Positive Wildlife News 2021

@birdsandbats thank you for creating this thread. I appreciate it. Typically when I have been posting positive wildlife and nature conservation related news, I have been creating individual threads for those news stories, so from now on if you are ok with it, I am going to place them in this thread. Starting with this one;

Officials: Invasive Rats Eradicated on Lehua Island

Lehua Island has been declared free of invasive rats after decades of eradication efforts, the state Department of Land and Natural Resources said Wednesday.

Officials monitoring the small, uninhabited island off of Kauai's western coast said getting rid of the rats creates new possibilities for the birds on the island, which has one of the most diverse seabird colonies in the state.

At least 17 seabird species, many of which are threatened, live on Lehua Island.

Officials: Invasive Rats Eradicated on Lehua Island

 

Northern Great Plains Program Awards $4.1 Million to Conserve Grassland Habitat

Northern Great Plains Program Awards $4.1 Million to Conserve Grassland Habitat and Wildlife
Program announces goal to conserve more than 6.5 million acres by 2026

The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) today announced $4.1 million in grants that will protect vital grassland habitat throughout the Northern Great Plains, benefitting wildlife species such as pronghorn, greater sage-grouse and grassland birds such as thick-billed longspur and lark bunting while at the same time strengthening agricultural and ranching operations.

The 15 grants announced today will leverage $10.9 million in matching contributions to generate a total conservation impact of $15 million.

Northern Great Plains Program Awards $4.1 Million to Conserve Grassland Habitat

 

I am grateful to see Sri Lanka do this and I hope they succeed.

Sri Lanka to ban palm oil imports, raze plantations over environmental concerns

• has imposed a ban on palm oil imports and ordered oil palm plantations in the country to be replaced with rubber trees and other crops over the next decade, citing adverse environmental and social impacts.
• The decision is based on recommendations from a 2018 report by a panel of environmental experts, who linked oil palm plantations to soil erosion and the drying up of water sources.
• Unlike in other countries where the crop is grown, oil palms aren’t a driver of deforestation in Sri Lanka; instead, they’ve replaced rubber plantations, which host a higher level of biodiversity and provide more jobs for locals.
• Another concern is that oil palm is becoming an invasive species, occurring in the wild in a forest reserve, with as-yet-unknown impacts on native flora and fauna.

Environmentalists have welcomed the Sri Lankan government’s surprise decision to ban palm oil imports into the country and raze existing plantations, but others say the science justifying the move is unfounded.

https://news-mongabay-com.cdn.amppr...-plantations-over-environmental-concerns/amp/

 

North Macedonia, expanding protected areas

North Macedonia is set to protect some of its main mountain ranges, such as Shar, Osogovo and Vodno, which are now increasingly threatened by exploitation of soil, water, and forests.

In 2021, the Macedonian government is expected to adopt new measures for the protection of the country's mountainous areas – as a way to fight climate change, but also social imbalances. The process should result in an increase of the total area of the mountains under state protection and keep under control the current exploitation of soil and water.

Shar Mountain is a massif of several smaller mountains spread over 1,600 km2 – 56% in Macedonia, the rest in Kosovo and Albania. On May 5th, 2020, the government decided that the “Shar Mountain range should be declared a national park, while the Osogovo Mountain and Vodno Mountain near Skopje should receive the status of protected areas". The plan is to protect an area of 54,214.08 hectares on Macedonian territory – a territory with 27 mountain lakes, 100 major water springs, springs of 25 rivers, 44 species of wild animals (bears, wolves, etc.), over 200 species of birds, and 147 species of butterflies.

Such a huge biological diversity, with thousands of species of flora and fauna, makes Shar Mountain one of the most important areas for nature conservation at the national, regional, and European level, says the "Shar Mountain Valorization Study", a key document of almost 700 pages, completed in March 2020.

Next steps include the implementation of public consultations and a public debate, followed by the adoption of the Law on Proclamation by the Assembly. Currently, 9% of the territory of the Republic of North Macedonia is a protected area – 12% after Shar Mountain becomes a national park.

North Macedonia, expanding protected areas

 

How scientists are restoring boreal peatlands to help keep carbon in the ground

Peatlands store more soil carbon than any other terrestrial ecosystem, including tropical forests. But they have been heavily exploited and damaged. Now, scientists are working to restore them.

Redirecting

 

Go-ahead for eagles to be reintroduced to Norfolk

Plans to reintroduce eagles to the Norfolk coast have been given the go-ahead.

Natural England has agreed conservationists can release 60 young birds at Wild Ken Hill, between King's Lynn and Hunstanton, over the next decade in the hope of establishing a breeding population in the region.

Eagles were persecuted to extinction in England by the early 19th Century.

In recent years, the species has been reintroduced to Scotland, Ireland and the Isle of Wight, from where young birds released by the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation have ranged as far as Norfolk, visiting locations in the west and north of the county including Heacham and Holkham.

Go-ahead for eagles to be reintroduced to Norfolk

 

Little Rock Audubon Center Goes 100% Solar

Audubon becomes Arkansas’ first 100% renewable energy-powered nonprofit.

The National Audubon Society is celebrating a significant distinction as the state’s first 100 percent renewable energy-powered nonprofit organization. The Little Rock Audubon Center is now home to a 35-kilowatt solar power plant, which was constructed by Scenic Hill Solar and designed to meet the center’s total electricity demand. The center also will feature a Solar Learning Lab to provide community education opportunities on solar power technology.

Little Rock Audubon Center Goes 100% Solar

 

Redonda: The Caribbean island transformed into an eco haven

There are no resorts, no beaches, no amenities, and its contribution to the national GDP is practically zero. Yet the mile-long rocky isle of Redonda in the Caribbean Sea is deemed one of the most valuable spots in the region.

Virtually untouched by humans for centuries, Antigua and Barbuda's lesser known third island has long been a key nesting site for migrating birds from across the world and home to wildlife found nowhere else on Earth.

When environmentalists first touted the idea of entirely removing thousands of invasive black rats and a herd of feral goats which were threatening to wipe them out, it seemed ambitious at best.

Redirecting

 

More Room for Plovers as Park District OKs Expansion of Protected Montrose Dune Natural Area

Conservationists are celebrating the Chicago Park District’s announcement Wednesday of a 3.1-acre expansion of the Montrose Dune Natural Area, a site that’s gained international attention in recent years as the nesting home for a pair of endangered Great Lake piping plovers, Monty and Rose.

More Room for Plovers as Park District OKs Expansion of Protected Montrose Dune Natural Area

 

Forests the size of France regrown since 2000, study suggests

An area of forest the size of France has regrown naturally across the world in the last 20 years, a study suggests.

The restored forests have the potential to soak up the equivalent of 5.9 gigatonnes (Gt) of carbon dioxide - more than the annual emissions of the US, according to conservation groups.

A team led by WWF used satellite data to build a map of regenerated forests.

Forest regeneration involves restoring natural woodland through little or no intervention.

https://www-bbc-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-57065612.amp

 

Route round weir gives rare fish opportunity to return to spawning ground

One of the UK’s rarest fish is getting the chance to return to historic breeding grounds on the River Severn which have been cut off by weirs for 170 years.

And as part of conservation efforts to help the endangered twaite shad, citizen scientists are also being sought to head out in the dead of night to monitor the distinctive sounds of their spawning.

The Unlocking The Severn project by the Canal & River Trust, Severn Rivers Trust, Environment Agency and Natural England is in the process of reopening 150 miles (241km) of the river for the fish by creating routes around four major weirs.

Two large fish passes alongside Victorian weirs at Diglis and Bevere, near Worcester, have been completed as part of the conservation project, the largest of its kind in Europe.

https://www-independent-co-uk.cdn.a...ver-severn-fish-twaite-shad-b1843637.html?amp

 

Biden Administration Moves One Step Closer to Reinstating Migratory Bird Protections

New rulemaking should be the beginning of a multi-front effort to respond to the loss of 3 billion birds.

“Reinstating Migratory Bird Treaty Act protections is a critical step, and at a time when we have lost 3 billion birds in North America since 1970 and climate change threatens extinction for two-thirds of bird species, it is a baseline for what we should be doing for birds,” said Sarah Greenberger, senior vice president of conservation policy, National Audubon Society. “Birds are telling us they are in trouble and we are running out of time to act.”

Days before World Migratory Bird Day (May 8, 2021), the Biden administration has begun a new rulemaking process to formally withdraw the Trump administration’s rule removing incidental take protections from the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. In March, the administration rescinded the “M-Opinion,” a legal directive implemented by the Trump administration which a federal court struck down last year.

“We’re confident in the Biden administration’s commitment to both bring these protections back and to strengthen them,” said Greenberger. “We hope to see the administration follow quickly with another rulemaking to establish a reasonable permitting approach for incidental take. A permitting program is a common-sense approach to clarifying these longstanding protections and providing the certainty industry wants.”

The change by the Trump administration was aimed at limiting the MBTA’s protection only to activities that purposefully kill birds, exempting all industrial hazards from enforcement. Any “incidental” death—no matter how inevitable, avoidable or devastating to birds—became immune from enforcement under the law. If this change had been in place in 2010, BP would have faced no consequences under the MBTA for the more than one million birds killed in the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

https://www.audubon.org/news/biden-administration-moves-one-step-closer-reinstating-migratory-bird

 

Biden to restart environmental review of bird habitat Trump opened for mining

The Biden administration has indicated that it will begin reviewing the use of land where the sage grouse bird resides, including a Trump administration decision to open that land up to mining.

The administration said in a statement posted to its website that it would comply with a February court decision that vacated its predecessor's move and sent the issue back to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).

"In the coming months, the Bureau of Land Management will begin to review updates to the 2015 land management plans that were designed to support a healthy sagebrush ecosystem and populations of the greater sage-grouse that rely on it," the statement said.

"The BLM has also confirmed that it will comply with a court order to begin re-consideration of whether a withdrawal from mineral location and entry, which could potentially limit hardrock mining in Sagebrush Focal Areas, is necessary for the conservation of the greater sage-grouse," it said.

https://thehill-com.cdn.ampproject....ental-review-of-bird-habitat-trump-opened?amp

 

A Madagascar-sized area of forest has regrown since 2000

• 58.9 million hectares — an area of forest larger than the island of Madagascar — has regrown around the world since 2000, finds a new assessment from Trillion Trees, a joint venture between BirdLife International, WCS, and WWF.

• The analysis estimates that the 22-25 billion trees which have regrown over the past two decades could sequester 5.9 billion tons of carbon dioxide, more than the annual emissions of the United States.

• However forest recovery is far outpaced by deforestation. Primary forest loss between 2001 and 2020 amounted to nearly 65 million hectares, whereas tree cover loss reached 411 million hectares between 2000 and 2020, according to data from Global Forest Watch.

An area of forest larger than Madagascar has regrown around the world since 2000, concludes an analysis published by Trillion Trees, a joint conservation initiative between BirdLife International, WCS, and WWF. The regrowth, covering 58.9 million hectares and representing 22-25 billion trees, could eventually sequester 5.9 billion tons of carbon dioxide, more than the annual emissions of the United States.

https://news-mongabay-com.cdn.amppr...ed-area-of-forest-has-regrown-since-2000/amp/

 

Rare Red Wolves Released in North Carolina after Federal Court Ruling

“Without this coalition’s dedicated legal advocacy, the red wolf could have been lost from the wild again. It is our hope that FWS will recommit to conducting annual releases to ensure a future for the species.”

- Ben Prater, Southeast Program Director at Defender's of Wildlife.

Red wolf captive breeding facilities today announced the release of four rare red wolves into eastern North Carolina after conservation groups won a federal court ruling in January that required the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to prepare a plan to release captive red wolves into the wild to avoid irreversible harm to the highly endangered population during ongoing litigation. The facilities also reported the fostering of four red wolf pups with a female wild wolf in North Carolina.

Rare Red Wolves Released in North Carolina after Federal Court Ruling

 

More ocean areas protected off Australia

A huge area of ocean around two remote Australian territories will be protected as part of the federal budget, leaving conservationists grinning.

The Morrison government's 2021/22 budget locks in a $100 million package for protecting the oceans.

It includes nearly $40 million for new marine park partnerships.

More ocean areas protected off Australia | The West Australian

 

Study shows more than half of Cerrado’s cattle pasture can be restored

• Cattle pasture occupies an area larger than France in Brazil’s Cerrado biome, or 29% of the planet’s most biodiverse savanna.
• Research from the University of Brasília shows that more than half of this pastureland can potentially be restored back to its native state.
• The research identifies priority areas for restoration and describes possible ways to get there, which it stresses will require strong political will and stakeholder engagement.
• Restoration of this pastureland would mean no more of the native Cerrado would need to be cleared to support the beef industry, at the same time conserving biodiversity.

Much of the land that’s been cleared for pasture in the Brazilian Cerrado could potentially be restored to its previous savanna state while still leaving enough space for the country’s beef industry, according to research from the University of Brasília (UnB).

https://news-mongabay-com.cdn.amppr...-cerrados-cattle-pasture-can-be-restored/amp/

 

The Nature Conservancy Australia announces $1.2m towards oyster bed restoration in Noosa

The Nature Conservancy (TNC) Australia announced today an extra $1.2 million for the restoration of shellfish ecosystems in the Noosa River estuary. This contribution, funded from the $20 million TNC Australia-Australian Government Reef Builder Project, complements generous contributions by the Thomas Foundation and the Australian Marine Conservation Society ($1.2million) and Noosa Shire Council ($1.2 million), bringing the total allocation to restore shellfish reefs in Noosa to $3.6 million.

Oyster beds are natural structures that provide food-rich habitat for a diversity of fish species. Estuarine fishes use the beds for resting, hiding from predators, spawning and feeding on planktonic prey and smaller fishes in and around the beds.

The Nature Conservancy Australia announces $1.2m towards oyster bed restoration in Noosa

 

This one I'm really happy to hear about!

 

Parks Canada caribou captive breeding proposal gets OK from review panel

One of Jasper's three herds already disappeared, others down to a handful of animals.

The $25-million project would permanently pen up to 40 females and five males in a highly managed and monitored area of about one square kilometre surrounded by an electrified fence. (Parks Canada)

A last-ditch attempt to save some of Canada's vanishing caribou herds is a step closer after a scientific review panel's approval of a plan to permanently pen some animals and breed them to repopulate other herds.

The captive breeding program would be a first, said Dave Argument, conservation manager for Jasper National Park.

"This idea of bringing in wild caribou [and] raising them in captivity to augment a wild herd is certainly a novel approach."

Parks Canada caribou captive breeding proposal gets OK from review panel