Andy Boyce

The rich were never going to save us.

Did You Know? Mountain Plovers are one of a number of grassland bird species that are strongly associated with prairie dog colonies. Haun, A. J., Dreelin, R. A., & Boyce, A. J. (2024). Prairie dog towns increase grassland bird diversity at the landscape scale. The Wilson Journal of Ornithology, 136(2), 209–219.

Happy National Plover Appreciation Day! 💕

Anatomy of Two Giant Deals: The U.A.E. Got Chips. The Trump Team Got Crypto Riches.

The Trump family got a $2 billion deposit into their crypto company, the United Arab Emirates got a huge amount of restricted AI chips despite security concerns. Our story about how how business is being done, and influence gained, in the second Trump administration. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/15/u...

One of the Funniest Documentaries of the Year Is Streaming for Free on YouTube Listers is a journey into the dark and cringy heart of one of the world’s most peculiar hobbies.

I wrote about the Reiser brothers and their hilarious, disgusting Listers documentary for Slate:

slate.com/culture/2025...

Gotta cut my hobbies from my ICE application now help.usajobs.gov/faq/applicat...

This country feels cooked

this is genuinely nuts

Peer reviewers are exhausted. It's common to spend *months* inviting reviewers, getting refusals, inviting more, maybe 12 or more, then 2 agree but 1 doesn't complete, so you go again. That's why your paper is in limbo. I'm very sorry, it's awful, but it's also an untenable academic labour issue.

Also top-notch wintering habitat for imperiled #grassland birds like Sparague's Pipit and Baird's Sparrow. #ornithology

Thanks @wilsonornithsoc.bsky.social and @thatsmohrlikeit.bsky.social for the interest and great write-up!!! ##ornithology

Jaeger/tern photo from Massachusetts submitted in thanks for the quiz.

Could it be....Mottled Petrel?

A Beautifully Burned Forest This book challenges conventional wisdom by revealing the hidden beauty and ecological necessity of severely burned forests

"In this book, avian ecologist and former PBS Birdwatch host Richard Hutto challenges conventional wisdom by revealing the hidden beauty and ecological importance of severely burned forests." 🌏https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-032-03180-8

The invisible ‘giant nets’ that catch the smallest songbirds - High Country News Collaboration and tiny technology are revolutionizing the study of migration.

Tiny tech, tiny birds, long migrations! My latest for @highcountrynews.org: www.hcn.org/articles/the...

Look man if you say regenerative 3 times backwards and click your heels, upland sandpipers just start shooting out of your ass, I dont make the rules thats just science

Thanks Tommy I'll think about it..some complications as I'm a gov employee. At worst I can recommend others.

Opre also falls into the trap laid by groups opposed to wildlife conservation, defund organizations like USFWS, complain about resulting poor management, convert to private lands.

Did he mention that USFWS budgets are so deeply cut that the 1.1 million acre CMR refuge has 1 biologist on staff?!?!

Not to mention, there probably are negative effects of no grazing on parts of the CMR, but that is only because bison restoration, which is in the CMR management plan, has been politically blocked by the same ranchers your guests lionize.

The most desirable elk hunting districts in the state are on the CMR...refuge for 1000s of pronghorn in bad winters...best riparian forest habitat in Montana, hosting Black-billed cuckoos in big numbers...there is too much to list. Your guests are incredibly biased.

Recognition for Black-Footed Ferret Conservation Leaders: Randy Matchett and Paul E. Marinari | U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Today the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) Mountain-Prairie Region recognizes two individuals for their exceptional efforts to conserve and protect the nation’s rarest fish, wildlife, and plan...

CMR was one of the last refuges of Black-footed ferret until a plague outbreak a few years ago (you can google) www.fws.gov/press-releas...

Mountain lions on the prairie: habitat selection by recolonizing mountain lions at the edge of their range Mountain lions (Puma concolor) have historically experienced large-scale range contractions, but are beginning to recolonize portions of their former range. To reach potential suitable habitats in ea...

Mountain lions: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

You can read my two papers focused on birds in the region here: scholar.google.com/citations?us...

When someone says "I don't make propaganda" every 3rd sentence...thats how you know its propaganda.

...like all you have to do is go to these places and open your eyes it's not hard

This is wrong and I'm so tired

Not only are those species numbers just total nonsense, the underlying point that the CMR is species poor relative to cattle ranches is just factually untrue.

Anyone know about this organization? They write in AI/corporate/buzzword slop language and appear to pay exploitatively low wages - www.wildlifeandparks.org

Land of California Thrashers, breakfast burritos and despair.

Yes, Prairie Dog Hunting Guides Exist, And They Have A Robust Business Prairie dog hunting isn't about getting a trophy animal to put on your wall. It's more about getting in as much shooting as possible. It’s not so much…

Recreational killing and lead poisoning. There is no justification cowboystatedaily.com/2025/08/16/t...

AI slop