Hello, from the communique headquarters. It’s been a while since I’ve been posting regularly, but I’m pleasantly surprised to see that this has actually gained followers in the months that it’s been quiet. Thank you for your interest in conservation news!

Since nothing happens in a void, however, I want to know what kind of news you’d like to see. When I originally founded this tumblr, I meant to post mainly stories about species conservation. But there are many more conservation-related stories out there, and I expanded what I was posting: renewable energy (e.g. wind turbines and hydrodams), waste and recycling (banning plastic bottles), climate change (droughts and fires), etc.

So what would you like to hear about?

discoverynews:

Shipping Makes Way for Whales:  The global shipping regulator, the International Maritime Organization, recently announced it will adjust the economically crucial shipping lanes leading into the bustling ports of California, thereby reducing danger to the whales that ply those same waters. The changes will likely take effect this year.

Whale X-ing signs needed I think…

“Roe deer numbers ‘changing woodland ecosystems’”

via BBC News

(January 1, 2013) The increasing abundance of roe deer appears to be having an impact on woodlands, a study has suggested.

Researchers found that sites with the highest abundance of the native animals had the lowest shrub layer vegetation cover and a lower number of birds.

It is described as the first study of its kind in the UK to examine the possible impact of just one species of deer on the natural environment…

Full article: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-20713190

“Marine Scotland survey uncovers ‘huge’ flame shell bed”

via BBC News

(December 26, 2012) A huge colony of an elusive and brightly coloured shellfish species has been discovered in coastal waters in the west of Scotland.

The extensive bed of at least 100 million flame shells was found during a survey of Loch Alsh, a sea inlet between Skye and the Scottish mainland.

The Scottish environment secretary said it could be the largest grouping of flame shells anywhere in the world…

Full article: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-20838775

“Bewick’s swans: Baby boost for threatened birds”

via BBC News

(December 24, 2012) Northwest Europe’s threatened Bewick’s swan population has been boosted by a bumper year for chicks.

Numbers of the bird have declined dramatically since the 1990s.

Up to 7,000 Bewick’s swans usually migrate to the UK, arriving in October and flying back to Russia in March.

But surveys this year show the number of young among these wintering flocks has risen to 17.6%, compared to an average of around 10% over the past 10 years…

Full article: http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/20800129

“West Antarctic Ice Sheet warming twice earlier estimate”

via BBC News

(December 23, 2012) A new analysis of temperature records indicates that the Western Antarctic Ice Sheet is warming nearly twice as fast as previously thought.

US researchers say they found the first evidence of warming during the southern hemisphere’s summer months.

They are worried that the increased melting of ice as a result of warmer temperatures could contribute to sea-level rise…

“Polar bear trade, hunting spark controversy”

via Washington Post

(December 23, 2012) The polar bear was a mile away and began running toward the dog sled, quickly closing the distance on the frozen Arctic waters of Canada’s Resolute Bay. One of Mark Beeler’s Inuit guides released two dogs to distract it while Beeler, a skilled bow hunter, quickly shot three arrows, piercing the animal’s heart and lungs.

“You’re thinking, I can’t believe I paid this much money to be this close to a dangerous bear,” said Beeler, who was less than 15 yards from the nearly 10-foot-tall adult male when it came down.

The guides skinned the bear on site, quartered the meat to bring back to their village and gave the bear’s fat and intestines to the dogs as a reward. Beeler remembers the experience as if it were yesterday. But it was four and a half years ago, and his polar bear trophy is stuck in Canada, blocked from import into the United States because a month after Beeler’s hunt, the Interior Department listed the polar bear as “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act...

Full article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/polar-bear-trade-hunting-sparks-controversy/2012/12/23/063f31c6-4a0d-11e2-ad54-580638ede391_story.html

“Call for UN debate rejected as whaling talks end”

via BBC News

(July 6, 2012) A bid to take whale conservation to the UN General Assembly failed at the International Whaling Commission (IWC) after criticism from hunting nations.

The motion said many species are not covered by IWC rules, and criticised Japan’s scientific whaling programmes.

The delegates’ final act was to decide to hold meetings every two years.

Meanwhile, the Danish and Greenland governments will “reflect” on whaling options for Greenland’s Inuit after the IWC denied a bid to raise quotas…

Full article: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-18735621

“IWC calls for net bans to prevent extinctions”

via WWF

(July 6, 2012) The International Whaling Commission (IWC) has taken up the cause of some of the world’s most critically endangered marine mammals by calling on governments to keep fishing nets out of their waters to prevent entanglement deaths.

Mexico’s vaquita porpoise and the Maui’s dolphin of New Zealand were a focus of discussions today between countries gathered in Panama City for the commission’s annual meeting. Governments urged Mexico and New Zealand to take all possible measures immediately to save the animals from extinction.

“It’s time for diplomatic niceties and step-wise strategies to take a back seat to immediate, concrete action with no compromise,” said Michael Stachowitsch, delegate of Austria to the IWC.

There are believed to be fewer than 200 vaquitas left, and only 55 remaining Maui’s dolphins over a year old. Both animals are severely threatened by accidental bycatch in gillnet fisheries. A total ban on the use of gillnets in the entire ranges of both populations is needed to secure their survival, according to the IWC Scientific Committee’s report…

Full article: http://wwf.panda.org/wwf_news/?205540/IWC-calls-for-net-bans-to-prevent-extinctions

“Eaglet recovering at rehab center after officials say it miraculously survived Utah wildfire”

via Washington Post

(July 7, 2012) SALT LAKE CITY — A baby golden eagle is recovering at a wildlife rehabilitation facility after officials say it miraculously survived a Utah wildfire last month.

Kent Keller told The Salt Lake Tribune (http://bit.ly/NKy8WO ) he feared the worst when he returned to the nest site west of Utah Lake to retrieve a leg band he had attached to the male eaglet June 1.

But the veteran Utah Division of Wildlife Resources volunteer found the burned bird alive on June 28 behind a charred tree, about 25 feet below the nest that was burned to a crisp in the 5,500-acre Dump Fire near Saratoga Springs.

“I thought there was no chance he would be alive. I was stunned when I saw him standing there,” Keller said. “I thought maybe I could rebuild the nest a little bit, but I took a good look at him and realized that was not going to happen.”…

Full article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/energy-environment/eaglet-recovering-at-rehab-center-after-officials-say-it-miraculously-survived-utah-wildfire/2012/07/07/gJQA9dYuUW_story.html