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conservation

Border Fence puts Texas birds and birding at risk

Revised 8 Apr 2008 – Do something: Write or call Congress. See the No Texas Border Wall campaign and their suggestions for action with several petitions to sign and instructions for contacting government officials. Defenders of Wildlife has a handy form here for writing to your representative. ————————— The proposed border wall (1) from Texas

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Audubon’s mysteries: Carbonated Swamp-Warbler

One of the enduring mysteries of North American ornithology involves several species which were painted by Audubon in the early 1800s but never seen again. The most striking and appealing of these birds is the Carbonated Swamp-Warbler, and since the painting was published ornithologists have debated whether this could be a rare and now-extinct species,

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A reprieve for Red Knots

Great news: New Jersey’s governor Corzine yesterday signed into law a moratorium on the harvest of Horseshoe Crabs in that state (press release here). This is great news for Red Knots – politicians have finally recognized the dire situation and put the needs of a species ahead of the seasonal income of a few fishermen.

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Troubled times for Spoon-billed Sandpiper

The enigmatic and charismatic Spoon-billed Sandpiper may be headed for extinction according to a Bird Life International report. The population estimate, never more than a few thousand pairs, has recently plummeted to only 200 to 300 breeding pairs. The reasons for these losses are complex, involving changes to habitat during migration and loss of breeding

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Havel on the environment

An Op-Ed in today’s New York Times by Vaclav Havel makes reference to the larger issues of consumption and the environment. He minimizes the debate over climate change, saying that whether it is primarily human-caused or not action is important, and there are other equally serious anthropogenic issues which are simply Nature’s response to the

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