Biodiversity

"An environmental group is calling for a federal investigation into the former presidential candidate for an episode in which he allegedly severed the head of a washed-up whale with a chainsaw – and drove home with it strapped to his car’s roof."

"The nation’s largest dam removal project is nearly complete after a lengthy campaign by Native tribes to restore the river at the California-Oregon border."

"Frank Sinatra famously sang that if you can make it in New York, you can make it anywhere. And that’s just what worries some scientists who have been studying a particular species of ant."

"Facing widespread opposition across the political spectrum, Gov. Ron DeSantis ' plan to develop state parks with business ventures — such as golf courses, pickleball courts and large hotels — has hit a snag after a key supporter pulled the plug."

"An Indiana-based philanthropic endowment will give $100 million to the official nonprofit of the National Park Service (NPS), the largest gift the organization has ever received."

"Hundreds of California sea lions have taken over San Carlos Beach in Monterey, California, prompting local officials to close the area to people."

"De-icing road salts — even those marketed as environmentally friendly — may harm important freshwater plankton, a new analysis indicates. The study, published in Science of the Total Environment, suggests that some species of zooplankton — a critical food source for freshwater fish — don’t adapt to pollution from road salts from generation to generation."

"Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s administration wants to build hotels, golf courses, pickleball courts and other “amenities” at state parks prized for their pristine habitats — a plan that has sparked outrage and concern across the aisle."

"As global temperatures rise due to climate change, mosquito season has lengthened across much of the contiguous United States, a development that scientists warn could heighten the risk of outbreaks of diseases such as dengue and malaria, and the spread of West Nile and Zika viruses."

"A U.S. judge at the urging of environmental groups has thrown out an assessment by a federal agency governing how endangered and threatened marine species should be protected from oil and gas drilling in the Gulf of Mexico."