Conservation News ~3 July 2020

• New species of Ichthyosaur discovered
• Scientists create first map of agroforestry and ecosystem services in Asia-Pacific
• Raw sewage poured into Olympic Park wildlife haven
• Feds agree to decide on Endangered Species Protections for Wolverines by August 31
• Finland invests $2.3 million into national plant-based food industry
• An overfished shark species will now finally get the protection it needs in the Pacific
• No UN climate talks to be held in 2020, as interim meeting postponed again
• Calls for swift action as hundreds of elephants die in Botswana’s Okavango Delta
• The House of Representatives passed the Wildlife Corridor Conservation Act with $300 million funding
• NASA’s new 3d mapping technique improves landslide hazard prediction
• NASA’s ASTER sees Arizona’s Bighorn Fire burn scar from space
• NASA’s new international ocean satellite completes testing
• Ice melt linked to accelerated regional freshwater depletion
• JPL mission breaks record for smallest satellite to detect an exoplanet
• Over 40 new species described in 2020 by a research group
• Gatekeepers of biodiversity hotspots facing COVID crisis
• New gold rush brought to Brazilian Amazon
• Indonesia lavishes $195m subsidy on palm biodiesel producers over smallholders
• COVID halts matchmaking attempt for female Sumatran Rhino in Borneo
• Corruption and palm oil in Sierra Leone
• Storm sinks salmon cages containing over 875,000 fish
• Ranchers, researchers mull using treated produced water for irrigation
• An intrusive killer scorpion points the way to six new species in Sri Lanka
• New species of bee named after Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield
• Research shows the older you get, the more you care about the environment
• Ontario extends logging industry exemption from endangered species law
• Endangered Whale struck by 2 vessels off Jersey shore
• NAU professor named Ecological Restoration Insitute’s new executive director
• Evidence found of Natufian people eating snakes and lizards 15,000 years ago
• Soil in Amazon found to host a large number of fungi types
• California woman gored by bison at Yellowstone National Park after getting within 10 feet to take photos
• Maps reveal what 8th continent, Zealandia, looks like underwater
• Using technology, indigenous monitors in the Amazon combat environmental crime
• Democrats to unveil bold new climate plan to phase out emissions by 2050
• Whale freed from fishing net off Italian coast
• Checklist of PA bees documents 49 new species and some that may be endangered
• Petition seeks California Endangered Species protection for Quino Checkerspot Butterfly
• Pune-based ZSI scientists discovers new moth subspecies
• Efforts underway to save Florida’s largest bat
• Feds say expect more bird deaths under new rule
• Yakutia sets up nature reserve to protect polar bear population
• Fossil reveals new species of Horned Gopher species
• PA says 2 gas drilling companies committed environmental crimes
• White House nominates controversial longtime acting head of land management bureau as director
• Senate passes bill to give millions more veterans free lifetime entry to National Parks
• New Protected Area in Mali one of Earth's Largest
• Hundreds of dead dolphins washing up on French Coast
• PETA rescues two pigs from slaughter in late activist Regan Russell’s honor
• Environment groups urge Nippon Paper to scrap Victorian timber from supply chain
• Adelle penguins could thrive as result of sea ice melting
• India eyes private investment to open 41 new coal mines
• US climate activists charged with ‘terrorizing’ lobbyist over plastic pollution stunt
• Airborne mapping sheds light on climate sensitivity of California Redwoods
• Dolphins learn foraging tricks from each other, not just from mom
• California court sides with Miyoko’s, allowing free speech lawsuit against the State’s Food and Ag department
• South Africa proposal to add rhino, elephants to list of animals that can be slaughtered for consumption
• Federal judge strikes down unconstitutional North Carolina Ag-Gag law
• Shy species detected through new DNA technique
• Exploding Whale park memorializes blubber blast 50 years later
• Half of the Earth is still free from human impact, but its not all good news
• National parks are being overrun by invasive species
• Carbon dioxide levels just hit 417ppm, highest in human history
• Greta Thunberg looks to UN security council election for leverage on climate
• Federal Agency kills endangered Mexican Gray Wolf father on behalf of livestock industry
• Young monk seal on Kauai likely died after swallowing fish hook
• The demographic decline of a sea lion population followed multi-decadal sea surface warming
• National Park Service removes Robert E. Lee’s name from giant sequoia
• White House to open 18 million acres in Alaska to oil and gas drilling
• The first modern-day marine fish has officially gone extinct
• Scientists unlock secrets of Ethiopia’s superfood in race to save it from warming climate
• Washington Commission rejects petition for new rules to prevent wolf killing conflicts
• Shelter in place leading to fewer California mountain lions becoming roadkill
• Canada becomes first G20 nation to ban shark fin trade
• Plants can absorb tiny plastic pieces through their roots
• Revealed: legislators’ pro-pipeline letters ghostwritten by fossil fuel company