Biodiversity

"Scientists in Britain have found they can partially protect chickens from bird flu infections by editing their genes, signaling a new potential strategy to reduce the spread of the deadly virus."

"In prisons across Western states, incarcerated people are raising tens of thousands of plants to restore sagebrush habitat, a vanishing ecosystem home to the iconic endangered greater sage-grouse and hundreds of other species."

"EPA says too many pesticide formulas exist to check all for the safety of ingredients that could harm humans, plants and wildlife".

"Skeena River sockeye have declined 75% since 1913. Woodland caribou have declined by more than half in the past century. But with the right resources, First Nations are bringing ancestral foods back from the brink".

"Dust swirls on the dirt roads running through more than 400,000 acres of cactus studded grasslands south of La Junta, Colo. Suddenly, Jessica LaPage spots the reason she's here: A two-toned brown tarantula about the size of an adult's fist, crawling through the scrubby plants".

"In a new initiative announced on Tuesday, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service is working with the nonprofit Revive & Restore and other partners to create a “genetic library” of the country’s endangered species—before it’s too late." "Biobanking enables researchers to preserve genetic diversity in wildlife by freezing and storing living cells."

"Earth's amphibians - from the thorny spike-thumb frog to the red knobby newt, West African giant squeaker, ornate tree toad and fire salamander - are being pushed closer to the brink due to habitat destruction, disease and climate change, with 41% of species now threatened with extinction."

"Experts say carbon sequestration projects that don’t prioritize biodiversity may be doing more harm than good, including to the climate."

''Nicolas Tomasi has never laid eyes on it. He has worked these waters for years without seeing one but has heard the tales from old-timers — of a patient predator, hiding under the sand off this French island’s shores, waiting for the right moment to strike."

"Mongabay’s Liz Kimbrough spoke with documentary filmmaker Ken Burns about his upcoming documentary, “The American Buffalo,” which premieres in mid-October.

The buffalo was nearly driven to extinction in the late 1800s, with the population declining from more than 30 million to less than 1,000, devastating Native American tribes who depended on the buffalo as their main source of food, shelter, clothing and more.

The film explores both the tragic near-extinction of the buffalo as well as the story of how conservation efforts brought the species back from the brink.