Biodiversity

"On a pristine Rhode Island beach teeming with noisy seabirds, a group of biologists armed with nets sneak up on a pair of American oystercatcher chicks."

"For decades, fishers, swimmers and environmental groups have complained that mud and silt from dredging operations in the Mobile Bay shipping channel have been smothering seagrasses, choking out oysters and clouding water that was once pristine." "A measure to permanently ban the practice of “thin-layer disposal” of dredged sediment nationwide has advanced through a House committee with bipartisan support."

"The U.S. government plans to auction off massive sections of water surrounding American Samoa for potential deep-sea mining in an unprecedented move that is expected to draw criticism from many countries."

"Newly revealed documents from inside the most powerful farming lobby in Europe show how it delayed, gutted and overturned some of the most sweeping farming reforms in EU history, including a plan to cut pesticide use in half."

"The U.S. Interior Department on Friday canceled a rule meant to protect plants and animals that are determined to be threatened with extinction, the latest step by President Donald Trump’s administration to dismantle key provisions of the landmark Endangered Species Act at the behest of industry."

"It was a glorious spring here on the lower Potomac River in 2023 for ospreys and for the townsfolk like Joanie and Barry Millward who applaud their annual return from the tropics and thrill to watch them dive for fish." "Then, a sudden and mysterious population crash: Only five chicks reached adulthood in 2024, eight in 2025."

"Monitoring is expensive and labor intensive. But it helps public health officials stop outbreaks."

"They may look like a fluffy flying carpet, but greater gliders are not as great at gliding as previously thought, Australian researchers have discovered."

"Two coalitions of Native American tribes emphasized Tuesday that they weren’t consulted before President Donald Trump downsized Utah’s Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments by roughly 90%."