location: United States

location: United States

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Night dives reveal hidden alliances between young fish and larval anemones
- A new study, drawing on nighttime underwater photography, documented previously unknown “symbiotic associations” between juvenile fish and larval anemones, with some fish staying close to the anemones, and others carrying them around.
- The study suggests the fish may gain protection from predators by associating with the toxic anemones, while the anemones could benefit from being transported by the fish to new parts of the ocean.
- An outside expert also proposed that anemones might receive additional benefits, such as nutrients from the fish’s excretions or from food scraps left behind.
- All of the experts emphasized that more research is needed to fully understand the dynamics of these relationships.

California’s grand insect census
- Austin Baker and his team at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County are leading an ambitious effort to DNA-barcode every insect species in California as part of the statewide CalATBI initiative to “discover it all, protect it forever.”
- The project combines traditional specimen collection with modern genetic sequencing to build a comprehensive biodiversity library, revealing surprising hotspots of insect life—from foggy coasts to the species-rich Mojave Desert.
- By creating a genetic baseline of California’s insect diversity, the team hopes to track future ecological change, inform conservation priorities, and preserve the record of countless species that might otherwise vanish unnoticed.
- Baker was interviewed by Mongabay’s Rhett Ayers Butler in October 2025.

Drax pellet mill wins appeal to raise pollution limits in small Mississippi town
- Industrial forest biomass wood pellet mills now dot rural areas around the globe, with plants concentrated in the U.S. Southeast, and other major facilities found in Canada, the EU, Russia, Vietnam, Indonesia and elsewhere. The EU, Japan and South Korea burn most of the wood pellets currently being produced.
- Pellet mills have increasingly come under fire from rural communities who accuse large-scale manufacturers like the U.K.’s Drax and Enviva in the U.S. of air pollution, dust and noise violations, which harm residents’ health and quality of life. A 2023 study found that pellet mills in the U.S. Southeast release 55 hazardous pollutants.
- In a rare victory last April, the town of Gloster, Mississippi, won a major pollution permitting battle against Drax’s Amite BioEnergy pellet mill — one of the largest in the world. But at an October appeal meeting, the Mississippi Department of Environment Quality reversed itself, giving Drax permission to pollute more today than previously.
- The Drax plant has been fined more than $2.75 million since 2016 for exceeding toxic emissions limits. Drax says it has invested millions in pollution mitigation technology to prevent future pollution. A law firm representing Gloster citizens is filing a federal lawsuit alleging Drax has been violating the Clean Air Act since opening the Gloster plant in 2015.

California learns from its beaver reintroductions
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. Tásmam Koyóm, a high Sierra meadow in California, U.S. returned to the Mountain Maidu people in 2019, is once again wet where once it had been dry. Rivulets now snake through hip-high grasses and willow thickets, feeding a […]
Radar study shows when offshore turbines pose greatest risks to migrating birds
- A new study looks at bird migration patterns over open ocean in an attempt to assess how much risk offshore wind turbines and other marine infrastructure might pose to them.
- The authors used radar data from U.S. coastal weather stations to find that hundreds of millions of birds migrate over tight windows of time in the spring and fall while flying at slightly lower elevations on average than over land.
- This puts a proportion of them at risk of being killed by wind turbines, but that risk could be mitigated with dynamic management that accounts for their patterns, according to the study.
- The Trump administration, in office since January, says it doesn’t support offshore wind development, but the research has long-term implications and could be used more immediately for mitigating the impact of offshore oil and gas projects.

Booming sea otters and fading shellfish spark values clash in Alaska
- In Alaska, a state brimming with iconic wildlife — from grizzly bears to king salmon, humpback whales to harbor seals — the charismatic, densely coated sea otter stands out as perhaps the state’s most hotly debated, controversial species.
- Sea otters were nearly hunted into extinction a century ago for their luxurious pelts. But they have been surging in population in the Gulf of Alaska, bringing both benefits to nearshore ecosystems and drawbacks to the shellfish economy (due to the otters’ voracious caloric needs).
- Described by commercial shellfish harvesters and Native Alaskans as pillagers of clams and crabs, sea otters are seen by many marine biologists as having positive impacts on kelp forests — important for biodiversity and carbon storage. Scientists stress that shellfish declines are complex, with sea otters being just one among multiple causes.
- Native Alaskans are the only people given free rein to hunt sea otters. But long-standing federal regulations stipulating who qualifies as Native Alaskan make it illegal for most to manage their own waters. Tribes are fighting for regulatory changes that would enable them to hunt and help balance booming sea otter populations.

As wolves roam California, livestock losses remain low, yet ranchers’ fears grow
- In California, as wolf numbers grow — a remarkable return after a century — livestock producers are increasingly worried as these predators occasionally take down cattle.
- Gray wolves are an endangered species, protected under both federal and state laws, complicating the balance between conservation and economic losses, though livestock kills remain low.
- California introduced a compensation program that pays ranchers for direct and indirect losses from wolves as a way to mitigate conflicts, but ranchers say this program isn’t scalable with expanding wolf numbers. The livestock industry also receives substantial taxpayer-funded subsidies.
- Wolves were extirpated from California a century ago, so ranchers haven’t lived alongside them for generations and are pushing to remove all protections for the species. Conservationists argue coexistence is the only way forward.

Drone surveys offer early warnings on whale health and survival
- Scientists have deployed drones and are using photogrammetry to determine how climate change is impacting the health of whale populations.
- By collecting the measurements of whales, scientists are able to track how environmental factors impact the growth and reproduction of right whales off the coast of New England and orcas in Alaska.
- Using the data, they found that a marine heat wave in 2013 reversed the revival of the population in Alaska that had plummeted after the Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989; they also noticed that the whales didn’t grow as much as they should have.
- The method also enabled scientists to detect pregnant whales well in advance, allowing them to monitor if the pregnancy was successful or not.

Warmer climate could slash threatened whitebark pine territory within decades: Study
- A study published Sept. 2 in the journal Environmental Research Letters forecasts an 80% reduction in the area with suitable climates for whitebark pine by the mid-21st century.
- This long-lived, high-elevation tree plays a critical role in mountain ecosystems in western North America, providing food for wildlife and regulating water supplies.
- But a disease-causing fungus has ravaged whitebark and other pine species, compounded by other threats, such as wildfire, mountain pine beetles and climate change.
- The research, which identifies areas that will likely be climatically suitable for whitebark pine in the future, could help guide restoration efforts to save the species.

Scientists hope underwater fiber-optic cables can help save endangered orcas
SAN JUAN ISLAND, Wash. (AP) — Scientists from the University of Washington recently deployed a little over 1 mile of fiber-optic cable in the Salish Sea to test whether internet cables can monitor endangered orcas. The technology is called Distributed Acoustic Sensing. It transforms cables into continuous underwater microphones that can pinpoint whale locations and […]
Diane Keaton, actress and animal advocate, has died, aged 79
Fame, for Diane Keaton, was never an excuse to look away. In a profession built on performance, she turned her gaze outward—to the voiceless and the overlooked. While audiences remember her for Annie Hall’s nervous charm and The Godfather’s quiet strength, animal advocates will remember her for something else: an unflinching compassion that extended well […]
Uphill battle to save California’s endangered mountain yellow-legged frog
- Conservation organizations released 350 mountain yellow-legged frogs earlier this year, marking another step in an intensive, long-running reintroduction project for this highly endangered species in Southern California.
- Once abundant across its range, populations have declined drastically because of invasive fish species, climate change impacts, and the deadly chytrid fungus that is wiping out amphibians worldwide.
- Conservationists are testing out new ways to boost survival rates of released frogs. Though it’s hoped the species may one day recover, today they are locked in a fight against extinction.

Canada’s prime minister discussed reviving contentious Keystone XL pipeline with Trump
TORONTO (AP) — A Canadian government official familiar with the matter says Prime Minister Mark Carney raised the prospect of reviving the contentious Keystone XL pipeline project during his White House meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump this week. A Canadian company pulled the plug on it four years ago after the Canadian government failed […]
Will California’s marine mammal conservation success come undone?
- With protection, many of California’s marine mammals — including whales, sea lions and seals — have made remarkable recoveries over the last half-century since bipartisan passage of the U.S. Marine Mammal Protection Act.
- However, climate-linked changes have now pushed the gray whale population into a state of collapse.
- Despite comebacks, marine mammals face a plethora of threats from pathogens, pollutants — including oil and plastic — disappearing food and more.
- In California, people and institutions are fighting for marine mammals and ocean biodiversity, but federal protections could be substantially weakened if proposed amendments to the Act move ahead.

Wildfire smoke could kill 71,000 people per year in the US by 2050, study warns
- A new Nature study projects wildfire smoke will cause 71,000 excess deaths annually in the U.S. by 2050, representing $608 billion in damages that exceed all other estimated climate costs combined.
- Researchers linked climate conditions to fire emissions, smoke concentrations and mortality using historical death records and satellite data, finding that approximately 41,000 annual deaths already occur from wildfire smoke.
- More than half of projected deaths occur in Eastern U.S. states due to population density and long-range smoke transport, with health impacts lasting up to three years after exposure.
- Even if nations dramatically cut emissions, more than 60,000 Americans will still likely die annually from wildfire smoke by 2050 because Earth’s climate system takes decades to respond to changes, making adaptation strategies like air filters and forest management critical despite their limitations.

Mongabay founder Rhett Butler wins the Henry Shaw Award
Mongabay founder and CEO Rhett Butler has been awarded the 2025 Henry Shaw Medal from the Missouri Botanical Garden in St. Louis, U.S. Established in 1893, the award recognizes “individuals who have made a significant contribution to the Missouri Botanical Garden, botanical research, horticulture, conservation, or the museum community.” While many recipients have been scientists, […]
Tony Pritzker’s patient strategy for the planet
- Tony Pritzker, an engineer by training and philanthropist by practice, frames his environmental giving around patience, pragmatism, and clearly defined goals, from cleaning up Santa Monica Bay to fostering early-career innovators.
- He emphasizes local action as the foundation of global change, citing successes such as stormwater treatment infrastructure in Los Angeles and the educational initiatives of Heal the Bay.
- Pritzker blends optimism with realism, believing that consumer demand, science, and efficiency can align business, policy, and philanthropy to address environmental challenges without partisanship.
- He spoke with Mongabay founder and CEO Rhett Ayers Butler in September 2025 about his journey in environmental philanthropy, his belief in “patient strategy,” and the need to combine innovation with stewardship.

Impacts of US government shutdown on the EPA
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Environmental Protection Agency faces challenges during a government shutdown. The agency’s mission to protect health and the environment is at risk without a federal budget. Former EPA officials express concerns that polluters may exploit the situation with an agency that has already seen massive staff cuts and dramatic shifts in policy. […]
Jane Goodall (1934–2025): primatologist, conservationist, and messenger of hope
- Jane Goodall, who began her career in 1960 with little formal training, transformed science’s understanding of chimpanzees and in the process reshaped the boundary between humans and animals. Her discoveries at Gombe forced the recognition of animal minds, emotions, and cultures once thought unique to humanity.
- She built on that science with activism: founding the Jane Goodall Institute in 1977, launching community-centered conservation programs across Africa, and creating sanctuaries for orphaned chimps. In 1991 she established Roots & Shoots, which grew into a vast youth movement spanning more than 100 countries.
- Beyond research and institutions, she became a global messenger, traveling up to 300 days a year to speak with audiences ranging from heads of state to schoolchildren planting trees. She insisted that empathy and objectivity could coexist and called on each person to remember that “every day you live, you make some kind of impact.”
- She described humanity as standing at the mouth of a dark tunnel with a star shining at the end—hope. To reach it, she said, required collective effort. That conviction defined her legacy: a life that reminded the world that hope is not wishful thinking but a discipline, and that every individual makes a difference.

Northeast Pacific endures fourth-largest marine heat wave on record
The Northeast Pacific ocean, off the U.S. West Coast, is experiencing its fourth-largest marine heat wave since record-keeping began in 1982. “The extent of the current Pacific marine heatwave should be surprising … but unfortunately, record breaking heat is our new norm,” Chris Free, a marine scientist at the University of California, Santa Barbara, told […]
California’s kelp forests struggle to recover a decade after collapse
More than 10 years after unusually high water temperatures in the Pacific Ocean killed off Northern California’s aquatic kelp forests, the region has still not recovered, reports David Helvarg, executive director of ocean conservation group Blue Frontier, for Mongabay. From 2013 to 2017, a mass of unusually warm water nicknamed “the Blob” hugged California’s coast, […]
Grue jay or Bleen jay? Researchers confirm hybrid between blue and green jays
Researchers have for the first time confirmed that a blue jay and a green jay have mated in the wild to produce a rare hybrid with mixed features. Spotted by a birder named Donna in her backyard in San Antonio in the U.S. state of Texas, this hybrid may have resulted from the two jay […]
Alaskan rivers turn orange as permafrost thaws, threatening fish and communities
- A new study found that 75 streams in Alaska’s Brooks Range have turned orange due to thawing permafrost, which releases metals like iron, aluminum and cadmium that exceed U.S. Environmental Protection Agency safety thresholds for aquatic life.
- The contamination threatens fish populations, with aluminum concentrations at one location reaching nearly five times the safe limit, and the study suggests this may help explain recent crashes in chum salmon returns that Indigenous communities depend on for food and income.
- The pollution flows hundreds of miles downstream to coastal communities like Kivalina, where residents who rely on traditional fishing face threats to food security as some tributaries of rivers like the Wulik have begun turning orange.
- Scientists warn that this climate change impact is irreversible and spreading across the Arctic, with no cleanup options, as these remote watersheds contain hundreds of contamination sources.

China, world’s largest carbon polluting nation, announces new climate goal to cut emissions
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — China, the world’s largest carbon polluting nation, has announced a new climate fighting goal to cut emissions by 7% to 10% by 2035. It came as more than 100 world leaders lined up Wednesday to talk of increased urgency and the need for stronger efforts to curb the spewing of heat-trapping […]
Ocean acidification threatens planetary health: Interview with Johan Rockström
- The newly published 2025 Planetary Health Check report confirms transgression of the ocean acidification planetary boundary — the seventh Earth system threshold crossed, putting a “safe operating space for humanity” at risk. Oceans act as a key climate stabilizer, resilience builder and Earth life-support system.
- Marking the launch of the 2025 Planetary Health Check, Mongabay speaks with report co-author and renowned Earth system scientist Johan Rockström about how the transgression of planetary boundaries is eroding environmental justice — the right of every human being to life on a stable, healthy planet.
- Rockström, who led the international team of scientists who originated the 2009 planetary boundary framework, also speaks about the failure to achieve a U.N. plastics treaty in August and the challenge of accomplishing planetwide sustainability in a time of widespread armed conflict and political instability.
- He likewise emphasizes the need to bring the U.S. back to the negotiating table at COP30, the U.N. climate summit scheduled for November, in Belém, Brazil, and addresses the importance of inserting the planetary boundaries framework into those talks.

Oakes Award delivers top prize to Mongabay journalist Karla Mendes
Mongabay journalist Karla Mendes has received the 2025 John B. Oakes Award from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. Mendes was presented with the prestigious prize at an event in New York on Sept. 18 for her investigation documenting a direct connection between increased violence against Indigenous Arariboia leaders and the expansion of illegal cattle […]
When does beaver reintroduction make sense?
- California has recently relocated beavers from spots where they were causing problems, like flooding, to tribal lands in Northern and Southern California.
- Many advocates say that relocating beavers to areas where they once existed brings back “ecosystem engineering” benefits to the landscapes they live in.
- But experts also caution that while beavers can help with fire resilience and improve water quality, they are only part of broader solutions to climate change and watershed restoration.
- Beaver advocates also note that learning to coexist peacefully with beavers is critical, both for the recovery of the species and for the ecosystem services they provide.

Gray wolves’ return to California tests human tolerance for coexistence
Gray wolves are making a comeback in the western U.S. state of California after a century-long absence. Conservationists say their return is a success, but it’s putting pressure on ranchers and rural communities as wolf attacks on livestock mount, Mongabay wildlife staff writer Spoorthy Raman reported. The state’s last wild wolf (Canis lupus) was shot […]
Harrison Ford says his generation “kicked the can down the road” on the environment
Speaking at the 2025 Forbes Sustainability Leaders Summit during New York Climate Week on Monday, Harrison Ford, the actor turned outspoken environmental advocate, issued a rebuke of his generation for its lack of progress in addressing environmental problems. Climate change, he argued, is not merely a scientific or economic problem but a moral one. “Everything […]
Mongabay founder Rhett Butler named to Forbes Sustainability Leaders List
Rhett Ayers Butler, Mongabay founder and CEO, has been named to the 2025 Forbes Sustainability Leaders List, which honors 50 global leaders working to combat the climate crisis. “Mongabay has tended to fly under the radar. We’ve focused on the journalism rather than promoting ourselves, so this recognition is especially meaningful — and it reflects […]
Timing, not traits, helps California’s jewelflowers adapt to diverse landscapes
- California’s native jewelflowers, a group of plants that belong to the mustard family, grow in widely diverse landscapes and microclimates across the state. But until now, scientists didn’t understand what allowed their wide distribution.
- To understand this, researchers analyzed information from nearly 2,000 specimens; dug into climate and geological databases; and amassed field observations to understand the climatic conditions that 14 species of jewelflowers need to grow and reproduce.
- Their study found that, despite living in different landscapes, from desert to valleys and mountains, jewelflowers prefer hotter and drier climates, timing their sprouting and flowering accordingly. Even those species growing in colder regions adjust their life cycle to flower later in the summer and seek drought-prone soils.
- The research shows how plants distributed across vast geographies may require specific microclimates and habitats to survive, which are potentially at risk in a warming world.

Pet sharks have become cool, but is owning them ethical?
- Owning a shark and keeping it in a home aquarium has become cool — and it’s no longer just the province of tech bros and celebrities.
- But experts note that most home aquariums are inadequate and can lead to stunted growth, deformities and early death.
- Yet sharks are often easy to buy, with some selling for as little as $90 online; zebra sharks (Stegostoma tigrinum), which are endangered, go for around $6,000.

The return of the axolotl (cartoon)
Axolotls may enjoy celebrity status among pet owners, but their wild populations have been dealt huge blows by habitat loss, water pollution, invasive species and the pet trade. Now, the success of reintroduction programs in their native ranges in Mexico — where they have tremendous cultural significance — brings new hope for their comeback.
Once again, an endangered orca in Washington state is seen carrying a dead calf
EASTSOUND, Wash. (AP) — Once again, an endangered orca in Washington state has been seen carrying her dead newborn calf in an apparent effort to revive it. Researchers with the Center for Whale Research, SeaDoc Society and San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance said they received reports on Friday that the whale — identified as J36 […]
Robert Redford, filmmaker who fought for nature, has died, aged 89
- Robert Redford combined a celebrated career in film with decades of environmental advocacy, treating landscapes as characters in his movies and pushing to protect them in real life.
- From his base in Utah, he founded Sundance to support independent filmmakers and later the Redford Center with his son James, using storytelling as a tool for environmental action.
- He was instrumental in battles such as stopping a coal plant on Utah’s Kaiparowits Plateau, served on the NRDC board for nearly 50 years, and used his public platform to argue that “defense of our resources is just as important as defense abroad.”
- At the United Nations in 2015 and elsewhere, he pressed world leaders to act urgently on climate change, while urging younger generations and artists to tell stories that could “wake up the heart.”

Ani Dasgupta watched wetlands tame floods in Kigali. He believes nature is infrastructure we can fund.
- Ani Dasgupta’s path runs from Delhi’s slums to the World Bank and now WRI, where he argues climate, nature, and development must move together. His leadership emphasizes moral purpose, trust, and “orchestration” that links funders, governments, NGOs, and communities to turn knowledge into action.
- He points to pragmatic models: post-tsunami Aceh’s collaborative rebuild, a Kenyan macadamia venture restoring land while raising incomes with Terrafund’s early support, and Kigali’s wetland revival culminating in Nyandungu Park. These show nature-based solutions can cut risk and create jobs, yet financing remains the bottleneck despite WRI’s estimate that $1 in adaptation yields $10 in benefits over a decade.
- Technology is a means, not a cure-all: radar-powered RADD alerts, Global Forest Watch, and WRI’s Land & Carbon Lab aim to democratize environmental intelligence, with AI lowering entry barriers. Evidence like Indigenous monitoring in Peru halving deforestation underpins his measured optimism that systems can bend if collaboration is real and benefits are visible.
- Dasgupta was interviewed by Mongabay Founder and CEO Rhett Ayers Butler in September 2025.

Beavers restored to tribal lands in California benefit ecosystems
- In 2023, California relocated beavers for the first time in more than seven decades.
- The state’s wildlife agency partnered with Native American tribes to move beavers from places where they were causing problems, such as flooding, to parts of their former range.
- The moves and the state’s broader beaver restoration program are the result of decades of advocacy to change an adversarial relationship to one focused on beaver conservation and the benefits beavers can provide, from increased fire resilience to more consistent water supplies.
- The change in mindset involved education and coexistence campaigns, as well as correcting long-held misconceptions about the limited extent of the beaver’s former range in California.

The Great Insect Crisis
Insects underpin ecosystems worldwide, yet they are disappearing at alarming rates. In this 2019 special series, Mongabay reporter Jeremy Hance traces the global scale of the so-called “Insect Apocalypse,” as reported in the mainstream media — from massive declines in flying insects in Germany to the near-collapse of arthropods in Puerto Rico’s forests. Drawing on […]
Conservationists split over greener ranching versus ditching beef
Beef production is a major driver of climate change. It fuels deforestation in crucial biomes, a significant source of carbon emissions, and cows themselves produce methane, a potent greenhouse gas. Regenerative ranching practices aim to reduce the environmental and climate impacts of rearing cattle, but some conservation groups say a pivot away from beef is […]
Researchers describe three new-to-science snailfish species off California coast
In 2019, researchers surveying the seafloor off the coast of California came upon three unusual species of small fishes with large heads: one with bumpy pink skin, and the other two both black in color. The team collected the fish using underwater research vehicles and later analyzed their DNA and bodies. Their analysis showed that […]
Post-Blob, California’s kelp crisis isn’t going away
- Kelp forests function as major habitat for marine biodiversity, but are in rapid decline worldwide, largely because of climate impacts on the oceans.
- A 2013 marine heat wave known as “the Blob,” combined with the mass die-off of sea stars, caused a 95% loss of Northern California’s kelp forests.
- The loss of sea stars allowed the purple urchins that they thrive on to spread rapidly, converting lush kelp forests into “urchin barrens” in parts of California. There’s been very little recovery since.
- Restoration of kelp forests is extremely difficult and requires far more resources than are currently being committed.

Americans’ love of RVs tied to destruction of orangutan habitat: Investigation
- Investigations by the NGOs Earthsight, Auriga Nusantara and Mighty Earth have found that plywood from forests cleared in Indonesian Borneo — including critical orangutan habitat — is ending up in U.S. RVs made by brands like Jayco, Winnebago and Forest River.
- Logs from a concession held by PT Indosubur Sukses Makmur were traced to plywood giant KLAM, then exported via U.S. intermediaries (MJB Wood, Tumac Lumber and Patrick Industries) into RV manufacturing supply chains.
- Indonesia allows legal clearing of natural forests, while the U.S. bans only illegal logging under the Lacey Act — creating a loophole that lets deforestation-linked wood enter supply chains unchecked.
- FSC-certified sustainable alternatives exist and would add as little as $20 to an RV’s price, but RV makers prioritize low costs, critics say; experts call for stronger Indonesian protections and U.S. deforestation-free import laws.

Republicans move to lift drilling and mining restrictions in Western states
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Republican lawmakers in Congress are moving to eliminate limits on energy development in several Western states. The move clears the way for President Donald Trump’s plans to sharply expand mining and drilling on public lands. House Republicans on Wednesday night voted to repeal development restrictions across large areas of Alaska, Montana […]
Sparrow Top Gun (cartoon)
Considered one of the most endangered birds in all of North America, the Florida grasshopper sparrow has found a rather unlikely ally in its uphill battle for existence—the US Air Force. Prairies maintained by the force in its Avon Park range have proven to be a critical breeding habitat for the bird, with the air […]
Sustainable biomass certification scheme is flawed, degrades forests, report finds
- The Sustainable Biomass Program (SBP) is a private certification scheme developed by the bioenergy industry to assure the sustainability of biomass for fuel. A new report alleges that SBP is certifying biomass whose production has caused forest degradation.
- The NGO-commissioned report raises questions about SBP’s certification process, especially methods for verifying wood pellet producer and supply chain sustainability claims to safeguard against deforestation and forest degradation. SBP certification is used to justify green subsidies to the industry, mostly by European nations, but increasingly in Asia.
- SBP acknowledges the concerns raised by the report and said it is open to dialogue. The organization emphasized that its standards are designed to assess “the sustainability and legality of biomass sourcing at the level of the Biomass Producer, not at the forest management unit level” and that it does not “make overarching climate impact claims.”
- The nonprofit environmental groups that commissioned the report question how SBP can assure sustainability without assessing forest management and climate impacts.

Bonobos keep track of groupmates even when they can’t see them, study finds
Kanzi, a bonobo celebrated for his intelligence, died in March this year. A recently published study adds to his long list of cognitive abilities: he was able to track the location of people familiar to him, even when they were out of sight. He could also recognize the individual voices of his caretakers, a skill […]
Tortoise hatchlings born of century-old parents come out of their shells at Philadelphia Zoo
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Sixteen critically endangered western Santa Cruz tortoises born to some very old parents got a slow walk and the red carpet treatment Wednesday at a Philadelphia Zoo event to show off the highly prized hatchlings. Animal care specialists who have watched over the 16 since they were eggs held the animals on […]
John Landsiedel, Alaska wildlife biologist and pilot, died on July 25, aged 33
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. To work in Alaska as a wildlife biologist is to accept hardship as part of the job: blizzards, isolation, and a daily intimacy with life, death, and the difficult questions in between. For John Landsiedel, it was not […]
US proposes zero new protections for traded wildlife at upcoming CITES CoP
- The 20th Conference of the Parties (CoP) of signatories to CITES, the international wildlife trade agreement involving 185 nations will be held in late November in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, where they will discuss 51 proposals to regulate wildlife trade.
- This year, the U.S. has sponsored only four proposals — the lowest in the last 25 years — with none of them supporting increased protections for unsustainably traded flora or fauna.
- Historically, the U.S. has held a leadership role at CITES discussions backed by strong science, but conservationists expressed disappointment at this missed opportunity to help species that urgently need protection in this year’s conference.
- The hope is that the U.S., under its current administration, leaves politics aside, listens to science and supports efforts put forth by other countries to further regulate trade in threatened and overexploited species.

US proposes threatened listing for widely trafficked Borneo earless monitor
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has recently proposed listing the Borneo earless monitor, an elusive lizard endemic to the Southeast Asian island of Borneo, as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. Borneo earless monitors (Lanthanotus borneensis) are illegally trafficked for the international pet trade. Finalizing the threatened listing would prohibit the import, export and […]
Old forests, new fires, and a scientific standoff over active management
- Humans have altered the forests of western North America markedly over the past several centuries.
- We’ve suppressed fire, harvested much of the old-growth trees, and built homes and communities within these landscapes, all while anthropogenic climate change has led to hotter and drier conditions.
- Many scientists and forest managers say a set of tools such as prescribed burning and thinning boosts the chances that these forests will survive in a changing landscape.
- But others call for a more hands-off approach, arguing that our “active management” of forests will be detrimental to them and the ecosystems they support in the long run.

Seized corals find safe harbor in New York Aquarium
In May this year, wildlife inspectors for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service seized a shipment of 232 live stony corals at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. The corals are now being kept at New York Aquarium for rehabilitation and propagation, in the hopes of helping raise awareness about corals, the Wildlife […]
PFAS ‘forever’ chemicals found in 98% of US waters tested
A recent study from the U.S.-based environmental nonprofit Waterkeeper Alliance has found “forever chemicals” contamination in 98% of the waterways it tested in the United States. The findings come at a time when representatives from the world are gathered in Geneva, Switzerland, for the United Nations plastics treaty negotiations to hammer out a plan to […]
Fixing forests or fueling fires? Scientists split over active management
- After years of questionable policies, climate change and growing populations, wildfires have gotten worse in the western U.S., and around the world. That’s driven a push to use tools like thinning and controlled burns to reduce risk and restore natural fire patterns.
- Many researchers argue that the damage inflicted means we need to apply these “active management” tools thoughtfully and tailored to each forest’s conditions.
- But some scientists warn that too much intervention can harm ecosystems, especially old-growth forests.
- The debate has led to scientific and legal battles, ultimately centering on questions about the role people can play in helping forests recover in the face of increasing fire risk.

Wolves’ continued spread in California brings joy, controversy & conflicts
- After nearly a century’s absence, gray wolves continue to recolonize California, bringing changes and challenges to the state and its inhabitants.
- Ongoing research and monitoring programs are helping scientists understand growing wolf populations and their impact on prey species, other predators and alterations to the landscape.
- Gray wolves in California are protected under both federal and state laws. But balancing conservation, livestock predation and public safety concerns is complicated.
- The state has formulated a management plan for wolves: a compensation program for ranchers who lose livestock to wolves and efforts to mitigate conflicts.

Scientists identify the bacterium behind billions of sea star deaths
More than a decade ago, a mysterious illness killed billions of sea stars, particularly along the North American Pacific coast. The sea star wasting disease caused the stars to develop lesions, their arms to fall off and their bodies to disintegrate. Now, researchers in a recent study say they have zeroed in on the cause: […]
Rex Mann, American chestnut evangelist, died July 2, aged 81
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. For most Americans, the loss of a tree might pass unnoticed. For Rex Mann, it changed the course of his life. As a boy growing up in the mountains of western North Carolina, Mann listened to his father […]
Devils Hole pupfish hit by micro-tsunami from 8.8-magnitude Russian earthquake
A powerful 8.8 magnitude earthquake that struck near Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula on July 29 sent ripples nearly 4,000 miles across the Pacific, disturbing one of the most fragile ecosystems in the United States: Devils Hole in Nevada’s Mojave Desert, according to park officials. The quake generated 10-inch waves inside the narrow, water-filled cavern—a dramatic but […]
A sales-pitch pivot brings deep-sea mining closer to reality
Early on, Canada-based The Metals Company cast the rocks it seeks to mine from the deep seafloor as a crucial resource for electric vehicle batteries and other green technologies, positioning them as a solution to the accelerating climate crisis. However, in 2024, another message overtook the first in TMC’s communications, according to an analysis by […]
John Robbins, heir to an ice cream empire who chose a life of principle, dies at 77
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. In the United States, there are few things more American than ice cream. And few names more synonymous with it than Baskin-Robbins. The company’s pastel storefronts, pink spoons and 31 flavors became part of the cultural wallpaper. John […]

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