British Columbia Parks Foundation supports expansion park to protect Western Painted Turtles
The Western Painted Turtles likely don’t know someone is looking out for them.
Earlier this week the province purchased over 65 hectares near Rosebud Lake Regional Park, quintupling the park to more than 80 hectares and bringing much of the lake’s shoreline into the regional park.
The shoreline and the upland leading into it are crucial for Western Painted Turtles which make their home in this part of the West Kootenay and are the only native freshwater turtle species in B.C.
And the expansion couldn’t come any sooner. According to the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada, the Western Painted Turtles are of special concern. They are especially vulnerable and under threat at their nesting stage. Predators and humans can damage their eggs. As a result, only one in five hatchlings make it to adulthood.
“We purchased this land and protected these vulnerable nesting sites to give the turtles a better chance of hatching and surviving to adulthood,” said B.C. Parks Foundation CEO Andy Day.
The turtles stand out with its unique red and yellow stripes and can often be found sunbathing in the spring.
Plovers in a dangerous time: Endangered bird may be making a comeback on N.B. shores
Kouchibouguac National Park welcomed six pairs of piping plovers in 2024, which resulted in 16 fledglings — the highest annual production in seven years.
Thriving between the lines: How protected areas are helping a threatened owl
Spotted Owls (Strix occidentalis) have faced a number of challenges for decades. A recent study provides evidence that designated protected areas are helping the Mexican Spotted Owl subspecies (Strix occidentalis lucida) maintain a foothold in the Southwestern United States.
New Expansion doubles area of the Río Negro Sopladora – Tinajillas Río Gualaceño National Park in southern Ecuador
Andes Amazon Fund celebrates the latest expansion of the Río Negro Sopladora – Tinajillas Río Gualaceño National Park by 79,362 acres (32,117 hectares) on November 13, 2024. The National Park will now safeguard over 162,741 acres (65,859 hectares) of fragile montane ecosystems in the provinces of Azuay and Morona Santiago, Ecuador, including páramos, mountain forests and rivers along Ecuador’s southeastern Andes and upper Amazon rainforest. This expansion more than doubles the area of the National Park, home to the Spectacled bear (Tremarctos ornatus) and Mountain tapir (Tapirus pinchaque), and increases ecological connectivity among the surrounding protected areas. The park encompasses terrain with a high altitudinal range, resulting in a variety of precipitation levels, types of soil, and temperatures and creating a highly biodiverse and varied mountainous landscape.
Gillfillan Lake: Protecting more habitat for rare plants
Gillfillan Lake is one of 53 lakes designated as High Priority for the recovery and management of a very special group of plants called Atlantic Coastal Plain Flora (ACPF). These unrelated plants form a unique group whose habitat is mainly restricted to the flat land along the Atlantic Coast from Florida to Nova Scotia called the Atlantic coastal plain. Nova Scotia is home to over 90 species in this group, concentrated mostly in the southwest region of the province, which is a well-known biodiversity hotspot known as Kespukwitk, one of the seven traditional districts of Mi’kma’ki. These rare plant species grow in low-nutrient environments where competition from other species is low. When water nutrient levels increase from activities like shoreline development and nutrient run-off, more common species can move in and outcompete these fragile plants.
Gillfillan Lake is a prime example of the type of inland freshwater shoreline that holds the delicately balanced habitat for this group of plants. Preserving the natural vegetation along the shoreline not only preserves this habitat but also helps maintain lake water quality.
Greater Yellowstone Coalition Receives Grant from Keta Legacy Foundation to Support Watershed Restoration Work
The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem’s cold, clean waters that make up the foundation of life within the region, and power communities downstream – are changing.
Across the region, riverscapes – the connected stream and floodplain habitat that occupy valley bottoms – have experienced widespread change because of drought, recreation pressure, and community needs. Trapping beavers, along with diverting and regulating streamflow, straightening river channels, constructing dams and levees, and unregulated grazing, have also altered rivers and their role in supporting an ecosystem that can bounce back from challenges.
In Brazil, free-flight lessons help teach macaws to survive in the wild
In an unprecedented project in the municipality of São Simão, blue-and-yellow macaws born in captivity were trained in free-flight techniques before being introduced into the wild.
Traditionally, in psittacine reintroduction projects, captive chicks are only released into the wild at 2 or 3 years of age; with no experience in finding food or defending themselves against predators, many end up dying.
According to the project’s coordinators, the initiative could signal a new method to be used in parrot and macaw reintroduction programs, offering lower costs and higher chances of success.
“I remember my grandfather telling me about the macaws in this region. So, it’s impossible not to smile seeing them back. We know where they sleep and feed, so every time we want to find them, we know where they are,” says biologist Humberto Mendes, a professor at the Federal University of Alfenas in Brazil’s Minas Gerais state.
Saving Ñembi Guasu from the destruction of forest fires
Bolivia recently faced its worst fire season in over 20 years. According to official figures, more than 7 million hectares have been destroyed in 2024 alone. But thanks to a coordinated and well-planned effort, the Ñembi Guasu Conservation and Ecological Importance Area has been protected from the fires.
Established by Guaraní’s Charagua Iyambae Rural Indigenous Autonomous Government (GAIOC), with support from our partner Nativa, Ñembi Guasu is a 1.2 million hectare Conservation Area in Bolivia’s Gran Chaco region. It protects one of the most threatened areas of the Bolivian Chaco, while also maintaining land for the Indigenous Guaraní and Ayoreo peoples.
World Land Trust partnered with Nativa in 2018 to support their work with GAIOC to legally recognise Ñembi Guasu. In the years since, continued support from WLT has gone towards funding rangers, funding for fire management training and resources, and supporting the reserve’s operational base which serves as a meeting point for park rangers and firefighters. All of this has contributed to the successful efforts to defend the reserve from 2024’s unprecedented fire season.
Tasmanian Devils Return to Mainland Australia After 3,000 Years – A Bold Plan to Restore the Wild
After 3,000 years, Tasmanian devils are back on mainland Australia in a daring rewilding experiment. Can these fierce marsupials help restore balance to a fragile ecosystem?
Landmark conservation saves Balsam tract along Parkway from future development
A 3,850-acre tract flanking the Blue Ridge Parkway in the Balsam area above Waynesville has been permanently protected — saving Parkway views and land adjacent to the Parkway in the Balsam Gap area from future development.
The tract shares nearly four miles of boundary with the Blue Ridge Parkway, including five scenic overlooks. The project spearheaded by The Conservation Fund is the culmination of a 25-year effort to conserve the privately held tract and ensure it didn’t fall to development.
Alto Calima Regional Protected Area established in Colombia’s Valle del Cauca
We celebrate the establishment of the Alto Calima Regional District of Integrated Management in Colombia’s Valle del Cauca on May 27th, 2024, safeguarding 44,982 acres (18,204 hectares) of biodiverse ecosystems at the confluence of the Colombian Andes and Pacific.
The conservation area protects hundreds of species of birds, plants, mammals, fish, and butterflies. Notable bird species include the Cauca Guan (Penelope perspicax), Olive Finch (Arremon castaneiceps), and the Multicolored Tanager (Chlorochrysa nitidissima).
24 de Mayo Conservation Area Protects Rivers in Ecuador’s Daule River basin
On July 26th, 2024, the “24 de Mayo” Municipal Conservation Area (Area de Conservacion y Uso Sustentable) was established spanning 37,019 acres (14,981 hectares) of important water sources and biodiverse tropical forests in the province of Manabí, Ecuador. The establishment of the Conservation Area is the result of a collaboration between local governments, local communities, and conservation organizations. The 24 de Mayo Municipal Conservation Area hosts a complex of rivers and streams that provide clean water and vitality to the province of Manabí.
Expansion of the Machángara-Tomebamba Wildlife Refuge in Ecuador
On November 13, 2024, the Machángara-Tomebamba Wildlife Refuge, part of the National System of Protected Areas of Ecuador, was expanded by 41,667 acres (16,862 hectares) protecting fragile high Andean ecosystems in Ecuador’s provinces of Azuay and Cañar. This expansion ensures the conservation of the region’s ecological connectivity as it connects the Wildlife Refuge with El Cajas National Park, adding to an important wildlife corridor. The protected area was previously designated as a Wildlife Refuge in September 2023 and is home to over seventy species listed as endangered or vulnerable. The Machángara-Tomebamba Wildlife Refuge now spans 103,339 acres (41,820 hectares) with the most recent expansion.
Ka Palupalu o Kanaloa is a flourishing expression of Kahoʻolawe Island's revival, where the plant survived decades of destruction by invasive animals, fire, and bombings. Once on the brink of extinction, Ka Palupalu o Kanaloa’s resurgence is a beacon of hope for this cherished island, biocultural restoration, and Hawaiian culture
