On February 28, the Army Corps of Engineers and Bureau of Reclamation released a highly anticipated draft environmental impact statement regarding operation of the dams in the Columbia and Snake River Basin. The report rejected increasingly loud and united calls from tribes, anglers, and the conservation community to tear down the four dams on the Lower Snake River in order to save the last of the salmon and steelhead returning to Idaho, saying...

The deadly disease that has now killed more than 1,000 people in China and across the world likely jumped to humans from wildlife, most scientists agree. Exactly how or what animals involved are less than clear at this point, however.
Many of the early cases of coronavirus appeared in proximity to the Huanan Seafood Market in Wuhan, China, and investigators have found traces of the disease in samples from 22 market stalls and a garbage truck. All...

The Trump administration announced Monday that it is changing the rules regarding how the Endangered Species Act is applied and enforced. Long-time critics of the act say the new regulations from the Interior Department will reduce the economic burden associated with protecting threatened species, but some sportsmen and conservation groups fear it will weaken the nation’s bedrock conservation law and hinder recovery of diminished wildlife...

There’s a difference between book smart and bar smart. You may not be book smart, but this series can make you seem educated and interesting from a barstool. So, belly up, pour yourself a glass of something good and take mental notes as we talk about the native parrots of Arizona.
When most folks think of parrots, they picture a tropical, Southern Hemisphere forest. These birds’ vibrant colors and unique vocalizations would seem out of place in...

Cougars are the most widely distributed large predator in the Western Hemisphere. Known in various regions as the mountain lion, panther, puma, painter and catamount, cougars range from northern British Columbia through Latin America to the Patagonia region of southern Chile and Argentina. Cougars thrive in deserts, jungles, mountains, forests and broken plains environments. In what is now the Lower 48, they were found from coast to coast at the...

Earthjustice cites their slogan “Because the Earth needs a good lawyer” as justification for continuing legal fights to keep grizzly bears on the Endangered Species List. That group and others like it routinely claim to speak for wild places and wild creatures.
In contrast, public servants at state and federal agencies often feel ensnared in the environmentalists’ lawsuits. They say those self-proclaimed “good lawyers” too often waste taxpayers...