In an urban setting, land uses such as industrial, residential, and transportation are associated with different stormwater contaminants, including toxicants (fossil fuels, plastics, pesticides, metals), bacteria, and nutrients. In addition to addressing contaminants, stormwater solutions benefit nearby communities by reducing human exposure to toxicants, improving air quality, reducing urban heat islands, and providing access to …

Biodiversity – the amount and variety of life on Earth – is declining rapidly across the globe. Today, there are over 1 million species at risk of extinction. Despite this crisis, there is no global strategy in place to protect our natural habitats. The last plan, the so-called Aichi Targets, achieved little and expired in …

Ian Parsons spent twenty years as a ranger before running his own wildlife tour business. He now writes books and articles on wildlife. He has contributed many articles to this blog (see here). His book A Vulture Landscape (reviewed here) was published by Whittles Publishing in 2020, this was followed by Seasonality in 2022 (reviewed …

By Mike Fitz Perhaps no other group of bears captures our attention like mothers and their cubs. We empathize with their plight and wish them success. Mother bears often show a high tolerance for each other, almost as though they recognize their mutual problems. In 2016, I watched 128 Grazer and 409 Beadnose back down …

This piece comes to us from Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) in honor of Bat Week. Most bats using bridges during the day are well-hidden high above your head, silently looking down on interlopers passing below. Photo credit: Cory Olson/WCS Canada. How many bridges have you driven over without giving a single thought to what is …

By Owen L. Oliver, Freelance Writer (Quinault / Isleta Pueblo) The Nature Conservancy’s Ellsworth Creek Preserve in southwest Washington state is situated on the traditional and current territories of the Chinook People — specifically the Willapa, which is one of the five bands that make up the Chinook Indian Nation. The 8,000-acre preserve hosts stands …

You’ve got to hand it to trees. They make oxygen, absorb pollutants, keep cities cool, capture carbon, anchor ecosystems and provide erosion control. They reduce stress and crime rates and lift us up with their sky-seeking architecture. But not everybody gets to enjoy trees equitably. Research suggests that people living in racialized and marginalized neighbourhoods …

Charadrius vociferus By Jim Gain Learn 100 Common Valley Birds is a photo blog series highlighting the 100 most common Valley bird species. Post #9 in the Learn 100 Common Valley Birds series. (Species 14/100.) Status The Killdeer is a Common Resident to California’s Central Valley. Killdeer belong to the plover family (Charadriidae) with 68 …

Lemon Shark, Bahamas. Photo credit: ©Ron Watkins. It’s that time of the summer. Our screens are filled with a blitz of exploitative and fear-inducing programming about one of the ocean’s top predators. Here’s the thing. I grew up watching the film Jaws. It’s one of my favorite movies. Sadly, though, the advent of the modern …