Biodiversity

"Poor data, minimal funding and lax enforcement are undermining the fight to protect endangered species, raising the risks from the spread of pests and diseases, scientists say in a study made public on Friday."

"Formerly rare beak deformities are spreading rapidly among crows in southwestern B.C. and Puget Sound, according to researchers from the U.S. Geological Survey."

The George River herd of caribou in Labrador has fallen about 90 percent in population size from a peak some 20 years ago.

"Ignoring calls from environmentalists to revisit the status of the polar bear, the Obama administration outlined yesterday its legal reasoning for why it should be listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act."

"The House adopted legislation Tuesday aimed at protecting sharks off U.S. coasts, though an exemption in the bill has raised concerns among federal fishery officials."

"The nonprofit Center for Biological Diversity [Tuesday] filed notice of intent to sue the Department of the Interior for failing to write a recovery plan for wolves in the lower 48 states."

"An effort to fight an invasive plant with insects that eat it has drawn opposition from beekeepers who worry it will leave them without an adequate source of nectar and pollen for their honeybees."

"An internal EPA memo released [Dec. 8] confirms that the very agency charged with protecting the environment is ignoring the warnings of its own scientists about clothianidin, a pesticide from which Bayer racked up ... about $262 million in sales in 2009."