The largest dam removal in history is complete
The best thing that happened in the world last week: after years of negotiating—and decades of activism—the Klamath River is free of four huge dams, reopening more than 644 kilometres of free-flowing water. It’s a landmark moment for the Shasta Indian Nation, who are restoring 2,800 acres of their ancestral land that is above ground for the first time in a century. BBC + LA Times 🗄️
The biggest thing for me, the significance of the dam removal project, is just hope — understanding that change can be made.
Brook M. Thompson, Yurok Tribe member
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28 million acres of public land in Alaska are now protected
The historic protections—which will safeguard critical habitat for caribou, moose, bears, and all five species of Pacific salmon—are a major victory for local Tribes and businesses. The decision retains the protections that were in place for decades until the Trump Administration proposed changes to public land orders to open the area for mining and oil and gas drilling. NRDC
Farmers across North America are reviving ‘Prairie Potholes’
Prairie Potholes are wetlands that serve as natural sponges to hold excess water. Over the past century, the push for greater productivity led farmers to drain half of these wetlands across the Prairie Pothole Region, which spans 770,000 km2 of North America. Now they are being revived due to their rich soils and mineral deposits, benefitting both agriculture yields and wildlife. Reasons to be Cheerful
Landmark victory for environmental democracy in Colombia
The Constitutional Court has unanimously supported the Escazú Agreement, which ensures people have access to environmental information, participation, and justice in environmental matters. It marks a significant step towards protecting the rights and work of environmental defenders in 'the most dangerous place in the world for environmental advocacy.' CIEL
Community engagement drives forest protection in Malawi
In the Zomba Forest Reserve, a community that once destroyed the forest for charcoal has become its custodian. In the late 1990s, a project dubbed Zomba TREEZ taught them how to plant fruit trees and native trees, fight fires, and remove invasive species—and pay for each tree that survived. Now, the community-led side of the reserve is flourishing, while the state-protected section is struggling to curb deforestation. Mongabay
Nearly 25% of European landscape could be rewilded
According to a new study, 117 million hectares across Europe is primed with rewilding opportunities. The researchers focused on areas that covered over 10,000 hectares, had little human disturbance, and were home to vital species. Of the rewilding opportunities, 70% are in colder climates, specifically Northern Europe and several highland regions in the Iberian Peninsula. Phys.org
Record number of breeding puffins in the Gulf of Maine
Seal Island has set a record for breeding puffins, with 672 active puffin burrows counted, about 100 more than the last census five years ago. Measures to restore the island’s populations started in 1992, after a century’s absence due to hunting in the late 1800s. Razorbills, a larger cousin of the puffin, are also doing well, with 101 active burrows recorded. Portland Press Herald
Shipping company changes course to protect whales
A Greek-owned shipping company with 13 tankers will redirect its ships to help protect the sperm whale population in the Eastern Mediterranean. There are fewer that 200 whales in this subpopulation, and they live predominantly in the Hellenic Trench. Half of the cases of stranded whales in the area can be attributed directly to collisions with large ships. IFAW
Debt-for-Nature Swaps inspiring a range of social investment
Since kicking off in the 1980s, there have been 145 debt-for-nature swaps worldwide, making them 'a very tangible strategy that is starting to be proven.' The financial tool enables countries to make climate-adaptation plans that preserve both nature and livelihoods, and the spectrum is broadening, with potential debt-for-health and debt-for-food sovereignty swaps. Carbon Brief
More music for those who will listen
- 400 hectares of critical koala habitat will be restored across Queensland, Australia, to kick off a $4.48-million project over the next five years.
- Also in Queensland, 54,000 hectares of state forest will become the Greater Glider Forest Park to protect the endangered species.
- In Western Australia, the creation of the 200,000-hectare Purungunya Conservation Park is the first new conservation estate in the Pilbara for over a decade.
- After more than five decades of recovery efforts, the Apache trout is being removed from the US Endangered Species list.
- The profits from the UK’s largest community-owned windfarm will fund the planting of a million native trees in the Hebrides.
- In China, a 'development belt' around Wuyishan National Park is helping nature and local communities flourish.
- The sticky catchfly, one of Scotland’s rarest plants, has more than tripled in population following restoration work, with around 10,000 flowering stems counted.
- A $35m debt-for-nature deal will protect Indonesia’s coral reefs in the Banda Seascape, the Bird’s Head Seascape, and in Lesser Sunda.
- Over the last five years, the Orkney Native Wildlife Project has removed more than 6,000 non-native stoats from the archipelago, boosting wild bird populations.
- A project in the Niger Delta will plant five million mangroves to improve biodiversity and local livelihoods.
- Work is underway to give Utah’s Jordan River a boost.
- Dam removal on the Puyallup River will allow free-flowing water for the first time in more than 100 years, protecting Chinook salmon, steelhead, and bull trout.
- 'Beaver bombing' is on the rise in the UK after rogue conservationists have decided to take matters into their own hands.
