Biodiversity

"2020 was a rough year for tropical rainforest conservation efforts. So what’s in store for 2021?"

"When President-elect Joe Biden walks through the door of the White House with his rescue dog, Major, he will inherit a Migratory Bird Treaty Act that no longer protects birds, a watered-down Endangered Species Act, and a policy that allows hunters in Alaska to crawl into bear and wolf dens to shoot mothers and their babies."

"Do you ever hear a new song and realize it’s unlike anything you’ve heard before? ... It happened to scientists recently, too. But it wasn’t a new singer or rapper they discovered; it’s a new population of whales."

"Work crews ignite dynamite blasts in the remote and rugged southeast corner of Arizona, forever reshaping the landscape as they pulverize mountaintops in a rush to build more of President Donald Trump’s border wall before his term ends next month."

"Construction of President Trump’s border wall moved forward last year even after government scientists said it could harm a nearby wildlife refuge, according to an internal report obtained by The Hill. The report, obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request, showed that the construction of the wall would pull water from the San Bernardino National Wildlife Refuge."

"New research shows that more than 90 per cent of sunflower sea stars off the West Coast have died over the past decade, and the species is close to extinction."

"Thirty-one species of plants and animals were officially declared extinct in a report from an international conservation body published Thursday, which detailed the continued challenges and successes faced by conservationists around the world."

"The Trump administration adopted a rule Tuesday that could shrink the historic habitats of plants and animals threatened with extinction, an action that opponents say will make it more difficult for them to recover."

"The monarch butterfly was turned down by the Trump administration on Tuesday when the government declined to use the powers of the Endangered Species Act to help save it from extinction."