhampshire (upper left), Gilles Gonthier (upper right), Judy Gallagher (bottom images), all via Flickr, CC BY
3. What Kind of Conditions Do These Insects Need to Live?
<p>Giant hornets are fairly common in mountainous regions of Asia, but they're not often seen in large cities or highly urbanized areas. They usually nest at the base of large trees and inside dead logs. The fact that they can't tolerate extremely hot or <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/25008806" target="_blank">cold temperatures</a> makes it unlikely that they would spread to very hot or cold areas of North America.</p><p>If active colonies are discovered in 2020 in the Pacific Northwest, which has a more temperate climate, it's possible that they could spread there. However, it is unlikely that this would happen quickly, as foraging ranges of <em>Vespa</em> are only <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0185172" target="_blank">about 2,300 feet (700 meters) from their nest</a>.</p><p>The key to prevent spread is surveillance. Anyone in the Pacific Northwest should be alert for Giant hornets while they are outdoors this summer and fall.</p>4. If More Hornets Are Found, Could They Threaten Honeybees and Other Pollinators?
<p>Possibly. Some media posts have described destruction of honeybee nests by what could have been Giant hornets, but honeybees are not these insects' only prey. The hornets feed on different kinds of insects, and bring captured dead prey back to their hive to feed to their young.</p><p>In Japan, beekeepers surround their hives with <a href="https://shop.r10s.jp/diokasei/cabinet/suzume/imgrc0068904247.jpg" target="_blank">wire screen nets</a> to protect them from hornets. North American beekeepers can replicate these with wire netting from local hardware stores.</p><p>Many honeybees in Asia have the ability to protect their hive from intruding Giant hornets by <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2007.07.033" target="_blank">scorching them</a>. They wait for a hornet to enter their nest, then mob it by surrounding it completely with their bodies. Each honeybee vibrates its wings, and the combined warming of honey bee bodies raises the temperature in the center of the cluster to 122 degrees F (50 degrees C), killing the hornet. Carbon dioxide levels in the nest also increase during this process, which contributes to the hornet's death.</p><span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="21f08ef1a03946a68aa8e913227b5eb8"><iframe lazy-loadable="true" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/awoV5Wj9Iys?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awoV5Wj9Iys#action=share" target="_blank">youtu.be</a></p>
5. Are News Stories About “Murder Hornets” Overreacting?
<p>Yes, very much so. In parts of Japan, people consider these hornets beneficial because they remove pests, such as harmful caterpillars, from crops. They are also thought to contain nutrients, and have been used as ingredients in <a href="https://www.splendidtable.org/story/the-japanese-tradition-of-raising-and-eating-wasps" target="_blank">Japanese food and some strong liquors</a>. Some people believe the hornets' essence has medicinal benefits.</p><p>People who live in Vancouver, Seattle or nearby should certainly take note of what these insects look like. They are 2 inches long or more, with a <a href="https://extension.psu.edu/asian-giant-hornets" target="_blank">3-inch wingspan</a>, and have distinctly orange heads and broad striped orange and black-banded abdomens. That's different from typical North American hornets, which have yellow or white bodies with black marks.</p><p>In the unlikely case that you see a Giant hornet in Washington state, do not try to remove nests yourself or spray hornets with pesticides. Cutting down trees to prevent nesting sites is also unnecessary, and can affect many other kinds of native wildlife, including beneficial insects that are needed for pollination and decomposition. Many native insects are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-ento-011019-025151" target="_blank">declining globally</a>, and it's important to make sure these insects are not affected.</p><p>Instead, take a photo from a distance and report it to the <a href="https://agr.wa.gov/departments/insects-pests-and-weeds/insects/hornets" target="_blank">Washington State Department of Agriculture</a>. Photos are essential to verify that identifications are accurate.</p><p>Consider also uploading your images to <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/" target="_blank">iNaturalist</a>, which is one of the primary sources for information on tracking wildlife. The images are archived and carry data, such as location, time of observance and the insect's morphological features, that scientists can use for research. </p>From Your Site Articles
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A crossing sign in Red Rock Canyon, Nevada, alerts motorists to the threatened Mojave desert tortoise. tobiasjo / Getty Images
A solar and battery storage project large enough to power the residential population of Las Vegas received final approval from the Department of the Interior on Monday, despite concerns from some conservationists about the project's impact on the threatened Mojave desert tortoise.
<p>The $1 billion project is expected to produce 690 MW of electricity coupled with a 380 megawatt AC battery storage system, enough to power about 260,000 homes and businesses. Located on federal land near Las Vegas, the 7,000-acre project was opposed by local and regional environmental groups, who say construction activity could harm wildlife and biological soil crusts which sequester large amounts of carbon. "The solar industry is resilient and a project like this one will bring jobs and private investment to the state when we need it most," Abigail Ross Hopper, president and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association, told the AP. </p>
<p><strong>For a deeper dive:</strong></p><p><a href="https://apnews.com/3182e2ca95d3f2cbfff23ebec3c36f55?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=87782018&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--TNVauhW3bvDHKpcc7GzS09_vXwDgTZ1ok8ohBT7dEKo4yo_-GOJeQxLtP5ZVk4pJVt4Y4QHQZWtAUpYbnAyjiPb-xVUTAkSMs9abNMrNgYCbQ_UM&_hsmi=87782018" target="_blank">AP</a>, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-solar-gemini/u-s-approves-massive-solar-power-project-on-public-land-idUSKBN22N2P5?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=87782018&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--TNVauhW3bvDHKpcc7GzS09_vXwDgTZ1ok8ohBT7dEKo4yo_-GOJeQxLtP5ZVk4pJVt4Y4QHQZWtAUpYbnAyjiPb-xVUTAkSMs9abNMrNgYCbQ_UM&_hsmi=87782018" target="_blank">Reuters</a>,<a href="https://www.eenews.net/eenewspm/2020/05/11/stories/1063110217?_hsenc=p2ANqtz--TNVauhW3bvDHKpcc7GzS09_vXwDgTZ1ok8ohBT7dEKo4yo_-GOJeQxLtP5ZVk4pJVt4Y4QHQZWtAUpYbnAyjiPb-xVUTAkSMs9abNMrNgYCbQ_UM&_hsmi=87782018&utm_content=87782018" target="_blank"> E&E</a><a href="https://newsletter.climatenexus.org/e2t/c/*W6wqWGb612wS0W3MgKP-8D6mSH0/*W1xY6kF3mBhVvW8J7kf219QTcL0/5/f18dQhb0SnGT9hxT-0N834vY8HyjJqVSb6rH2z8ZTqW3hHhdB5Cgxh0VnQ9Qq8--HBkW8-26D_31mwXwW8T6tqx1dJ7VzN4zWTR36VH71W4B8hJG8h2GfsW7v7S-92scYGXW2sKvQt2t4VqFW5mNLNv7bqTzMW7vp5Qy5g52c3W1h4tF02gM92MW47YlYy4bfcHbW47Xx4z3C810nW1Df0XL6yBPHzW1ddcKh3bPyFLW3BJxLZ2tmClsW2z_scn6x2RKSW5-lMJc5tl0j8W3v6Jdy2By0x2W5CZGW32p7fx5W4wlTN33KdYx-W6NCvtb5qNrHbW2y6mkX4_gW3NW4ngcxD4F3n03W6_xLPs4V1GWRW3SRtwW2J1KFRW50Vw295Tf6K0W4pRM8M2p1grHW3F6gmx2mpXbyW3drBFm4l9WM9W3K2cdw44784vW60tCnj4yZMmgV3pPQn72HXKfW95qTPX8csGDVVD2JF57xMbdcW3hD1rm2HB7SVW2hYG_h69_rhCW8w-L5g1nPLyCW1Ngx1f51b4yWW98fqV44w_5djW1TK5lc9g5KWYW4ngR1M1QfFKMW4ztWX-2dpqD7McTSRKcSpjWf4F-02p02" target="_blank"></a>, <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-approves-giant-solar-project-in-nevada-11589216400?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=87782018&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--TNVauhW3bvDHKpcc7GzS09_vXwDgTZ1ok8ohBT7dEKo4yo_-GOJeQxLtP5ZVk4pJVt4Y4QHQZWtAUpYbnAyjiPb-xVUTAkSMs9abNMrNgYCbQ_UM&_hsmi=87782018" target="_blank">Wall Street Journal</a>, <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-05-11/buffett-backed-solar-project-near-vegas-wins-trump-blessing?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=87782018&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--TNVauhW3bvDHKpcc7GzS09_vXwDgTZ1ok8ohBT7dEKo4yo_-GOJeQxLtP5ZVk4pJVt4Y4QHQZWtAUpYbnAyjiPb-xVUTAkSMs9abNMrNgYCbQ_UM&_hsmi=87782018" target="_blank">Bloomberg</a></p><p><em>For more </em><a href="http://ecowatch.com/climate-change-news/" target="_blank"><em>climate change</em></a><em> and </em><a href="http://ecowatch.com/business/renewables/" target="_blank"><em>clean energy</em></a><em> news, you can follow Climate Nexus on </em><a href="https://twitter.com/ClimateNexus" target="_blank"><em>Twitter</em></a><em> and </em><a href="https://www.facebook.com/ClimateNexus/" target="_blank"><em>Facebook</em></a><em>, and sign up for daily </em><a href="http://climatenexus.us4.list-manage1.com/subscribe?u=d1f5797e59060083034310930&id=7c84c08aaa" target="_blank"><em>Hot News</em></a><em>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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The North Carolina Zoo announced the birth of five critically endangered American red wolves as part of its American red wolf breeding program. North Carolina Zoo
The population of the most endangered canid in the world just got a little bit bigger.
<p>The North Carolina Zoo <a href="https://www.nczoo.org/news/north-carolina-zoo-announces-birth-five-critically-endangered-american-red-wolves-0" target="_blank">announced</a> the birth of five American <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/red-wolves" target="_self">red wolf</a> pups on Friday. This is an especially big deal because there are only 15 to 20 red wolves left in the wild, in eastern North Carolina.</p><p>"Congratulations to the North Carolina Zoo for playing an essential part toward helping this critically endangered species recover," North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources secretary Susi H. Hamilton said in the birth announcement. "It's yet another example of the Zoo doing amazing work to conserve <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/wildlife" target="_self">wildlife</a> and wild places."</p>
<iframe width="100%" height="150" scrolling="no" class="rm-shortcode twitter-embed-1258728698137792512" id="twitter-embed-1258728698137792512" lazy-loadable="true" src="/res/community/twitter_embed/?iframe_id=twitter-embed-1258728698137792512&created_ts=1588939282.0&screen_name=NCZoo&text=We%27re+thrilled+to+announce+the+birth+of+5+American+red+wolves+as+part+of+our+red+wolf+breeding+program%21+Born+April%E2%80%A6+https%3A%2F%2Ft.co%2FiQqimKwwmq&id=1258728698137792512&name=North+Carolina+Zoo" frameborder="0" data-rm-shortcode-id="76a0485bff4b1c43ba330f0489158b4d"></iframe>
<p>The pups were born April 21 to a mother named Piglet and a father named Jewell. This is the couple's first litter.</p><p>"The pups and their mother are all healthy and doing well," the zoo said.</p><p>The new babies were all named for plants found in North Carolina, the zoo explained:</p><blockquote>The names for the males are Oak (Appalachian Oak), Cedar (Red Cedar) and Sage (Azure Sage). The females are named Lily (Carolina Lily, the state's wildflower) and Aster (Piedmont Aster).</blockquote><p>American red wolves have struggled in the wild in recent years, as <a href="https://www.heraldsun.com/news/state/north-carolina/article242592926.html" target="_blank">The Herald-Sun reported</a>. They were declared extinct in the wild in 1980 due to hunting and habitat loss, but the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) began efforts to reintroduce them to the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge as part of the American Red Wolf Recovery Program. Their numbers swelled to more than 130 by 2006, but then began to decline between 2013 and 2015 after FWS introduced a policy allowing landowners to shoot and kill wolves, as EcoWatch <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/red-wolves-extinction-fws-judge-2618251132.html" target="_self">previously reported</a>.<br></p><p>In 2018, a federal judge ruled that the killing violated the endangered species act and had to stop.</p><p>In zoos, however, the species has fared better. There are around 240 red wolves in breeding programs across the U.S., the zoo said.</p>
<p>The North Carolina Zoo has been part of the American Red Wolf Recovery Program since 1994 and has bred 34 wolves since the program started. The birth of the new pups brings the zoo's wolf population up to 25, meaning it has the second-biggest red wolf pack in U.S. after the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium in Tacoma, Washington.</p><p>Six red wolf babies were also born at the The Museum of Life and Science in Durham, North Carolina in April 2019, The Herald-Sun reported. However, most of the museum's red wolves were moved to Virginia in January, and no babies were born there this spring, <a href="https://www.wral.com/baby-news-nc-zoo-welcomes-five-red-wolf-pups/19090065/?fbclid=IwAR0mA9K6ZKRXwUZKMB0uM4HpB8qQiGU4t91XkNBi9qUyt4J50K-luh80d1Q" target="_blank">WRAL reported</a>.</p><p>The North Carolina Zoo is currently closed to visitors because of the coronavirus pandemic, though you can still <a href="https://www.nczoo.org/virtual-visit" target="_blank">visit</a> virtually. However, the new arrivals won't know the difference right now.</p><p>"The pups are being kept in a quiet, non-public viewing area of the Zoo and have minimal contact with staff and keepers," the zoo said. "This allows their mother to raise the pups with the least amount of stress in a natural habitat."</p>
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Cut timber being loaded for transportation to a manufacturing plant in Gympie, Queensland, Australia on July 17, 2013. Auscape / Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Australia's unprecedented wildfires that raged for months and destroyed millions of acres were likely made worse by industrial logging of native forests, according to a new commentary from five scientists published in Nature Ecology & Evolution.
<p><br/></p>
<p>The group of five senior Australian scientists from the Australian National University, Macquarie University and the University of Queensland said that logging native forests makes fire more severe and they are calling for a clearer assessment about how land management and forestry practices add to the risk of wildfires, according to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/may/06/compelling-evidence-logging-native-forests-has-worsened-australian-bushfires-scientists-warn" target="_blank">The Guardian</a>.</p><p>"Logging causes a rise in fuel loads, increases potential drying of wet forests and causes a decrease in forest height," said James Watson, a professor at the University of Queensland and an author on the paper in a <a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/05/200505121655.htm" target="_blank">university statement</a>. "It can leave up to 450 tonnes of combustible fuel per hectare close to the ground — by any measure, that's an incredibly dangerous level of combustible material in seasonally dry landscapes. By allowing these practices to increase fire severity and flammability, we undermine the safety of some of our rural communities.</p><p>"It affects <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/wildlife">wildlife</a> too by creating habitat loss, fragmentation and disturbance for many species, with major negative effects on forest wildlife," he added.</p>
<p>They say that the contribution of logging to bushfires needs greater scrutiny, and there should be more public awareness about the compelling links between wildfires and the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/climate-crisis" target="_self">climate crisis</a>, according to <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/logging-likely-had-significant-effect-on-summer-fires-scientists-20200505-p54q2m.html" target="_blank">The Sydney Morning Herald</a>.</p><p>They also note that while most global emissions and pollution is out of the country's control, Australians have full authority over how their own land is managed.</p><p>"The first is to prevent logging of moist forests, particularly those close to urban areas," said lead author David Lindenmayer, a professor at Australia National University, in a <a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/05/200505121655.htm" target="_blank">statement</a>. "We must also reduce forest fragmentation by proactively restoring some previously logged forests. In the event of wildfires, land managers must avoid practices such as 'salvage' logging — or logging of burnt forests — which severely reduces recovery of a forest."</p>
<p>Last week, VicForests Chief Executive Officer Monique Dawson criticized professor Lindenmayer, an internationally regarded ecologist, saying in a letter to the Goongerah Environment Centre that the agency "does not accept his published opinions."</p><p>Lindenmayer said he was taking legal advice about the remarks in the letter, as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/may/06/compelling-evidence-logging-native-forests-has-worsened-australian-bushfires-scientists-warn" target="_blank">The Guardian</a> reported. He added that her comments reflected an organization that was unscientific and did not rely on evidence to manage forests.</p><p>In fact, as The Sydney Morning Herald reported, despite warning from environmentalists that forests and wildlife are still very fragile, VicForests last week revealed plans to log 3500 hectares of forests burnt during the catastrophic summer fires in the next few years.</p><p>The paper says industry data showed that some 161 million cubic meters of native forest was logged between 1996 and 2018.</p><p>"Beyond the direct and immediate impacts on biodiversity of disturbance and proximity to disturbed forest, there is compelling evidence that Australia's historical and contemporary logging regimes have made many Australian forests more fire prone and contributed to increased fire severity and flammability," the scientists wrote, as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/may/06/compelling-evidence-logging-native-forests-has-worsened-australian-bushfires-scientists-warn" target="_blank">The Guardian</a> reported.</p>
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Woman building a diy insect hotel outdoor. Guido Mieth / DigitalVision / Getty Images
By Courtney Lindwall
If you're one of those people cooped up safely at home, with creative energy and free time to spare—count yourself lucky. Here, we've rounded up a list of two dozen environmental projects that can make your time indoors, or right outside, a little brighter. Whether you're ready to start rescuing more of your kitchen scraps, sewing your own cloth napkins, or documenting those backyard butterflies, we hope these simple green ideas will provide a calming means of coping during these unprecedented times. Have fun and stay safe.
Experiment in the Kitchen
<p><strong>Spice up mealtime with recipes from </strong><a href="https://savethefood.com/recipes/" target="_blank">Save the Food</a> that will also help prevent your food from going to waste. Make a fromage fort to spread on your crackers, or "scraps falafel" to use up wrinkly onions and wilted herbs. And for dessert, how about some <a href="https://savethefood.com/recipes/leftover-mashed-potato-apple-cider-donuts" target="_blank">leftover mashed potato apple cider donuts</a>? </p><p><strong>Rescue wilting herbs.</strong> Make <a href="https://savethefood.com/storage" target="_blank">herb oil ice cubes</a><a href="https://savethefood.com/storage" target="_blank"> by </a>packing diced herbs into an ice cube tray, covering with olive oil, and freezing. Thaw for ready-made flavor in your next dish. You can also transform less-than-fresh herbs into sauces, like chimichurri or pesto, or roast them and mix with salt to create longer-lasting seasonings. </p><p><strong>Start a windowsill herb garden. </strong>You'll need some seeds or a small plant, an upcycled container like a coffee canister that leaves room for growth and drainage, and a sunny ledge. (The Herb Society of America can help you determine <a href="https://www.herbsociety.org/hsa-learn/intro-to-herbs/hsa-gardening-for-kids/light-indoor-gardens.html" target="_blank">the right dose of light and water for each species</a>.) In a few weeks' time, you'll be ready to add a sprig of fresh basil to your bowl of pasta or diced cilantro to your batch of guac.</p><p><strong>Arrange a plant-based recipe swap</strong> with friends and family, which will reduce your diet's climate impacts while creating some virtual community. (Remember: If <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/experts/sujatha-bergen/saving-planet-starts-our-plates" target="_blank">every American cut just one hamburger</a> or about a quarter pound of beef out of their diet each week, we could reduce emissions by as much as taking about 10 million cars off the road each year.)</p><p><strong><br>Simmer your veggie scraps into a </strong><a href="https://savethefood.com/recipes/basic-vegetable-stock" target="_blank"><strong>flavorful stock</strong></a>, the foundation of your next meal. To get started, keep a clean, half-gallon carton in the freezer, and add trimmings as you prep meals. When you have enough, put the veggies in a pot, cover with water, and crank up the heat.</p><p><strong>Plan a dough swap</strong> by freezing half of the dough from your latest baked good and suggesting friends, family, and coworkers do the same. When you're reunited, you can organize a trade and enjoy someone else's baking for a change.</p><p><strong>Start an indoor compost bin.</strong> It shouldn't smell when you follow this <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/stories/composting-way-easier-you-think" target="_blank">list of what is and isn't compost-friendly</a>. To build your worm bin, find two plastic tubs and <a href="https://nrdc.tumblr.com/post/118984184239/how-to-build-a-worm-bin" target="_blank">drill holes in one of them</a> to provide proper aeration. Layer in moist bedding—made of things like shredded newspaper, leaves, or coconut husk—and then add some red wigglers, which you can order online. Kept well fed with scraps, your worms will soon be producing "black gold" compost to use in your garden and helping you curb greenhouse gases.</p>
Enjoy a Dose of Nature
<p><strong></strong><strong>Make your own basic bird feeder</strong> using pine cones, twine, nut butter, and birdseed. <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B-rxsVfAvaa/" target="_blank">This video from the Feminist Bird Club shows you one way to do it.</a> Hang it on a nearby tree you can spot through your window, then grab a pair of binoculars and do some armchair birding!</p><p><a href="https://www.nrdc.org/stories/how-and-why-be-seed-savior" target="_blank"><strong>Create an herbarium</strong></a>—a scrapbook of pressed, dried flowers or other plants. To prepare your samples, press the plant matter in a large book or between sheets of newspaper and place a weight on top. When the leaves are dry, mount them on acid-free paper to preserve them, and label each specimen on the page. You can also include illustrations, photographs, seed packets, and notes.</p><p><strong>Sharpen your naturalist ID skills.</strong> Try to identify every species of plant in your backyard or on a neighborhood walk. You can do the same for wildlife—and share your findings through <a href="https://www.projectnoah.org/" target="_blank">Project Noah</a>, a citizen science platform to discover, share, and identify wildlife.</p><p><strong>Grow new indoor plants</strong> with the use of stems and leaves, rather than seeds. Though it <a href="https://www.bbg.org/gardening/article/how_to_propagate_houseplants" target="_blank">depends on your individual plant</a> species, propagating houseplants is often as easy as cutting off a stem or leaf from an existing plant and sticking it in soil or fresh water. If it takes, a new root system should form within a few weeks—leaving you with a hearty second plant within a few more months. (Pro tip: This works for green onions too! Nearly submerge their sliced-off roots, end down, into a glass of water that you change every few days. Voilà: a nearly endless supply of scallions.)</p><p><strong>Observe monarch butterflies</strong> in your backyard and share your findings with Monarch Watch, an organization devoted to their <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/stories/monarch-butterflies-get-head-start-schoolyard" target="_blank">conservation</a>. Each year, monarchs make a remarkable 3,000-mile trek from as far north as the southern parts of Canada to the mountains of Mexico and back—but these pollinators are <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/experts/sylvia-fallon/monarch-butterfly-numbers-fall-again" target="_blank">in danger</a>. Register as one of Monarch Watch's citizen scientists to <a href="https://monarchwatch.org/calendar/?fbclid=IwAR1bawlAoraeMokwdiZa_GVONQqtDnqQxc_EM_UwzbO0zhq733PT6CQIgLc" target="_blank">help track the population's health</a>.</p><p><strong><a href="https://www.nrdc.org/stories/how-turn-your-patch-earth-barren-bountiful" target="_blank">Boost your backyard biodiversity</a>. </strong>Plant some milkweed—the main food source for monarch caterpillars and egg-laying habitat for the butterflies. Hang a bee nesting box somewhere it can get sunlight and warmth. Add a barn owl box or attach a simple roosting perch to a pole. For reptile enthusiasts, set up a small wood pile, using brush or old logs as shelter for lizards and snakes (plus fungi).</p>Do Some Handiwork and Art Projects
<p><strong>Make face masks </strong>for your friends, family, and workers on the frontlines. This <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/downloads/DIY-cloth-face-covering-instructions.pdf" target="_blank">Center for Disease Control guide</a> breaks down different techniques. If you're comfortable sewing, you'll just need two 10-by-6-inch rectangles of fabric, two pieces of elastic, and a needle and thread for each mask. The no-sew option only requires a T-shirt and scissors. Remember: Cloth masks should be cleaned regularly (the CDC says a washing machine is sufficient) in order to remain effective.<strong></strong></p><p><strong>Get your crayons out </strong>and do some therapeutic coloring. In honor of the 50th anniversary of Earth Day and as part of a collaboration with NRDC, Studio Number One and its creative director, artist Shepard Fairey, have converted some of its archival activist artwork into <a href="http://www.studionumberone.com/free-downloads" target="_blank">black-and-white printouts for at-home coloring.</a></p><p><strong>Tackle your plastic bag stash</strong>, especially if your city or town is among those that recently banned the bag. Since current conditions may eliminate collection and recycling programs for plastic bags in your area, consider upcycling them instead. There are plenty of online tutorials for how to make outdoor pillow cushions stuffed with plastic bags, weave bags into <a href="https://www.instructables.com/id/Make-a-basket-out-of-plastic-bags/" target="_blank">sturdy baskets</a>, or wind them into jump ropes.</p><p><a href="https://www.nrdc.org/stories/purging-your-closets-dont-stuff-all-your-old-duds-trash-bag" target="_blank"><strong>Cut down on textile waste</strong></a>, which exacts a <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/stories/are-my-denim-jeans-bad-environment" target="_blank">heavy toll on the environment and public health</a>, by giving old clothes a second life. Alter out-of-style garments by embroidering, reshaping, or using nontoxic dye to give them a new look. Take inspiration from fashion designers like <a href="http://zerowastedaniel.com/about" target="_blank">Daniel Silverstein</a>, who makes colorful, collaged clothing out of fabric scraps, or turn old fabric into a work of art, like weaver <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/onearth/weaving-beauty-borderlands" target="_blank">Consuelo Jimenez Underwoo</a>d.</p><p><strong>Turn old beach towels or T-shirts into </strong><a href="https://www.papernstitchblog.com/how-to-make-reusable-paper-towels/" target="_blank"><strong>a set of cloth napkins</strong></a>, a perfect beginner-level sewing project. By ditching single-use paper towels and napkins, you'll be helping to protect our forests, like the boreal of Canada that is the source of the virgin wood pulp used for much of the tissue paper products sold in the United States. Instead, switch to more sustainable, washable rags or cloths for cleaning up around the house and at the dining table.</p><p><strong>Get crafty with your recycling efforts</strong> to encourage kids <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/stories/how-raise-environmentalist" target="_blank">to be more aware of our disposable culture</a>. For example, you could transform empty jars into vases, penholders, and votive candle holders. Or make a fresh notebook from scrap paper with the help of a hole punch and scissors, some ribbon, and an old cereal box (for making sturdy covers).</p>
Build Your Community
<p><strong></strong><strong>Start an environmental movie club.</strong> Various apps let you host movie nights with friends online, so you can chat while you watch. You can find our recs for standout environmental films on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B-QNBxqJAUR/" target="_blank">Instagram</a>—including <em>Poisoning Paradise</em>, <em>Virunga</em>, and <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/stories/how-turn-your-patch-earth-barren-bountiful" target="_blank"><em>The Biggest Little Farm</em></a>—with short summaries and tips on where you can find them online.</p><p>Document the environmental changes in your community<strong>, as they relate to climate change, through the </strong><a href="https://earthchallenge2020.earthday.org/" target="_blank"><strong>Earth Challenge </strong>2020's online portal</a>. The project will collect billions of observations in air quality, plastic pollution, and insect populations, and your insights will help promote policy change to address our warming world.</p><p><strong>Tune in to a new podcast</strong>. We recommend <a href="https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/range/hot-take-4#/" target="_blank"><em>Hot Take</em></a>, featuring NRDC's own Mary Heglar and her cohost Amy Westervelt, which takes a critical but constructive, intersectional look at how climates issues are being covered in the media. And despite the weighty content of the podcast, laughter is one of its defining sounds.</p><p><strong>Connect with climate justice activists</strong> by following along with <a href="http://thisiszerohour.org/our-actions/#actions" target="_blank">Zero Hour's Getting to the Roots digital series</a>. Each week, it focuses on a different theme that is a root cause of the climate crisis as well as ways to solve it—through digital leadership training, webinars, virtual open mics on Instagram and Twitter, art competitions, and podcast releases.</p><p><strong>Write a </strong><a href="https://www.nrdc.org/stories/how-write-successful-letter-editor" target="_blank"><strong>letter to the editor</strong></a> that tackles one of the environmental issues facing your community that's close to your heart. The letter can be written in response to a piece that's already been published by a given media outlet, or it can be a proactive statement of support for or opposition against a particular issue that affects fellow readers. It's the perfect way to reach thousands of individuals and still remain publicly engaged without having to leave the comfort of your home.</p>Related Articles Around the Web
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A colony of lesser horseshoe bats sleeping on the roof in one of the deepest galleries of the marble quarries at Kostos in Paros, Greece. orientalizing / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
By Tara Lohan
As we work to limit the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, scientists are also studying its origins. How did the SARS-Co-V-2 virus, which causes the disease, jump from wildlife to humans? Many believe it originated in horseshoe bats (from the genus Rhinolophus), which are known hosts of other coronaviruses.
<p>"Whether or not this particular strain came from a wild bat is still under active scientific investigation," said <a href="http://frick.eeb.ucsc.edu/" target="_blank">Winifred Frick</a>, a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of California Santa Cruz and the chief scientist at <a href="http://www.batcon.org/" target="_blank">Bat Conservation International</a>, an organization dedicated to preventing bat extinctions worldwide.</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://therevelator.org/coronavirus-bats-conservation/" target="_blank">The Revelator</a>. </em><em></em></p>
<p>Scientists are also trying to pinpoint which animals, including perhaps pangolins, may have been the intermediary pathway for the spillover. But one thing is certain: Bats play critical, and beneficial, roles in the environment and the economy.</p><p>And right now they're getting a pretty bad rap.</p><p>We spoke to Frick about why bats and other wildlife shouldn't be scapegoated in this pandemic, the threats bats face from humans, and the best actions to take for bat conservation.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzE4NDI1MC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxMTMwNzI4NH0.pgZ29bHdFubstCS9t66BU15Yk-afEXR3Ep_qitp_ubM/img.jpg?width=980" id="87935" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="b3328a63acb269fd19fb2112a2041ab3" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Bat Conservation International's chief scientist Winifred Frick. Winifred Frick
Given what we know so far about the origins of the virus, should people be scared of wild bats?
<p>In zoonotic disease, what happens is that you have viruses that are circulating naturally in wildlife populations. And then an event happens in which that virus spills over into the human population. If that pathogen starts to spread human-to-human, then we have a zoonotic disease outbreak.</p><p>It's important to remember that COVID-19 is at this point a human disease and it's being transmitted human-to-human. So nobody living here in North America needs to be worried about getting COVID-19 from a bat.</p><p>I think that we really want to allay concerns that people need to fear bats. There's definitely been some fear that has arisen because people hear that bats are somewhat associated [with the pandemic] and then that leads to misunderstanding.</p><p>Our general guidance is that people shouldn't be handling bats or wild animals of any kind.</p>There was a recommendation from the federal government that scientists may need to limit their fieldwork with bats in North America now to prevent a possible transmission of the virus from humans back to species of bats here. Is that a concern?
<p>There is some concern about "reverse zoonosis" or spill back, which is the idea that humans could transmit SARS-Co-V-2 back to wildlife populations.</p><p>Researchers are working really hard to understand the vulnerability of other mammals to this novel strain of coronavirus. There was news about a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/06/nyregion/bronx-zoo-tiger-coronavirus.html" target="_blank">tiger at the Bronx Zoo</a> testing positive and some evidence that different mammals may be susceptible. We really want to make sure that we're protecting bats, which are mammals like us, from any risk from an asymptomatic human.</p><p>Just as we don't want people to spread this virus human-to-human, we don't want people to spread this virus human-to-wildlife. This isn't necessarily a specific concern about bats but really any mammal. We don't know yet if mammals could start to transmit animal-to-animal within their own populations. But right now we really want to limit exposure and limit any risk since we are still in an active research phase.</p>Have you seen much bat backlash?
<p>There's some evidence that there's been some efforts to kill bats in different parts of the world. And we're very concerned about that. Bats are an important part of our ecosystem. They're incredibly biodiverse. They account for about 20 percent of all mammals globally. A lot of people don't realize that there's more than 1,400 different species of bat around the world.</p><p>And they have an enormous variety of ecological roles — what we call "ecosystem services." Here in North America, bats are primarily insect-eating and it's been documented that they provide in the billions [of dollars of benefit] for the agricultural industry in terms of their role in reducing crop predation.</p><iframe width="100%" height="150" scrolling="no" class="rm-shortcode twitter-embed-1251049177540227072" id="twitter-embed-1251049177540227072" lazy-loadable="true" src="/res/community/twitter_embed/?iframe_id=twitter-embed-1251049177540227072&created_ts=1587108341.0&screen_name=AusBats&text=It%27s+%23BatAppreciationDay%21%0A%0ABats+have+huge+ecological+and+economical+value.+A+2013+study+estimated+that+in+the+US+al%E2%80%A6+https%3A%2F%2Ft.co%2FvCIRaG3clT&id=1251049177540227072&name=AustralasianBatSoc." frameborder="0" data-rm-shortcode-id="f5695f46308c38eb66389bd689bd5fcb"></iframe><p>In tropical areas bats are important dispersers of seeds and pollinators of different plants, some of which have real commercial value. For example, durian, which is the most stinky fruit and a treasure in many Asian cultures, is pollinated by bats. The agave, which is the plant that produces tequila, is pollinated by bats. So, they play very vital roles in nature and also have real economic value to human society.</p><p>Bats used to have a bad rap, but more and more, people seem to really realize just how fascinating and incredible they are. But because of some of those longstanding fears — and this new outbreak — we have to remind people that bats are really important parts of our ecosystem and part of our biodiversity heritage.</p>
What kind of threats do bats face from us?
<p>Globally bats face a variety of different threats, including anthropogenic land-use change, and habitat destruction and degradation. Because many species of bats form large colonies underground, those can be targets for disturbance and indiscriminate killing.</p><p>That's the one that we're really worried about right now. If people start to fear bats, we could see an uptick in directed killings. We're very concerned about that and very focused on trying to provide accurate information and also roost protection.</p><p>And of course <a href="https://therevelator.org/fungus-killing-americas-bats/" target="_blank">white-nose syndrome</a> is a major threat to our hibernating bats here in North America. It's a fungal pathogen that was likely introduced here through human trade or travel. The fungus is widespread in Europe and into temperate Asia. When it was introduced here, it spread very rapidly and has killed millions of bats.</p><p>And, unfortunately, you can't tell bats to social distance.</p>What can we be doing right now to help bats?
<p>The number-one thing that people can do is to say positive things about bats and make sure we aren't scapegoating wildlife. There's a lot of evidence that zoonotic diseases are a reflection of our misuse of the planet. When people are <a href="https://therevelator.org/biodiversity-health-pandemics/" target="_blank">destroying habitats and unsustainably harvesting species</a>, those are the conditions that lead to these kinds of spillover events. And now more than ever, I think there is that recognition that human health and planetary health are intertwined and that <a href="https://therevelator.org/coronavirus-wildlife-trade/" target="_blank">wildlife conservation is a part of global health solutions</a>.</p><p>Because bats do carry coronaviruses in the wild, and they have been talked about in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, it's really important that people speak up for bats. This is not the bats' fault. This is our fault.</p>From Your Site Articles
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