Protect This Place: Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve

Park boundaries can’t protect against everything, and the trees that give the reserve its name remain threatened by climate change, fire, and an invasive fungus.

The Place:

Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve, Central Coast of San Diego County

Why It Matters:

Southern California’s coast is better known for its beaches than its woodlands. Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve is home to both. The woodlands are formed by one of the few trees that naturally grows on Southern California bluffs — the IUCN red-listed Torrey pine (Pinus torreyana).

The California State Parks system manages 280 park units, but this is 1 of only 14 to have reserve status, which designates areas of conservation importance that contain threatened species, habitats, or unique geological formations. The presence of Torrey pine, the rarest pine tree in the United States, meets this requirement. Torrey pines are tenacious trees, growing in interesting shapes on the windblown bluffs, even sprawling along slopes, or growing straight and robust trunks in protected canyons. The trees only grow naturally in this small stretch of coast, with a cousin taxon found on one of California’s Channel Islands.

Photo courtesy San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance

But the quirky rare trees aren’t all that makes the state reserve special — it’s also home to several plants recognized by California as rare, threatened, or endangered. The cliffs perennially host a pair of peregrine falcons, who can be seen soaring along the cliff edge or perched atop a Torrey pine. And since this is a coastal spot, there’s a chance to observe some interesting marine life: both great white sharks and playful dolphins have been seen from the overlooks.

The Threat:

The trees that give the reserve its name have suffered tremendous losses in the past decade. Around 17% of the canopy cover was lost during the drought that dominated Southern California for most of the 2010s. The drought stressed the trees and reduced sap production, making them unable to push out native five-spined engraver beetles, who infested the trees. Hundreds of trees died.

With the return of rains, the threat has retreated — for now. Climate change makes extreme weather events more common, so it’s only a matter of time before drought stress affects the trees again and beetle threat looms.

Beetles are not the only threat at the reserve, or even for the Torrey pine. Following the infestation, and perhaps riding some beetle tailcoats, the reserve experienced an outbreak of pitch canker, an exotic fungal infection. The disease, like the beetle pests, takes advantage of stressed trees but thrives with some moisture.

Invasive plant species are a constant threat throughout the park, potentially crowding out native plants and degrading habitat quality. A change of fire regimes also has effects, with increasing fuels in some areas and the kindling of invasive grasses increasing the chances of larger fires.

Who’s Protecting It Now:

California State Parks manages the reserve and works to maintain natural processes as much as possible. This is no easy task when fire regimes have been altered, invasive species pervade, and climate change is making its effects felt. The agency is aided by volunteer docents, who do everything from leading tours to working to control some of the more pervasive weeds (as a group known as the Wacky Weeders).

Photo courtesy San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance

Other nonprofit groups support the management of this special place, including the Torrey Pines Conservancy, which provides key funding projects such as beetle trapping, large trash removal, facilities maintenance, and more. The San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance works with California State Parks on research around the Torrey pines population sustainability in the face of increasing threats, partnering with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and U.S. Forest Service. The Alliance also works with The Chaparral Lands Conservancy for restoration of short-leaved dudleya.

What This Place Needs:

There are some things against which even a “protected” area can’t protect. And though the State Parks staff try to maintain natural processes as much as possible, support for active management is always needed. This support might be volunteers, funding to support management activities, or research that can inform the next management steps. SDZWA is working on helping to fill in some gaps on management, but support for more long-term work still falls short. Because the climate is becoming more erratic, we need time to study more of the variety in climate and how different trees respond; yet support for long-term research and monitoring of management impacts can be hard to find.

My Place in This Place:

My work at Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve began at the start of COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns. We did our initial surveys by walking overgrown trails in all-but-empty park during a spectacularly blooming spring. It was a such a privilege to be able to take the time to examine the plant diversity — especially at a time when the space was inaccessible to so many.

Taking in the views in the cool shade of the Torrey pine trees and seeing the beauty of the rugged coast combined with the beautiful plants kept my spirits high in tough times. That’s when I truly understood the importance of nature on mental health, and why the reserve is so incredibly popular. Its location in center of coastal San Diego County makes it accessible to many, a beautiful stretch of natural land tucked in the sprawl of suburbia connecting many to nature. Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve is a place where both nature and people thrive.

Photo courtesy San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance

In my years monitoring the trees, I’ve been amazed at their diversity in growth forms and their tenacity. They range from 5-foot-wide giants with full crowns tucked in ravines to wind-blown individuals that almost look like shrubs. They will continue to grow after falling over and will stretch roots over cliffs to get footholds.

It has been incredibly upsetting see so many succumb to beetles or have their crown degraded by the pitch canker fungus. I can only hope that the things we’re learning can help the species, if not the individuals we see now, survive these stresses and threats into the future.

We are working on developing restoration protocols, with some of our seedlings flourishing.

The trails reopened to the public long ago, and since then I’ve heard nothing but curiosity and support from the reserve’s many visitors — especially students. With such positive signs in the next generations, of both people and trees, I have great hope for this place.

Do you live in or near a threatened habitat or community, or have you worked to study or protect endangered wildlife? You’re invited to share your stories in our ongoing features, Protect This Place and Species Spotlight

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Previously in The Revelator:

Species Spotlight: The Coastal Sage Scrub Oak, an Unassuming Cornerstone of its Ecosystem

 

2025 From A to Z

An alphabetical look at the environmental threats, priorities, and opportunities of the year ahead.

The new year is upon us, and the second Trump administration will soon take power. Here’s some of what we can expect, or what we should focus on, in the months ahead.

A is for Activists vs. Autocrats.

The defining conflict of our generation.

B is for Biodiversity.

Threatened and endangered species aren’t going to protect themselves.

B is also for Billionaires and Bribes.

The rich keep getting richer and consolidating power. They’ll pay whatever and whomever they want to maintain and grow their dominance, and the Earth will suffer in the process.

Truth Social screen shot.

C is for Climate Chaos.

The Trump administration will do whatever it can to dismantle climate protections, starting as soon as Day One, and, of course, is unlikely to pass any new environmental laws. Meanwhile weather will get more extreme, global temperatures will continue to rise, and communities and habitats will suffer. Be prepared — and continue to fight for progress.

C is also for Community.

Build one (or many) around yourselves. We’ll need each other.

D is for Decolonization.

As the world takes a hard shift to the right, we can’t lose sight of how that affects the people, places, and systems around us, many already suffering from decades or centuries of colonialist, oppressive acts and mindsets.

E is for Elections.

Local races will take place in late 2025, several states will hold key special elections early in the year, and the next federal elections are in 2026. What’s your plan?

F is for the Free Press and the First Amendment.

Both are friends to the environment and essential for bringing corporate and government malfeasance to light. Support your local and national media and speak your mind.

G is for Governors (and Mayors).

State and local action will be critical for maintaining progress against climate change as the federal government is robbed of power and professionalism under Trump.

H is for Hellbenders.

These amazing giant salamanders are scheduled to gain Endangered Species Act protection in 2025. Which other species will join them — or see their protections blocked?

I is for Ideas.

We’ll need a lot.

J is for Justice.

Let’s never forget the people left behind.

J is also for Jokes.

Take a cue from Mel Brooks, who spent his career satirizing Adolf Hitler — autocrats have big egos and thin skins. Parody helps cut them down to size.

K is for Kindness.

Be good to yourself and the people and wildlife around you. We’ll need a lot of that in the days ahead.

L is for Lawyers and Lawsuits.

Expect the first court filings against the Trump administration to come as early as Inauguration Day. (Meanwhile, we can count on an emboldened Trump to file more lawsuits against the media and his opponents.)

M is for Monuments

President Biden named several new national monuments while he was in office, including three during his final weeks (two of which are still pending as of press time). These designations protect important habitats or culturally important sites. Will Trump oppose or rescind them? I’m looking at you, Bears Ears.

N is for NOAA and NATO.

Let’s hope they survive the year.

O is for Obeying in Advance.

Which we must not do.

P is for Project 2025.

The extreme right has showed us its playbook. Now it’s time to use it against them and to anticipate their attacks against freedom and decency.

Q is for the Quest for Knowledge.

Never stop looking for new ways to protect life on Earth.

R is for Resting and Recharging.

It’s going to be a rough four years. Take care of yourself in the long fight ahead — nature walks help.

S is for Success Stories.

They make a huge difference. Telling stories about progress or victories helps others to replicate those successes. Reading those stories inspires people to seek their own solutions (and to pull back from the daily doom and gloom).

S is also for Sharing.

Don’t keep your victories — or your pain — to yourself. We grow when we communicate with friends and neighbors.

T is for Trump 2.0.

Of course it is.

U is for Ukraine.

And Palestine, Israel, Yemen, Somalia, Haiti, Myanmar, and so many other places on the planet. War and other conflicts are bad for people, wildlife, ecosystems and the climate. Expect more conflicts as autocrats and kleptocrats continue to grab both power and natural resources. (And let’s not forget, if Trump gives up on Ukraine, all of Europe and Western Asia could suffer from potential further Russian aggression.)

V is for Vaccines.

Polio, anyone? Or a new global pandemic, perhaps bird flu? It might be time to stock up on masks again…

W is for Wildlife.

Treasure it.

X is for eXamples.

Trump and his allies are already publicly punishing people and organizations who stand up to them and trying to scare the rest of us into not fighting back. Support the systems that will defend these heroes in need.

X is also for X.

Elon Musk, owner of the social media site, has proven himself to be a destructive force. The environmental movement should divest itself from Musk products, including X and Tesla.

Y is for Yelling

Okay, maybe you don’t need to shout, but never be afraid to make your voice heard. Put your local representatives’ offices on speed dial.

Z is for Zero Ground.

Don’t stray from the ethical, moral, professional, legal, and scientific high ground. Don’t give an inch in the fight to protect people and the planet. Draw a line and don’t let them cross it. It will be tough, but that’s the hand we’ve been dealt.

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Previously in The Revelator:

Advice for U.S. Government Scientists: Lessons Learned From the ‘Muzzling’ of Their Canadian Counterparts

 

Salmon, Wolves, Whales and Bears: The Wildlife MVPs of 2024

The world still faces a growing extinction crisis, but that hasn’t stopped conservation efforts or individual overachievers. Here are some of the animals who made a difference.

While the climate and biodiversity crises demand attention — and cause more than a little anxiety — we should save some bandwidth for encouraging news, too. Every year members of the wildlife communities around us achieve feats that cast new light on the world we live in. Sometimes they expand their ranges, recover territory, or simply survive against the odds.

Often these feats are aided by human conservation work.

Last year was no exception, with high-achieving wolves, blue whales, salmon, and other animals making headlines. Their stories reflect the abundance that still surrounds us and the stubborn resilience we all share.

As we welcome 2025, let’s enjoy these hopeful stories from 2024.

Klamath Salmon Surge Back

Just weeks after the removal of four dams from California’s Klamath River, biologists spotted Chinook salmon spawning in the river’s upper reaches for the first time in a century. By November hundreds of salmon were wriggling into their historical home waters of southern Oregon, 200 river miles from the ocean.

A fish navigates between rocks in a river, its body mostly out of the water
Chinook salmon on the Klamath River, Oct. 16, 2024. Photo: ODFW

They swam past young willows and other new growth creating riparian shelter in what had only recently been the murky bottom of a reservoir. Other species sure to benefit include coho salmon, steelhead, and lamprey, along with birds and mammals.

And people will partake in this success, too, including the Klamath Tribes and other Indigenous groups whose nutritional and cultural heritage were disrupted by the dams.

Agricultural runoff and rising water temperatures remain challenges. But Tribes, agencies, universities, and nonprofits are collaborating on monitoring and restoration projects. The fish themselves will inform continuing efforts as biologists follow them into newly reopened habitat.

The story repeats elsewhere, like on Washington’s Elwha River. In 2024, for the first time in decades, a ceremonial and subsistence fishery opened for the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, following a 2012 dam removal.

Eastern Herring Revival

Maine’s river herring are also thriving after dam removal in the Kennebec River region. Since 2010 the fish have flooded back to spawn in once-inaccessible streams and slow ponds. Runs that were recently nonexistent or numbered only in the hundreds now reach the millions and tens of millions of fish. After setting records in 2023 and 2024, they now hint at an abundance not seen in 200 years.

Herring once filled East Coast rivers and estuaries during their spawn and teemed in nearby ocean waters. Like salmon they’re a keystone species that moves nutrients within marine and terrestrial food chains, benefitting whales, seals, cod, bears, eagles, and other animals. Before the American Revolution, they supported New England’s earliest commercial fisheries; before that they were key to Indigenous cultures and diets.

Today’s revival, which occurs in neighboring states, too, is reinvigorating Indigenous practices and creating new cultural, economic, and local food opportunities. People are helping by removing obsolete dams and installing fish-friendly culverts along roads. Many hope it’s only the beginning, although pollution, bycatch, and overfishing remain challenges.

Wolves Keeping On

Wolf news was not all good in 2024, but the species nevertheless reclaimed habitat and showcased resilience. In December California biologists announced two new wolf packs in an apparent “population boom” in the Sierras. It makes for three new packs confirmed last year, all in an area between Lake Tahoe and Lassen Peak that has lacked wolves for a century. Statewide, at least 30 pups were born.

In Colorado, following voter-approved reintroduction, video captured three fresh pups from the Copper Creek Pack playing near their den. Shortly after, however, officials captured and relocated them following a reported livestock predation. But a few months later, a young disperser appeared south of I-70 for the first time since reintroduction.

It all reflects the often-uneven rhythm of recovery. Colorado officials regularly map wolf activity, which has now spread over a third of the state.

With Age Comes Eggs

In December Hawaiian officials announced that a 74-year-old Laysan albatross named Wisdom had laid a fresh egg at the Midway Atoll wildlife refuge. Wisdom is the world’s oldest known wild bird. She has outlived the ornithologists who first banded her in 1956 and survived decades of dangers, including fishing nets, sharks, and, increasingly, ocean plastics.

Wisdom's chill time. Photo credit: Dragana Connaughton / Schoolyard Films

Biologists say Wisdom has laid 40 documented eggs in her lifetime and may even be older than her mid-seventies. Laysan albatrosses spend most of their time feeding on squid in the open ocean but come ashore to lay one egg per year in low-lying nests. The seabirds were once hunted for their feathers but enjoy healthy numbers today — thanks in part to generations of Wisdom’s descendants.

A New Ocelot in Town

In August biologists in southern Arizona saw an ocelot skulk past one of their remote cameras, the first such sighting in the Atascosa Highlands in 50 years. By analyzing its spots, biologists confirmed that the animal is new to the state and not “L’il Jefe,” Arizona’s only other known ocelot.

The Atascosa Highlands are hard country along the U.S.-Mexico border, with limited water and searing heat. Yet its grasslands and pinion-oak forests are an ocelot’s happy place, with plenty of rabbits and other small mammals to feed upon.

The landscape is also dominated by humans, with roads, development, poison traps, and an increasingly fortified U.S. border.

No one knows how long the latest ocelot has been in Arizona, but it likely dispersed from a small population in northern Mexico. Only about 100 ocelots survive in the United States, mostly in Texas. But glimpses of L’il Jefe and this new cat in Arizona show that the land, which benefits from restoration, still provides. For example, in late 2023 another camera 50 miles away captured images of a jaguar — only the eighth spotted in Arizona since 1996.

Rattlesnake Mega-Den

After decades of hunting pressure and persecution, you may be surprised to hear about a healthy rattlesnake population. But a Colorado landowner recently discovered a mega-den of prairie rattlesnakes that’s made headlines and become a viral online sensation. The rookery hosts hundreds of snakes in winter, who rest and shed their skin, while dozens of pregnant females use it as a birthing place in late summer.

As the largest known aggregation of prairie rattlers, researchers say the site is a “sweet spot” of climatic, geologic, and biological conditions. Rattlesnakes play key ecological roles, so watching them will be critical to understanding how the local ecosystem changes in the coming years.

You can see a rattle-cam of the den. Grade schoolers use it to observe the snakes, while hundreds of online viewers have seen predators and rodents and even witnessed the snakes lapping water from each other’s coiled bodies. (A fun fact: Each snake bears individualized scale patterns, just like the saddle patches of orcas, the spots of ocelots, and the fingerprints of humans.)

Blue Whale Group

In April boat captains reported an early arrival of migrating blue whales off the Southern California coast. Numbers swelled all spring, and by July an estimated 100 of the massive whales were present.

It’s doubly good news, indicating healthy prey populations and the possible continued recovery of a species hunted nearly to extinction a short century ago.

Meanwhile research in the Southern Ocean suggests that blue whale populations have started to recover around Antarctica. It’s hard to say for sure — physical sightings are rare in that remote region — but scientists have recorded whale songs with increasing frequency, a potential sign of an ongoing recovery. Either that, or they’re just getting louder.

Fly on, Condor

It’s crummy that this past March someone shot the only California condor known to enter Colorado since 2015. In September, without any leads, wildlife officials offered a $15,000 reward for the perp. There’s no news to date.

But like singer Dr. John, we’ll accentuate the positive on this one, as this bird’s travels suggest more hope than horror.

You see, California condor populations have expanded quite a bit lately — good news after the species nearly went extinct in the 1970s largely due to lead poisoning from ammunition, which they ingested from animal remnants left by hunters. In 1987 the last 22 surviving condors were trapped for captive breeding. Today, following years of work, the population has surged to more than 550, with roughly half in the wild in California, Arizona, Utah, and Mexico. Last year, some of the massive birds explored new territory near San Francisco — the kind of range expansion that perhaps the condor in Colorado was eyeing.

First Fishers

Also expanding their range: fishers, who are recolonizing northeastern Ohio for the first time in 200 years.

It started in 2013, when the midsize weasels moved westward from a successful reintroduction program in New York and Pennsylvania. Over 40 Ohio fishers have since been reported — two-thirds in the past three years, indicating they may be reproducing locally. Further evidence of breeding came in early 2024, when geneticists reported that a fisher killed on a road was pregnant.

While it shows the progress of conservation programs, roads will remain a tall hurdle for fishers and other species. But Ohio hosts parks, nature reserves, and even protected old-growth forests. State engineers hope to incorporate wildlife passages into roads, which could minimize the damage and speed up further recovery.

Growing Populations and Other Winners

In 2024 two noteworthy species also improved their endangered status. Apache trout, Arizona’s state fish, have recovered enough territory to graduate from the endangered species list entirely, while red-cockaded woodpeckers, now present from Virginia to Texas, were downlisted from endangered to threatened.

In another milestone, a cloned black footed ferret at the Smithsonian National Zoo in Virginia gave birth to two kits. She’s the first cloned endangered animal to give birth in the United States, bringing promise for maintaining genetic diversity in recovering species. (Many experts argue it’s much better to devote resources to preserving species in the wild before cloning becomes a last resort, but this birth did help to draw worldwide attention to these critically endangered species, which itself was a worthy feat.)

Other animals captured headlines in 2024 for just doing their thing, like the black bear who delighted rangers and visitors by swimming across Oregon’s Crater Lake to become the first bear seen on Wizard Island in decades. Or the “freakishly large” young bull moose spotted in Wyoming’s Bighorn Mountains, who local photographers described as dwarfing his 1,000-pound peers. Similarly, Colorado officials had to move “an absolute unit of a bear” weighing around 450 pounds after he holed up under someone’s deck. The well-fed animals may reflect abundant foods in their ecosystems.

On a lighter note, 2024 also saw three unique cases of leucistic animals, who are born mostly white. In Yellowstone Lakota people celebrated the rare birth of a white bison, an event connected to ancient prophecies. Along coastal British Columbia, a similarly colored killer whale delighted photographers. And a white raven in Anchorage, Alaska, garnered a dedicated online following and inspired a group of Yup’ik dancers visiting the city from western Alaska to create a new traditional-style song and dance in the bird’s honor.

These and other stories captured human imaginations last year, revealing an ancient and enduring bond between people and wildlife. They also demonstrate the resiliency and unique character of the animals who surround us, along with the potential of ecosystems. And nearly every story shows that conservation is working — and that people love seeing these success stories in the making.

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Previously in The Revelator:

A Year to Remember…for Wildlife

14 Must-Read Environmental Commentaries

In 2024 our experts explored subjects ranging from autocratic governments to green jobs and new ways to help endangered species.

Not long ago a writer submitted an op-ed that made me worry for their safety.

I asked, “Are you going to get in trouble if we publish this?”

Maybe, they replied. But telling the truth was more important.

Of course, a good op-ed doesn’t need to put anyone at risk. But expert commentaries can shine a light on truth, share critical information, or encourage people and systems to move in a fresh direction.

Here’s a list of some of The Revelator’s best environmental commentaries from 2024. They offer lessons from the autocracies rising around the world, advice for saving species from extinction, guidance on shaping green jobs, insights into Indigenous knowledge, and more.

Advice for U.S. Government Scientists: Lessons Learned From the ‘Muzzling’ of Their Canadian Counterparts

Bioplastics Are Not the Solution

City Surprise: Urban Areas Are Brimming With Biodiversity

Conservation of ‘Umbrella Species’ Works for Ecosystems — Especially in Southeast Asia

From Glass Ceilings to Green Houses: More Women Are Needed in Green Industry

Haul Water, Rescue Pigs, Help Neighbors: How My Students Confronted Climate Chaos in a Horrific Hurricane Season

Mining Policy Must Be Reformed

The Silent Tragedy of Local Restrictions on Renewable Energy

Species Spotlight: Going to Bat for Painted Woolly Bats

Species Spotlight: The Haunting Tale of Kagu, the Ghosts of the Forest

The Te Awa Tupua Act: An Inspiration for Communities to Take Responsibility for Their Ecosystems

Time to Let This Conservation Jargon Go Extinct?

Tree Cutting in Egypt: The Desertification of Governance

Why Indigenous-Led Management Is Integral to Reconciliation and Restoration Efforts

Do you have a story to tell in the year ahead? We’re always open to op-eds and other commentaries from activists, scientists, conservationists, legislators, government employees, and other experts — especially anyone with insight about the regressive and repressive second Trump administration. You can find out how to submit here, or drop me a line at any time.

Sloths, Salmon, and Autocrats: Our Most-Read Articles of the Year

Solutions to our environmental ills abound in these popular Revelator articles from 2024.

Environmental news stories tend to slip through the cracks during election years — and this year we saw that like none other.

Still, this year brought more readers than ever to The Revelator. People wanted to know about the environmental threats the planet faces — and how to stop them.

Solutions stories were particularly popular this year, a sign that people are done with putting up with the status quo. Maintaining that energy and drive will be difficult but essential in 2025.

Here’s a list of some of our most popular articles of 2024. They cover people helping sloths and other endangered species, studying our blind spots, building environmentally conscious communities, looking at the threats of autocracy, and fighting climate change. They should all continue to offer inspiration and guidance in the troublesome year(s) ahead.

Adapt, Move or Die? Plants and Animals Face New Pressures in a Warming World

All the Plants We Cannot See

Antarctica’s Looming Threat

Anthrax in Zimbabwe: Caused by Oppression, Worsened by Climate Change

Are Botanists Endangered?

Building a Flock: How an Unlikely Birder Found Activism — and Community — in Nature

Burning Trees: As the Biomass Industry Grows, Its Carbon Emissions Go Uncounted

Coastal Restoration: Recycled Shells and Millions of Larvae — A Recipe for Renewed Oyster Reefs

Conservation Works — and Science Just Proved It

Environmental Change, Written in the DNA of Birds

In France, One Group Seeks to Do the Unthinkable: Unite the Climate Movement

The Monumental Effort to Replant the Klamath River Dam Reservoirs

Out-of-Control Wildlife Trade Is Shackling a Key Climate Solution

Rock and Roll Botany: An Endangered Plant Named After Legendary Guitarist Jimi Hendrix

Salmon Have Returned Above the Klamath River Dams. Now What?

The Shocking Truth About Sloths

Six Lessons From the World’s Deadliest Environmental Disaster

Titicaca in Crisis: Climate Change Is Drying Up the Biggest Lake in the Andes

Water and Cooperation Breathe New Life Into Klamath Basin Wildlife Refuges

What 70 Celebrity Tortoises Can Teach Us About Conservation Stories

We’re thankful for our readers this past year. We look forward to bringing you more essential reporting in the months ahead.

This Year in Conservation Science: Elephants, Sharks, Mountains, Bees, and More

We asked conservation researchers to send us their best papers of 2024. They surprised us with some powerful and important science.

Every month scientific journals publish hundreds of new papers about endangered species and wildlife conservation. It’s a firehose of information in a world that feels increasingly in flames.

That’s why I started writing this column. “This Month in Conservation Science” is an opportunity to sort through some of that critical research and filter it for an audience who can put these scientific discoveries to good use.

Our first few columns looked at papers published over specific four-week periods. This month, as we all wrap up 2024, we asked researchers to send us their best or favorite papers of the past year. We received submissions that offer hope, guidance, analysis, and insight into emerging threats.

Stuart Pimm, president of Saving Nature, recommended a paper he and his colleagues published in Science Advances revealing surprising news for elephants. He wrote: “The public may think that elephants in the African savannah are in freefall. In fact, over the last quarter century, their numbers have held their own across Southern Africa (mid-Tanzania southwards), an area that holds three-quarters of them. The paper shows what strategies led to this success and recommends that connecting now-isolated populations will be vital for future progress.”

Sukakpak Mountain
Sukakpak Mountain. Photo: Bob Wick/BLM

Aerin Jacob, director of science and research at Nature Conservancy of Canada, sent a coauthored paper from Conservation Biology about mountains — a habitat type that deserves more attention. “People often think that mountain ecosystems are so rugged and inaccessible that they don’t need habitat protection, but that’s not true,” she wrote. “We studied six major mountain regions around the world and found that on average half of them are as modified as the rest of the world; two-thirds of them don’t (yet) meet the 30×30 global protection target; and existing protected areas don’t include the vast majority of mountain ecosystem types. Mountains are super-important for biodiversity, ecosystem function, and the benefits people get from nature. We ignore them at our peril.”

Speaking of 30×30, marine expert Stacy Jupiter with the Wildlife Conservation Society recommended a paper in Marine Policy, cowritten by two other WCS specialists, that she tells us sought to “identify highly productive marine areas around the world to help the world achieve the protection of at least 30% of the planet by 2030. This analysis adds to the current body of knowledge by exploring the notion of marine productivity as an enabling condition that drives ecological integrity in marine ecosystems. It’s a critically important feature to inform and complement future conservation efforts.”

Caribbean reef shark
An endangered Caribbean reef shark. Photo: Brian Gratwicke (CC BY 2.0)

Sticking with the ocean, shark scientist David Shiffman (a frequent Revelator contributor) sent a commentary he published in Integrative & Comparative Biology about how misinformation shapes the public’s perspective on shark conservation. “This invited commentary summarizes the last decade of my research into public misunderstanding of ocean conservation issues,” he wrote. “In a career sitting in rooms with global science and conservation experts and a career talking to the interested public about how to save the ocean, I’ve noticed something striking: both groups talk about the same issues, but they talk about them very differently. This inspired a decade-long research project looking at where concerned members of the public learn about ocean conservation threats and their policy solutions, and what type of information is spread through those information pathways. It turns out that nearly every information pathway is flooded with misunderstandings if not straight-up pseudoscience, a big problem as we work to save endangered species and key ecosystems.”

 

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Sharks get a lot of press, but many other species fly under the radar. Wildlife trade researcher Lalita Gomez shared a Discover Animals paper cowritten with frequent Revelator contributor Chris Shepherd about a cat-like mammal called the binturong that faces an underappreciated threat. “This little creature is currently being traded under the radar in large numbers for the pet trade, which is ridiculous considering its vulnerable status,” she wrote. “The online trade of live animals is also out of hand and with this paper we push for stronger regulation of social media platforms that perpetuate the trade.”

Shepherd, meanwhile, was the senior author of a paper in the European Journal of Wildlife Research that examined Canada’s role in international wildlife trade. “Wildlife trade is embedded in Canada’s history, dating back to the early fur traders, evolving to include multiple commodities such as the contemporary fur industry and the thriving pet trade of today,” he wrote. “Considering recent reports of animals legally and illegally imported into Canada and the potential threats of wildlife trade studied elsewhere, wildlife trade may pose risks to Canada’s natural heritage, biodiversity, biosecurity, and animal welfare. Our review underscores the need to enhance academic knowledge and policy tools to effectively identify and address trade issues concerning Canadian and nonnative wildlife.”

Continuing the theme of wildlife trade, Neil D’Cruze shared a Journal of Environmental Management paper from several authors at World Animal Protection and John Jay College of Criminal Justice that “highlights significant gaps in global wildlife trade laws despite a century of growing legislation. Examining 11 biodiversity-rich countries, the research found that the Global Biodiversity Index does not correlate with the scope of wildlife trade laws. Legislation is unevenly distributed across trade stages, with animal welfare notably underrepresented, particularly in captive breeding and farming. Our study urges the alignment of national and international regulations to address critical gaps, protect biodiversity, and prioritise animal welfare, emphasising its importance for public health and environmental sustainability.”

Moving on to a different topic, let’s talk about the damaging ways people move through the natural world. William Laurance, distinguished research professor at James Cook University, shared a Nature paper led by one of his Ph.D. students about ghost roads — often-illegal roads that don’t exist on maps but pose a serious danger to ecosystems. “Globally, ghost roads are one of the most serious, understudied threats to ecosystems and biodiversity — especially in poorer nations that harbor much of Earth’s biodiversity,” he wrote.

We also heard from Dr. Sara Cannon with the Centre for Indigenous Fisheries at the Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries, who was the lead author of a paper in Facets that argued the open data movement is putting too much pressure on Indigenous people to make their scientific data public. “This paper highlights why Indigenous data sovereignty is crucial for addressing environmental challenges like climate change and cumulative effects on ecosystems, particularly salmon-bearing watersheds in British Columbia,” she writes. “It underscores the need for respectful collaborations between Indigenous knowledge-holders and external researchers, offering actionable steps to honor Indigenous data sovereignty and improve data management practices. By reading this paper, the public can better understand how Indigenous data sovereignty supports ecosystem resilience and empowers Indigenous communities to maintain sovereignty over their territories and knowledge.”

Samantha Strindberg of the WCS submitted two papers, both authored with expansive teams, that showcased the value of large, long-term conservation monitoring programs. The first, published in Oryx, assessed the population size of the Mongolian gazelle. “The Eastern Steppe of Mongolia harbors the largest remaining temperate grassland on the planet and is home to millions of Mongolian gazelles,” she wrote. “This is the first comprehensive assessment of this species that roams over 750,000 square kilometers, predominantly (91%) in the Mongolian open plains, and also Russia and China. It highlights the importance of comprehensive monitoring surveys and the value of cross-border collaboration to provide important information for conservation of this species in the long-term.”

The second, published in Primates, examined great ape surveys: “The Republic of Congo expanded the Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park to include the gorilla-rich, previously unlogged forest of the Djéké Triangle. These survey results for western lowland gorilla and central chimpanzee are part of a 25-year history of globally important scientific research on the ecology and behavior of western lowland gorillas. Empirical evidence of the environmental value and strategic conservation importance supported the inclusion of the Djéké Triangle into the NNNP with long-term monitoring results also informing best-practice standards and ape tourism certification.”

Finally, this month, we heard from Liber Ero Postdoctoral Fellow Jayme Lewthwaite, who recommended a paper she didn’t work on as one of the best she’s seen in 2024. Published in Nature Sustainability, lead author Laura Melissa Guzman and colleagues examined the effects of pesticides on wild bee distributions in the United States. “This paper is so important because it’s the first national assessment of how pesticide use is affecting native bees across their ranges,” Lewthwaite wrote. “While overall pesticide use has plateaued in the U.S., Guzman et al. show that the novel pesticides that are increasingly being favored (such as neonicotinoids) are extremely deadly to native insects, perhaps more than any of their predecessors. While this was suspected and shown through a few studies in the UK (where they were subsequently banned), this is the first study to do so in the U.S. on such a large taxonomic and spatial scale. We should all be worried about the decline of native bees because they are by far the most effective pollinators out of any group, and this has important food security implications.”


We’ll return to our regular format next month, which will link to papers published between Dec. 15, 2024, and Jan. 15, 2025. We’re happy to hear from any author or team with a new paper coming out in a peer-reviewed journal or other publication during that timeframe, especially if you’re from the Global South or an institution without much public-relations support. For consideration in a future column, drop us a link at [email protected] and use the subject line TMICS.

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Greenwashing and Social Justice: Pro-Trophy Hunting Narratives Need Careful Examination

Arguments abound on the benefits and dangers of trophy hunting. We need a careful, measured approach to analyzing how it’s justified and promoted.

Trophy hunting remains a contentious subject amongst scientists, conservationists, and the public. Each side fervently defends its stance, but the underlying narrative pushed by trophy-hunting proponents urgently deserves close scrutiny.

We saw it most recently in August, after trophy-hunting critic and economist Ross Harvey wrote an op-ed criticizing the killing of five “super-tusker” elephants from Kenya’s Amboseli National Park. In response, wildlife conservation professor Amy Dickman criticized his assertions as “knee-jerk reactions” ranging from “misunderstanding to misinformation.” She asserted we should aim for alternatives to trophy-hunting bans (something Harvey has previously proposed) but her language suggests those opposed to trophy hunting are too quick to engage in rash calls to action.

This is where it becomes critical that we don’t accept the many rationalizations of trophy hunting at face value and examine each one.

Who Benefits?

Proponents often use the plight of local African communities to position trophy hunting as a contribution to social justice — usually poverty alleviation, a solution for human-wildlife conflict, and food provision.

“Valuable revenue” is often touted as trophy hunting’s primary contribution to both conservation and local communities. Quantifying these benefits is a tricky affair, however. A 2013 study by Economists at Large examined the contributions of hunting and found that on average only 3% of hunting operators’ revenue trickled down to communities. More recently, a 2022 report from Harvey’s organization Good Governance Africa found that only 9% of trophy-hunting revenue (or a paltry R1,530,000, about $86,000) from South Africa’s privately owned Associated Private Nature Reserves (APNR) was allocated to community outreach and low-income households — although where and how it was distributed remains unclear.

Corruption is another significant concern, further running the risk that revenue destined for community development doesn’t reach its intended recipients, according to Economists at Large.

The report goes on to quote a local village resident in Northern Tanzania who was interviewed for a paper by conservationist Hassanali Thomas Sachedina:

“We’re more closely allied with the photographic operators than the hunters. They are finishing off the wildlife before we’ve had a chance to realize a profit from it. Hunters don’t recognize us; they only recognize the government… 25% of hunting fees goes into the ‘hole’ at the district. We’re supposed to get 5%: we don’t even see that.”

Trophy hunting generates enormous revenue for hunting operators, with bull elephants fetching $20-40,000 depending on tusk weight. But as sustainable and ethical tourism researcher Mucha Mkono told me earlier this year, “the very underdeveloped status of many of the rural areas where hunting occurs tells us what we need to know. The benefits are not trickling down enough to make a real difference in the local communities. Whatever benefits there are, their scope fails to justify the ethical and environmental cost.”

 

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Local Communities and Local Decision-Making

The homogenous grouping of African communities in pro-trophy-hunting messaging is worryingly unsubstantiated and too often taken at face value.

Dickman refers to “local people, who legitimately choose trophy hunting” as a wildlife management strategy. The statement requires analysis on two fronts. First, we require empirical evidence of multiple local communities freely choosing trophy hunting before a generalized statement can be made. Second, the use of “legitimately” is questionable. A 2019 paper by Mkono suggests that African social media users, for example, perceive trophy hunting as a holdover of colonialism and a sign of politicians’ greed. Furthermore, decision-making on trophy hunting often takes place at the national level, outside the realm of local communities and without public participation.

Is there genuine participation by local stakeholders, or do governments and pro-hunting organizations speak on their behalf? To what degree are the carefully crafted narratives of pro-trophy hunting groups such as Safari Club International being taken at face value?

A 2023 paper by environmental anthropologist Sian Sullivan explores Safari Club International’s original objective of making Africa the “greatest hunting grounds in the world” for its elite members. SCI’s argument that hunting contributes to conservation was promoted by dismissing any opposition as ‘neocolonial,’ despite their deeply extractivist practices that continue to see thousands of African animals exported as trophies and trinkets to the United States and other primarily western countries. Such activities benefit only a few and exploit natural resources and local community members, who are paid minimum wages for precarious jobs. Jobs within the hunting industry are temporary and the field requires fewer staff compared to safari and photographic tourism lodges, according to a 2020 paper in the journal Tourism Geographies.

This leads to further discursive inconsistencies in the debate: The assertion that trophy hunting incentivizes local communities to coexist with wildlife cannot be reconciled with “legitimately” choosing trophy hunting if those living in close proximity to hunting areas are being incentivized (i.e., motivated or led to see something as attractive). A legitimate choice suggests something freely pursued, which does not appear to be the case.

We must be cautious of the use of “local communities” as a blanket justification for trophy-hunting if this is used in place of admitting vested interests. In a recent article, conservation writer Jared Kukura highlighted a concern that JAMMA, an international conservation organization, has a vested interest (in the region of $10 million) in pursuing trophy hunting in Mozambique and providing significant funding to organizations with explicit pro-trophy-hunting agendas, including Morally Contested Conservation, a trophy-hunting public relations initiative, and Resource Africa, a campaign against anti-hunting legislation.

The intricacies of the “local communities” angle being spun into a social justice argument require the most attention. If the community benefits are minimal, trophy hunting is perceived as a colonial pursuit, and genuine grassroots participation in decision-making is lacking, is the argument valid?

As Dickman stated, “rather than amping up international pressure, we should give local stakeholders space to discuss among themselves, respect their decisions, and focus far more on listening rather than lecturing.” I couldn’t agree more, but the voices of well-funded organizations continue to drown out those of the people whose welfare they’re claiming to protect.

Likewise, where are the voices of community members who do not agree with trophy-hunting practices and do not feel their purported benefits?

Without the immense funding poured into public relations, organizational vested interests, and political influence, would trophy hunting still be legitimately chosen by local stakeholders?

Ethics, Protocols, and Outright Disregard

Dickman suggests a potential “collaborative” solution to protect Kenya’s tuskers in which Amboseli elephant researchers share their data with hunting operators to call certain elephants off-limits to hunters. She “thinks” hunters would be open to this and “apparently” concerned operators have agreed not to touch Amboseli’s most famous bulls.

It is worth drawing attention to the multiple occasions in which trophy hunters and hunting operators have not acted ethically or in accordance with protocols or researchers. The very nature of trophy hunting is to pursue the most iconic animals for trophy purposes. Can we reliably assume that Amboseli’s most iconic elephants are therefore safe from hunters?

Cecil the lion is an example that garnered immense uproar. He was being studied by Oxford’s WildCRU researchers, who had affixed him with a visible and recognizable GPS-tracking collar, when he was baited and lured outside of Hwange National Park before being shot in 2015. The hunters brazenly removed and dumped his tracking collar before discarding his body. Not only was Theo Bronkhorst, the professional hunter, a member of the Safari Operators Association of Zimbabwe, but he acted against their own regulations in which lions should not be lured and baited outside of no-kill zones. (Note: Dickman became the executive director of WildCRU in 2022.)

According to a study in Biological Conservation cited in Africa Geographic, Cecil was not alone: 24 out of 62 tagged research lions were killed by trophy hunters in Zimbabwe between 1999 and 2004. Shockingly, 72% of the tagged Hwange male lions were killed for trophies and 30% of these lions were under the age of 4 years.

In 2018 two elephant hunts occurred in Balule Nature Reserve in which the professional hunting outfitters and their clients acted against established protocols. In one hunt, Balule admits to a “harrowing and traumatizing incident” in which an elephant was shot 13 times several hundred yards from a lodge, in view of the guests. An illegal hunt also took place in 2018 in which a collared elephant studied by Elephants Alive was shot under the guidance of a professional hunter and reserve warden.

Also in Maseke, a property within Balule Nature Reserve, a botched elephant hunt took place in which the animal was shot no less than eight times after fleeing onto a nonhunting property, followed by a helicopter chase back onto Maseke. Not only was this hunt grossly unethical, but according to HSI-International, it may have been illegal due to a court interdict.

And in the APNR, Skye the lion was hunted despite several concerns raised that he should not be targeted by trophy hunters. Skye was baited using buffalo and elephant carcasses also killed by the client.

Two things are striking here: First, the wasteful use of two carcasses to simply lure a lion as opposed to the oft-heard narrative of donating meat to those in need; second, wildlife contained within the Kruger National Park are “deemed public assets” according to the Protected Areas Act (2003). Baiting and luring this lion out of the park demonstrates gross neglect alongside the fact that the hunters did not take reasonable precautions to identify a lion who was agreed to be off limits.

Another lack of reasonable precaution can be seen in the trophy hunting of young male lions. “Aging errors,” when lions of key reproductive age are killed instead of older males, further exacerbate lion mortalities, according to a study in Nature.

And the trend continues: This October, another super tusker bull from Tanzania’s Serengeti was hunted and killed, despite “a mutual, informal agreement among stakeholders and hunters in the region that this elephant was off-limits for hunting,” according to a property owner interviewed by Africa Geographic. For many elephant conservationists and tourism operators in the region, this is simply another example of trophy-hunting greed overriding protection of East Africa’s dwindling super tuskers.

If Dickman’s collaborative approach to elephant hunting were implemented, what guarantee could be provided that hunting operators would act ethically and transparently in light of existing transgressions?

My goal here is not to engage in a “knee-jerk reaction” but to engage with the language and ideas of trophy-hunting proponents. With local communities and iconic African species being used to advance those narratives, critical consideration is the least we can give them.

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Previously in The Revelator:

Lion-Hunting by Trump Donors Is Awful, But the Trade in Lion Bones Is Worse

Revelator Reads Bonus: 280+ Environmental Books Published in 2024

This year brought essential reading on climate change, endangered species, ecology, environmental justice, and other important topics about protecting the planet.

Looking for a good book about endangered species? We’ve got a few dozen for you, along with many more books about climate change, ecology, environmental justice, sustainability and every other environmental topic you can imagine.

We’ve spent the past year tracking the environmental book that crossed our desks — more than 280 of them. (Update: We’re now closer to 300.) The list includes novels, memoirs, academic books, how-to texts, stories for children, photography collections, and a whole lot more. It’s not comprehensive, and it’s weighed toward nonfiction for adults, but it’s still impressive to see publishers and readers embrace these topics while the world faces so many compounding crises.

The Revelator has already reviewed many of these books, and we hope to read a few more of them in the months ahead — even as we start to tackle our growing list of 2025 publications.

The links below go to the publishers’ websites, but your local library or bookseller should also have access to any book on this list.

(Authors and publishers: Send news about your 2025 books — or any 2024 titles we missed — to [email protected]. Include the title, author, a link to the book’s page on the publisher’s website. Review copies are also welcome.)

Special thanks to Dr. Colleen M. Crary for help compiling this list.

Title Author Link
A Woman Among Wolves: My Journey Through Forty Years of Wolf Recovery Diane K Boyd https://greystonebooks.com/products/a-woman-among-wolves
Absolution Jeff VanderMeer https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374616595/absolution
Age of Deer, The: Trouble and Kinship with our Wild Neighbors Erika Howsare https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/731239/the-age-of-deer-by-erika-howsare/
The Age of Loneliness Laura Marris https://www.graywolfpress.org/books/age-loneliness
The Age of Melt Lisa Baril https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/lisa-baril/the-age-of-melt/9781643261515/?lens=timber-press
The Air They Breathe: A Pediatrician on the Frontlines of Climate Change Debra Hendrickson https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Air-They-Breathe/Debra-Hendrickson/9781501197130
Amphibious Soul Craig Foster https://www.harpercollins.com/products/amphibious-soul-craig-foster
An Atlas of Endangered Alphabets Tim Brookes https://www.endangeredalphabets.net/
Ancestral Future Ailton Krenak https://www.politybooks.com/bookdetail?book_slug=ancestral-future–9781509560721
Anima: A Wild Pastoral Kapka Kassabova https://www.graywolfpress.org/books/anima
Animal Climate Heroes Alison Pearce Stevens; illustrated by Jason Ford https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250847348/animalclimateheroes
At Every Depth: Our Growing Knowledge of the Changing Oceans Tessa Hill and Eric Simons https://cup.columbia.edu/book/at-every-depth/9780231199704
Atlas Obscura: Wild Life Cara Giaimo; Joshua Foer https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/cara-giaimo/atlas-obscura-wild-life/9781523514410/?lens=workman-publishing-company
Atlas of a Threatened Planet Esther Gonstalla https://islandpress.org/books/atlas-threatened-planet#desc
Autocracy, Inc.: The Dictators Who Want to Run the World Anne Applebaum https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/725302/autocracy-inc-by-anne-applebaum/
Backyard Bird Chronicles Amy Tan https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/717452/the-backyard-bird-chronicles-by-amy-tan/
Bats Beneath the Bridge Janet Nolan https://www.albertwhitman.com/book/bats-beneath-the-bridge/
Bay Area Wildlife: An Irreverent Guide Jeff Miller https://www.heydaybooks.com/catalog/bay-area-wildlife/
Be a Nature Explorer! Peter Wohlleben https://greystonebooks.com/collections/all/products/be-a-nature-explorer
Becoming Earth: How Our Planet Came to Life Ferris Jabr https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/623907/becoming-earth-by-ferris-jabr/
Beep: A Novel Bill Roorbach https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/bill-roorbach/beep/9781643755618/
Before It’s Gone: Stories From the Front Lines of Climate Change in Small-Town America Jonathan Vigliotti https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Before-Its-Gone/Jonathan-Vigliotti/9781668008171
Before They Vanish: Saving Nature’s Populations — and Ourselves Paul R. Ehrlich, Gerardo Ceballos, Rodolfo Dirzo foreword by Jared Diamond https://www.press.jhu.edu/books/title/12456/they-vanish?srsltid=AfmBOooOhMuAAWhNjHpTnqibv7RO09eoxu0oFN8AhCjle76X04EDZq_7
Best American Science and Nature Writing 2024 Bill McKibben and Jaime Green https://www.harpercollins.com/products/the-best-american-science-and-nature-writing-2024-bill-mckibbenjaime-green?variant=41476862607394&utm_source=aps&utm_medium=plp&utm_campaign=aps
Beyond the Sea: The Hidden Life in Lakes, Streams, and Wetlands David Strayer https://www.press.jhu.edu/books/title/53776/beyond-sea
Biology and Conservation of Animal Populations John A. Vucetich https://www.press.jhu.edu/books/title/12899/biology-and-conservation-animal-populations
Biology of Us: The Living World All Around and In Us Gary C. Howard https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-biology-of-us-9780197664797
The Birds That Audubon Missed Kenn Kaufman https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Birds-That-Audubon-Missed/Kenn-Kaufman/9781668007594
Bite Bill Schutt https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/bill-schutt/bite/9781668641132/
Blue Plate: A Food Lover’s Guide to Climate Chaos Mark Easter https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/774476/the-blue-plate-by-mark-easter/
Born of Fire and Rain: Journey Into a Pacific Coastal Forest M. L. Herring https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300275421/born-of-fire-and-rain/
California Catastrophes Gary Griggs https://www.ucpress.edu/books/california-catastrophes/paper
Carried on the Wind: It Starts With a Seed Sheri Mabry https://www.albertwhitman.com/book/carried-on-the-wind/
Cast Out of Eden: The Untold Story of John Muir, Indigenous Peoples, and the American Wilderness Robert Aquinas McNally https://www.nebraskapress.unl.edu/bison-books/9781496227263/cast-out-of-eden/
Category Five Porter Fox https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/porter-fox/category-five/9780316568210/?lens=little-brown
Charging Forward: Lithium Valley, Electric Vehicles, and a Just Future Chris Benner, Manuel Pastor https://thenewpress.com/books/charging-forward
Cheaper, Faster, Better: How We’ll Win the Climate War Tom Steyer https://www.spiegelandgrau.com/cheaper-faster-better
Chessie: A Cultural History of the Chesapeake Bay Sea Monster Eric A. Cheezum https://www.press.jhu.edu/books/title/53727/chessie
Climate Action for Busy People Cate Mingoya-LaFortune https://islandpress.org/books/climate-action-busy-people#desc
Climate Anxiety and the Kid Question Jade Sasser https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520393820/climate-anxiety-and-the-kid-question
Climate Capitalism: Winning the Race to Zero Emissions and Solving the Crisis of Our Age Akshat Rathi https://greystonebooks.com/collections/all/products/climate-capitalism
Climate Justice: Five Aspects of the Challenge and The Movement Brandon Derman https://link.springer.com/book/9783031754401
Climate of Contempt: How to Rescue the U.S. Energy Transition From Voter Partisanship David Spence https://cup.columbia.edu/book/climate-of-contempt/9780231217088
Climate, Psychology, and Change Steffi Bednarek https://www.northatlanticbooks.com/shop/climate-psychology-and-change/
Color in Nature Justin Marshall, Thomas Cronin, Sönke Johnsen, Ron Douglas, Anya Hurlbert, Jane Boddy, and Fabio Cortesi https://press.princeton.edu/books/ebook/9780691258621/color-in-nature
The Company of Owls Polly Atkin https://eandtbooks.com/books/the-company-of-owls/
Conceivable Future: Planning Families and Taking Action in the Age of Climate Change Meghan Elizabeth Kallman and Josephine Ferorelli https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781538179697/The-Conceivable-Future-Planning-Families-and-Taking-Action-in-the-Age-of-Climate-Change
The Conservative Environmentalist Benji Backer https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/730880/the-conservative-environmentalist-by-benji-backer/
Consider the Turkey Peter Singer https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691231686/consider-the-turkey
Core Samples: A Climate Scientist’s Experiments in Politics and Motherhood Anna Farro Henderson https://www.upress.umn.edu/9781517916046/core-samples/
Countering Dispossession, Reclaiming Land David E. Gilbert https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520397767/countering-dispossession-reclaiming-land
Cracked: The Future of Dams in a Hot, Chaotic World Steven Hawley https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/735420/cracked-by-steven-hawley/
A Creek Runs Through This Driftless Land: A Farm Family’s Journey Toward a Land Ethic Richard L Cates Jr https://littlecreekpress.com/product/a-creek-runs-through-this-driftless-land-a-farm-familys-journey-toward-a-land-ethic/
Cull of the Wild Hugh Warwick https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/cull-of-the-wild-9781399403733/
A Darwinian Survival Guide Daniel R. Brooks and Salvatore J. Agosta https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262048682/a-darwinian-survival-guide
Decolonizing African Agriculture: Food Security, Agroecology and the Need for Radical Transformation William G. Moseley https://cup.columbia.edu/book/decolonizing-african-agriculture/9781788215893
Decolonizing Environmentalism: Alternative Visions and Practices of Environmental Action Prakash Kashwan and Aseem Hasnain https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/decolonizing-environmentalism-9781350335493/
Deep Water James Bradley https://www.harpercollins.com/products/deep-water-james-bradley
Desert Edens: Colonial Climate Engineering in the Age of Anxiety Philipp Lehmann https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691239347/desert-edens
Discovering Birds: The Ultimate Handbook to the Birds of the World Dr. Julius Csotonyi https://www.cidermillpress.com/products/discovering-birds-the-ultimate-handbook-to-the-birds-of-the-world?_pos=1&_psq=Discovering+Birds&_ss=e&_v=1.0
Do Plants Know Math? Unwinding the Story of Plant Spirals, From Leonardo da Vinci to Now Stéphane Douady, Jacques Dumais, Christophe Golé, and Nancy Pick https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691158655/do-plants-know-math
Dover Anthology of Bird Poetry NZ Kay https://store.doverpublications.com/products/9780486849287
Dr. Calhoun’s Mousery: The Strange Tale of a Celebrated Scientist, a Rodent Dystopia, and the Future of Humanity Lee Alan Dugatkin https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/D/bo239362319.html
Drawing Nature: The Creative Process of an Artist, Illustrator, and Naturalist Linda Miller Feltner https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691255385/drawing-nature
Earth Jumped Back Philip Reari https://www.blackrosewriting.com/literary/earthjumpedback
Earth’s Emergency Room: Saving Species as the Planet and Politics Get Hotter Lowell E. Baier https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781538194140/Earths-Emergency-Room-Saving-Species-as-the-Planet-and-Politics-Get-Hotter
Earthly Bodies: Embracing Animal Nature Vanessa Chakour https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/721352/earthly-bodies-by-vanessa-chakour/
Eavesdropping on Animals: What We Can Learn From Wildlife Conversations George Bumann https://greystonebooks.com/collections/all/products/eavesdropping-on-animals
Eco-Anxiety Heather White https://www.heatherwhite.com/ecoanxiety-saving-our-sanity-our-kids-and-our-future-by-heather-white
Eco-Disasters in Japanese Cinema Edited by Rachel DiNitto https://cup.columbia.edu/book/eco-disasters-in-japanese-cinema/9781952636509
Eight-Legged Wonders James O’Hanlon https://greystonebooks.com/collections/all/products/eight-legged-wonders
Empire of Climate: A History of an Idea David N. Livingstone https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691236704/the-empire-of-climate
Endangered Languages Evangelia Adamou https://www.edelweiss.plus/#catalogID=4428556&page=1
Entropy Diane Tuft https://www.phaidon.com/monacelli/art-and-photography/entropy-9781580936705/
Environmentalism From Below: How Global People’s Movements Are Leading the Fight for Our Planet Ashley Dawson https://www.haymarketbooks.org/books/2101-environmentalism-from-below
Escaping Nature: How to Survive Global Climate Change Orrin H. Pilkey https://www.dukeupress.edu/escaping-nature
The Ethics of the Climate Crisis Robin Attfield https://www.politybooks.com/bookdetail?book_slug=the-ethics-of-the-climate-crisis–9781509559084
Even the River Starts Small: A Collection of Stories From the Movement to Stop Line 3 by Line 3 Storytelling Anthology Team https://www.haymarketbooks.org/books/2386-even-the-river-starts-small
Every Living Thing Jason Roberts https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/155625/every-living-thing-by-jason-roberts/
Evolution Evolving: The Developmental Origins of Adaptation and Biodiversity Kevin N. Lala, Tobias Uller, Nathalie Feiner, Marcus Feldman, and Scott F. Gilbert https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691262413/evolution-evolving
Extinction Douglas Preston https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780765317704/extinction
Extinctions From Dinosaurs to You Charles Frankel https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/E/bo213794370.html
Falsehoods Fly: Why Misinformation Spreads and How to Stop It Paul Thagard https://cup.columbia.edu/book/falsehoods-fly/9780231560115
Feminist Conservation: Politics and Power in Madagascar’s Marine Commons Merrill Baker-Medard https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300265415/feminist-conservation/
Field Notes From a Fungi Forager Ashley Rodriguez https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/749967/field-notes-from-a-fungi-forager-by-rodriguez-ashley/
Finding the Fox: Encounters With an Enigmatic Animal Andreas Tjernshaugen https://greystonebooks.com/collections/all/products/finding-the-fox
Fixing the Climate: Strategies for an Uncertain World Charles F. Sabel and David G. Victor https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691224534/fixing-the-climate
Forbidden Garden: The Botanists of Besieged Leningrad and Their Impossible Choice Simon Parkin https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Forbidden-Garden/Simon-Parkin/9781668007662
Forest Lost: Producing Green Capitalism in the Brazilian Amazon Maron E. Greenleaf https://www.dukeupress.edu/forest-lost
Forest Under Siege: The Story of Old Growth After Gifford Pinchot Rand Schenck https://wsupress.wsu.edu/product/forest-under-siege/
Fracking Uncertainty: Hydraulic Fracturing and the Provincial Politics of Risk Heather Millar https://utorontopress.com/9781487552695/fracking-uncertainty/
Frog Day: A Story of 24 Hours and 24 Amphibian Lives Marty Crump https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/F/bo230148273.html
Fur, Fleas, and Flukes: The Fascinating World of Parasites Michael Stock https://utorontopress.com/9781487509224/fur-fleas-and-flukes/
Gaia’s Web: How Digital Environmentalism Can Combat Climate Change, Restore Biodiversity, Cultivate Empathy, and Regenerate the Earth Karen Bakker https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262048750/gaias-web/
Gaslight: The Atlantic Coast Pipeline and the Fight for America’s Energy Future Jonathan Mingle https://islandpress.org/books/gaslight#desc
Great River: The Making and Unmaking of the Mississippi Boyce Upholt https://wwnorton.com/books/9780393867879
Green Lands for White Men Meredith McKittrick https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/G/bo221801010.html
Green Power of Socialism, The Elena Kochetkova https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262547451/the-green-power-of-socialism
H Is for Hope: Climate Change From A to Z Elizabeth Kolbert https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/743289/h-is-for-hope-by-elizabeth-kolbert/
Happy Apocalypse: A History of Technological Risk Jean-Baptiste Fressoz https://www.versobooks.com/products/2786-happy-apocalypse
Heart of the Hive Hilary Kearney https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/hilary-kearney/heart-of-the-hive/9781635864830/
Heat and the Fury: On the Frontlines of Climate Violence Peter Schwartzstein https://islandpress.org/books/heat-and-fury#desc
Hedgehogs, Killing, and Kindness: The Contradictions of Care in Conservation Practice Laura McLauchlan https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262548106/hedgehogs-killing-and-kindness
Hidden Life of Trees: A Graphic Adaptation Peter Wohlleben and Fred Bernard https://greystonebooks.com/collections/all/products/the-hidden-life-of-trees-the-graphic-adaptation
High Seas: Greed, Power and the Battle for the Unclaimed Ocean Olive Heffernan https://greystonebooks.com/collections/all/products/the-high-seas
Honeymoons in Temporary Locations Ashley Shelby https://www.upress.umn.edu/9781517917074/honeymoons-in-temporary-locations/
Hope for Cynics: The Surprising Science of Human Goodness Jamil Zaki https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/jamil-zaki/hope-for-cynics/9781538743065/?lens=grand-central-publishing
Hot Mess: Mothering Through a Code Red Climate Emergency Sarah Marie Wiebe https://cup.columbia.edu/book/hot-mess/9781773635668
How Autocrats Seek Power Richard L. Abel https://www.routledge.com/How-Autocrats-Seek-Power-Resistance-to-Trump-and-Trumpism/Abel/p/book/9781032625843
How Birds Evolve: What Science Reveals About Their Origin, Lives, and Diversity Douglas J. Futuyma https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691264639/how-birds-evolve
How The Rose Got Its Thorns and Other Botanical Stories Dr. Andrew Ormerod https://www.mobiusbooksus.com/how-the-rose-got-its-thorns?rq=thorns
How to Love a Forest: The Bittersweet Work of Tending a Changing World Ethan Tapper https://www.broadleafbooks.com/store/product/9798889830559/How-to-Love-a-Forest
How to Teach Grown-Ups About Climate Change Patricia Daniels https://www.whatonearthbooks.com/us/product/how-to-teach-grown-ups-about-climate-change/
Hungry Beautiful Animals: The Joyful Case for Going Vegan Matthew C. Halteman https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/matthew-c-halteman/hungry-beautiful-animals/9781541602052/?lens=basic-books
Hunt for the Shadow Wolf Derek Gow https://chelseagreen.biz/product/hunt-for-the-shadow-wolf/
I Am Wind: An Autobiography Rachel Poliquin https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/692712/i-am-wind-by-rachel-poliquin-illustrated-by-rachel-wada/
If we lose the Earth, we lose our souls Bruno Latour https://www.politybooks.com/bookdetail?book_slug=if-we-lose-the-earth-we-lose-our-souls–9781509560455
Insect Epiphany: How Our Six-Legged Allies Shape Human Culture Barrett Klein https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/barrett-klein/the-insect-epiphany/9781643261362/
Insurgent Ecologies: Between Environmental Struggles and Postcapitalist Transformations Edited by Undisciplined Environments Collective https://cup.columbia.edu/book/insurgent-ecologies/9781773636917
The Internet of Animals Martin Wikelski https://greystonebooks.com/products/the-internet-of-animals
Intertwined: From Insects to Icebergs Michael Gross https://www.press.jhu.edu/books/title/23103/intertwined
Intertwined: Women, Nature, and Climate Justice Rebecca Kormos https://thenewpress.com/books/intertwined
Into the Clear Blue Sky Rob Jackson https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Into-the-Clear-Blue-Sky/Rob-Jackson/9781668023266
Into the Great Wide Ocean: Life in the Least Known Habitat on Earth Sönke Johnsen https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691181745/into-the-great-wide-ocean
Into the Thaw: Witnessing Wonder Amid the Arctic Climate Crisis Jon Waterman https://www.patagonia.com/product/into-the-thaw-witnessing-wonder-amid-the-arctic-climate-crisis/BK915.html?dwvar_BK915_color=000
Is Anyone Listening? What Animals Are Saying to Each Other and to Us Denise L. Herzing https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/I/bo236257242.html
A Just Transition for All: Workers and Communities for a Carbon-Free Futures J. Mijin Cha https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262550796/a-just-transition-for-all/
Key to the City: How Zoning Shapes Our World Sara C. Bronin https://wwnorton.com/books/9780393881660
Kind Life: Eat Plants, Buy Less, Slow Down — and Save the Planet Carina Wohlleben https://greystonebooks.com/collections/all/products/a-kind-life
Land Is Our Community: Aldo Leopold’s Environmental Ethic for the New Millennium Roberta L. Millstein https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/L/bo219284936.html
Language of Climate Politics: Fossil-Fuel Propaganda and How to Fight It Genevieve Guenther https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-language-of-climate-politics-9780197642238?cc=us&lang=en&
The Last Cold Place: A Field Season Studying Penguins in Antarctica Naira de Gracia https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Last-Cold-Place/Naira-de-Gracia/9781982182762
The Last Whaler Cynthia Reeves https://regal-house-publishing.mybigcommerce.com/the-last-whaler/
Lessons for Survival: Mothering Against “the Apocalypse” Emily Raboteau https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250809773/lessonsforsurvival
Lessons From the Climate Anxiety Counseling Booth Kate Schapira https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/kate-schapira/lessons-from-the-climate-anxiety-counseling-booth/9780306831690/?lens=hachette-go
Lessons Learned in Protecting and Restoring Biodiversity: Conservation in Action Edited by Bonnie L. Harper-Lore and Gary K. Lore https://www.cambridgescholars.com/product/978-1-0364-0641-7
Let’s Fix This: Cleaner Living in a Dirty World Chandra Clarke https://tigermaplepublishing.com/introducing-lets-fix-this-cleaner-living-in-a-dirty-world/
Life as We Know It (Can Be): Stories of People, Climate, and Hope in a Changing World Bill Weir https://www.chroniclebooks.com/products/untitled-by-bill-weir
The Light Eaters Zoë Schlanger https://www.harpercollins.com/products/the-light-eaters-zoe-schlanger?variant=41096248295458
Little Book of Fungi Britt A. Bunyard https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691259888/the-little-book-of-fungi
Little Book of Weather Adam Scaife https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691259994/the-little-book-of-weather
Little Book of Whales Robert Young and Annalisa Berta https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691260129/the-little-book-of-whales
A Little Queer Natural History Josh L. Davis https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/L/bo236997883.html
Living on Earth: Forests, Corals, Consciousness, and the Making of the World Peter Godfrey-Smith https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374189938/livingonearth/
Lost Kingdom: Animal Death in the Anthropocene Wendy A. Wiseman, Burak Kesgin (Eds.) https://vernonpress.com/book/1852
Making Climate Tech Work: Policies that Drive Innovation Alon Tal https://islandpress.org/books/making-climate-tech-work#desc
Marine Pollution: What Everyone Needs to Know Judith S. Weis https://global.oup.com/academic/product/marine-pollution-9780197753804?lang=en&cc=us
Mayor’s Desk: 20 Conversations with Local Leaders Solving Global Problems Anthony Flint https://cup.columbia.edu/book/mayors-desk/9781558444485
Meandering: Art, Ecology, and Metaphysics Edited by Sofia Lemos https://mitpress.mit.edu/9781915609519/meandering
Meet the Neighbors Brandon Keim https://wwnorton.com/books/9781324007081
Megalodons, Mermaids, and Climate Change: Answers to Your Ocean and Atmosphere Questions Ellen Prager and Dave Jones https://cup.columbia.edu/book/megalodons-mermaids-and-climate-change/9780231212496
Microbes: The Unseen Agents of Climate Change David L. Kirchman https://global.oup.com/academic/product/microbes-9780197688564?cc=us&lang=en&
Miraculous from the Material: Understanding the Wonders of Nature Alan Lightman https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/744483/the-miraculous-from-the-material-by-alan-lightman/
The Mistral: A Windswept History of Modern France Catherine Tatiana Dunlop https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/M/bo222106971.html
The Mourner’s Bestiary Eiren Caffall https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Mourners-Bestiary/Eiren-Caffall/9781955905589
Multisolving: Creating Systems Change in a Fractured World Elizabeth Sawin https://islandpress.org/books/multisolving#desc
My Life With Sea Turtles: A Marine Biologist’s Quest to Protect One of the Most Ancient Animals on Earth Christine Figgener Translated by Jane Billinghurst https://greystonebooks.com/products/my-life-with-sea-turtles?_pos=1&_sid=53ae459e5&_ss=r
Myth and Menagerie: Seeing Lions in the Nineteenth Century Katie Hornstein https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300253207/myth-and-menagerie/
Nationalism: A World History Eric Storm https://press.princeton.edu/books/ebook/9780691234052/nationalism
Natura Urbana Matthew Gandy https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262551335/natura-urbana
Natural History of Empty Lots: Field Notes From Urban Edgelands, Back Alleys, and Other Wild Places Christopher Brown https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/christopher-brown/a-natural-history-of-empty-lots/9781643263366/?lens=timber-press
The Nature of Our Cities Nadina Galle https://www.harpercollins.com/products/nature-of-our-cities-the-nadina-galle?variant=42737818140706
Nature-First Cities Cam Brewer, Herb Hammond, and Sean Markey https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/distributed/N/bo238317283.html
New Fish: The Truth About Farmed Salmon and the Consequences We Can No Longer Ignore Simen Saetre; Kjetil Ostli https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/735421/the-new-fish-by-simen-saetre-and-kjetil-ostli/
Night Magic Leigh Ann Henion https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/leigh-ann-henion/night-magic/9781643753362/
Notes From an Island Tove Jansson https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/tove-jansson/notes-from-an-island/9781643264790/?lens=timber-press
Nuclear Is Not the Solution: The Folly of Atomic Power in the Age of Climate Change M.V. Ramana https://www.versobooks.com/products/3013-nuclear-is-not-the-solution?_pos=1&_psq=nuclear&_ss=e&_v=1.0
Oak Origins: From Acorns to Species and the Tree of Life Andrew L. Hipp https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/O/bo236998258.html
Oaklore: Adventures in a World of Extraordinary Trees Jules Acton https://greystonebooks.com/collections/all/products/oaklore
Ocean on Fire: Pacific Stories From Nuclear Survivors and Climate Activists Anaïs Maurer https://www.dukeupress.edu/the-ocean-on-fire
On Settler Colonialism Adam Kirsch https://wwnorton.com/books/9781324105343
On the Swamp: Fighting for Indigenous Environmental Justice Ryan Emanuel https://uncpress.org/book/9781469678320/on-the-swamp/
Otherworldly Antarctica Edmund Stump https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/O/bo211638431.html
Otter Country Miriam Darlington https://tinhouse.com/book/otter-country/
Our Fragile Moment: How Lessons From Earth’s Past Can Help Us Survive the Climate Crisis Michael E. Mann https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/michael-e-mann/our-fragile-moment/9781541702905/
Our Green Heart: The Soul and Science of Forests Diana Beresford-Kroeger https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/741017/our-green-heart-by-diana-beresford-kroeger/
Our Journey to Sustainability: How Everyday Heroes Make a Difference Jon R. Biemer https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781538178737/Our-Journey-to-Sustainability-How-Everyday-Heroes-Make-a-Difference
Our Kindred Creatures: How Americans Came to Feel the Way They Do About Animals Bill Wasik; Monica Murphy https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/634494/our-kindred-creatures-by-bill-wasik-and-monica-murphy/
Overshoot Wim Carton; Andreas Malm https://www.versobooks.com/products/3131-overshoot
Parrot and the Igloo: Climate and the Science of Denial David Lipsky https://wwnorton.com/books/9780393866704/about-the-book/product-details
Path to Zero Tucker Perkins https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Path-to-Zero/Tucker-Perkins/9781637633083
Pessimism, Quietism and Nature as Refuge David E. Cooper https://cup.columbia.edu/book/pessimism-quietism-and-nature-as-refuge/9781788217705
Petroturfing Jordan B. Kinder https://www.upress.umn.edu/book-division/books/petroturfing
Phantom Border: A Personal Reconnaissance of Contemporary Germany Kerstin Lange https://cup.columbia.edu/book/phantom-border/9783838219516
Philosopher Fish: Sturgeon, Caviar, and the Geography of Desire New Edition Richard Adams Carey https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/distributed/T/bo238311919.html
Planet Aqua: Rethinking Our Home in the Universe Jeremy Rifkin https://www.politybooks.com/bookdetail?book_slug=planet-aqua-rethinking-our-home-in-the-universe–9781509563739
Playground Richard Powers https://wwnorton.com/books/9781324086031
Playing Possum: How Animals Understand Death Susana Monsó https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691260761/playing-possum
Power Metal Vince Beiser https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/709947/power-metal-by-vince-beiser/
Power to the Parasites! Chelsea L. Wood https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250833983/powertotheparasites/
Presence Activism: A Profound Antidote to Climate Anxiety Lynne Sedgmore https://www.collectiveinkbooks.com/changemakers-books/our-books/presence-activism-antidote-climate-anxiety
Preventing the Greenlash: How to Overcome Opposition to Green Policies Lorenzo Forni https://cup.columbia.edu/book/preventing-the-greenlash/9781788217811
Proven Climate Solutions: Leading Voices on How to Accelerate Change BF Nagy https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781538186541/Proven-Climate-Solutions-Leading-Voices-on-How-to-Accelerate-Change
Pyromania: Fire and Geopolitics in a Climate-Disrupted World Simon Dalby https://cup.columbia.edu/book/pyromania/9781788216517
Rain, Wind, Thunder, Fire, Daughter H. G. Dierdorff https://unpress.nevada.edu/9781647791711/
Reclaiming Our Planet: How Environmental History Can Help Solve the Climate Crisis Alexander Gates https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781538179673/Reclaiming-Our-Planet-How-Environmental-History-Can-Help-Solve-the-Climate-Crisis
Reconciliation in a Michigan Watershed Gail Gunst Heffner; David P. Warners https://msupress.org/9781611864939/reconciliation-in-a-michigan-watershed/
Rescue Effect: The Key to Saving Life on Earth Michael Mehta Webster https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/michael-mehta-webster/the-rescue-effect/9781643263977/?lens=timber-press
A Resonant Ecology Max Ritts https://www.dukeupress.edu/a-resonant-ecology
Restoring Forests and Trees for Sustainable Development Edited by Pia Katila, Carol J. Pierce Colfer, Wil de Jong, Glenn Galloway, Pablo Pacheco, and Georg Winkel https://global.oup.com/academic/product/restoring-forests-and-trees-for-sustainable-development-9780197683927
Restoring the Balance: What Wolves Tell Us About Our Relationship with Nature John A. Vucetich https://www.press.jhu.edu/books/title/12540/restoring-balance
Revolution and Dictatorship: The Violent Origins of Durable Authoritarianism Steven Levitsky and Lucan Way https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691223582/revolution-and-dictatorship
Revolution Will Be a Poetic Act: African Culture and Decolonization Mário Pinto de Andrade https://www.politybooks.com/bookdetail?book_slug=the-revolution-will-be-a-poetic-act-african-culture-and-decolonization–9781509559343
Revolutionary Optimism Paul Zeitz https://revolutionaryoptimism.com/
River Profiles: The People Restoring Our Waterways Pete Hill https://cup.columbia.edu/book/river-profiles/9780231207652
Sad Planets Dominic Pettman, Eugene Thacker https://www.politybooks.com/bookdetail?book_slug=sad-planets–9781509562350
Saving a Rainforest and Losing the World: Conservation and Displacement in the Global Tropics Gregory M. Thaler https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300272482/saving-a-rainforest-and-losing-the-world/
Saving Ourselves: From Climate Shocks to Climate Action Dana R. Fisher https://cup.columbia.edu/book/saving-ourselves/9780231209304
Saving the World: How Forests Inspired Global Efforts to Stop Climate Change Brett M. Bennett and Gregory A. Barton https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/distributed/S/bo214800134.html
Sea Change: Charting a Sustainable Future for Oceans in Canada Edited by Ussif Rashid Sumaila, Derek Armitage, Megan Bailey, and William Cheung https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/distributed/S/bo215804918.html
Sea Full of Turtles: The Search for Optimism in an Epoch of Extinction Bill Streever http://pegasusbooks.com/books/a-sea-full-of-turtles-9781639366699-hardcover
Sea Level Wilko Graf von Hardenberg https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/S/bo221935080.html
The Secret History of Sharks John Long https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/714624/the-secret-history-of-sharks-by-john-long/
Seek Higher Ground: The Natural Solution to Our Urgent Flooding Crisis Tim Palmer https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520382732/seek-higher-ground
Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World Robin Wall Kimmerer https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Serviceberry/Robin-Wall-Kimmerer/9781668072240
Sharks Don’t Sink: Adventures of a Rogue Shark Scientist Jasmin Graham https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/726129/sharks-dont-sink-by-jasmin-graham/
Sing Like Fish Amorina Kingdon https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/704875/sing-like-fish-by-amorina-kingdon/
Singaporean Creatures: Histories of Humans and Other Animals in the Garden City Edited by Timothy Barnard https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/distributed/S/bo215804684.html
Slippery Beast: A True Crime Natural History, with Eels Ellen Ruppel Shell https://store.abramsbooks.com/products/slippery-beast
Small Steps, Big Change Annemarie Cool https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/750992/small-steps-big-change-by-annemarie-cool-illustrated-by-james-jones/
Solidarity With Animals: Promises, Pitfalls, and Potential Edited by Alasdair Cochrane and Mara-Daria Cojocaru https://global.oup.com/academic/product/solidarity-with-animals-9780198897941
Solvable Susan Solomon https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/S/bo216089946.html
Solved: How the World’s Great Cities Are Fixing the Climate Crisis David Miller https://utorontopress.com/9781487506827/solved/
Something About the Sky By Rachel Carson, Illustrated by Nikki McClure https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/746930/something-about-the-sky-by-rachel-carson-illustrated-by-nikki-mcclure/
Something in the Woods Loves You Jarod K. Anderson https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/jarod-k-anderson/something-in-the-woods-loves-you/9781643262291/
Speaking With Nature: The Origins of Indian Environmentalism Ramachandra Guha https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300278538/speaking-with-nature/
State of Fire: Why California Burns Obi Kaufmann https://www.heydaybooks.com/catalog/state-of-fire/
States of the Earth: An Ecological and Racial History of Secularization Mohamed Amer Meziane https://www.versobooks.com/products/3050-the-states-of-the-earth
Story Is in Our Bones: How Worldviews and Climate Justice Can Remake a World in Crisis Osprey Orielle Lake https://newsociety.com/book/the-story-is-in-our-bones/?_ga=2.255098440.1912993680.1690934272-724452948.1690934272&sitedomain=us
Story of Earth’s Climate in 25 Discoveries Donald R. Prothero https://cup.columbia.edu/book/the-story-of-earths-climate-in-25-discoveries/9780231203586
Story of Nature: A Human History Jeremy Mynott https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300245653/the-story-of-nature/
The Sultan of Garbage Brian Belefant https://atmospherepress.com/books/the-sultan-of-garbage-by-brian-belefant/
Sustainable Communities for a Healthy Planet Katharine Zywert https://utorontopress.com/9781487548667/sustainable-communities-for-a-healthy-planet/
Sylvia Doe and the 100-Year Flood Robert Beatty https://books.disney.com/book/sylvia-doe-and-the-100-year-flood/
Taking Flight Lev Parikian https://eandtbooks.com/books/taking-flight-2/
Terrible Beauty Auden Schendler https://store.hbr.org/product/terrible-beauty-reckoning-with-climate-complicity-and-rediscovering-our-soul/10747
Thinking Like a Wolf: Lessons From the Yellowstone Packs Rick McIntyre https://greystonebooks.com/collections/all/products/thinking-like-a-wolf
This Is How a Robin Drinks: Essays on Urban Nature Joanna Brichetto https://tupress.org/9781595342997/this-is-how-a-robin-drinks/
This Ordinary Stardust: A Scientist’s Path From Grief to Wonder Alan Townsend https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/alan-townsend-phd/this-ordinary-stardust/9781538741184/
This Sweet Earth: Walking With Our Children in the Age of Climate Collapse Lydia Wylie-Kellermann https://www.broadleafbooks.com/store/product/9781506495125/This-Sweet-Earth
Tig Heather Smith https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/618197/tig-by-heather-smith/
Toward a Holy Ecology Rabbi Ellen Bernstein https://www.monkfishpublishing.com/products-page-2/environmentalism/toward-a-holy-ecology/
Toxic: A Tour of the Ecuadorian Amazon Amelia Fiske and Jonas Fischer https://utorontopress.com/9781487509521/toxic/
Travels Up the Creek: A Biologist’s Search for a Paddle Lorne Fitch https://rmbooks.com/products/travels-up-the-creek
Tree Collectors: Tales of Arboreal Obsession Amy Stewart https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/710159/the-tree-collectors-by-amy-stewart/
Tree: Exploring the Arboreal World Phaidon Editors, with an introduction by Tony Kirkham https://www.phaidon.com/store/art/tree-exploring-the-arboreal-world-9781838667795/
Treekeepers Lauren E. Oakes https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/lauren-e-oakes/treekeepers/9781541603349/?lens=basic-books
Troubled Waters Mary Annaïse Heglar https://www.harpercollinsfocus.com/9781400248117/troubled-waters/
Troublesome Rising Melissa Helton https://www.kentuckypress.com/9781950564439/troublesome-rising/
Turf War: How a Band of Activists Saved New York From Donald Trump’s “Masterpiece” Steven Robinson https://www.archwaypublishing.com/en/bookstore/bookdetails/847566-turf-war
Turning to Stone: Discovering the Subtle Wisdom of Rocks Marcia Bjornerud https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250875891/turningtostone/
The Tusks of Extinction Ray Nayler https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250855527/thetusksofextinction/
Twelve Trees: The Deep Roots of Our Future Daniel Lewis https://mitpressbookstore.mit.edu/book/9781982164058
Ungoverning: The Attack on the Administrative State and the Politics of Chaos Nancy L. Rosenblum and Russell Muirhead https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691250526/ungoverning
Universe in 100 Colors: Weird and Wondrous Colors From Science and Nature Tyler Thrasher and Terry Mudge https://sasquatchbooks.com/books/the-universe-in-100-colors/
Unlikely Hero: The Story of Wolf 8 (A Young Readers’ Edition) Rick McIntyre https://greystonebooks.com/collections/all/products/the-unlikely-hero
Unrooted: Botany, Motherhood, and the Fight to Save an Old Science By Erin Zimmerman https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/733928/unrooted-by-erin-zimmerman/
Urban Mobility: How the iPhone, COVID, and Climate Changed Everything Edited by Shauna Brail and Betsy Donald https://utorontopress.com/9781487551858/urban-mobility/
Valley So Low: One Lawyer’s Fight for Justice in the Wake of America’s Great Coal Catastrophe Jared Sullivan https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/690554/valley-so-low-by-jared-sullivan/
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Walk in the Park, A Kevin Fedarko https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/A-Walk-in-the-Park/Kevin-Fedarko/9781501183058
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Warming Up: How Climate Change Is Changing Sport Madeleine Orr https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/warming-up-9781399404525/
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Time to Confront the Aquarium Trade’s ‘Gray Areas’

The United Kingdom, a major European player in the global ornamental fish trade, offers a case study of this industry’s problems — and its potential solutions.

“We’ve got to shrink the flavors of fishes available to hobbyists.”

This is not what I expected to hear from ornamental fish trade veteran Tim Haywood when we connected to discuss the aquarium industry. It’s rare to come across businessfolk calling for a constriction of their market.

Then again, Haywood is no ordinary industry insider. He’s a man determined to confront what he calls the aquarium trade’s “gray areas” so the hobby he loves can become fit for the 21st century.

Haywood comes across as someone who’s aware that the honesty required to fix his beloved hobby also risks causing damage by opening it up to criticism. So he speaks frankly but carefully when he tells me about these gray areas: the often hidden tolls of the trade, such as the negative effects of intensive captive breeding on fishes’ welfare, and the deaths of millions of fish and other aquarium organisms each year so people can enjoy watching the colorful survivors in their home tanks around the world.

These are problems few people see or understand, despite the aquarium trade’s massive scope and ubiquity around the world — and particularly in the United Kingdom.

An Ancient Hobby

Fishkeeping has been practiced for millennia, reportedly beginning with ornamental carp being displayed in China and other Asian countries. The practice made its way to Britain by the 17th century.  One of the first documented accounts came from Samuel Pepys, the creator of the first English Dictionary, whose 1665 diaries reflect on his observing a “fine rarity: of fishes kept in a glass of water, that will live so for ever” — namely exotic fishes — while visiting a friend.

Goldfishes — a longtime favorite in aquariums — were imported into the UK by the millions in 2020. Over 88,000 goldfishes (Carassius auratus) entering the country from outside the EU that year were dead on arrival. Photo: Conall/Flickr

Fishkeeping in the United Kingdom has grown a lot since then. According to the Ornamental Aquatic Trade Association, the country’s aquarium market is worth £1 billion (about $1.3 billion) a year, with more than 100 million fishes — representing hundreds if not thousands of species — in tanks and ponds across the nation.

The UK plays an outsized role in the global aquarium trade, considering its small size. Trade figures collated by the World Bank’s World Integrated Trade Solution database show the country was among the top five importers of ornamental fishes by trade value in 2023. The other four leading importers were the United States, the European Union, China, and Malaysia.

Overall the industry operates in around 125 countries and is worth $15-30 billion a year, according to a 2019 paper co-authored by John Pinnegar, scientific advisor to the Centre for Environment, Fisheries & Aquaculture Science. This paper was based on a presentation by aquarist Hans-Georg Evers.

The number of UK fishkeepers has trended downwards in recent years, notwithstanding a Covid-19 lockdown-related spike in sales. But broadly speaking, Haywood says, the aquarium industry is expected to grow, as has been reported in research papers and market projections for the coming years.

Haywood, who has spent decades in the business after first being “bit” by the hobby at the tender age of 10, says he isn’t opposed to the trade flourishing. He believes fishkeeping is a “wonderful hobby” that allows people to get close to nature and inspires individuals to “take more care of the world around them.”

Tim Haywood discusses fishes that he bred in captivity in England. Credit: Tim Haywood

But he looks at the industry from two unique viewpoints: He’s the owner of an aquatic study and breeding center called OSAquatics, as well as the chair of the conservation nonprofit Seahorse Trust. With that combined perspective, he thinks the industry needs to change — quite drastically.

The problems — and solutions — that he points to center on the UK and the trade in freshwater fishes. Nonetheless, they provide insights into the wider global aquarium trade’s present state and its possible future.

Gray Areas

Freshwater fishes, particularly tropical ones, dominate the ornamental trade. The CEFAS paper found that the hobby involves more than 5,000 freshwater species. Fish are typically exported from Asia and South America, and around 90% of tropical freshwater species in trade are captive bred, according to the paper.

Although breeding farm sizes can vary, intensive production is common and supply chains can be complex. As with intensive production of farmed food animals, the trade involves the use of products like pharmaceuticals, as well as other veterinary practices. Farmers use hormones to induce breeding and sometimes inject pituitary gland extract of other fish into fishes they want to breed, a practice that occurs in certain food fisheries too. Antibiotics are commonly employed to tackle diseases that fish experience at high levels due to poor water quality, crowding, handling and other stress factors from captivity. Studies suggest that the use of antibiotics in the industry may contribute to these fish experiencing problems from antimicrobial resistance.

As Haywood puts it, intensive production involves a lot of unhappy fish.

“If the fish are happy, they will breed. There’s no need to do the intensive side of things,” he insists.

Many species are also caught in the wild, which has implications for their conservation. This is particularly true for marine species exploited in the trade, which are generally taken from coral reefs in Asia, Africa, Oceania, Central and South America, and the Caribbean. However, the conservation impact of this exploitation is largely unknown because oversight of the trade is so poor.

South American tetra fishes, such as cardinal tetras and glowlight tetras, are heavily traded in the aquarium industry. Around 25,000 tetra fishes imported into the UK from outside the EU in 2020 were dead on arrival. Photo: Brian Gratwicke (CC BY 2.0)

Around 10% of traded tropical freshwater fishes are also wild caught, according to the CEFAS paper, which says wild fisheries can sometimes promote freshwater conservation by providing income to people who therefore have an incentive to keep fish populations healthy.

But overexploitation is an issue, the paper reports, as are destructive fishing practices and mortality linked to poor management.

A Deadly Business

Mortality is a significant problem in the ornamental trade. As a 2016 paper highlighted, many wild fishes are captured but then discarded prior to export due to damaged fins, small size, or other issues that could render them unsellable.

“Losses” (to use the industry’s commerce-based language) also happen once imported fishes reach retailers. A 2014 analysis involving over a dozen UK stores, which was undertaken as part of a thesis, found mortality rates of 3-10%. The analysis assessed a range of factors that played a role in mortalities, such as the number and variety of fishes in tanks, and whether the fishes were wild caught or captive bred.

Haywood also says post-sale deaths after buyers bring fish home are likely significant, although they are not officially measured in the UK.

Deaths can occur during the transport of fishes between countries, too. According to Svein Fosså, vice president of the trade association Ornamental Fish International, traders aim to keep transport mortalities low and mostly succeed in doing so, due to the industry being professionalized over the past few decades. He says the bigger traders report to him that persistent mortalities over 0.5% would lead them to look for other suppliers. Keeping mortalities low is necessary for “the best possible welfare and health” of fishes, says Fosså, and for economic reasons, as the cost of logistics, such as air freight fees, is now very high.

Still, the transport-related body count can be significant with such a large trade. The UK, for instance, imported over 19 million live ornamental fishes from outside the EU in 2020, according to figures provided by the Animal and Plant Health Agency in response to Freedom of Information requests. That same year, the figures show that nearly 360,000 live ornamental fishes imported from non-EU countries were recorded as dead on arrival.

Poecilia fishes, namely guppies and mollies, are popular in the aquarium trade. Over 25,000 Poecilia fishes imported into the UK from outside the EU in 2020 were dead on arrival. Photo: Timothy Jabez (public domain)

These figures exclude the millions of live trout imported for breeding purposes in 2020 — fishes that are both consumed and kept in ornamental ponds in the country — and their transport mortalities.

A 2017 paper asserted that across the global ornamental fish supply chain, mortality rates vary dramatically and can range from as low as 2% to as high as 73%, due to the stressors involved in handling, transport, and other factors.

Lessening the Aquarium Trade’s Harms

To address the trade’s “gray areas,” Haywood wants to see a future where more fishes are responsibly captive bred in the countries where they’re sold. To advance this vision, he’s put his money where his mouth is. Although he used to import fishes to sell, he now only trades the select aquatic organisms he breeds himself.

Haywood is not calling for an absolute end to imports and supports initiatives like the Amazon Research Center for Ornamental Fishes that seek to ensure sustainable production of ornamental fishes abroad. But he believes the UK market should mainly be limited to species that hobbyists can keep alive and happy, which are captive bred on British soil where possible.

To achieve this change, Haywood says, the government should limit the import licenses it issues to a smaller list of freshwater genera and species. “We don’t need as many flavors as we’ve got,” he argues.

Many governments, including the UK, maintain lists of permitted freshwater fishes to prohibit imports of fishes who could cause havoc if released into the natural environment (illicit dumping of fishes into waterways is a problem in the trade). The UK does not have a similar list for marine ornamental species, although there are some limits on imports of these animals due to global trade restrictions.

Haywood also stresses that reining in imports would limit the trade’s carbon-intensive air travel, as fishes are typically transported — in bags of water — on planes.

“It’s ridiculous that we’re flying water around the world” in the climate crisis, he says.

Responsible Choices

Haywood sees education as key to any transformation in the trade. He says hobbyists’ knowledge of how the industry operates is very limited, giving them little understanding of how to make responsible choices.

He suggests that retailers worldwide could increase hobbyists’ awareness through the educational labelling of fishes. These labels should explain the “milestones” in the fishes’ lives, such as whether they were raised on farms or captured in the wild, and their International Union Conservation of Nature Red List status, says Haywood.

It’s important to note, however, that Red List assessments for many ornamental species in trade are dated. A study published earlier this year found that 14 of the top 20 marine ornamental species imported into the European Union between 2014 and 2021 have Red List assessments that are more than 10 years old. Other analysis has shown that the assessments often use old sources. So Red List information would need to be shared with the necessary context.

And before consumers can be educated, importers may need some knowledge-building too. Haywood says retailers rarely know the detailed backstory of imported fishes because traceability in the trade is “nonexistent.” Similarly, the CEFAS paper highlighted a need for “better traceability for both wild-caught and tank-reared fish” in the industry.

The changes that Haywood advocates for would likely lead to fishes being more expensive, due to the increased costs involved in less intensive and more sustainable production abroad or responsible captive-breeding at home.

This may be a tough pill to swallow for some, according to Fosså. He says consumers are “very price conscious” and often shop around for the “cheapest products.”

For Haywood, changing that mentality is part of the point. He insists that fishkeeping comes with responsibility. Just as people will pay more for goods that are considered sustainable or seek responsible breeders for their pet dogs and cats, the same should be true for ornamental fishes. Haywood tries to instill this message of responsibility in his customers.

“We are taking this planet over and making a bit of a mess,” he says. “If we can all put our heads up and make a little difference, that may get momentum going for everybody to make a difference.”

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Previously in The Revelator:

Saving Living Jewels: One Woman’s Mission to Shine a Light on the Ornamental Fish Trade

Protect This Place: Latin America’s Gran Chaco Forest

Beef and soybean agriculture are carving up this massive forest, which spans four countries and has some of the world’s highest deforestation rates.

The Place:

The Gran Chaco covers 303,782 square miles spanning Paraguay, Bolivia, Argentina, and Brazil. It is the second-largest natural forest in Latin America and has experienced some of the highest levels of deforestation on Earth.

Why it matters:

The Gran Chaco is home to 25 different Indigenous communities at risk of displacement from their ancestral lands by deforestation and land conversion, leaving them with nowhere else to go. Its great variety of ecosystems are also home to endemic, endangered, and threatened plants and wildlife, including around 3,400 species of plants, 150 mammals, and 500 bird species. Several IUCN Red List species, such as jaguars, peccaries, solitary eagles, giant anteaters, and lowland tapirs, are facing habitat loss within the Paraguayan Chaco, as land use change poses an increased threat to their survival.

A Gran Chaco resident. Photo: Quadriz

The threat:

The rapid forest loss within the Gran Chaco is primarily driven by the expansion of commercial agriculture, particularly beef and soybean production, with Paraguay emerging as a top 10 exporter of these commodities. Contributing to this trend are the largely private ownership of the majority of the Paraguayan Chaco and a legal framework that allows up to 75% of privately owned forest land to be deforested for agricultural purposes.

Agricultural fields seen from the air, carving up the Gran Chaco. Photo: Quadriz

My place in this place:

I have been working as country manager of Quadriz Paraguay since February 2021.

As a nature lover, I have a particular fascination with the Chaco, as a wildly unique haven of biodiversity and a vital carbon sink that is often overlooked internationally.

I have experienced the joy of conservation work. Seeing the beauty of my country and the animals we share it with has been a privilege that has fueled my dedication to the protection of the forest for generations to come.

Who’s protecting it now:

In response to this crisis, initiatives like the Corazón Verde del Chaco (Green Heart of the Chaco) project, developed by my organization Quadriz, are working to protect native forests and provide safe havens for wildlife. This project safeguards 124 square miles (32,000 hectares) of Gran Chaco forest and offers landowners an economic alternative to commercial agriculture through carbon credits.

What this place needs:

To conserve the Gran Chaco for future generations and prevent further biodiversity loss, we need to support a constructive dialogue between landowners and impact investors. By raising awareness and increasing understanding of the environmental, ecological and economic value of the Chaco, we can boost conservation efforts.

Formal recognition of the very real threat facing the unique ecology of the Gran Chaco has provided the foundations for research and pilot programs. Now ongoing collaboration and awareness are required.

Lessons from the fight:

My work with Quadriz has taught me that both public policy and carbon policy frameworks are effective instruments to prevent deforestation and biodiversity loss.

But speed and scale are limiting factors. To overcome these we need partnerships that channel climate finance to ensure immediate forest conservation actions that generate multiple benefits for the community.

Another important lesson is to celebrate and share the images we have been able to capture of jaguars, snakes, birds, and the landscape’s natural beauty to convey what a truly spectacular place the Paraguayan Chaco is and underscore the importance of our work to protect it.

Follow the fight:

We regularly share news and updates on our project’s progress, conservation updates and snapshots of our work on our website, LinkedIn, and Instagram.

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Previously in The Revelator:

Protect This Place: Saving India’s Shola Sky Islands