I have an SDM joke, but I can't decide if it's worth telling.
(or if I'm actually interested in where it lands..)
#wildlife
#🌎#🦊#🧪

‘Huge moment’: Northern California’s first condor egg in 100 years reported in redwood tree The likely discovery of a condor egg on California’s north coast gives new hope for the recovery of the endangered bird.

Yurok Tribe leading the way on #wildlife recovery..
#🦊#🌎

As women in academia, having children can feel impossible. Talking about it makes us feel less alone The struggle is “balancing their careers not just with motherhood, but with what comes before: relationships and planning for a family,” these postdocs write

"The real issue wasn’t just.. preserving fertility. It was the systemic barriers—the ways the academic structure itself, with its relentless relocations, temporary contracts, and focus on individual achievement, makes planning for a family feel like an impossible luxury."
#womeninscience #moms
#🧪#👩‍🔬

Devastating - and with ripple effects to job markets well beyond gov alone
#🌎#🦊

“The Sinixt people have always had that responsibility, and we've always felt that responsibility. There's just things that have stood in our way,” said Rich Whitney, the reservation’s senior wildlife manager, and a Sinixt tribal member."
>Tribes leading on wildlife recovery again
#🌎#🦊 (🦌)

Congress releases conferenced FY2026 Interior spending bill - The Wildlife Society The draft bill represents the next step in setting annual funding levels for key federal conservation programs

Higher proposed funding in congressional spending budget than the presidential (which zeroed out much natural resource funding, esp for #conservation and research work). Still proposed cuts here to tribal grants and climate adaptation sci centers; proposed increase to ecosystems mission area
#🌎#🦊

Withdrawing the United States from International Organizations, Conventions, and Treaties that Are Contrary to the Interests of the United States MEMORANDUM FOR THE HEADS OF EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United

Everyone see this?
>U.S. withdrawing from the #IPCC of course - but also the #IUCN?! And dozens of UN orgs?
>Grim.
#🌎#🦊

www.whitehouse.gov/presidential...

Endangered species rules rollback to 2019 - The Wildlife Society Proposed rules will narrow the definitions of critical habitat and listing criteria

Following TWS’s updates on this story re: the administration‘s proposed changes to ESA policy (including limiting foreseeable future interpretations and removing some explicit disallowance of economic considerations in listing decisions).
#🦊#🌎

Can comment here: www.regulations.gov/document/FWS...

I’ve been surprised at the opposition to more housing from purportedly progressive peoples. We’re renting in the lower rattlesnake and surrounded by a sea of anti-density signs :(

New jaguar spotted in southern Arizona The University of Arizona Wild Cat Research and Conservation Center (WCC) has found a new jaguar in the United States.

New jaguar spotted in southern AZ!
www.kgun9.com/news/local-n...
#🌎 #🦊 (🐆)

The new issue of Oryx explores bear conservation across North America and Asia—from black bears in Hainan to brown bears in Nepal. With insights on habitat loss, local knowledge and policy reform, it highlights the urgent need for action in fragmented landscapes🐻

Opinion | The Reality of Living With Wolves, Bears and Mountain Lions

"Americans broadly support the restoration of wildlife, including large predators ... Going the distance will require sustained collaboration and investment in the communities we are asking to live alongside these animals." 🌎

Graphic showing that since 1850, "human and domesticated mammal populations have grown rapidly, reaching their current combined biomass of ≈1100 Mt. During the same period, the total biomass of wild mammals decreased by more than 2-fold" down to 60Mt.

"Since 1850, human & domesticated mammal populations have grown rapidly. During the same period, the total biomass of wild mammals decreased by more than 2-fold." www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Conservation Jobs Fall Sharply in 2025 Summary The conservation workforce includes the people and organizations that protect, manage, and study nature. These are the jobs responsible for our parks, forests, wildlife, and water resources. ...

"From March 1–September 30, 2025, postings on Conservation Job Board fell 29.4% year over year (YOY)."

>>Really feeling this amidst my ongoing search for positions in recovery biology.. Somehow seeing it via some data helps a bit?
>Hang in there, friends!
#🌎#🦊 #conservation #wildlife

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to Hold Virtual Informational Meeting on Red Wolf Recovery Program | U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will hold a virtual informational meeting to update the public on the Red Wolf Recovery Program, including revitalized recovery efforts for the species, the status…

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to Hold Virtual Informational Meeting on Red #Wolf Recovery Program on Tuesday, September 23, 2025, from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. EST. buff.ly/yjIUmNF #redwolves

Montanans Are Making Space for Grizzlies Wildlife corridors and conflict prevention help keep bears safe

With federal protections for grizzlies under threat, grizzly bears in the Intermountain West will need more local support. In Montana, a growing cohort of residents is doing just that—helping communities in bear country coexist while making it easier for bears to traverse the landscape. 🌎

BREAKING: The first segments of border wall have gone up in the San Rafael Valley, south of Tucson, Ariz. Construction crews have drilled at least two wells and have turned the area, a corridor for jaguars, pronghorn, bears, mountain lions, ocelots, porcupines, into an devastating industrial site.

Thanks much for this effort - would love an add 🙏🙏

Why eavesdropping on prairie dogs pays off for this bird : Short Wave Why did the ornithologist strap a taxidermy badger to a remote controlled car and drive it around the prairie? To interrogate the secret world of animal eavesdropping in the grasslands, of course! Tod...

We're on @npr.org Short Wave talking birds and prairie-dogs! www.npr.org/2025/06/25/1... #ornithology

So excited to share this paper, lead-authored by newly-minted Dr. Andrew Dreelin from my lab and @andyjboyce.bsky.social's with you all! 🧪

There's this paradox about prairie dog towns - many birds seem to love them, but they attract a lot of predators.

1/n

authors.elsevier.com/c/1lFifmjMA3tq

Why does the government fund research at universities? : Planet Money American universities are where people go to learn and teach. They're also where research and development happens. Over the past eight decades, universities have received billions in federal dollars t...

Excellent feature from @planetmoney.bsky.social
@washu.bsky.social Chancellor Andrew Martin opens up the books to explain how the budget of a major research institution works. And genetics researcher Mike Meers talks about the stress of the past few months. www.npr.org/2025/05/28/1... 🧪 🩺

USGS’ biological research arm could vanish next week - High Country News Trump is on a multipronged mission to eliminate a science agency that conservationists, toxicologists, universities and more call irreplaceable.

USGS’ biological research arm could vanish next week www.hcn.org/articles/usg... via @highcountrynews.org

Lots going on in the news these days - adding some #conservation optimism into bluesky
We released our initial (but extensive) eval of potential for grizzly reintroduction in California
Full report docs.calgrizzly.org/docs/CGA-Fea...
Some media coverage www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
#🦊 (🐻) #🌎

Table S1. Plant genera included in the model, with justifications for inclusion. Allium: Alliums produce large nutrient-dense geophytic bulbs that represent a potential year-round food source for bears Avena Camassia: Camassia produce large nutrient-dense geophytic bulbs that represent a potential year-round food source for bears Carex: Carex plants produce nutritious forbs during the green-up season and nutrient-dense seed heads during reproduction Prunus Quercus: Oaks produce large flushes of highly nutritious and calorie-dense acorns, generally during the autumn months Rubus: Rubus plants produce large flushes of nutrient-dense fruits between spring and fall, depending on the species and climate. They are eaten by black bears frequently in California and grizzly bears outside of the state. Vaccinium In addition to plants, we also modeled the distribution of cutworm moths (of the family Noctuidae). These moths have been shown to be important sources of protein and calories for grizzly bears in the Rockies, especially in high-elevation habitats [25], [53]. Lastly, we included Columbian blacktailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus columbianus) and other mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus), which are predicted to be one of the main natural mammalian prey for California grizzly bears. We did not include elk (Cervus canadensis), as elk populations are generally small where they occur throughout the state and do not occur in large numbers in two-thirds of our study’s potential recovery areas.

From the grizzly bear reintroduction feasibility study at docs.calgrizzly.org/docs/CGA-Fea..., a list of foods for grizzlies in California. I'm surprised to see no mention of fish but, anyway, I recommend the authors collaborate with the agroforesters who raise these foods. @elperomyscus.bsky.social

Specifically, modification of habitat can directly impact a species’ viability and should remain a part of the ESA’s definition of harm. We are in a period of unprecedented species extinction and need to safeguard our country’s resources -including biodiversity- for future generations.

Something as simple as: I strongly oppose the proposal to rescind the definition of “harm” as currently stated in the Endangered Species Act (ESA).

Folks interested in endangered species protection and policy - please comment!

#🦊#🌎

Presidential budget requests are a call to action not an obituary. Call your reps.

Many of my wonderful colleagues are making the hard choice to leave federal service. I fully support them in making that choice, and I am also crying reading their farewell emails.

Cutting ‘boots-on-the-ground, getting-it-done stuff’ could harm the West’s fish and wildlife for decades - High Country News The research co-ops funded by Congress each year since 1960 provide substantial returns for taxpayers.

“Department of Interior told the USGS and cooperative units to present plans to slice their budgets by 10%, 25% and even 40%”
>Scary stuff for lands and lives (human and wildlife alike)..
www.hcn.org/articles/cut...
#🦊#🌎