rhymes with my house

Is Conservation a Religion? Hear me out.

I’ve been thinking about Liz Bucar's viral essay "What If Trevor Noah Is Right About the Left and Religion?" since she published it last month. Here are a few thoughts about that piece — and about transformation, #conservation, & the imaginative power of both.

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Conservation Enters a New Era - bioGraphic One year after the Trump administration slashed biodiversity protections at home and abroad, people and organizations are figuring out where to go from here.

Many thanks to @cestmoilanglois.bsky.social and the rest of the crew at bioGraphic for all their support on this project. Read the whole package, including work by Madeline Ostrander, Caroline Van Hamert, @judeisabella.bsky.social, and @landdesk.bsky.social, here: www.biographic.com/conservation...

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.

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...

The Future of Conservation Without U.S. Aid In the United States, efforts to save a beloved species face pushback from a surprising foe: gun rights advocates.

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...

Environmental journalist Michelle Nijhuis to speak at UAF Feb. 26 Award-winning journalist and author Michelle Nijhuis will speak Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026, from 7-8:30 p.m. in the BP Design Theater at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

Join me this Thursday at 7 pm AKST / 8 pm PST for a discussion about the future of environmental journalism, kindly hosted by UAF Journalism. I'll be in Fairbanks in person, but if you'd rather not break out your Sorels, please tune in on Zoom! 🥶 🙏 🌌

www.uaf.edu/news/environ...

How to Build a Better Fable Adventures in conservation messaging.

Rachel Carson's "Fable for Tomorrow" worked brilliantly — but only once. How can we create conservation fables for today?

conservationworks.substack.com/p/how-to-bui...

The Other Crisis in Minnesota Congressional Republicans are breaking conservation and using democracy as a cover.

Congressional Republicans are breaking conservation and using democracy as a cover. New from Conservation Works:

conservationworks.substack.com/p/the-other-...

Extra gratitude for pointing me to essays that are *not* about science or nature (both subjects are overrepresented in my collection) and *not* published in outlets whose names include “New York.” Thanks for any ideas, and for sharing this request. 🙏💙📚

I’m working on an essay-writing handbook for @uchicagopress.bsky.social, tentatively titled THE ART AND SCIENCE OF ESSAY WRITING, and I’d like to expand my universe of examples. Old or new, famous or obscure, traditional or experimental … I’d love to hear your recommendations. 💙📚

Writers and readers — please tell me about the essays you can’t forget. 💙📚

How (and Why) to Predict the Future Octavia Butler and the conservation horizon.

How Octavia Butler predicted the rise of MAGA ... and how conservation can learn from her.

conservationworks.substack.com/p/how-and-wh...

@highcountrynews.org and our friends at Public Domain got a shoutout on Maddow last night for our story on Trump official Karen Budd-Falen's financial ties to the Thacker Pass lithium project in Nevada. Kudos to Jimmy Tobias for his tenacious reporting! www.youtube.com/watch?v=bycH...

Wake Up and Fight (Again) Woody Guthrie and the importance of clarity in bad times

Change socks, beat fascism: Woody's New Years Rulin's are forever. #happy2026

conservationworks.substack.com/p/wake-up-an...

How Conservation Worked in 2025 Beneath the terrible headlines, there were some genuine successes.

A look back at conservation in 2025. conservationworks.substack.com/p/how-conser...

The U.S. Is on the Verge of Meteorological Malpractice The Trump administration says it will dismantle a premier climate center, while somehow keeping weather forecasting intact.

My story @theatlantic.com about the Trump administration's proposed dismantling of the National Center for Atmospheric Research, a global hub for climate and weather science. www.theatlantic.com/science/2025...

Sixty Years of Lessons for Conservation What a digital rescue mission found in the archives of USAID.

Before the Trump administration took a USAID archive offline earlier this year, researchers organized a digital rescue mission to distill the archive's lessons. Here's what they found.

New post from Conservation Works — thanks for reading!

conservationworks.substack.com/p/sixty-year...

Is Environmentalism Out of Ideas? The answer depends on where you look.

On the persistence of Silent Spring persuasion tactics in a Braiding Sweetgrass world.
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Is Environmentalism Out of Ideas? The answer depends on where you look.

A thoughtful piece here by @nijhuism.bsky.social about the state of environmental advocacy today. Give it a read
conservationworks.substack.com/p/is-environ...

Is Environmentalism Out of Ideas? The answer depends on where you look.

"I’d rather see environmental organizations of all kinds drive home the relationship between environ. issues & the concerns voters are already talking about—health, safety, affordability."

@nijhuism.bsky.social on how enviros can start winning again.

conservationworks.substack.com/p/is-environ...

A Primal Scream for Competence "A House of Dynamite" and the meaning of expertise

On "A House of Dynamite," the meaning of expertise, and the one thing I really admire about Pete Hegseth. 💇‍♂️ New post at Conservation Works.

conservationworks.substack.com/p/a-primal-s...

Words We Need: Sintering The rewards of bonding with your fellow flakes.

Winter's coming. Time to sinter ❄️
New post from Conservation Works.

conservationworks.substack.com/p/words-we-n...

#conservation #biodiversity

Jane Goodall’s Second-Greatest Talent She knew how to wield her fame to protect the animals she loved.

Here you go: www.theatlantic.com/science/2025...

Jane Goodall’s Second-Greatest Talent She knew how to wield her fame to protect the animals she loved.

A bittersweet pleasure to stay up late last night thinking about Dr. Jane Goodall for @theatlantic.com. She was truly one of the greats. www.theatlantic.com/science/2025...

The Work That Reconnects How conservationists get through it.

New post at Conservation Works about gratitude, darkness, going forth, and the legacies of Joanna Macy and my friend Nathan Suter.

#ecogrief #biodiversity #conservationscience 🌍🌎🌏

Photo from Amanda Stronza's Animal Memorials series.

conservationworks.substack.com/p/the-work-t...

More Than a Conversation The National Wolf Conversation was a glimpse of a better future.

I’ve observed plenty of dialogues intended to resolve deep-seated disputes over wildlife, and only rarely have I seen them produce anything but frustration. The National Wolf Conversation was different.

conservationworks.substack.com/p/more-than-... 🧪🌍 #biodiversity #goodgreennews #conservation

Saving Graces | Michelle Nijhuis What we conserve and why—art, heirlooms, animals, even the planet—are increasingly urgent questions.

Michelle Nijhuis @nijhuism.bsky.social on what we choose to save and what we leave behind

So many respected conservationists have no role in the book! I had to make painful choices.

Block, Bridge, Build A conservation strategy for the foreseeable future

Block, bridge, build: a conservation strategy for the foreseeable future. New from me at Conservation Works: open.substack.com/pub/conserva... #conservation #ecology #restoration #biodiversity

Conclusion: Though the management of public lands remains imperfect, Americans have learned over several generations to take the past, present and future into account. Those who wish to abandon the experiment of the public lands may see them as simply assets on a balance sheet; the rest of us know that they are, above all, the landscapes that hold us together.

The always-incisive @nijhuism.bsky.social in @nytopinion.nytimes.com gets it exactly right on #publiclands.

www.nytimes.com/2025/05/16/o...

Any Apocalypse but Our Own When reality requires a leap of imagination

Fiction can distract us from climate reality; it can also help us face it. New post at Conservation Works: open.substack.com/pub/conserva... #climate #biodiversity