Conservation News ~ 28 June 2019

• Endangered Species Gila Topminnow to be released in newly created Tucson stream: https://www.kgun9.com/news/local-news/endangered-species-gila-topminnow-to-be-released-in-newly-created-stream-at-mission-garden
• New species of loquat-killing beetle identified: https://phys.org/news/2019-06-species-loquat-killing-beetle.html
• Researchers find new dinosaur species in the South of Brazil: https://riotimesonline.com/brazil-news/brazil/life-brazil/researchers-find-new-dinosaur-species-in-the-south-of-brazil/
• Eel smuggling arrests rise 50% in Europe-wide crackdown: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/jun/27/eel-smuggling-arrests-rise-50-europe-wide-crackdown
• Coral found to prefer eating microplastic, that they don’t digest, to natural food: https://phys.org/news/2019-06-coral-microplastic-natural-food.html
• Fungal hallucinogens send cicadas on sex binges after their genitals fall off: https://www.thesun.co.uk/tech/9377699/fungus-cicadas-rampant-sex-addicts/
• Two Indian nationals were traveling with 5,225 red-eared sliders in their luggage: https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news/malaysia-detains-4-indians-seizes-drugs-5255-turtles/ar-AADrCRP
• UK’s goal of net-zero carbon by 2050 becomes law: https://e360.yale.edu/digest/uks-goal-of-net-zero-carbon-by-2050-becomes-law
• Southeast Asian countries pledge to tackle marine plastic waste crisis: https://news.mongabay.com/2019/06/southeast-asian-countries-pledge-to-tackle-marine-plastic-waste-crisis/
• Murray state biology professor and young daughter discover 60 new insect species: https://www.wkms.org/post/murray-state-biology-professor-and-young-daughter-discover-new-insect-species
• BSI scientists discover new species of terrestrial orchid near Lonavala: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/pune/bsi-scientists-discover-new-species-of-terrestrial-orchid-near-lonavla/articleshow/69965389.cms
• Sea slug species named after Muppets creator: https://www.discoverwildlife.com/news/sea-slug-species-named-after-muppets-creator/
• Rare California salamanders move closer to Endangered Species Act protection: https://biologicaldiversity.org/w/news/press-releases/rare-california-salamanders-move-closer-endangered-species-act-protection-2019-06-26/
• Struggling Mountain Lions in southern California need Endangered Species protection: https://www.kqed.org/science/1943970/state-filing-says-isolated-struggling-mountain-lions-need-endangered-species-protection
• Camera trap captures rare high-definition photos of a jaguar in the wild: https://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/animals/blogs/camera-trap-captures-photos-wild-jaguar-french-guiana-rainforest
• Florida Everglades fires spreads to 32,000 acres: https://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/wilderness-resources/videos/wildfire-florida-everglades-spreads
• Canada first G20 country to ban shark fin trade: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-48714320
• House blocks money for new offshore oil drilling off California coast: https://www.mercurynews.com/2019/06/24/checkmate-house-blocks-money-for-new-offshore-oil-drilling-off-california-coast/
• ‘Climate apartheid’ to push 120 million into poverty by 2030, UN says: https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/25/world/climate-apartheid-poverty-un-intl/index.html
• Germany to close all 84 of its coal-fired power plants, will rely primarily on renewable energy: https://www.latimes.com/world/europe/la-fg-germany-coal-power-20190126-story.html
• Food choice leaves some lemurs more vulnerable to loss of forest habitat: https://news.mongabay.com/2019/06/food-choice-leaves-some-lemurs-more-vulnerable-to-loss-of-forest-habitat/
• Sponges supply DNA for new method of monitoring aquatic biodiversity: https://news.mongabay.com/2019/06/food-choice-leaves-some-lemurs-more-vulnerable-to-loss-of-forest-habitat/
• Nigeria plans 8-fold increase in palm oil production: https://news.mongabay.com/2019/06/nigeria-plans-8-fold-increase-in-palm-oil-production/
• Europe heatwave: record high of 45c expected in France: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jun/25/highs-of-45c-expected-in-france-as-heatwave-scorches-europe
• New estimate for an oil leak: a thousand times worse than rig owner claimed: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/25/climate/taylor-energy-gulf-of-mexico.html
• Bali becomes the first Indonesian island to ban single use plastic bags, straw, and polystyrene: https://www.gapurabali.com/news/2019/06/25/bali-leads-way-and-officially-bans-single-use-plastic-bags-straws-and-polystyrene
• G20 nations triple coal power subsidies despite climate crisis: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/jun/25/g20-nations-triple-coal-power-subsidies-climate-crisis
• OSU names NOAA director of marine mammal science as head of its Marine Mammal Institute: https://today.oregonstate.edu/news/osu-names-noaa-director-marine-mammal-science-head-its-marine-mammal-institute
• After Republican protest, Oregon’s climate plan dies: https://www.npr.org/2019/06/25/735792788/after-republican-protest-oregons-climate-plan-dies
• More spring Chinook returning to Deschutes Basin: http://www.bendbulletin.com/localstate/7242918-151/more-spring-chinook-returning-to-deschutes-basin
• Female grizzly bear put down after being hit by a vehicle in Banff National Park: https://www.thestar.com/calgary/2019/06/24/female-grizzly-put-down-after-being-hit-by-a-vehicle-in-banff-national-park.html
• National Wildlife Federation urges Senate to fully fund Land and Water Conservation Fund: https://www.nwf.org/Latest-News/Press-Releases/2019/06-25-19-NWF-Urges-Senate-to-Fund-LWCF
• Great Indian Bustard eggs being collected to kick-start captive breeding: https://news.mongabay.com/2019/06/great-indian-bustard-eggs-being-collected-to-kick-start-captive-breeding/
• Angola pledges $60m to fund landmine clearance in national parks: https://news.mongabay.com/2019/06/angola-pledges-60m-to-fund-landmine-clearance-in-national-parks/
• Glacier National Park’s name will outlive its glaciers: https://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/2019/0618/Glacier-National-Park-s-name-will-outlive-its-glaciers
• Scientists say dinosaur fossils found in Colorado are those of a 68 million years old trilobite: http://www.paleontologyworld.com/paleontologists-curiosities/scientists-say-dinosaur-fossils-found-colorado-are-those-68-million
• US EPA oks ‘emergency’ to dump bee-killing pesticide on 16 million acres: https://www.ecowatch.com/emergency-trump-epa-pesticides-2638979880.html
• Conservationists buy rare B.C. temperate rainforest to protect it from development: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/next-creek-watershed-bc-protected-1.5185480
• New species of worm found in Scotland has eyes on its butt: https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/mb844n/this-scottish-worm-has-eyes-on-its-butt
• Scripps oceanography scientist helps identify unusual new species of Damselfish: https://timesofsandiego.com/tech/2019/06/24/scripps-oceanography-scientist-helps-identify-new-species-of-damselfish/
• Hearing to delist wolves from Endangered Species set: https://www.alloutdoor.com/2019/06/24/delist-wolves-endangered-species/
• Plan to save endangered Leadbeater’s possum must consider timber industry: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/jun/24/plan-to-save-endangered-leadbetters-possum-must-consider-timber-industry-minister-says
• Police arrest 70 climate change protestors outside New York Times building: https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/06/police-arrest-climate-change-protesters-outside-new-york-times-building.html
• US Vice President repeatedly refuses to say climate crisis is a threat to US: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jun/23/mike-pence-climate-crisis-threat
• Palm oil importers won’t meet zero deforestation goals by 2020: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-06-19/palm-oil-importers-won-t-meet-zero-deforestation-goals-by-2020
• Scientists discovered a sea of fresh water under the ocean: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/06/scientists-have-discovered-a-sea-of-fresh-water-under-the-ocean
• Blue belt zones to protect Minke whales: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-48542985
• White House buried reports warning climate change could hurt crops: https://www.politico.com/story/2019/06/23/agriculture-department-climate-change-1376413
• Venezuela’s isolated indigenous groups under siege from miners, disease, and guerrillas: https://news.mongabay.com/2019/06/venezuelas-isolated-indigenous-groups-under-siege-from-miners-disease-and-guerrillas/
• Logging road construction has surged in the Congo Basin since 2003: https://news.mongabay.com/2019/06/logging-road-construction-surged-in-the-congo-basin-since-2003/
• Zimbabwean President says ivory sales could fund conservation: https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/campaigns/elephant-campaign/zimbabwean-president-says-sale-of-ivory-stocks-could-fund-conservation-for-next-20-years-a8972926.html
• The Salish Sea’s orcas are late for their annual summer visit: https://www.thestar.com/vancouver/2019/06/23/the-salish-seas-orcas-are-late-for-their-annual-summer-visit-scientists-warn-its-the-latest-sign-something-is-wrong.html
• Glacier Park approves native trout preservation project: https://flatheadbeacon.com/2019/06/23/glacier-park-approves-native-trout-preservation-project/
• Ethiopia begins nationwide project of planting 4 billion trees to fight deforestation: https://www.intelligentliving.co/ethiopia-4-billion-trees/
• Great Pacific garbage patch: giant plastic trap put to sea again: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/jun/23/great-pacific-garbage-patch-floating-plastic-trap-deployed-again
• Pilot projects launched to meet India’s pledge to restore its 13 million hectares of degraded land: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/pilot-projects-launched-to-meet-indias-pledge-to-restore-its-13-million-hectares-of-degraded-land-by-next-year/articleshow/69844498.cms
• Using GPS locators, crew collects 40 tons of ‘ghost nets’ floating in Pacific: https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2019/06/19/using-gps-locators-crew-collects-tons-ghost-nets-floating-pacific/
• Man finds prehistoric mastodon tooth on Myrtle Beach: https://www.wsoctv.com/news/local/man-finds-prehistoric-mastodon-tooth-on-myrtle-beach/959895313
• New Begonia species unearthed in Sabah: https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2019/06/498315/new-begonia-species-unearthed-sabah
• For the first time ever, scientists see whale sharks mating: https://www.forbes.com/sites/melissacristinamarquez/2019/06/19/for-the-first-time-ever-scientists-see-whale-sharks-mating/
• Deforestation spikes in Guatemala’s largest national park: https://news.mongabay.com/2019/06/invaders-cattle-cocaine-deforestation-spikes-in-guatemalan-national-park/
• Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour auctions off 126 guitars and raises $21m for climate change: https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/21/entertainment/david-gilmour-climate-change-auction-trnd/index.html
• Pronghorn antelopes spotted in county in greater numbers: https://www.goldendalesentinel.com/story/2019/06/05/news/pronghorn-antelopes-spotted-in-county-in-greater-numbers/11800.html
• Chattanooga become first US airport to run entirely on solar: https://e360.yale.edu/digest/chattanooga-become-first-us-airport-to-run-entirely-on-solar
• Top 20 investor in Exxon disinvests from company over climate change stance: http://priceofoil.org/2019/06/21/top-20-investor-in-exxon-disinvests-from-company-over-climate-change-stance/
• ‘Extinct’ creatures found alive in Honduras’ ‘Lost City’: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/extinct-creatures-alive-honduras-rainforest-lost-city-endangered-species-a8970936.html
• United States spend ten times more on fossil fuel subsidies than education: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesellsmoor/2019/06/15/united-states-spend-ten-times-more-on-fossil-fuel-subsidies-than-education/
• 34 birds, crammed into hair rollers, flew into NYC: https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2019/06/18/man-arrested-smuggling-singing-birds-stuffed-hair-rollers/
• Giant squid, phantom of the deep, reappears on video: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/21/science/giant-squid-cephalopod-video.html
• Sydney to declare a climate emergency in face of national inaction: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/21/world/australia/sydney-climate-emergency.html​