Growing Returns

Three threats to the monarch butterfly’s winter habitat and what we can do about it

By Audrey Archer / Bio / Published: December 20, 2016

Monarchs cluster on oyamel fir branches to stay warm. Tens of thousands of monarchs can cluster on a single tree. Photo credit: Pablo Leautaud (license)

Just as some people travel great distances to spend the holiday season with family and friends, monarch butterflies, too, make a long journey to spend the winter gathered together in the oyamel fir forests of Mexico.

The eastern population passes through Oklahoma and Texas on its annual migration south, stopping periodically to fuel up on nectar, ultimately reaching their destination in the mountains of central Mexico.

Unfortunately, the monarch’s winter home is under stress, which has contributed to a 90-percent decline in the species’ population over the last two decades. Read More »

Also posted in Wildlife Protection / Tagged biosphere reserve, climate change, conservation, ecosystems, extreme weather, forests, freeze, habitat, landslides, mexico, monarch butterflies, monarch butterfly, overwintering habitat | Read 7 Responses

How Interior pick can make good on Trump’s promise to honor Theodore Roosevelt

By Eric Holst / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: December 8, 2016

On Tuesday, President-elect Trump vowed to honor “the legacy of Theodore Roosevelt … one of our great environmentalists.” How will he make good on this promise with his Interior pick? (Credit: Harvard College Library)

Let’s face it. Over the last 30 years, when a democrat is elected president, the environmental community tends to let out a sigh of relief and cheer the appointment of a conservation-minded Secretary of the Interior. Aggies and industry, meanwhile, prepare to hunker down and fight against more endangered species listings and greater restrictions on public lands.

When a republican is elected president, enviros dust off their armor and prepare for battle against the likes of James Watt and Manuel Lujan – two former Interior secretaries known for their anti-environmental, anti-ESA agendas – while farmers and energy industry staff anxiously await the promised freedom of relaxed regulatory burdens.

Appointees on both sides take office prepared to undo the so-called “overreach” of the previous administration. But the new appointees often overreach themselves, resulting in years of lawsuits and delays in achieving their ideological master plan.

Lawyers prosper, but it’s not clear that anyone else does. Meanwhile, the environment continues to suffer. Read More »

Also posted in Wildlife Protection / Tagged conservation, donald trump, ecosystems, environmental defense fund, habitat exchanges, Interior, Interior department, interior secretary, legacy, mitigation, newmont mining corporation, Partnerships, president-elect, sage grouse, theodore roosevelt, western governors | Read 1 Response

Will Trump’s victory defeat the environment? It’s time to rally around shared values

By David Festa / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: November 16, 2016

Like all Americans, I woke up on November 9 to a new reality: A few more Democrats in Congress, and yes, a President-elect who promised to dismantle our nation’s core environmental protections.

Though the overwhelming majority of rural counties voted for Donald Trump, I do not believe they voted to increase air and water pollution or jeopardize wildlife.

We live in amazing times. Compared to 40 years ago, our environment is healthier, even as our economy has grown 300 percent.

But 40 years is a long time ago, and it’s easy to forget that progress didn’t happen overnight. It took Republican and Democratic administrations to put our bedrock environmental protections in place so the rules laid out in them could be enforced. These laws include:

A wildlife protection act that brought our national symbol, the bald eagle, back from the brink of extinction.
A clean air act that has helped to reduce smog and acid rain that was threatening our children’s health and killing our forests.
A water quality act that has cleaned up our rivers so they may never catch fire again. (Yes, the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland was so polluted that it ignited in 1969.)

Also posted in Wildlife Protection / Tagged America, bipartisan, conservation, donald trump, ecosystems, election, environment, farmers, fertilizer use, habitat, habitat exchanges, market-based, Nevada, Partnerships, pollution, protection, public health, public-private partnerships, ranchers, stewardship, sustainability, sustainable agriculture, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, water quality, wildlife | Comments are closed

Despite a new political landscape, landscape conservation commitments remain

By Brian Jackson / Bio / Published: November 15, 2016

Sagebrush in Carson Valley, Nevada. Photo credit: Flickr user loren chipman.

Sagebrush landscape in Carson Valley, Nevada. Photo credit: Flickr user loren chipman.

The presidential election has changed the political landscape both nationally and in the states we work. As we continue to make sense of the changes, what hasn’t changed is the commitment of many state leaders – Republicans and Democrats – to protecting our nation’s treasured landscapes.

In Nevada, the state just made a second wave of funding available to Nevada landowners who enhance and restore high-quality habitat for greater sage-grouse. This funding supplements an initial $1 million made available earlier this year to fund the first four credit projects through the Nevada Conservation Credit System (CCS).

Nevada created the CCS to keep the greater sage-grouse off the Endangered Species List and to provide a robust, efficient mitigation program for industries seeking to offset impacts to the imperiled bird’s habitat. Under the system, landowners sell credits to industries needing to mitigate future disturbances to the bird’s habitat in order to receive permits from the Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Read More »

Also posted in Wildlife Protection / Tagged Bureau of Land Management, conservation, donald trump, ecosystems, election, greater sage-grouse, habitat, mining, mitigation, Nevada, neveda conservation credit system, ranchers, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | Comments are closed

Ranchlands: An untapped reservoir of monarch butterfly habitat

By David Wolfe / Bio / Published: October 18, 2016

The monarch migration path through central Texas is often referred to as the “Texas Funnel.” Source: Journey North

As monarch butterflies have returned to Texas on their fall migration south, so have my colleagues and I to Shield Ranch for another round of field testing for the Monarch Butterfly Habitat Exchange, a new conservation program we expect to launch in key states in 2017.

Texas offers a lot of potential habitat for monarchs, being a critical layover on the species’ annual migrations north and south, and having a number of landowners willing and eager to find a solution for the iconic butterfly’s decline.

During our visit to Shield Ranch, we saw dozens of monarchs and other butterflies, as an unusually high amount of rain in August sparked a profusion of fall wildflowers in central Texas. With targeted conservation funding through the Monarch Butterfly Habitat Exchange, we can make rapid progress on the ground. Read More »

Also posted in Wildlife Protection / Tagged cattle, conservation, ecosystems, environmental defense fund, farming, habitat exchange, habitat quantification tool, migration, milkweed, monarch butterfly, ranching, Texas, texas parks and wildlife department, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | Read 1 Response

California’s new law means more bang for every buck invested in wildlife

By Ann Hayden / Bio / Published: September 28, 2016

The Swainson's hawk was listed as a threatened species in California in 1983 due to loss of habitat and decreased numbers across the state.

The Swainson’s hawk is one of the at-risk species that AB 2087 benefits.

Prudent investors know to keep a few key things in mind. They anticipate the timing of spending priorities, like retirement, and evaluate investment risk accordingly. They might spread resources across funds to meet different objectives. And of course, they look to maximize their return on investment.

Why shouldn’t these same principles apply to investments in our natural resources?

Thanks to a new bill signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown, these principles will now apply to regional conservation investment strategies for wildlife and other resource management activities in California.

AB 2087: A new approach to conservation planning and mitigation

Assembly Bill (AB) 2087 (Levine), will establish voluntary, non-regulatory strategies to help conservationists, local agencies and the state apply core investment principles when planning conservation or mitigation projects.

This legislation comes at a critical time. Expanding development in California has supported a growth in food production, flood protection, transportation and housing, but it has also resulted in various impacts on the environment. The loss and fragmentation of wildlife habitat, in particular, has created a need for the state to restore and maintain at least 600,000 acres for multiple at-risk species in the coming decades. Read More »

Posted in Habitat Exchange / Tagged AB 2087, advance mitigation, agencies, at-risk species, california, central valley habitat exchange, Chinook salmon, conservation credits, conservation finance, development, endangered species, environmental defense fund, giant garter snake, habitat, habitat conservation, habitat exchange, habitat quantification tool, investment, landowners, markets, mitigation, monarch butterfly, Swainson's hawk, working lands | Comments are closed

As winter approaches, monarch caterpillars fuel up on a Minnesota farm

By David Wolfe / Bio / Published: September 19, 2016

Kristin Duncanson shows me monarch caterpillar we found on her farm. “Everyone has a monarch story," she said.

Kristin Duncanson holds a monarch caterpillar we found on her farm. “Everyone has a monarch story,” she said.

Duncanson Growers is a family farm located in the heart of southern Minnesota. Owners Kristin and Pat Duncanson produce pork and grow corn, soybeans and vegetable peas on the farm, with a commitment to sustainable practices that improve the quality of their land. But it’s not just about environmental sustainability.

“We also need to maintain and increase our productivity to be economically sustainable,” Kristin said.

The Duncanson family has been committed to sustainability not only through their own farming operations, but also through outreach and education efforts. I recently paid a visit to the family’s farm, where just the night before they had hosted 30 college students for dinner, recognizing the importance of communicating their sustainability practices to others.

In addition to their current practices, which include improving data collection to increase fertilizer efficiency, reducing tillage where possible and rotating crops, the Duncansons have also maintained some very high quality habitat for monarch caterpillars and butterflies. Read More »

Also posted in Wildlife Protection / Tagged conservation, duncanson growers, ecosystems, EDF, farmers, habitat exchange, habitat quantification tool, Karen Oberhauser, Kristin Weeks Duncanson, Midwest, milkweed, Minnesota, monarch butterfly, Monarch Lab, ranchers, sustainable agriculture, University of Minnesota | Comments are closed

What would it take for a Nebraska corn farmer to grow milkweed for monarch butterflies?

By David Wolfe / Bio / Published: August 25, 2016

EDF is working to develop the Monarch Butterfly Habitat Exchange to engage the agricultural community in the fight against extinction.

Virtually every farmer and rancher in America has room for conservation on their land. But deciding whether or not to enroll acres in a conservation program requires just as much business sense as deciding which crops to grow on other acres. It’s a matter of cost and return on investment.

My team and I traveled to Nebraska earlier this month to meet with a few corn and soybean farmers to get a sense of what the costs and benefits might be of dedicating some acres – namely marginal lands with low crop productivity, as well as roadsides and field edges – to growing milkweed habitat for the monarch butterfly. What we found was that there is no one-size-fits-all approach. Read More »

Also posted in Wildlife Protection / Tagged agriculture, conservation, corn farming, ecosystems, environmental defense fund, habitat exchange, monarch butterfly, Nebraska, NRCS, Pheasants Forever, USDA, wetlands reserve program, wildlife | Read 3 Responses

The snake at the crux of California’s wildlife challenge, and the policy that can solve it

By Scott Sellers / Bio / Published: August 15, 2016

Giant garter snake (license)

Enter the giant garter snake. The giant garter snake is an aquatic species native to California and a federally-listed “threatened” species that largely persists today – along with many other critters – in the vast acreage of Central Valley rice fields and water distribution canals.

In the past, seasonal floods would transform California’s Central Valley into a great inland sea of floodplain habitats teeming with fish and wildlife, including the giant garter snake.

Over time, development of the flood and irrigation systems that enabled the Central Valley’s $17 billion agricultural economy has led to the destruction of 95 percent of the region’s historic wetlands, putting countless California wildlife at risk of extinction.

For example, ongoing flood system operations and maintenance activities—required to protect farms and communities in the floodplain—continue to disrupt giant garter snake habitat. What’s more, when drought or fallowing reduces water deliveries to rice growers, the snake’s remaining habitat can dry up.

We need a better way to protect and restore habitat for wildlife like the giant garter snake, before it’s too late.

Also posted in Wildlife Protection / Tagged advance mitigation, Assembly Bill 2087, california, central valley, central valley habitat exchange, ecosystems, endangered species, giant garter snake, habitat, infrastructure, irrigation, Levine, mitigation, policy, rice fields, western water, wildlife | Read 5 Responses

Birds, snakes and butterflies: Farming for more than crops and cash

By Scott Sellers / Bio / Published: July 27, 2016

Davis Ranch manager John Brennan pointed out a hundred year-old valley oak. Resting in the highest branches was a large nest about two feet wide, where a pair of hawks were nesting. As we dispersed about the ranch, one of the hawks greeted us by spreading its wings and soaring off into the blue sky.

A pair of Swainson’s hawk nest in a 100-year-old valley oak tree at Davis Ranch in Colusa, California. (Credit: Emily James)

The Golden State is well known for its robust and diverse agricultural output, even during times of drought. In 2014, California’s farms, ranches and nurseries turned out $54 billion worth of everything from oranges to rice, and milk to nuts.

Our farms and ranches are less renowned for the rich wildlife habitat they also provide, in some cases for threatened species like the Swainson’s hawk and giant garter snake, which have long struggled with the disappearance of their historic habitat in open grasslands and tule marshes.

The Swainson’s hawk population in California used to be close to 17,000 mating pairs. Today, that number is closer to 2,000. And the giant garter snake has faced the loss of 95 percent of its historic Central Valley wetland habitat. In both cases, landscape conversion and fragmentation, in addition to land management practices such as rodent control, have steadily worn away the suitable habitat for these species.

Fortunately, many species are adapting to these landscape changes and, with wildlife-friendly practices, are able to thrive on productive California farms and ranches. Farms like Davis Ranch. Read More »

Also posted in Wildlife Protection / Tagged agriculture, california, central valley, central valley habitat exchange, Davis Ranch, drought, ecosystems, environmental defense fund, giant garter snake, habitat exchange, monarch butterfly, rice farm, sustainable agriculture, Swainson's hawk | Comments are closed