Wildlife

"The red-cockaded woodpecker, an iconic bird in southeastern forests, has recovered enough of its population to be downlisted from an endangered species to a threatened one, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced Thursday."

"The handful of rangers who protect one of Earth’s most remote and biologically diverse reefs have only each other for company for months at a time. They worry about running out of gas for boat patrols, their drinking water can get dangerously low and rising seas are nipping away at the tiny island that hosts their station."

"Countries are expected to reach a deal at this month's U.N. COP16 nature summit on how the world uses and pays for genetic information extracted from nature, according to negotiators."

"Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge ranks as one of the wildest places on Earth. In the winter, it’s a haven for some of the last polar bears that traverse land and sea. In the summer, millions of birds descend to build their nests and gather fuel for their journey south."

"When Hurricane Douglas came barreling toward Oahu in 2020, David Sischo quickly packed up and drove to higher ground. But he wasn’t evacuating his family. He was evacuating snails."

"In an outdoor classroom surrounded by snake specimens preserved in jars, teacher Melqui Mosquera proudly talks about the nature reserve he set up in a Colombian region environmentally devastated by illegal mining."

"A federal agency proposed an expansion of the Okefenokee Swamp’s vast wildlife refuge on Friday, which could lead to a buyout offer for land intended for a private company’s mining project that conservationists have fought for years."

"The world in 2022 reached its most ambitious deal ever to halt the destruction of nature by decade's end. Two years later, countries are already behind on meeting their goals."

"Eoghan Daltun rewilded his land in West Cork and wants more of Ireland to do the same."

"Entanglements are a leading cause of death for endangered North Atlantic right whales. Removing fishing lines from the ocean could help minimize this risk—but only if lobstermen get on board, experts say."