Rewilding in the Media #14

Editors’ note:  Fortunately, rewilding projects and ideas are in the news more and more frequently.  Unfortunately, this is largely because the extinction and climate crises have worsened to the point that truly bold and visionary conservation and restoration work are essential to saving life on Earth.  In this periodic summary, we list some of the notable stories in the media pertaining to protecting and restoring wild Nature that the TRI board and staff discover and discuss.  These are some highlights from July-August 2022. We urge sharing links to the ones you find most inspiring.  This list was curated by Katie Shepard, Rewilding Earth Managing Editor.

1. The Hill, Feds target Indianapolis-sized area of old-growth for logging [July 12, 2022]

“Environmental groups are calling on the Biden Administration to halt the logging of mature and old-growth forests that they say are essential to slowing climate change. More than 240,000 acres of big, carbon-trapping trees are on the chopping block, according to a report issued on Tuesday by a coalition of nonprofits like Earthjustice, the Sierra Club and the Center for Biological Diversity.”

2. The Intercept, ROCKY MOUNTAIN MASSACRE: Was Yellowstone’s Deadliest Wolf Hunt in 100 Years an Inside Job? [July 20, 2022]

“For years, Montana had imposed strict quotas limiting the number of wolves hunters could kill in the two districts north of Yellowstone. Last year, those restrictions were lifted.”

3. The Week, National parks under siege [July 24, 2022]

“Climate change is taking a destructive toll on America’s treasured preserves of natural beauty.”

4. New York Times, The Case Against Commercial Logging in Wildfire-Prone Forests [July 30, 2022]

“Federal land agencies, like the U.S. Forest Service and National Park Service, are under significant political pressure to conduct commercial logging operations that benefit timber companies but tend to exacerbate overall fire severity.”

5. Newsweek, It’s Earth Overshoot Day, and Future Generations Are Calling by Carter Dillard & Carl Safina [July 28, 2022]

“We’ve continued exceeding the planet’s capacity to meet demand for food, water, and natural resources, and to absorb our greenhouse gas emissions. This heaped huge costs on future generations, which are now coming due.”

Check out the Rewilding Earth Podcast Episode 93 with Carter Dillard and Nandita Bajaj. 

6. Arizona Daily Star, Settlement forces review of cattle grazing along San Pedro River [Aug. 2, 2022]

“Federal range managers have agreed to repair fences and chase errant cattle out of the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area under a newly announced legal settlement that could spell the end of livestock grazing in the protected river habitat.”

7. Science, A bigger home on the range for Montana bison [August 8, 2022]

“As BLM opens public land to the animals, ranchers object, whereas ecologists see a boon for biodiversity.”

8. The Guardian, The most damaging farm products? Organic, pasture-fed beef and lamb [August 16, 2022]

“Analysis: You may be amazed by that answer, but the area of land used for grazing is vast compared with the meat and milk produced.”

9. Wired, Striking Graphs That Show Humanity’s Domination of the Earth [August 3, 2022]

“An easy-to-use database quantifies our shake-up of the planet, from fossil fuels to farming to plastics. But there are a few bright spots.”

10. Yale Program on Climate Change Communication, Exploring support for climate justice policies in the United States [August 3, 2022]

“Here we report public support for policies in three key areas related to climate justice goals: an economic transition to clean, renewable energy sources; investment in frontline communities (i.e. communities who have been historically marginalized and also face disproportionate risk of harm from climate change); and climate-friendly job creation. These policies align with the climate justice principles of reducing unequal harms from climate change, and producing equitable benefits as part of climate solutions (IPCC, 2022), as well as major components of a just transition.”

11. Daily Beast, Forests Are Being Destroyed and ‘Nature Lovers’ Are Helping [Aug. 19, 2022]

“The New Jersey Audubon Society stands arm in arm with big-money interests in support of deforestation. But they’re not the only ‘green’ group to do so.”

12. Anchorage Daily News, Private company gives up oil and gas lease in Arctic refuge, leaving Alaska agency as lone leaseholder [Aug 23, 2022]

“Another private company has given up its lease in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, leaving an Alaska agency as the lone leaseholder seeking to pursue controversial plans to explore for oil and gas in the refuge’s coastal plain. Knik Arm Services, a small real estate and leasing firm, has asked to have its 49,000-acre, 10-year lease rescinded and its lease payments refunded, the Bureau of Land Management said in a statement on Monday. The agency said it will honor that request. Oil company Regenerate Alaska, the only other private company to bid in the federal government’s 2021 lease sale, also gave up its lease earlier this year. The exit by the two companies leaves just the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority, a state agency, to pursue oil and gas exploration in the refuge. The agency acquired seven leases covering about 370,000 acres, and is suing the federal government over the lease suspension.”