Positive Wildlife News 2023

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Rare wolverine sighting recorded near Portland

A wolverine spotted near Portland this week became the first of its kind seen in western Oregon in more than 30 years.

Two people photographed the wolverine while they were fishing on the Columbia River Monday and shared the images with staff from Cascadia Wild and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. An ODFW team then confirmed the animal’s tracks in the area the next morning.

https://www-opb-org.cdn.ampproject....ghting-near-portland-historic/?outputType=amp
 
Bats, birds, and dugongs among species to benefit from new projects

We’re excited to introduce you to seven new Seacology projects! These partnerships will protect more than 8,000 acres of diverse and vulnerable island habitat and the unique plants and animals that live there.

Several of them also focus on locally managed ecotourism, which is making a post-pandemic comeback around the world. Our support will help reconnect locals and tourists alike to the natural world, while providing sustainable income to island communities, particularly young people.

We’re excited to introduce you to seven new Seacology projects! These partnerships will protect more than 8,000 acres of diverse and vulnerable island habitat and the unique plants and animals that live there.

Bats, birds, and dugongs among species to benefit from new projects - Seacology
 
Colombia's National Natural Park Sierra Nevada de Santana Marta has Expanded

The coverage of this protected area will increase from 400,854.30 to 573,312.6 hectares. This decision seeks to safeguard the ancestral knowledge of the four indigenous ethnic groups settled there and protect the valuable environmental heritage that frames this mountainous massif.

WCS Colombia celebrates the expansion of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta National Natural Park, a process initiated by the Arhuaco and Kogui Indigenous Peoples for the protection of their ancestral territory.

Colombia's National Natural Park Sierra Nevada de Santana Marta has Expanded (English and Spanish)
 
WATCH: Biden announces creation of national monuments, marine sanctuary in West

President Joe Biden said Tuesday he is establishing national monuments in Nevada and Texas and creating a marine sanctuary in U.S. waters near the Pacific Remote Islands southwest of Hawaii. Biden called the conservation measures part of an effort to "protect the heart and soul of our national pride."

https://www-pbs-org.cdn.ampproject....s-remarks-at-white-house-environmental-summit
 
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Skomer Island: A marine conservation success story

Skomer Island is a well known jewel in Wales’ crown, sitting among the Pembrokeshire archipelago. But hiding under the surrounding waters are even greater treasures...

The waters around Skomer and the Marloes peninsula constitute Wales’ only Marine Conservation Zone (MCZ) to date. It's an area rich in biodiversity and home to significant conservation success. However, it is by no means safe from threats, and more is needed to be done if we are to protect these waters for generations to come.

Skomer Island: A marine conservation success story
 
11,300 Acres Poised to Become Oklahoma's First State Forest

Deal between The Conservation Fund and Nuveen Natural Capital sets the stage for new outdoor recreation.

The Conservation Fund announced today its acquisition of 11,332 acres of forestland in southeastern Oklahoma from Nuveen Natural Capital, a real assets-focused investment capability of the TIAA asset-management arm, Nuveen. The national nonprofit’s purchase provides time for the land to be permanently conserved in partnership with the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry as its first state forest.

Located east of the Ouachita National Forest and within driving distance of Oklahoma City, the Round Mountain Forest provides potential opportunities for new recreational access and local outdoor economic activities in the region. Also, the remoteness of the forest makes it an ideal location to become a demonstration forest for invasive species management and a training ground for prescribed fire management programs.

“It is gratifying to partner with the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry to preserve this unique property,” said Ginny Moore, Oklahoma and Kansas representative of The Conservation Fund. “Establishing Oklahoma’s first state forest provides multiple benefits: supporting the region’s rural economy, enhancing recreational opportunities and providing space for outdoor enthusiasts who just want to enjoy the beauty of nature.”

11,300 Acres in Okla. Poised to Become First State Forest | The Conservation Fund
 
The Stunning Recovery of the Alpine Ibex

Welcome back. Today at Think Wildlife Foundation we are going to address a positive and a successful story of how we humans saved an excellent climber “The Alpine Ibex” from the brink of extinction. We always talk about how wildlife is in the danger, how some species are in the danger some are on the verge of extinction, how the forests are getting burned down to the ashes every year. We humans are causing harm to the wildlife and the forests but we are also aware of this situation and we all are taking some effective steps towards saving our beautiful nature and animals. We have noticed youngsters are very aware and are concerned about such matters and they are working very hard to save endangered species and forests.

So, we are giving a push to all such Wildlife lovers with a positive and a successful story of Ibex.

The Stunning Recovery of the Alpine Ibex | Think Wildlife Foundation
 
Governor of New Mexico signs bill for $100 million conservation fund

The largest state water and land conservation fund in New Mexico’s history — $100 million in all — became law Thursday, drawing celebratory applause from an array of groups that often are at odds with each other.

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed the bipartisan Senate Bill 9 into law at REI in Santa Fe, a symbolic setting for a fund that will enhance and protect areas in the great outdoors throughout the state, including forests, waterways, pueblos and agricultural lands.

Known as the Land of Enchantment Legacy Fund, it will provide matching state dollars for federal money to cover everything from restoring watersheds and protecting imperiled species to helping ecosystems better withstand climate change.

Governor signs bill for $100 million conservation fund
 
NATGEO Takes Look Inside Unprecedented Effort to Reintroduce Endangered Baby Zebra Sharks into Wild

In an unprecedented effort, 15 aquariums from around the world are teaming up to raise endangered baby zebra sharks and reintroduce them into the wild, where populations have nearly gone extinct.

National Geographic photographers Jennifer Hayes and her husband David Doubilet documented this process of "rewilding" from the waters of Raja Ampat, an archipelago in the West Papua province of Indonesia, where these slow-moving sharks have nearly disappeared due to fishing. Earth's ocean ecosystems need these apex predators in order to thrive.

"We have species disappearing off the face of this planet at a rapid rate ... and in some cases, the only place where we have the genetics and the species left are often aquariums," Hayes said.

National Geographic takes look inside unprecedented effort of 'rewilding' endangered baby zebra sharks | abc7chicago.com
 
UngulateNerd92 said:
Chile’s new national park offers a glimpse of life in the cosmos

Following a rare superbloom event, Desierto Florido National Park was created to safeguard nearly 200 flower species—and many other scientific marvels—in the Atacama Desert.

11,300 Acres in Okla. Poised to Become First State Forest | The Conservation Fund
Click to expand...

I accidentally posted the wrong link. Here is the correct link to that story.

Chile’s new national park protects a superbloom of rare flowers.
 
Environmental groups are poised to buy 842 acres of ridgeline next to Chino Hills State Park

Environmental groups are negotiating with a willing seller to buy an 842-acre ridgeline that will be added to Chino Hills State Park, a conservation purchase that prohibits development along the park’s eastern edge and keeps pristine views intact.

The purchase price, estimated at about $8.4 million, is dependent on The Conservation Fund being awarded a $5 million federal grant, and an allotment to make up the difference from The Wildlife Conservation Board, the fundraising arm of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, explained Melanie Schlotterbeck, a consultant for the Brea-based Hills For Everyone, which started the park from scratch in 1970.

“It would complete the eastern ridgeline,” she said on Monday, March 27. “My goal is to close escrow by Dec. 31.”

The eyed purchase stretches from the park’s McLean Overlook north to Butterfield Ranch Road in the city of Chino Hills, she said. The southern portion connects to a 320-acre parcel purchased two years ago for preservation and is within a mile west of the 71 Freeway.

Environmental groups are poised to buy 842 acres of ridgeline next to Chino Hills State Park – Daily Bulletin
 
National Fish & Wildlife Fund Announces $445,000 in New Grants to Bolster Conservation Efforts in Hawai'i

Projects will engage local citizens in restoration activities and support native bird conservation

The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) today announced $445,000 in grants to promote forest bird conservation and community participation in Hawai'i. The three grants will generate $569,000 in matching contributions for a total conservation impact of $1,014,000.

The grants were awarded through the Hawai'i Conservation Program, a partnership between NFWF, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the U.S. Forest Service (USFS).

NFWF Announces $445,000 in New Grants to Bolster Conservation Efforts in Hawai'i
 
Efforts to Save North America’s Most Endangered Bird Are Succeeding

A captive breeding program has quickly turned around the precipitous decline of the Florida Grasshopper Sparrow.

On June 1, a tiny Florida Grasshopper Sparrow scurried out of an outdoor aviary and onto conservation lands south of Orlando, joining a fragile but recovering population of the most endangered birds on the continent. Unbeknownst to the little brown bird, it was the 501st captive-bred Florida Grasshopper Sparrow to be released as part of a concerted breeding effort.

By 2017, the total population of the imperiled Florida Grasshopper Sparrow had fallen below 100, prompting federal, local, and private organizations to initiate a conservation breeding program that has since found surprising success. Today, about 15 captive breeding pairs lay eggs and raise young in carefully maintained outdoor enclosures at various locations. In 2019, the first batch of captive-bred offspring were released to help rebuild the wild population, which as of 2021 had rebounded to roughly 125 birds from a low of fewer than 30 breeding pairs in 2018.

https://www.audubon.org/news/effort...m_medium=social&utm_campaign=20230300_nas_eng
 
Beavers to return to London as part of urban rewilding

Pair of Eurasian beavers to be introduced at site in Ealing, the first of its kind in an urban setting in UK

Beavers will return to west London for the first time in 400 years after receiving funding from the capital’s mayor, Sadiq Khan.

A breeding pair of Eurasian beavers could arrive at their new home in Paradise Fields, Ealing, as soon as this autumn.

Conservation groups received £40,000 from the mayor of London to create the publicly accessible reintroduction site, the first of its kind in an urban setting in the UK.

It is viewed as an important step in the rewilding project as wild beaver populations in Kent and Oxfordshire move closer to London.

https://amp-theguardian-com.cdn.amp...o-return-to-london-as-part-of-urban-rewilding
 
State OKs preservation of land in wildlife corridor

The state has approved spending $46 million to conserve more than 21,000 acres in or near the Florida Wildlife Corridor, a network of connected lands and waters which sustains Florida’s best wild places and protects over 700 imperiled species, the governor’s office announced Tuesday.

The deal includes approximately 1,611 acres within the Myakka Ranchlands Florida Forever project in Manatee County.

“These approvals mark a crucial moment in permanently protecting and creating a landscape corridor, providing safe habitat for wide-ranging and sensitive species,” said Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Shawn Hamilton.

The Manatee County acquisition is composed of multiple tracts on both the north and south side of Myakka River State Park, officials said. The properties contain successional forest and improved pasture, which can provide habitat for several species including the crested caracara, Florida burrowing owl, gopher tortoise, Florida sandhill crane, southeastern American kestrel, Eastern indigo snake, Florida black bear, and Florida panther.

State OKs preservation of land in wildlife corridor
 
Rare black oil beetle returns to Kinver Edge heathland

A rare species of insect has returned to a heathland site for the first time in nine years, the National Trust has said.

The black oil beetle was spotted in a conservation site in Kinver Edge, Staffordshire, during efforts to restore wildlife in the area.

Four of the UK's native oil beetles are thought to be extinct, according to the BugLife charity.

The Trust has said the discovery is "regionally significant".

https://www-bbc-co-uk.cdn.ampprojec...s/uk-england-stoke-staffordshire-64854451.amp
 
Ecuador court upholds ‘rights of nature,’ blocks Intag Valley copper mine
  • Community members in Ecuador’s Intag Valley have won a court case to stop the Llurimagua copper mining project, with the court ordering the revocation of mining licenses from Chile’s Codelco and Ecuador’s ENAMI EP.
  • The Llurimagua mining concession is in the Tropical Andes, the world’s most biodiverse hotspot, home to dozens of threatened and endemic species, including two near-extinct frog species.
  • A provincial court recognized that the mining companies violated the communities’ constitutional right to consultation and the rights of nature guaranteed by Ecuador’s Constitution since 2008.
  • The decision is a significant win for the Intag communities, who have resisted mining for nearly 30 years, and sets an important precedent for protecting constitutional and environmental rights, as well as sends a message to investors that Ecuador is not a safe bet for mining operations.
Communities in the Intag Valley of Ecuador have won a significant legal victory after a court ruled to halt copper mining in one of the world’s most biodiverse forests.

The Imbabura Provincial Court ruled on March 29 that Chilean copper producer Codelco and Ecuador’s Empresa Nacional Minera (ENAMI EP) had violated communities’ constitutional right to consultation as well as the rights of nature, thus canceling their mining licenses.

The decision represents a major victory for communities in the Intag Valley, who have been resisting mining projects in the region for nearly 30 years in what locals say is the longest continuous resistance movement against mining in Latin America.

“It really seemed impossible to me to be able to achieve this. However, I knew that we were demanding what was fair and that we were telling the truth,” said Marcia Ramirez, a local community activist who has been part of the resistance since its inception. “We fought for the truth and for our rights, and today they are fulfilled.”

Ecuador court upholds ‘rights of nature,’ blocks Intag Valley copper mine
 
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