Conservation News ~ 17 January 2020

• Rangers in Indonesia’s Aceh to get guns as officials flex on violators
• Indigenous lands hold 46% or more of remaining intact forest landscapes
• Colombian mining megaprojects overrun indigenous lands
• Million birds feared dead in ‘blob’ ocean heatwave
• Rep. McCollum introduces bill to van mining near the Boundary Waters
• We can tell where a whale has travelled from the themes in its song
• Prehistoric Wollemi pines saved by firefighters from Australia’s bushfires
• San Diego Paleontologist helps discover new species of dinosaur
• New bird species discovered in Wallacea
• Newhouse introduces legislation to strengthen Endangered Species Act
• Nebraska Commission to consider altering state’s threatened, endangered species lists
• 150 Arrested at protests exposing Wall Street’s link to climate crisis
• Canada imposing mandatory gear marking for some fisheries in 2020
• New dinosaur discovered in China shows dinosaurs grew up differently from birds
• Ocean Park to end dolphin show, plans 26 new rides
• Malnourished millennial killer whaled grew up smaller
• Maryland bill would levy $250 fine for releasing balloons
• Georgia Aquarium announces it is expecting baby beluga whale
• Greenville Zoo announces it is expecting Amur Leopard babies
• Colgate launches vegan-certified toothpaste in recyclable tube
• Former Monsanto executive is new leadership of US Fish and Wildlife
• For final months of 2019, Amazon deforestation hits highest level in at least 13 years
• As 2019 ends, reptile -rich Sri Lanka delivers three more new gecko species
• 2019 was second-hottest decade
• Coal pollution turned an Appalachian creek orange, locals are using it to make paint
• Jim Prentice Wildlife Corridor near Edmonton, Canada gets $500k funding boost
• Deep snow covers Maunakea, Mauna Loa
• Sandy Bottom wetlands to receive protection for ‘national ecological significance’
• Swan Valley groups oppose ski area expansion in grizzly habitat
• 15 new species of parasitic wasp discovered that ‘zombify’ wasps
• New species of bone-eating worm discovered eating alligator carcass deep under Gulf of Mexico
• Cincinatti Zoo celebrates birth of endangered Okapi calf
• Congressman Lowenthall introduces legislation to protect millions of migratory birds threatened federally
• Local US Forest Service hot shots headed for Australia to help battle massive fires
• UN calls on nations to protect 30 percent of planet
• Scientists just found one of the world’s largest flowers blooming in an Indonesian jungle
• Developer drops 22-home subdivision project near endangered species preserve north of Traveler’s Rest
• A pack of wolves has been spotted in Colorado for the first time in over 70 years
• 2019 was a record year for ocean temperatures
• Golden Rice approved in Philippines
• Morocco is harvesting water from fog
• UN draft plan sets 2030 target to avert Earth’s sixth mass extinction
• Goldman Prize winner launches new environmental foundation in the Cook Islands
• Communities in Brazilian Cerrado besieged by global demand for soy
• Four new fungi species discovered on one Yunnan bat
• New Mexico lawsuit challenges US Fed’s failure to protect Endangered Species from livestock
• Four missing plants found again in Ohio
• Greenhouse gas emissions drop in Spain as power plants ditch coal
• Record number of elephant deaths in Sri Lanka
• Jakarta to ban single-use plastic bags by June
• The Zion Narrows Trail is protected forever
• Conservation action has reduced bird extinction rates by 40%
• California’s largest private Giant Sequoia stand saved from development
• Bulgarian Environment Minister charged over water crisis
• Senators want to restore native plants to US National Parks
• California has protections against Fed’s rollback of environmental rules
• Petition seeks California Endangered Species protections for Leatherback Sea Turtles
• Population of the Sierra Nevada Red Fox proposed for endangered species status
• Environmental groups file lawsuit to protect the endangered Florida Panthers from extinction
• Feds aim to fix ‘regulatory nightmare’ with sweeping environmental overhaul
• Indonesian officials wield sharia law in defense of Sumatran rhinos
• Activists seek purge after Indonesia court rules forest plantation illegal