Growing Returns

Selected tag(s): habitat

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 / Also 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 conservation, habitat exchange, habitat quantification tool, investment, landowners, markets, mitigation, monarch butterfly, Swainson's hawk, working lands | Comments are closed

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.

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

What if God wants the lesser prairie-chicken to go extinct?

By Eric Holst / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: June 14, 2016

Lesser prairie-chicken. Photo credit: USDA NRCS

A version of this piece previously ran as an op-ed in the Houston Chronicle.

A few years ago, I was invited by Texas farmer David Cleavinger to visit his family’s farm near Amarillo. This was during a period of time when my organization, Environmental Defense Fund, was deeply involved in conservation efforts for the lesser prairie-chicken, a colorful bird whose habitat is in decline throughout its five-state range, which includes the panhandle of Texas.

David picked me up at the airport and asked if we could make a quick stop on the way to his farm. That stop turned out to be at local radio station KGNC, where David had arranged for me to go on air and talk about wildlife conservation with a particular focus on the local implications for efforts to revive the lesser prairie-chicken.

I agreed to join the show with some trepidation, but it quickly subsided as we got into a lively discussion with the host, James Hunt, and several listeners. Toward the end of my appearance, a caller asked a surprising and provocative question – What if God wants the prairie-chicken to go extinct? Read More »

Posted in Habitat Exchange, Wildlife Protection / Also tagged Bible, Christianity, conservation, creation, creation care, dominion, Earth, ecology, environmental defense fund, extinction, farmer, farming, gas, Genesis, God, lesser prairie-chicken, Permian Basin, redemption, sin, stewardship, sustainability, Texas, theology, wildlife | Comments are closed

Monarch butterflies get help from Texas ranch

By David Wolfe / Bio / Published: June 6, 2016

A monarch caterpillar eats antelope horn milkweed growing at Shield Ranch.

A few weeks ago, I visited Shield Ranch, a 6,000-acre property devoted to responsible cattle management and wildlife conservation. I made the visit to the ranch – less than 20 miles west of my home in Austin – to test a new tool being designed to more accurately assess habitat for the monarch butterfly.

Standing in a field of wildflowers with a team of scientists, we used the monarch butterfly habitat quantification tool to measure vegetation and determine what monarch habitat was available on the property. We’ve used similar habitat quantification tools for other at-risk wildlife like the lesser prairie-chicken and greater sage-grouse, but this was the first time we tested a tool for monarch butterfly habitat.

Posted in Habitat Exchange / Also tagged agriculture, conservation, environmental defense fund, farmers, farming, golden cheeked warbler, land stewardship, milkweed, monarch butterfly, ranchers, ranching, sustainability, wildlife | Comments are closed

Butterfly numbers may be up, but they still need our help

By Eric Holst / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: March 4, 2016

Earlier this week, The Washington Post reported that the monarch butterfly, along with the manatee, is on a “big rebound.” It’s true that the iconic North American butterfly is in better shape today than this time last year. But it’s too soon to celebrate.

A sensitive species

The population of monarch butterflies has historically had drastic dips and spikes. That’s because the monarch is a sensitive species greatly impacted by extreme weather events.

In January 2002, the species experienced unprecedented and catastrophic mortality due to a rare freeze at its overwintering site in Mexico, killing an estimated 500 million butterflies. That’s more than two times the size of today’s population, even with this year’s boost.

Fortunately, the monarch is as resilient as it is delicate. This year’s bump in number proves that. It also shows that recovery is possible, that conservation efforts can make a difference. Read More »

Posted in Habitat Exchange, Wildlife Protection / Also tagged agriculture, ecosystems, endangered species, farmers, habitat exchange, herbicides, milkweed, monarch butterfly, population, wildlife | Comments are closed

Recovery of New England rabbit demonstrates importance of private lands in conservation

By Eric Holst / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: September 16, 2015

Credit: Brian Tefft, Principal Wildlife Biologist at Rhode Island Division of Fish and Wildlife.

Saturday marked a new chapter in a years-long rabbit’s tale.

Of course I’m talking about the New England cottontail, which, until this week, was a candidate for listing under the Endangered Species Act.

Thanks to the work of private landowners, conservation groups, tribes, and state and government agencies, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has decided to remove this critter from the candidate list and declare that it’s well on the path to recovery.

A team effort

The growth of the New England cottontail population was a team effort, with important contributions from state wildlife departments, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and conservation organizations.

But the most important contribution came from farmers and forestland owners who committed to managing the specialized habitat of the New England cottontail. Read More »

Posted in Habitat Exchange, Wildlife Protection / Also tagged conservation, ecosystems, ESA, greater sage-grouse, Jason Weller, new england cottontail, NRCS, USDA, USFWS, wildlife | Comments are closed

With the launching of a new market, he’s a vanguard of grouse conservation in Wyoming

By Sara Brodnax / Bio / Published: June 23, 2015

Eric Peterson has been hired to fill a new position as pilot administrator of the Wyoming Conservation Exchange.

A landowner-led conservation effort in Wyoming has sparked a new market and has now created a new job.

The University of Wyoming recently announced the hiring of a new pilot administrator of the Wyoming Conservation Exchange, a voluntary, market-based program that seeks to enroll local landowners in landscape-scale conservation of greater sage-grouse, mule deer and hydrologic services.

Eric was formerly manager of the Sublette County Conservation District, where he played a critical role in developing the Wyoming Conservation Exchange with partners from the University of Wyoming, Environmental Defense Fund, the Wyoming Stock Growers Association and the Wyoming chapter of The Nature Conservancy.

In his new role, Eric will work with potential buyers and sellers of conservation credits to facilitate pilot transactions and market growth.

I asked Eric to share some thoughts on what drew him to this role and what he hopes to achieve over the next few months.

Posted in Habitat Exchange, Wildlife Protection / Also tagged ecosystems, environmental defense fund, Eric Peterson, greater sage-grouse, habitat exchange, Partnerships, ranchers, stock growers, Sublette County Conservation District, sustainable agriculture, The Nature Conservancy, University of Wyoming, wildlife, Wyoming, Wyoming Conservation Exchange | Read 1 Response

Operation Warbler: Fort Hood and local ranchers team up to save bird

By David Wolfe / Bio / Published: June 9, 2015

Dr. Gene Murph stands in front of prime golden-cheeked warbler habitat on his Texas ranch

I’m going to take you back to 2005, to a ranch in the Texas Hill Country, where Dr. Gene Murph operates an 80-head cattle operation on 1,300 acres of rangeland.

The ranch is vast, with rolling hills and wooded ravines. The only sounds on the ranch are those of cattle mooing in the pastures and birds trilling in the trees. If you listen closely enough, you can hear the signature call of the golden-cheeked warbler. If you look closely enough, you can spot the bird’s sunshine-yellow face.

The golden-cheeked warbler was listed as an endangered species in 1990, making Dr. Murph’s ranch a vital stronghold for subpopulations, which nest at select sites scattered throughout 33 counties in central Texas.

Another nearby stronghold for the bird is the Fort Hood Army Base, only a few miles down the road from Dr. Murph’s ranch and home to the largest known population of golden-cheeked warblers. Read More »

Posted in Habitat Exchange, Wildlife Protection / Also tagged bird habitat, ecosystems, endangered species, Fort Hood, fort hood recovery credit system, golden cheeked warbler, habitat exchange, Partnerships, ranch, texas department of agriculture, texas hill country | Comments are closed

Five things to like about California’s proposed rice protocol

By Robert Parkhurst / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: November 5, 2014

EDF's work on the rice protocol was featured in an article from The Fresno Bee: California Rice Farmers Could Get Pollution Credit. Photo credit: California Ag Today.

EDF’s work on the rice protocol was featured in The Fresno Bee: California Rice Farmers Could Get Pollution Credit. Photo credit: California Ag Today.

The California Air Resources Board (ARB) has been developing the first crop-based protocol that will allow U.S. rice growers to participate in California’s cap-and-trade program. The final draft of the standards – a product of meticulous research and stakeholder input – is now out for review.

There’s a lot to like in the draft, which demonstrates the ARB’s diligence in developing a greenhouse gas reduction program that is good for both farmers and the wildlife that depend on rice fields for habitat. Here are my five highlights:

1) It creates a new revenue stream for farmers: Rice farmers across the U.S. can volunteer to implement one of three methods included in the protocol – dry seeding, early drainage, or alternate wetting and drying – to reduce their greenhouse gas footprint. In doing so, they will be able to generate offsets to sell in California’s carbon market, providing revenue for growers while contributing to the state’s clean air goals.

A cattleman’s quest to save a bird and help ranchers thrive

By David Wolfe / Bio / Published: October 29, 2014

Terry Fankhauser, Executive Vice President of Colorado Cattelmen’s Association

Terry Fankhauser is a rancher and executive vice president of the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. He is also a board member and executive director of Partners for Western Conservation, which seeks to implement market-based conservation services that benefit wildlife and the economy.

Terry joined me and other conservation colleagues last week in Washington, D.C., to discuss habitat exchanges at the National Workshop on Large Landscape Conservation. I asked him to give us a recap of the discussion and to tell us why he got involved in the development of exchanges.

Why were you in D.C. last week?

I took the opportunity to travel to Washington to convey the message that agriculture producers are investing time and resources into developing conservation markets like the Colorado Habitat Exchange. We are just as interested as other parties in addressing conservation concerns, regulatory challenges and the ongoing need for viable businesses that drive our economies.