Conservation Clip List is a weekly collection of articles distributed by NACD that provides our members and partners with the latest news in what's driving conservation. If you have a relevant submission, please contact your NACD Communications Team.
Minnesota Cracks Down On Neonic Pesticides, Promising Aid To Bees via NPR
If Minnesotans want to spray neonics on plants, for instance, they now need to go through an additional step, verifying that the pesticides are needed. The state's Department of Agriculture also will increase inspections and enforcement efforts to make sure that any pesticides that are highly toxic to bees — including neonics — are being used according to regulations.
Yellowstone River closes indefinitely over deadly parasite via BBC News
More than 2,000 mountain whitefish have been found dead along the banks of the river, but officials estimate about 20,000 more whitefish are presumed to have been killed by the parasite.
Cargill, General Mills, Wal-Mart collaborating to improve farm soil, water quality via Star Tribune
The announcement Wednesday will call for accelerating field-scale research in three states to reduce fertilizer runoff and groundwater pumping for irrigation. The participants also will create case studies so that farmers, crop consultants and ag retailers can learn what conservation measures make economic as well as ecological sense in particular geographic areas.
With Water In Short Supply, One California Farmer Grows Feed Indoors via NPR
Growing barley as feed isn't anything new, but Daccarett sprouts barley seeds inside shipping containers using hydroponic technology and indoor grow lights. He's using just 2 percent of the water it would take to grow the crop outside.
‘Like it’s been nuked’: Millions of bees dead after South Carolina sprays for Zika mosquitoes via The Washington Post
The dead worker bees littering the farms signaled the killer was less mysterious, but no less devastating. The pattern matched acute pesticide poisoning. By one estimate, at a single apiary — Flowertown Bee Farm and Supply, in Summerville — 46 hives died on the spot, totaling about 2.5 million bees.
L.A.’s mountain lions could be near extinction in 50 years via Los Angeles Times
The mountain lion population in the Santa Monica Mountains is still relatively healthy but has the lowest documented genetic diversity of any puma population, aside from Florida’s panthers. Scientists now have a chance to tackle the main threat to the big cats’ survival: isolation.
In drought, drones help Calif. farmers save every drop via The Pantagraph
In the drought-prone West, where every drop of water counts, California farmers are in a constant search for ways to efficiently use the increasingly scarce resource. Cannon Michael is putting drone technology to work on his fields at Bowles Farming Co. near Los Banos, 120 miles southeast of San Francisco.
Millions of Oysters Coming to Maryland Thanks to $800K Grant via CBS Baltimore
An $800,000 federal grant from NOAA will be used to plant one and a half billion oyster spat over the next three years. The more oysters survive, the healthier the bay becomes. The NOAA grant stipulates the oysters are to be planted in protected sanctuaries, currently off limits to harvesting.
Why do we keep putting people in the way of wildfire? The wrong carrots and sticks. via Los Angeles Times
(Opinion) It will be impossible to control the rising costs, damages and dangers related to home development on fire-prone lands unless we get the incentives right. Ideally, towns and cities should be rewarded when they allow building to go forward in a fire-safe fashion, and they should be forced, financially, to think twice before approving any new housing developments on dangerous lands.
Eroded Elwha River beach transformed after armoring removed via Peninsula Daily News
The old armor had been keeping fine sands and woody debris suspended by wave action, preventing natural beach formation. The new beach is prime spawning habitat for surf smelt and ideal for forage fish, Shaffer said. But even the experts were surprised by how quickly the beach was transformed and the shorebirds and otters returned.
Western States Face Challenges Cleaning Up After Coal Mining via NPR
Cloud Peak literally moved a mountain, which is an expensive proposition. In Wyoming alone, what has already been mined is expected to cost more than $2 billion to clean up. And moving mountains back into place is just part of the cost. The rest is rebuilding an entire ecosystem. Jones says that starts with the plants.
