location: North America

location: North America

Social media activity version | Lean version

In a warming world, can California save its Joshua trees?
- Western Joshua trees in California are increasingly threatened by changing climate conditions, including rising heat, increasing drought, more frequent wildfires, and by expanding renewable energy and housing developments.
- Despite increasingly harsh conditions, adult Joshua trees are expected to remain common through the end of the century, but young trees will not survive across most of their current range, scientists warn.
- Although the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has declined to protect eastern and western Joshua trees under the Endangered Species Act, California passed a state law to protect its western Joshua trees in 2023.
- Scientists warn that these trees need climate action to survive the century.

In California, an invasive mustard is destabilizing desert plant communities
- In desert ecosystems, plant species coexist by growing and flowering at different times, cued by rainfall and other triggers. This diversity strengthens community stability.
- The invasive Sahara mustard arrived in California a century ago, likely via the palm trade. But until now, its impacts on desert ecology have been difficult to measure.
- Scientists recently used long-term data to understand the mustard’s effects on native plant communities on sand dunes in the Mojave Desert.
- The study found that Sahara mustard can overtake desert plant communities, making them less diverse and less stable in an increasingly unpredictable environment.

Sheila Colla, advocate for bees, died on July 6th, aged 43
- In 2009, Sheila Colla spotted Canada’s last known rusty-patched bumblebee, a discovery that marked the culmination of years of fieldwork and a lifelong commitment to pollinator conservation.
- A pioneering scientist and professor, Colla warned early about the decline of native bees—long before it became mainstream—and translated complex research into action for policymakers, citizens, and children.
- Through bestselling books and the Bumble Bee Watch citizen-science platform, she mobilized tens of thousands to protect North America’s wild bees, emphasizing their solitary, vital, and often overlooked roles.
- Colla’s legacy lives on not only in ecological science but in the inclusive community she built—opening doors for marginalized voices in science and championing justice until her final days.

Canada’s Pacific Coast hit hard by trawling, with limited transparency: Report
- Trawling vessels pursuing fish are damaging marine ecosystems in Canada’s West Coast waters and could be operating illegally in some cases, and yet they work with insufficient transparency, a new NGO report says.
- Nine large trawlers have together trawled swaths of the ocean collectively larger than the size of Ireland since 2009; they have likely trawled in prohibited zones at least 47 times and have disrupted Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) migratory routes, which are foraging areas for an endangered population of killer whales (Orcinus orca), the report says.
- A trawling industry group dismissed the NGO’s findings, saying they lacked context and the fishery was very well regulated.
- A Canadian regulatory agency said the fishery was well managed, with strict monitoring and enforcement of rules.

How drug cartels destroy the last habitat of Mexico’s thick-billed parrot (commentary)
- The raucous calls of the thick-billed parrot (Rhynchopsitta pachyrhyncha) once ricocheted through Mexico’s high-altitude pine forests, but now, their near silence has become deafening.
- Deforestation driven by drug trafficking there is violently erasing entire habitats that the birds require.
- “If deforestation and violence continue unchecked, it won’t be a species that disappears — it will be an entire ecosystem, lost to greed, crime and neglect. Will the world listen, or will this be the parrot’s final call?” a new op-ed asks.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

Rare pygmy hippo born in Kansas zoo offers hope for endangered species
A zoo in the U.S. state of Kansas has welcomed the birth of a healthy baby pygmy hippopotamus, raising hope for a species that’s becoming rare in the wild. The yet-to-be-named male pygmy hippo calf, born June 26, is the fifth offspring of parents Pluto and Posie since their arrival at Tanganyika Wildlife Park in […]
Restoration, protection aim to save Belize’s coral reef from extreme heat and disease
- Charles Darwin described the Belize Barrier Reef, a complex system of coral reefs, atolls and cayes spanning 300 kilometers (186 miles) and cradling the nation’s coast, as “the most remarkable reef in the West Indies.”
- Today, unprecedented coral bleaching, a relatively new illness called stony coral tissue loss disease and other threats to corals are negatively impacting reef health across Belize, according to local organizations and a recent reef health assessment.
- The government is looking to identify 20% of the reef for full protection, part of an effort to roughly triple coral reef protection from 7% to 20%.
- Meanwhile nonprofit and scientific groups are doubling down on restoration and monitoring efforts.

U.S. federal agency clears ways for deep-sea mining — and companies are lining up
- The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) recently announced rule changes that would accelerate deep-sea mining in U.S. waters.
- The move includes shortened environmental review timelines and extended prospecting permits, which will implement President Trump’s executive order on the development of offshore critical minerals and resources.
- U.S.-based deep-sea company Impossible Metals has already submitted a mineral lease sale application to BOEM, while other companies — such as Wetstone, Odyssey Marine Exploration, and Transocean — are actively engaging with the agency about seabed minerals.
- The rapid push to open the U.S. outer continental shelf to mining has alarmed some experts, who warn of potential harm to fragile deep-sea ecosystems and insufficient oversight amid increasing industry influence.

Two coasts, one struggle for octopus fishers battling overfishing and warming waters
- In Spain and Mexico, demand for octopus is up, but octopus populations are down.
- In both countries, artisanal octopus fishers are sticking to traditional fishing techniques while joining eco-certification schemes with tighter regulations, hoping to protect not just the cephalopod population, but their own livelihoods.
- But while this may offer a lifeline to the fishers’ economies, it may only work well for the octopus populations when all fishers in an area join in, experts say — and that’s not the case in Mexico, where illegal octopus fishing is rampant.
- Moreover, factors beyond fishers’ control, like warming waters, may affect the fishers and the octopuses alike.

Banks bet big on fossil fuels, boosting financing in 2024, report finds
- Bank financing for the fossil fuel sector rose by $162.5 billion in 2024, more than 20% compared to 2023, according to a Rainforest Action Network report.
- Fossil fuel-related financing declined in 2022 and 2023, but in 2024 almost 70% of the 65 banks analyzed increased their funding for companies involved in fossil fuels.
- Experts say the findings demonstrate the limits of voluntary climate-related commitments by the banking industry, with many institutions backsliding on their promises to decarbonize their portfolios.
- They also highlight the importance of government regulation and civic action to address ongoing financial support for fossil fuel infrastructure and expansion.

Cacao agroforestry in Belize hits the sweet spot for people and nature
- In Belize’s Maya Golden Landscape, small farmers have partnered with conservation groups to establish the country’s first forest reserve agroforestry concession, growing shade-tolerant cacao while protecting forest cover and biodiversity.
- The agroforestry system has helped restore degraded habitats, reduce illegal activities, and support the return of wildlife like jaguars, pumas and scarlet macaws, while keeping forest loss significantly lower than in nearby unprotected areas.
- Farmers are now major cacao producers, selling to local and international markets at premium prices, with the crop’s distinctive flavor attributed to being grown among native trees in organic, diversified agroforestry systems.
- Artisanal chocolate makers and farm tours promote traditional practices, attract visitors, and support smallholder incomes, while agroforestry systems also contribute to jaguar-friendly landscapes and wildlife corridors.

Bitcoin boom comes with huge intensifying environmental footprint
- Bitcoin is often portrayed by promoters as existing in a separate cyber universe, distinct from the biological world. This view is far from reality, say critics, who point to bitcoin’s serious and escalating environmental impacts, with its global spread also raising environmental justice concerns.
- Bitcoin mining demands huge amounts of computing power and is an energy hog. It monopolizes entire data centers that are currently multiplying globally. Most of the energy needed to mint bitcoin comes from the burning of fossil fuels, which produces significant carbon emissions, worsening climate destabilization.
- Bitcoin data centers need huge amounts of water for cooling. The semiconductors required for mining are made in a process using toxic PFAS (forever chemicals). Bitcoin equipment and processing chips at the end of life also add to global e-waste. Despite these harms, bitcoin is poised for explosive growth
- Prominent influencers, including U.S. President Donald Trump, cheerlead loudly for bitcoin. Trump has said that “America will become the world’s undisputed bitcoin mining powerhouse.” His son, Eric Trump, has debuted American Bitcoin, a bitcoin mining firm. Neither Trump has addressed bitcoin’s global environmental costs.

Orcas discovered making tools from seaweed to ‘massage’ each other
- Southern resident killer whales in the Salish Sea off the U.S. state of Washington have been observed making tools from bull kelp stalks, biting off pieces and using them to massage each other in a behavior scientists call “allokelping.”
- This represents the first documented evidence of toolmaking by marine mammals, with whales of all ages participating in coordinated grooming sessions that likely serve both hygiene and social bonding purposes.
- The behavior helps whales exfoliate dead skin and may provide antibacterial benefits, though the endangered population of only 73 individuals faces multiple threats including declining food sources and habitat destruction.
- The bull kelp forests where whales source their grooming tools are also threatened by warming oceans, making conservation of both the whale population and their kelp habitat crucial for preserving this unique cultural behavior.

Bring the forest to the farm or the farm to the forest? Agroforestry faces a dichotomy
- A new comment article published in Nature Climate Change makes the case for more forest-based agroforestry — integrating crops into existing forests — as an underutilized climate and livelihood solution.
- The authors find that there’s a noticeable lack of funding for forest-based methods compared to field-based agroforestry, in which trees are added to pasture and croplands, which they say has led to missed opportunities for carbon storage and biodiversity.
- A lack of consensus and understanding on how to define agroforestry is another factor in the misalignment of intentions and outcomes of agroforestry as a climate solution.
- The authors call on policymakers and scientists to fund and study forest-based agroforestry methods with more rigor, especially in places where people depend on rural livelihoods such as agriculture.

US proposes adding seven pangolin species to Endangered Species Act
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has recently proposed listing seven species of pangolins, the most trafficked mammals on the planet, under the Endangered Species Act. If finalized, an ESA listing would prohibit the import and sale of pangolins and their parts in the U.S., except for scientific or conservation purposes. It would also open […]
After controversy, Plant-for-the-Planet focuses on the trees
- Plant-for-the-Planet, a global forest restoration and youth empowerment initiative, oversees reforestation projects in Mexico, Spain and Ghana.
- The organization was founded by Felix Finkbeiner at just 9 years old, when his school tree-planting project happened to make the local news in Germany. Now 27, he continues to help run Plant-for-the-Planet as it juggles rapid growth with the slow, painstaking work of planting trees.
- In recent years, the organization has been plagued by controversy, with news investigations exposing exaggerated planting numbers, poor record-keeping, and plans to invest in controversial real estate development.
- Now Plant-for-the-Planet is focusing on data collection and longer-term restoration strategies, hoping to leave its mistakes in the past.

“The Birds,” Revisited (cartoon)
A new study using citizen science data via eBird — an app used by birdwatchers to record sightings — has found that declines in bird populations in North America are the steepest where the respective species have historically been most abundant.
Bumble Bee asks court to dismiss lawsuit alleging forced labor in tuna supply chain
- In March, four Indonesian men filed a landmark lawsuit in the U.S. against canned tuna giant Bumble Bee Foods, accusing the company of profiting from abuse and exploitation aboard Chinese-owned vessels supplying its tuna.
- The plaintiffs described brutal conditions while working on vessels that allegedly supplied albacore tuna directly to Bumble Bee, including physical violence, inadequate food, lack of medical care and withheld wages.
- Despite claims of traceability and sustainability, Bumble Bee and its parent company, Taiwan-based FCF, have been linked to a network of vessels implicated in labor abuses. Critics argue the company failed to act on repeated warnings from rights groups and resisted regulatory changes.
- On June 2, Bumble Bee filed papers requesting the federal court handling the case dismiss it on legal grounds. The next step will be for a judge to decide whether to dismiss it or let it proceed.

Researchers race to understand disease killing Caribbean corals at unprecedented rates
- Stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD) is a novel coral disease that first emerged in Florida in 2014, and has now spread to 33 countries and territories in the Caribbean, including along the Mesoamerican Reef.
- SCTLD affects an unprecedented number of species (more than 30 species of reef-building corals), spreads quickly, and has a very high mortality rate.
- Researchers are still trying to figure out exactly what causes the disease.
- Researchers are also trying to understand how the coral microbiome is involved in or responds to SCTLD infection, and developing probiotics that they hope will offer an alternative treatment to antibiotics, with fieldwork in Belize, Colombia and elsewhere.

Latin American banks still slow to protect the environment, report finds
- Across Latin America, banks have failed to integrate sustainability regulations into lending, bond issuance and financial advisory services, according to a WWF sustainable finance assessment.
- WWF examined the policies of 22 banks across Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru, and found that the countries’ financial sectors had largely failed to implement protections against nature-related risks, such as deforestation and biodiversity loss.
- Only six of the 22 banks have policies that acknowledge the “societal and economic risks” associated with environmental degradation, and just two of them have made net-zero carbon emission commitments for their lending portfolios.

In a big win, Yurok Nation reclaims vital creek and watershed to restore major salmon run
- Four dams are now down on the Upper Klamath River in northern California in the largest river restoration project in U.S. history. But a rarely mentioned cold-water creek is essential to restoring health to what was once the third-largest salmon run on the West Coast of North America.
- Blue Creek is located just 25 km (16 mi) from the mouth of the Lower Klamath at the Pacific Ocean. Critically, it’s the first cold-water refuge for migrating salmon that enables the fish to cool down, survive, and move farther upriver to spawn. The dams and logging have damaged this important watershed for decades.
- The Yurok, California’s largest Indigenous tribe, lost ownership of Blue Creek to westward U.S. expansion in the late 1800s. In 2002, a timber company, negotiating with the Yurok, agreed to sell back the 19,000-hectare (47,100-acre) watershed to the tribe.
- It took Western Rivers Conservancy, an Oregon-based NGO, nearly two decades to raise the $60 million needed to buy the watershed. In a historic transition, Blue Creek returns this spring to the Yurok for conservation in its entirety. The tribe considers the watershed a sacred place.

From local planting to national plan, Belize bets on mangrove recovery
- Mangroves in Belize protect coastlines, are nursery grounds for fish, and store vast amounts of carbon.
- In 2021, the government of Belize committed to restoring 4,000 hectares (nearly 10,000 acres) of mangroves, and protecting an additional 12,000 hectares (nearly 30,000 acres) within a decade, as part of its emissions reduction target under the Paris climate agreement.
- To support this restoration target, WWF Mesoamerica is developing a national mangrove restoration action plan.
- Restoration initiatives are already underway in areas like Gales Point, Placencia Caye and elsewhere.

US pioneers restoration of deep water corals damaged by country’s worst oil spill
- Scientists are conducting a pioneering large-scale deep-sea coral restoration in the Gulf of Mexico following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, which damaged 1,994 square kilometers (770 square miles) of seafloor habitat.
- Underwater robots and Navy divers using specialized gear to work at depths up to 100 meters (328 feet) plant coral fragments on the ocean floor, while labs in Texas, South Carolina and Florida grow corals in tanks for future transplantation.
- The novel eight-year, multi-million-dollar project has achieved milestones including high deepwater coral survival rates at sea and the first successful spawning of deep-sea corals in captivity, which produced more than 1,000 baby corals.
- The restoration faces ongoing threats from climate change, commercial fishing, agricultural runoff and potential future oil spills, with nearly 1,000 spills occurring in U.S. waters in 2021 and 2022 alone.

Manage people more and bears less, say Indigenous elders in world’s ‘polar bear capital’
- Indigenous residents of Churchill in Canada’s Manitoba province have coexisted with polar bears for thousands of years, emphasizing respect for the animals and staying out of their way.
- The province-run Polar Bear Alert Program also aims to keep the community safe from overly curious or dangerous bears, but some of its practices have been called into question by locals.
- Churchill’s tourism industry drives the local economy and is also the source of most problematic human-bear interactions.
- As climate change causes bears to spend more time on land, Churchill leaders are working with local and regional stakeholders to improve human-polar bear coexistence.

Future of Mexican communal land in limbo as mining company overstays agreement
- Canadian mining company Equinox Gold has failed to implement a closure process after its land use and social-cooperation agreement with the Carrizalillo ejido in Mexico’s Guerrero state ended on March 31.
- It instead announced the indefinite suspension of its Los Filos mine, which the country’s agrarian attorney and legal experts say is not permitted in Mexico.
- Prior to the termination date, representatives of the ejido told Mongabay the company carried out a smear campaign to pressure them into signing a renegotiation proposal which they rejected because of its unfair conditions.
- Meanwhile, members of the ejido who rely on rent payments from the company to survive, have not received any compensation from the company and cannot return to their agrarian way of life because the mine occupies most of their land and the few available areas are contaminated.

‘Satellites for Biodiversity’ upgrades with new projects and launches insight hub
The Airbus Foundation and the Connected Conservation Foundation (CCF) recently announced the winners of their “Satellites for Biodiversity” grant, which now uses higher-resolution satellite imagery to aid conservation efforts. They also launched an Ecosystem Insight Hub, which comprehensively documents the processes and findings of their grantees. The latest batch of six “Satellites for Biodiversity” awardees […]
Scientists rediscover a Mexican rabbit they hadn’t seen in 120 years
- Lost to science for more than a century, the Omiltemi cottontail rabbit has been confirmed by scientists to be alive and hopping in southern Mexico.
- The species was rediscovered via interviews with local communities and footage from camera traps intended to photograph jaguars.
- Sierra Madre del Sur in the state of Guerrero is the only place in the world where the Omiltemi cottontail is known to exist.
- Satellite data show continued forest loss within its known range, while hunting for food by local communities remains another threat to the species.

The blobby little sea squirt that stowed away across the Pacific to California
- In 2023, scientists found a nonnative species of marine invertebrate in a private marina near Los Angeles, California.
- The arrival of this new member of California’s marine fauna highlights the massive, largely uncontrolled movement of marine species via ships that travel the world.
- Concerned about potential ecological and economic impacts, the state of California has tried to curb the movement of nonnative marine species through regulations of large ships and commercial ports, but the regulations don’t apply to smaller vessels.
- Beginning in 2025, California will have to comply with less-stringent federal biofouling and ballast water regulations.

An alternative approach to bridge Indigenous knowledge and Western science for conservation (commentary)
- The idea of integrating Indigenous and Western knowledge systems is often well-intentioned, but ultimately misguided, write the authors of a new commentary who were part of a project for WCS Canada and the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in First Nation in the Yukon.
- Their new study offers an alternative approach, in which these knowledge systems can exist independently and simultaneously, without seeking to control or validate one another.
- “It is our hope that this work sparks a greater conversation about land-use planning across Canada, in pursuit of a world where wildlife and people can thrive in healthy and valued lands and seas,” the authors write.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily Mongabay.

Protection is only the beginning: Creating connection through Belize’s Maya Forest Corridor
- In central Belize, the Maya Forest Corridor, a narrow section of forested land, is key for wildlife movements across Belize, conservationists say.
- A land acquisition by the Maya Forest Corridor Trust in 2021 was a major step forward in protecting the corridor.
- Members of the Trust are now working on ways to secure and bolster the ecological integrity of the land, but face threats like roads, fire and even a national sporting event.

Venomous snakes, freshwater fish among legally traded species most likely to become invasive in US
- The U.S., the largest importer of wildlife products in the world, brings in nearly 10,000 species of plants and animals into the country legally, some of which have a high potential to become invasive species.
- A recent study assessed these imported species and identified 32 as having the highest risk for becoming invasive, posing threats to local ecosystems and to human health.
- These include venomous reptiles like puff adders and spitting cobras, and freshwater fish; similar species that have already established themselves as invasives have wrought havoc on native wildlife and caused widespread economic harm.
- The researchers say their findings can help authorities regulate the imports of such high-risk species and add them to watchlists to prevent them from becoming invasives.

Vortex predator: Study reveals the fluid dynamics of flamingo feeding
Flamingos, often pictured standing still with their heads submerged in water, make for a pretty picture. But peep underwater, and you’ll find the tall, elegant pink birds bobbing their heads, chattering their beaks, and creating mini tornados to efficiently guide microscopic prey into their mouths, according to a new study. “Think of spiders, which produce […]
Radio tags help reveal the secret lives of tiger salamanders
- Scientists are using radio telemetry to map out the home range and habitats of tiger salamanders in the Hamptons in New York.
- Tiger salamanders spend most of their time in burrows underground; they emerge during breeding season and lay eggs in seasonal pools.
- Studying their movements and how far they move from the pools is challenging because of their underground lifestyle.
- With the help of radio transmitters, scientists have found that the salamanders move greater distances than previously thought; they were also found to burrow under fields.

New research sheds light on Canada lynx-snowshoe hare cycle, human impacts
- It’s long been known that snowshoe hare numbers in North American forests rise and fall dramatically in a predictable 10-year cycle. A year or two later, Canada lynx populations follow the same pattern.
- After decades of research, the dominant view is that the hare cycle is largely driven by predation, though there are still many mysteries to uncover.
- New research is shedding light on the lynx’s hunting behaviors and the asynchronicity of population cycles from region to region.
- Researchers are also looking at how human causes, including forestry practices, climate change and escalating wildfires, may be impacting lynx-hare cycles.

Cruise ships and intensified tourism in Mexico threaten whale shark habitat
- In Baja California Sur, Mexico, a private tourism company, Aquamayan Adventures, and the port administration have reached an agreement that allows mega cruise ships to enter Bahía de La Paz. Environmental organizations are urging the government to cancel the agreement.
- The agreement allows at least 150,000 annual visitors, a figure four times that of cruise passengers received in 2023 and equivalent to 60% of the resident population of the city of La Paz, the state’s capital.
- In addition, the company intends to build a large tourism and commercial complex that could have serious environmental, social and economic impacts on the city and surrounding area, according to organizations concerned about the project.
- Bahía de La Paz is a critical location for marine species like the whale shark, which was affected by the presence of a high number of mega cruise ships in 2020, and which could now be the victim of collisions with vessels arriving to port.

Angling for answers, this saltwater fishing group boosts research for better conservation
- Though anglers aren’t generally thought of as environmentalists, many people who fish are conservation minded, whether because it’s an outdoor pursuit, or because they wish to ensure future harvests.
- Whatever their reasons, there aren’t many groups that help anglers advocate for sustainable fishing regulations based on solid science, nor ones that also work to generate new data that helps them argue for better conservation.
- “Until we came along, there was no voice for those saltwater anglers who cared about conservation, but didn’t have enough time to put into it to really understand it,” says American Saltwater Guides Association vice president Tony Friedrich.
- His team not only helps its members articulate the need for conservation and regulation, they actively participate in developing data that helps managers set better limits, through projects like their GotOne App.

At the U.N., mining groups tout protections for Indigenous peoples
- At the U.N., international mining organizations committed to consulting with Indigenous people.
- The reality on the ground looks different in the U.S., say Indigenous activists. Projects like Oak Flat in Arizona are continuing to move ahead over Indigenous objections.
- Mining industry groups have released voluntary rules for getting consent from Indigenous people — with stronger requirements than the U.S. has. Legal experts say it could goad governments into action.

Science lays out framework to assess climate liability of fossil fuel majors
- In recent decades a growing number of lawsuits have been launched by states, cities and other government entities to hold fossil fuel companies financially liable for the climate harm caused by the greenhouse gas emissions their products produce.
- But those efforts often come up against challenging legal arguments made by the companies saying that their actions and emissions cannot be scientifically linked to specific climate change-driven extreme weather events.
- Now, fast-advancing attribution science is offering answers to those legal arguments. A new study has created a framework that connects the emissions over time of the world’s largest fossil fuel companies — BP, ExxonMobil, Chevron, Saudi Aramco and Gazprom — to rising temperatures and specific heat-related climate disasters.
- Researchers say that, in time, this framework for assigning attribution and financial damages could be extended to specific fossil fuel companies and a range of climate change-intensified extreme events such as hurricanes, flooding, sea-level rise and wildfires. The framework has yet to be tested in court.

World’s top seafood firms lobby against ocean conservation measures: Report
- The world’s most influential seafood companies and industry associations mostly lobby against environmental protections, a report by the U.K.-based NGO InfluenceMap found.
- The report assesses the biodiversity-related lobbying efforts of a list of the 30 most influential seafood companies in the world and 12 of the main industry associations they’re members of.
- The vast majority of the companies and industry associations engage in lobbying that’s misaligned with international biodiversity goals agreed to in a 2022 treaty.
- Industry associations told Mongabay that they support science-based policy and that the report is flawed.

Deadly US rainfall in April 9% more intense due to climate change: Report
Human-driven climate change made the extreme rainfall that caused dozens of deaths in early April in the U.S. South and Midwest more intense and likely, according to a new rapid analysis from World Weather Attribution (WWA). The storms that struck from April 2-6 caused flash floods, tornadoes and power outages, affecting at least 100,000 people. […]
Hand-raised chicks boost Guatemala’s critically endangered macaws
Scarlet macaw chicks that may have otherwise died in the wild are getting a second chance at life through a hand-rearing program managed by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) Guatemala. The scarlet macaw’s (Ara macao) conservation status is classified as being of least concern on the IUCN Red List, primarily because of its broad geographic […]
North American birds are plummeting in areas where they’re plentiful
A newly published study has found that nearly 75% of bird species in North America are sharply declining across their ranges, and eight in 10 plummeting in the very areas where they’re thought to be thriving and plentiful. Nearly every species, 97%, had gains and losses in their populations depending on the location, the study […]
Winter warming and rain extreme events pose overlooked threat to Arctic life
- Accelerated Arctic warming is reshaping the polar environment, but focusing only on the impacts of long-term annual temperature rise can miss key consequences of shorter-lived, but extreme, weather shifts coming as a result of climate change.
- A new meta-analysis highlights how extreme weather events in winter, such as rain-on-snow and temperature spikes, are increasing across the Arctic — though not every region gets the same extreme whiplash weather.
- Even short surges of wild winter weather — 24 hours of rainfall on snow-covered ground, for example — can decimate animal and plant populations and change an ecosystem for generations. One such rain-on-snow event in 2023 killed nearly 20,000 musk oxen in the Canadian Arctic.
- Better understanding of Arctic winter weather extremes (along with their immediate and long-term effects on flora and fauna), and factoring these into climate models, could help create more accurate, effective, region-specific conservation plans.

Wood pellet maker Drax denied pollution permit after small town Mississippi outcry
- Nearly 30 wood pellet mills operate in the southeastern U.S., with more planned. Environmental advocates have long opposed biomass for energy schemes, noting that the burning of wood pellets is a poor replacement for coal because it releases major carbon emissions, while also causing deforestation and biodiversity harm.
- But those arguments have barely moved the dial when it comes to regulating the industry or banning its lucrative green subsidies, so activist wins have been few. But the angry protests of southeastern U.S. citizens — many of them poor and Black —in rural areas where pellet mills are located have raised another big issue: pollution.
- A case in point is Drax’s Amite County plant located in Gloster, Mississippi. Drax is one of the biggest forest biomass producers in the world, but that hasn’t stopped Gloster’s citizens from opposing the company for its impacts on health and quality of life, like toxic air pollution, excessive noise and truck traffic.
- Drax has been fined twice, totaling more than $2.7 million for its pollution, with Gloster citizens recently winning over the state of Mississippi, which for now is refusing to give Drax a permit to legally pollute even more. Pollution is bad near other wood pellet plants, and forest advocates are now allying with irate citizens.

‘We belong to one ocean’: Indigenous leaders push for seat at the table of high seas biodiversity treaty
- Members of Indigenous peoples and coastal communities convened at the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues to call for their inclusion in the Agreement on Marine Biodiversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ), also known as the High Seas Treaty.
- These are the first-ever calls by Indigenous and coastal communities as members attending the forum prepare for the entry into force of the BBNJ agreement.
- Their participation could include involvement in governance, environmental management, and best-practice strategies based on traditional ecological knowledge and values.
- The BBNJ agreement will enter into force once at least 60 countries ratify it. So far, 113 countries have signed the agreement, while 19 have ratified the treaty.

Oil companies have downplayed extent of spills in Gulf of Mexico, investigation finds
- Mongabay Latam and Data Crítica examined and compared official data of oil spills in the Gulf of Mexico, including satellite images by scientists studying oil spills and evidence compiled by fishing communities. Their analysis found that most oil spills are not reported.
- Occasionally, even the spills that are reported are played down. The volume of the Ek’ Balam oil spill in 2023 — the most serious spill in Mexico in recent years — was under-reported by 10 to 200 times, according to calculations performed by scientists using satellite images of the disaster.
- Between January 2018 and July 2024, the government of Mexico initiated 48 sanctioning processes against oil companies, but fines were only imposed in fewer than half of those cases. And only eight of those fines have been paid.
- Fishers are demanding oil companies release actual data and take responsibility and the government take action to protect their environment and livelihood.

Whales and dolphins at risk as report reveals ecological decline in Gulf of California
- The recent “Assessment of the Ecological Health of the Gulf of California” report shows a decline in several populations of animals throughout the narrow sea flanked by the Mexican mainland and Baja California.
- The report was compiled by the Next Generation Sonoran Desert Researchers (N-Gen) in the U.S. in collaboration with Prescott College’s Kino Bay Center field station in Mexico, and draws on long-term monitoring studies.
- Many of the assessed groups, such as seabirds, whales, giant squid, crabs, starfish and fish, are in decline.
- Basic primary productivity, which nurtures species diversity and abundance in the Gulf of California, remains stable.

‘It has been worth it’: The local women saving Yucatán’s mangroves
- Mangrove forests provide important ecosystem services, from acting as nurseries for fish to buffering coasts from storms.
- Mangroves along the northern coast of the Mexican state of Yucatán have been impacted by deforestation and highway and port development.
- A group of women called Las Chelemeras has for the past 15 years worked to restore the region’s mangrove forests and ecosystem function.
- Their restoration tasks involve opening and maintaining channels so that water can infiltrate and drain with the tides, and planting mangrove tree seedlings.

Indigenous nations fought for a new national monument. Will it survive Trump?
- After decades of activism by the Ajumawi–Atsugewi Nation (Pit River Nation) to protect its ancestral homelands from extractive industries, vandalism and looting, President Joe Biden created Sáttítla Highlands National Monument in northern California in 2025.
- Sáttítla’s management plan supports co-stewardship by Indigenous nations with connections to the landscape.
- The Trump administration has sown confusion over Sáttítla’s fate by releasing and then deleting documents and proclamations online that said the monument would be rescinded.

Mexican government looks to correct Tren Maya environmental damages
- Environment Minister Alicia Bárcena said the government is considering ways to correct some of the damage done by Tren Maya to cenotes and rainforests in the Yucatán peninsula.
- Officials want to remove fencing along the tracks, create new protected areas and ban the construction of additional roads connecting the train with harder-to-reach tourism activities in rainforests.
- At the same time, the government plans to expand the Tren Maya route and build several other trains across the country that could threaten protected areas.

Trump opens massive marine protected area to commercial fishing
U.S. President Donald Trump has signed a proclamation allowing commercial fishing in Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument (PIH), a massive marine protected area home to threatened fish, sea turtles and marine mammals. The proclamation says U.S.-flagged vessels may now fish within 50-200 nautical miles (90-370 kilometers) inside PIH’s boundaries. While the proclamation and factsheet […]
How Mexican fishers are protecting an endemic oyster — and its ecosystem
- In Mexico’s Nayarit marshes on the Pacific Coast, the work of a fishing group called Ostricamichin has enabled the recovery of the Cortez oyster, an endemic and economically important mollusk, along with other marine species.
- The Marismas Nacionales Nayarit National Reserve, where the Cortez oyster is cultivated, accounts for 45% of Mexico’s national fishing production, thanks to floating rafts that help grow the endemic species in its waters.
- However, members of Ostricamichin say their project is threatened by climate change and illegal fishing. But the biggest threat, currently, is a proposed dam project which, they say, would devastate the delicate ecosystem.

Proforestation: The case for leaving trees alone
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. In a quiet corner of northern New York state, the white pines of the Adirondack Forest Preserve rise like sentinels, untouched for more than 125 years. Their silence speaks volumes. These towering trees, some 150 feet (about 46 […]
Scientists team up for Snapshot USA nationwide mammal survey
- Snapshot USA is an annual project that aims to collate camera-trap data on mammals from across the country.
- Since it was launched in 2019, the project has received data from universities, Native American reservations, non-profit organizations and others from across the U.S.
- Over the past six years, the project has gathered data that include more than 1 million image captures of mammals from about 16 million raw images.
- By establishing a standardized survey protocol to camera-trap mammals, the team at Snapshot USA says it hopes to create a data set that can be used to formulate effective conservation strategies.

As Acapulco’s mangroves disappear, Mexico takes strides to protect its coastal forests
- One of Acapulco’s lagoons has experienced the near-complete loss of its mangroves due to urbanization and hurricanes.
- Another Acapulco lagoon has also lost portions of its mangroves, affecting the local fishing industry.
- Overall, the Mexican state of Guerrero has lost more than half of its mangroves since 1979.
- Mexico’s government is working with international organizations, scientists and local communities to restore the country’s lost mangroves.

Innovators battling wildfires with AI, drones & fungi get $50k grants to scale up
To address the devastating effects of wildfires in Western North America, the nonprofit Conservation X Labs (CXL) and its partners have awarded $50,000 each to 12 shortlisted teams seeking to scale up novel technologies and processes to lower wildlife risk and increase ecosystem and community resilience. CXL announced the 12 finalists of its first Fire […]
As US agroforestry grows, federal funding freeze leaves farmers in the lurch
- Agroforestry has been steadily gaining ground over the past eight years in the U.S., with the number of projects increasing 6% nationwide according to a new study.
- A federal funding freeze imposed on Jan. 27 put many agroforestry projects on hold pending a 90-day review.
- The freeze has had immediate impacts on farmers and the nonprofit organizations that support them, including a halt on reimbursements and stop work orders.
- Appalachian farmers and their communities are facing a loss in income and the dissolution of important community food resources.

A third of US bird species are in decline, report warns
A recent report assessing the health of U.S. bird populations presents a grim outlook: Birds in the U.S. are declining, and a third of the species — 229 to be precise — are in need of urgent conservation actions. Among the 112 “Tipping Point species” that have lost more than half of their population in […]
Deep-sea miner TMC seeks U.S. approval, potentially bypassing global regulator
- The Metals Company (TMC) has announced that it is in discussions with U.S. regulators to apply for an exploration license and commercial recovery permit under the Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act (DSHMRA), a U.S. law that oversees deep-sea mining activities.
- This move could serve as an alternative to TMC seeking approval from the International Seabed Authority (ISA), the U.N.-mandated body overseeing deep-sea mining in international waters, that has previously issued exploration licenses to the company.
- However, legal experts warn that if TMC is able to move forward with its plans, it would be in violation of international law and strain relations with Pacific communities.
- While TMC argues that deep-sea mining is vital for U.S. national security and mineral independence, critics warn of irreversible ecological damage and financial risks.

Panama conducts large illegal fishing bust in protected Pacific waters
- Panamanian authorities seized six longliner vessels on Jan. 20 for fishing illegally in protected waters. They also opened an investigation into an additional 10 vessels that surveillance data showed had apparently been fishing in the area but left by the time authorities arrived.
- The seizures took place in the Cordillera de Coiba, a marine protected area that’s part of the Eastern Tropical Pacific Marine Corridor, which connects several MPAs in four countries. It was the largest illegal fishing bust in the history of Panama’s MPAs.
- The vessels, whose activity is still under investigation, were Panamanian-flagged, meaning they were registered in the country, but the identity and nationality of the owners isn’t clear.
- The surveillance work in the case was done in part through Skylight, an AI-powered fisheries intelligence platform, and was supported by a group of fisheries monitoring nonprofits.

Feeds: news | india | latam | brasil | indonesia