Positive Wildlife News 2021

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Win for Malaysian forest after government backs down on development plan
  • Plans to remove protections from the Kuala Langat North Forest Reserve, a protected forest close to Kuala Lumpur in Peninsular Malaysia, have been cancelled by the local government.
  • The Selangor state government will regazette the area as a protected forest following an intense civil society campaign against the plans to build a “mixed use” development covering half of the extant forest.
  • Selangor state is unique in Malaysia for having laws that require public review of plans to convert protected forests for other use; activists are now calling for these regulations to be adopted more widely.
Activists in Malaysia are celebrating an unprecedented U-turn by the Selangor state government after it cancelled plans last week to develop the Kuala Langat North Forest Reserve.

The forest reserve is mostly peat swamp and a habitat for rare species such as the Malayan sun bear (Helarctos malayanus) and Selangor pygmy flying squirrel (Petaurillus kinlochii). Fifty-four percent of the forest was degazetted by the Selangor state government in May. The area, 536.7 hectares (1,326.2 acres) in total, was earmarked for a mixed development, with 494.7 hectares (1,222.4 acres) promised to private company Gabungan Indah Sdn. Bhd., which planned to develop much of the land into permanent housing.

The degazettement caused an outcry from citizens and lawmakers alike as Selangor’s ruling party, the national opposition coalition Pakatan Harapan, had campaigned on a reforestation and conservation manifesto.

https://news-mongabay-com.cdn.amppr...overnment-backs-down-on-development-plan/amp/
 
UngulateNerd92 said:
Platypuses are being reintroduced to the Royal National Park for the first time in 50 years

The native species will return to the area where it once thrived

The curious sight of a duck-billed, semi-aquatic monotreme was once a common occurrence in the rivers of the Royal National Park on the traditional lands of the Dharawal. Sadly, platypuses have not been spotted in the area since the 1970s, but this is about to change. Keep an eye out for these web-footed friends on your future hikes – an initial group of 10 platypuses (a mixture of males and females) will be released into the National Park in the first half of 2022.

Platypuses are being reintroduced to the Royal National Park for the first time in 50 years
Click to expand...

Here is a relevant video link

WWF-Australia on LinkedIn: Platypus comeback
 
Bald eagle, the ultimate Endangered Species Act success story.

"Watch Jeff Corwin, host of the new TV show Wildlife Nation talks about the importance of the Endangered Species Act with the help of an American bald eagle. In the United States, there may be no better icon - or impressive wildlife comeback story - than the Bald eagle."

 
Pew Applauds Belize's Ambitious Commitment to Protect Coastal Wetlands

Plan signals growing global interest in nature-based solutions to climate change

The Pew Charitable Trusts today congratulated the government of Belize for committing to protect and restore mangrove and seagrass ecosystems within its updated nationally determined contribution (NDC) to the Paris Agreement. The country’s actions will help safeguard the vital ecosystem, biodiversity, and climate benefits that these habitats provide.

“Coastal ecosystems have historically been a vital part of Belize’s natural and cultural heritage,” said Dr. Kenrick Williams, CEO of Belize’s National Climate Change Office within the Ministry of Sustainable Development, Climate Change and Disaster Risk Management. “By committing to the protection, conservation, restoration, and expansion of these ecosystems, we aim to demonstrate the important role that nature-based solutions can play in reducing climate risk impacts and absorbing carbon, in addition to a multiplicity of other social and economic benefits. In the long term, Belize will continue to show real leadership in valuing the contribution of these systems that so many of our people depend on for their protection and livelihood.”

Mangrove and seagrass habitats play a fundamental role in supporting coastal communities and helping them adapt to the impacts of climate change, providing critical ecosystem services such as water filtration and shoreline defense against storm surges. Scientists and governments are increasingly recognizing other climate benefits provided by these ecosystems, which sequester three to five times more carbon per acre than other tropical forests.

https://www-pewtrusts-org.cdn.amppr...-commitment-to-protect-coastal-wetlands?amp=1
 
Record-breaking breeding season for Solent seabirds is a ‘fantastic’ result for RSPB coastal reserves

This year, 25 little tern chicks fledged, along with 253 sandwich terns, at RSPB reserves across the Solent, including Pagham Harbour, Langstone Harbour, and the West Hayling Local Nature Reserve.

This success offers further hope for the future of the Solent’s seabird colonies.

Record-breaking breeding season for Solent seabirds is a ‘fantastic’ result for RSPB coastal reserves | The News
 
Governor Sisolak Signs Executive Order Promoting Nevada Wildlife Habitat and Migration Corridors

Today Governor Steve Sisolak signed Executive Order 2021-18, which calls for the creation of the Nevada Habitat Conservation Framework (HCF). The order aims to reverse the long-term trend of loss of Nevada’s wild landscapes, which have suffered from climate change, wildfire, invasive species, and habitat fragmentation.

“Nevada’s wild landscapes provide the clear air, clean water and open space that are integral to a healthy economy and our way of life,” Governor Sisolak said. “Whether it is mule deer or desert tortoises no animal thrives without a healthy ecosystem, and this executive order puts a crucial focus on the corridors through which wildlife migrate to survive.”

Gov Sisolak Signs Executive Order Promoting Nevada Wildlife Habitat and Migration Corridors
 
Highest number of Malleefowl mounds recorded in a decade

Feral predator-free fences are proving effective at Mallee Cliffs National Park in western NSW where ecologists have recorded the highest number of active Malleefowl mounds in a decade!

AWC is excited to kickstart Biodiversity Month today by revealing that a total of 123 mounds were surveyed across the national park including 50 within the park’s 9,570-hectare feral predator-free fenced area established by AWC in August 2019 in partnership with NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service under the NSW Government’s Saving our Species program.

Highest number of Malleefowl mounds recorded in a decade
 
One Year Later: “Sweet” Conservation Win for a Colorado Treasure

Roughly one year after the passage of the Great American Outdoors Act, Colorado’s Sweetwater Lake demonstrates how important conservation funding is to protecting America’s favorite places.

It’s always rewarding to see our projects come full circle. But it requires patience.

Sometimes many years go by between first identifying an important, at-risk landscape, to when we get to see it protected and being enjoyed by the public. In many ways, that gap in time is why The Conservation Fund was created and what makes us the best at what we do. We step in to provide thoughtful conservation solutions that work for the long-term by using our own conservation capital while our partners at federal and state agencies, like the National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service and others, work to get public and private funding in-hand to pay us back and ultimately protect the land.

Last summer, the country took a step towards improving that process, with the passage of the Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA). GAOA secured full and permanent funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF)—a program that has supported so much of our work across the U.S. to secure important water, land and recreational resources. To date, LWCF has funded over 45,000 conservation projects in every state and nearly every county in the U.S.

“Sweet” Conservation Win for a Colorado Treasure | The Conservation Fund
 
Wildlife Trust set to restore nature in Mid Wales with major purchase of former livestock farm

Radnorshire Wildlife Trust is on course to buy Pentwyn Farm near Llanbister Road after submitting a winning bid for the 164-acre property.

Under the Trust’s ownership the land will be transformed from a longstanding livestock farm to diverse natural habitats managed extensively for wildlife.

Wildlife Trust set to restore nature in Mid Wales with major purchase of former livestock farm | Radnorshire Wildlife Trust
 
African Parks secures $100M for conservation in Africa
  • African Parks has secured a $100M commitment from the Rob and Melani Walton Foundation to support protected areas in Africa.
  • The money will be split between a $75 million endowment and near-term support for parks under African Parks’ management.
  • The pledge is the largest-ever gift to African Parks’s endowment.
  • African Parks is a South Africa-based conservation group that manages 19 protected areas covering 14.7 million hectares in several African nations.
African Parks, a South Africa-based conservation group that manages 19 protected areas covering 14.7 million hectares in several African countries, has secured a $100M commitment from the Rob and Melani Walton Foundation.

https://news-mongabay-com.cdn.amppr...-secures-100m-for-conservation-in-africa/amp/
 
You Could Use Some Good Bird News

Stop doomscrolling and check out these hopeful stories.

The past year and a half has been challenging for all of us. The COVID-19 Delta variant and a sequence of extreme weather events intensified by climate change turned what was supposed to be a summer of vaccine-fueled celebration into something else entirely. It was a particularly tough season for birds and bird-lovers, as a mysterious epidemic sickened songbirds across the East and hundreds of chicks jumped from their nests during the Pacific Northwest’s record-breaking heatwave. The parade of bleak headlines marches on.

Even so, birds and the people working to protect them have given us plenty to celebrate lately. (That unidentified avian disease, for one thing, seems to have disappeared, and some state agencies have eased restrictions on feeding birds.) It’s important to pause now and again to bask in good news where you can find it. Here are some conservation success stories from the past few months that lifted our spirits.

You Could Use Some Good Bird News
 
India’s first dugong conservation reserve to come up in Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu state government has announced to set up India’s first dugong conservation reserve at the northern part of the Palk Bay. Dugong are commonly known as sea cows. According to Wildlife Institute of India (WII) estimates, only 200-250 Dugongs are left in the wild, of which 150 are found in the Palk Bay and Gulf of Mannar in Tamil Nadu.

India's first dugong conservation reserve to come up in Tamil Nadu
 
Wild Lake Trout Fry Found in Lake Erie for First Time in Over 60 Years

The discovery is a key milestone for a decades-long effort to restore naturally reproducing lake trout.

The New York Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has announced a significant marker in its decades-long quest to recover the lake trout population in Lake Erie. Last month, the agency’s Fisheries Research Unit discovered the presence of wild lake trout fry, confirming that the species is once again naturally reproducing in the lake after being extirpated in 1965.

Wild Lake Trout Fry Found in Lake Erie for First Time in Over 60 Years
 
Thanks to the Yurok Tribe, condors will return to the Pacific Northwest
    • The California condor is a creature of great cultural significance to the Yurok Tribe in what is now Northern California, but was wiped out from their ancestral territory by the early 20th century.
    • Tribal elders made the decision to bring the bird back in 2003, kicking off years of research and outreach to pave the way for this critically endangered species’ return.
    • This spring, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service finally gave the green light for a population of California conders to be reestablished in the Pacific Northwest; the first four will be released next spring.
Next spring, California condors will soar in northern California for the first time in a century. Four young condors will be released in Redwood National and State Parks, reintroducing this critically endangered species to what was once only the middle of a vast range that stretched from Baja California all the way up to British Columbia. But if it weren’t for the Yurok Tribe, who have fought for the return of this culturally and ecologically important bird for the past 13 years, the condor’s Pacific Northwest homecoming might never have happened at all.

https://news-mongabay-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/news.mongabay.com/2021/09/thanks-to-the-yurok-tribe-condors-will-return-to-the-pacific-northwest/amp/
 
Along South Carolina’s Oyster-Loving Coast, Shell Recycling Offers a Glimpse of the Future

Hilton Head Island program shows promise for long-term fishery sustainability—and shoreline protection

The next time you eat an oyster, spare a thought for its shell. Whether your oyster was wild caught or raised in a farm, that shell grew for years in the water. And if returned there—instead of being discarded on land—it can keep contributing to the species’ cycle of life.

That’s why shell recycling programs have gained traction in many coastal communities around the U.S. For example, in 2020, the Outside Foundation’s shell recycling program on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina—which The Pew Charitable Trusts supported—collected 15.4 tons of recycled shells from 15 restaurants and a handful of festivals, all of which will be placed back into local waterways to create new oyster reefs.

https://www-pewtrusts-org.cdn.amppr...ecycling-offers-a-glimpse-of-the-future?amp=1
 
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