Biodiversity

"Thousands of farmed minks in Wisconsin and Utah have died from the novel coronavirus, which experts say they got from humans."

"The Fish and Wildlife Service today clawed back a high-profile proposal to list the North American wolverine under the Endangered Species Act, reigniting a fight that's previously entangled climate science and politics."

"First, the wildfires came to California and Oregon, scorching hundreds of thousands of acres of national forests. Next, weeds will sprout on those blackened lands. They'll be followed quickly by chemical weedkillers like glyphosate, as the Forest Service tries to make trees grow again."

"If you’re young and hungry, the place to go is New York City — even if you weigh 25 tons and have a blowhole."

"The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service declared the Eastern black rail a threatened species on Wednesday, but stopped short of the stronger protections some environmentalists were seeking for the elusive bird, now imperiled by habitat destruction, sea level rise, and the increasing frequency and intensity of storms with climate change."

"A collection of threats — habitat loss, pathogens, pesticides, pollution and poor nutrition — have led to widespread decline in bee health and pollinator populations."

"After stalling for months, a top Trump official released a polar bear study by government scientists Friday that highlights the endangered animals’ vulnerability to climate change and the fact that proposed oil drilling in Alaska would probably encroach on their habitat, causing more stress."

"France said Tuesday it planned to 'gradually' ban mink farms in the country as well the use of wild animals in travelling circuses and the breeding of dolphins and orcas in captivity."

"New findings suggest a previously unknown virus may play a role in the sudden death of many freshwater mussels in recent years."