My interest in the natural world led me to study ecology and evolutionary biology, but after all my schooling I found myself confined to the laboratory studying the arguably inconsequential minutia of blood parasites in birds. Seeking to use my scientific background for something a little more relevant to the world, I was fortunate to be offered a position with NRDC working on endangered species issues. Having tried my hand with a biotech company, the National Park Service and even the Environmental Protection Agency, I have a special appreciation for the type of good work done here by my colleagues at NRDC.
Posted January 27, 2012 by Sylvia Fallon in Saving Wildlife and Wild Places
A new study has documented a decline in songbird populations in Arizona as a result of climate change. What gets less attention in this story is that this decline is caused by elk over-browsing the plants that provide cover and...continued→
Posted January 18, 2012 by Sylvia Fallon in Saving Wildlife and Wild Places
Yesterday the US Fish and Wildlife Service announced a new estimate of the number of bats that have died due to whitenose syndrome – the mysterious fungal disease that is devastating bats in the Eastern US and Canada. Working with...continued→
Posted January 7, 2012 by Sylvia Fallon in Saving Wildlife and Wild Places
Earlier this week Yellowstone National Park released its ‘State of Conservation’ report in which it outlines its financial needs for improving or maintaining the park’s values as a World Heritage Site. Among its top priorities, the Park identifies the need...continued→
Posted December 20, 2011 by Sylvia Fallon in Saving Wildlife and Wild Places
In some good news out of Washington (for a change), the recent appropriations bill that was passed last week contains $4 million in funding for addressing white-nose syndrome – the deadly fungal disease that has been devastating bats in the...continued→
Posted November 23, 2011 by Sylvia Fallon in Saving Wildlife and Wild Places
Yesterday an appeals court ruled that the US Fish and Wildlife Service had failed to adequately consider the threat posed to Yellowstone grizzly bears by the loss of whitebark pine – a high elevation tree that provides a key food...continued→
Posted November 9, 2011 by Sylvia Fallon in Saving Wildlife and Wild Places
In a New York Times' blog yesterday, Leslie Kaufman asks the question, ‘How is a Grizzly bear like a wolf?,’ as she compares the fight over delisting the grizzly bear to the battle over the wolf. The Fish and Wildlife...continued→
Posted November 3, 2011 by Sylvia Fallon in Saving Wildlife and Wild Places
Last week, the US Fish and Wildlife Service formally decided to retain endangered species protections for the coastal California gnatcatcher, a tiny gray songbird considered by many to be the “canary in the coal mine” for the coastal sage scrub...continued→
Posted October 26, 2011 by Sylvia Fallon in Saving Wildlife and Wild Places
In the decades-long battle to protect the coastal California gnatcatcher, some good news. I recently wrote about the Pacific Legal Foundation’s attempt to remove the coastal California gnatcatcher from the list of endangered species on the premise that it did...continued→
Posted October 25, 2011 by Sylvia Fallon in Saving Wildlife and Wild Places
I’ve said it before – I love lizards. Earlier in my career, I spent lots of time in the Southwest catching lizards for research. Now I do it just for fun because, without my even having to explain why, my...continued→
Posted October 21, 2011 by Sylvia Fallon in Saving Wildlife and Wild Places
You may have heard that the voters of Bristol Bay Alaska approved an initiative earlier this week to protect the Alaska wild salmon fishery from the massive Pebble Mine and other large-scale extraction that would damage salmon habitat. You may...continued→
Posted September 23, 2011 by Sylvia Fallon in Saving Wildlife and Wild Places
The Pacific Legal Foundation would like to see the coastal California gnatcatcher removed from the endangered species list. They filed a petition with the US Fish and Wildlife Service last year and recently filed a lawsuit against the Service for...continued→
Posted July 29, 2011 by Sylvia Fallon in Saving Wildlife and Wild Places
When I was working at a research station years ago there were mammalogists at the station who were doing some ‘collecting’ for museum specimens. They mostly tried to take advantage of any usable roadkill, but on occasion they killed some...continued→
Posted July 22, 2011 by Sylvia Fallon in Saving Wildlife and Wild Places
If someone asked you what humankind’s most pervasive influence on nature was, what would you say? Agriculture? Deforestation? Pollution? Here’s what I bet you might not say: The loss of large predators and other ‘apex consumers’ such as lions, wolves...continued→
Posted July 18, 2011 by Sylvia Fallon in Saving Wildlife and Wild Places
In response to a petition that we filed in 2008, the Fish and Wildlife Service is announcing that whitebark pine – a widespread, high-elevation tree species – warrants protection under the Endangered Species Act. This finding is significant as it...continued→
Posted July 8, 2011 by Sylvia Fallon in Saving Wildlife and Wild Places
It’s been a long, strange trip for the Preble’s meadow jumping mouse who first jumped into fame in 2005 as the US Fish and Widlife Service proposed removing it from the Endangered Species list based on a faulty genetics...continued→
Switchboard is the staff blog of the Natural Resources Defense Council, the nation’s most effective environmental group. For more about our work, including in-depth policy documents, action alerts and ways you can contribute, visit NRDC.org.
