Conservation Science

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The overall objective of this field study is to quantify cougar ecology in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Specific goals are to:

From the blog's About Me page: My name is Tara Cornelisse and I’m a Ph.D. candidate at University of California Santa Cruz. I have a Master’s degree in Conservation Biology from San Francisco State University. I am also an insect enthusiast (I love them!) but with a wider passion to advance the conservation of biodiversity- all of the plants and animals on this beautiful Earth of ours.

“People once had the pleasure of spotting flying squirrels gliding through the forests and visiting their porches at night in the San Jacinto Mountains, but not anymore,” said Shaye Wolf, climate science director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “It’s a tremendous loss. The flying squirrel needs the immediate protections of the Endangered Species Act to ensure that it doesn’t suffer any more declines.”

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Americans want more bison in more places. As the National Park Service makes the case for the eradication of bison from Grand Canyon National Park, a growing number of scientists and citizens are convinced that bison should remain there. Eradication would be inconsistent with ecological history and counter to the Service’s mission to “promote and regulate the use of the ... national parks ... which purpose is to conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wild life therein … for the enjoyment of future generations.”

Today, four Massachusetts-based community organizations submitted a letter to John Bryson, Secretary of Commerce, requesting that NOAA (National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration) expedite important measures designed to further science-based management of Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary and fisheries in New England. "Stellwagen Bank Sanctuary, an 842-square mile area spanning the approach to Massachusetts Bay, is home to over five hundred species of fish, sea birds, whales and diverse marine life," said Rob Moir, PhD, of the Ocean River Institute.

Linda Kramme, manager of the forest program at World Wildlife Fund, said her organization and others applaud Kroger for making a responsible business decision. “WWF and other groups that are asking consumers not to buy Mercury’s products...aren’t trying to put Mercury or APP out of business, but simply asking them to adhere to the same forestry practices that responsible pulp and paper companies the world over adhere to,’’ she said.

“With little regret but out of respect to protocol, the State of Israel announces the loss of Cerbalus aravensis, a newly discovered species of spider, which made its home in the Samar sand dunes in the southern Arava. Although the spider, like all of earth’s diverse species, is the unique product of millions of years of evolutionary history ‏(or the no-less wondrous work of God, if you will‏), we saw fit to sacrifice it by plowing up its only known habitat for approximately NIS 1 million worth of sand.