Biodiversity

"Bryce Black kneels in a wheat field battered by intense drought. He holds two strands, remarking on how small the seed head is compared with what’s normal."

"The birds are up with the sunrise — warblers, flycatchers, sparrows and towhees calling across the treetops. Deer browse on tender buds emerging from dense shrubs. Black bears scrounge for roots, insects and other edibles." "But it’s what’s underground that has drawn scientists and investors to this 23-square-mile (60-square-kilometer) tract: spongy, dense peat up to 15 feet (5 meters) deep."

"New polling shows that two-thirds of registered voters in Utah support restoring protections for the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments."

"In July, the Trump administration relegated endangered leatherback turtles, sea lions and whales to mere collateral damage in its race to profit from the oceans. Now, fisheries science is in the government’s crosshairs."

"Apparently, if a tree falls in Washington, people will notice — and even mourn its collapse."

"A federal judge on Friday temporarily blocked the Trump administration’s efforts to evict hundreds of bison from public lands in Montana."

"The Trump administration on Friday took another step toward stripping federal protections from millions of acres of wetlands, which help filter drinking water for many communities and provide critical habitat for birds, fish and other wildlife."

"The outdoor retailer Patagonia on Wednesday joined a lawsuit against the Trump administration over its executive orders to shrink the sizes of the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments in Utah."

"An unexplained Trump administration hold on construction of a state-federal project aimed at preventing invasive carp from reaching the Great Lakes was abruptly lifted this week, hours after a call to President Donald Trump by Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer."