@biographic
An independent, award-winning online magazine connecting you with stories about biodiversity and conservation from around the world. (Former account of Hakai Magazine) Sign up for our newsletter: https://www.biographic.com/newsletter-signup/
In California's Carrizo Plain, where humans have largely stayed away, vulnerable species find refuge. The plain is home to 36 rare plants, blunt-nosed leopard lizards, badgers, antelope squirrels, kit foxes--and giant kangaroo rats, whose ecological services underpin the entire ecosystem.
Like other federal agencies that deal in science, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has been through the Trump administration wringer. Amidst the chaos, some former employees are trying to protect scientific integrity from future political assault.
By @madelinevo.bsky.social
For over a century, the United States has largely set the agenda for global conservation--yet the country’s influence is rapidly contracting. And looking back, writes @judeisabella.bsky.social, it’s clear that US-led efforts have always been permeable to political whims and rife with contradictions
For over a century, the United States has largely set the agenda for global conservation--yet the country’s influence is rapidly contracting. And looking back, writes @judeisabella.bsky.social, it’s clear that US-led efforts have always been permeable to political whims and rife with contradictions
Until last year, the US government was one of the world's biggest funders of #biodiversity protection. For @biographic.bsky.social, I wrote about what's been lost since Trump slashed USAID and other agencies, and how people & organizations are moving forward now.
www.biographic.com/the-future-o...
352,000 employees have left the US government. Caroline Van Hemert is one.
"As a writer & concerned citizen, I knew my ability to speak out would be compromised. And as a researcher, I couldn’t abandon the scientific transparency & conservation ethics that had formed the backbone of my training."
“We’re talking about an end to a whole era of conservation.”
One year after the Trump administration changed how conservation around the world is funded and practiced, global leaders and local people are charting a new course—and planning for a future without U.S. support.
With Trump axing and reshuffling efforts that have been in place for decades, one era of conservation is ending--and a new one is beginning. We put together a special issue to help you understand how we got here and where we're going. A 🧵:
www.biographic.com/conservation...
The US government has long been one of the world's biggest funders of biodiversity protection. @nijhuism.bsky.social looks into what we lost when USAID and other agencies got slashed, and how people and organizations are trying to rebuild from the rubble.
www.biographic.com/the-future-o...
“We’re talking about an end to a whole era of conservation.” How the cuts to USAID are affecting global conservation, a special series by @biographic.bsky.social link.calacademy.org/nl3/4nt8PJwF...
For a century, the United States dominated & influenced conservation around the world--for better and for worse. That era is over.
@biographic.bsky.social has a special issue on the next era of conservation--what it looks like, who's funding it, & what it means for people, species, & ecosystems 🌱
Over the past 12 months, the global conservation landscape has undergone a seismic shift—one that will impact how conservation is funded, what it looks like, and the stories we tell about it for decades to come.
Check out our special issue on this new era in global conservation via the link below:
Great to see India's restoration of traditional water management is expanding. I wrote about Tamil Nadu's eris system for @biographic.bsky.social and in my book, Water Always Wins. Good story by @shomaabhyankar.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/global-devel...
🧵
I hope you find this special edition helpful in making sense of the moment we're in--that it gives a clear-eyed look at where we are now, how we got here, and where we might be going next.
Lastly, @madelinevo.bsky.social takes us inside the Environmental Protection Agency, where current and former employees are fighting for their First Amendment right to report research and findings truthfully.
The Fight for the Heart of the U.S. EPA
www.biographic.com/the-fight-fo...
Then, join writer and former USGS biologist Caroline Van Hemert as she sails across Alaska, tracking how cuts to federal funding are reshaping coastal communities, research, and species management.
In the Wake of the Storm
www.biographic.com/in-the-wake-...
Next up, @biographic.bsky.social executive editor @judeisabella.bsky.social very helpfully answers the question: How did we get here? How and why was the U.S. such a big financier of global conservation in the first place?
The Ghosts of Conservation Past
www.biographic.com/the-ghosts-o...
The package's keystone piece is this:
The Future of Conservation Without U.S. Aid
The Trump administration’s cuts to biodiversity funding have imperiled species, habitats, and the people who defend both. Now the world seeks a new way forward
by Michelle Nijhuis
www.biographic.com/the-future-o...
This deep dive package comprises four stories designed to take an in-depth look at the past, present, and future of conservation in a world suddenly transformed by the Trump Administration's policies.
Today, @biographic.bsky.social published its first special issue:
Conservation Enters a New Era
One year after the Trump administration slashed biodiversity protections at home and abroad, people and organizations are figuring out where to go from here.
www.biographic.com/conservation...
And finally, @madelinevo.bsky.social talks to current and former EPA staffers to find out what it takes to rebuild an agency, and what needs to change to protect scientific integrity from future political assaults.
www.biographic.com/the-fight-fo...
These sweeping changes are being felt domestically as well as internationally. Author Caroline Van Hemert has a beautifully written, firsthand perspective on how the gutting of federal science is already affecting wildlife, habitats, and human communities in Alaska.
To understand this cataclysmic shift, it helps to understand how we got here. @judeisabella.bsky.social draws on her poli-sci background to explore the United States' long influence in global conservation--and why the latest cuts are part of a much larger pattern.
Come for Michelle Nijhuis' writing, stay for @landdesk.bsky.social's infographics that help you visualize vast amounts of data to make sense of the numbers behind the story.
The US government has long been one of the world's biggest funders of biodiversity protection. @nijhuism.bsky.social looks into what we lost when USAID and other agencies got slashed, and how people and organizations are trying to rebuild from the rubble.
www.biographic.com/the-future-o...
With Trump axing and reshuffling efforts that have been in place for decades, one era of conservation is ending--and a new one is beginning. We put together a special issue to help you understand how we got here and where we're going. A 🧵:
www.biographic.com/conservation...
A special issue from the team at @biographic.bsky.social! What has happened in the year since the Trump administration's wide ranging cuts to global conservation initiatives? A lot. And when you dig into the history, it's not entirely surprising: www.biographic.com/conservation...
A Mysterious Salmon-Killing Affliction is a Mystery No More
In California, scientists tracked the source of a severe vitamin deficiency that’s killing endangered fish.
www.biographic.com/a-mysterious...
When Squirrels Meet the Delmar Divide
Segregation in St. Louis, Missouri, is shaping the genetics of the city’s eastern gray squirrels.
by @alicesunreports.bsky.social
www.biographic.com/when-squirre...