Wildlife
When infrastructure development for energy transmission and transportation impacts the natural habitats of endangered species, The Conservation Fund provides compensatory mitigation solutions with public agencies and private partners that achieve positive conservation outcomes for wildlife, including endangered bats.
It takes a special place to attract over 15 years of dedicated efforts from conservationists, biologists and the community to make sure it remains protected. Mispillion Harbor on the shores of the Delaware Bay did just that. But what makes this one-mile shoreline so meaningful for people and wildlife?
Bats play an important role in the ecosystem, environment and economy by devouring insects and pollinating plants while most of us sleep. We’re celebrating Bat Week 2021 with a look at three of our projects that have conserved habitat for these unique flying mammals.
Northeastern Tennessee boasts beautiful, remote and ecologically important natural landscapes. It’s here we purchased over 14,700 acres of forests, gorges, cliffs, waterfalls and caves in 2017 and have been working with the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) to protect it since. Called Skinner Mountain Forest, this area provides critical habitat for animals and plants and upwards of 100 forestry-related jobs. Very few people know this area better than lifelong Tennessee resident and TWRA Biodiversity Coordinator Chris Simpson, who shares more about why protecting this “biological hotspot” is a highpoint in his nearly 30-year career.
If you’ve ever been to the Great Smoky Mountains, you’ve probably driven on Interstate 40, which bisects the Pigeon River Gorge in North Carolina and Tennessee. Something you may not have thought about on this drive, is that wildlife also needs this corridor to live. Unfortunately, this busy interstate has seen a 43% increase in traffic since 2005, which has led to more animals being hit and killed by vehicles. The Smokies Safe Passage initiative is building a new solution to help change this—saving the wildlife that need to take the dangerous journey across I-40.
Since 2017, The Conservation Fund has partnered with the Minnesota National Guard at Camp Ripley to keep forested wildlife habitat intact and prevent development within three miles of the military facility’s border. That distance acts as a key buffer for numerous species of wildlife—including a significant population of golden eagles. The National Eagle Center in Wabasha, MN has tracked the migratory patterns of those eagles throughout the northern U.S. and Canada and put together an interactive map of their locations.
The saying “there are always more fish in the sea” doesn’t ring true for one of America’s most critically at-risk species. Each year, populations of the endangered Central California Coast coho salmon remain low despite efforts to improve aquatic habitat. Less fish in the water means less fish in “dating pool” which causes more inbreeding and genetic defects that further threaten populations. Something more needed to be done to help the coho flourish in California, but what?
Salmon is the second most popular seafood in the U.S., and its popularity continues to grow each year. Americans’ hunger for this tasty and healthy fish has merited its own special day, with October 8 named National Salmon Day. In honor of this top fish, we are spotlighting a few of our conservation efforts that focus on protecting and improving natural salmon habitat and developing more sustainable techniques for raising fish on land. Just keep swimming…or reading to learn more.
Healthy and connected watersheds are key to the resilience of fish populations. Blocked streams and rivers prevent completion of the essential cycle for healthy fish populations, and place their future in peril. The Conservation Fund’s acquisition of the 27,000-acre Pleasant River Headwaters Forest in Maine created the opportunity to restore connectivity for fish passage in the Penobscot River Watershed. That's good news for Atlantic salmon and brook trout, which depend on this watershed for their survival.
Over hundreds of years, logging, farming and heavy industrial development released significant pollution and agricultural run-off into the Saginaw Bay, Michigan watershed. That contamination, combined with overfishing, destroyed much of the native fish population and their breeding reefs throughout the bay. The Saginaw Bay Watershed Initiative Network has been working for years to rebuild these historic fish spawning habitats. The culmination of this work can be seen in the 15-minute long documentary.
National Hunting and Fishing Day, celebrated annually since 1972 on the fourth Saturday of September, promotes outdoor sports and celebrates the contributions of hunters and anglers as supporters of conservation and scientific wildlife management. In recognition of National Hunting and Fishing day, we bring you this repost from the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership (TRCP) featuring Callie Easterly, The Conservation Fund’s Senior Major Gifts Officer for the Gulf Coast, and her work to expand hunting and fishing access on a national wildlife refuge in Texas.
