Biodiversity

"They’ve been buried — alive — for 17 years. And now, Brood X, one of the world’s largest swarms of giant fly-like bugs called cicadas, is ready to rise. When the ground warms to 64 degrees, they’ll stop gnawing on tree roots and start scratching toward the surface by the hundreds of billions."

"The Biden administration voided a Trump-era legal opinion Monday regarding migratory birds and protections that have been in place for over a century."

"Payments for dead wolves. Unlimited hunting of the animals. Shooting wolves from the air. Wolf hunting policies in some states are taking an aggressive turn, as Republican lawmakers and conservative hunting groups push to curb their numbers and propose tactics shunned by many wildlife managers."

"The varied, and beautiful, butterfly species that dot the US west are being cut down by the climate crisis, new research has found, with rising temperatures helping cause a steep decline in butterfly numbers over the past 40 years."

"The federal government does not need to disclose draft documents that informed its conclusions about the harm an EPA rule would pose to vulnerable plants and animals, the Supreme Court ruled today."

"The straw-headed bulbul doesn’t look like much. ... But this Southeast Asian native stands out in one notable way: It sings like an angel."

"Wisconsin officials shut down a planned weeklong wolf hunt in just three days after 216 of the animals were killed — 82% more than the maximum that had been set by the state."

"The number of monarch butterflies that showed up at their winter resting grounds in central Mexico decreased by about 26% this year, and four times as many trees were lost to illegal logging, drought and other causes, making 2020 a bad year for the butterflies."

"Chimneys for bat boxes and a flying fox heat stress forecaster are among efforts to prevent deaths from effects of climate crisis"

"One of the most vexing tribal issues awaiting Rep. Deb Haaland if she is confirmed as Interior secretary is currently migrating out of Yellowstone National Park."