Home on the range

For years, a rancher in Southern Oregon has been trying to keep a local pack of wolves from killing his livestock, and after many rounds of trial and error and collaborative efforts, a high-tech fence may be the solution. Although the fence isn't cheap, many came forward to help make this a possibility and show their support for a project that united people that historically have stood politically opposed.

Environmental advocates got 1.75 million signatures to change Bavarian farming laws to protect biodiversity. The Save the Bees Campaign calls for using subsidies to nearly triple the amount of organic farming, creating a network of wildlife corridors, and other actions to protect bird and insect life. Initial results show that, since the law took effect, the share of organic farmland increased and thousands of more acres of forest have been protected. Farmers have also adjusted their view of productivity, including protecting nature as a way to be productive. Similar efforts are happening across Europe.

An unlikely partnership between ranchers and conservationists is working together to protect grassland biodiversity on the Zumwalt Prairie Preserve in Oregon. The Nature Conservancy has cultivated relationships with landowners in the area to promote sustainable grazing practices. While some ranchers are skeptical about the organization’s intentions in the area, one rancher says they are “a good neighbor” and because of his alliance with the nonprofit, his pastures have consistently achieved good ratings over the years.

A new species of bird discovered in the small village of Singchung, India has been named after the Indigenous people who own that land — the bird is called Bugun liocichla, named after the Bugun people. Not only did this put the village in the international spotlight, it also brought tourism that helped them develop an ecotourism business. Now the Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary is in charge of the community reserve which is now the most effectively patrolled area under the sanctuary's purview.

A conservation researcher from the Creative Conservation Alliance in Bangladesh has formed a partnership with the Mro people by training them to be parabiologists. They have learned to document and save threatened species. The Chittagong Hill Tracts has some of the greatest biodiversity in Bangladesh, and this work has led to the discovery and preservation of some species previously thought to be extinct.

Africa's wildlife have made headlines time and time again, as species find their way closer to extinction. There are some pockets of the continent, however that have provide refuge for species and allowed them to not just populate, but thrive. Recognizing this, a group known as African Parks found a way to use these growing populations to repopulate other areas of the continent by transporting animals to newly protected areas.

The local tribe in the Pueblo of Santa Ana in New Mexico has been working on restoring their land for some time in order to maintain the health of the ecosystem and their culture. They've since expanded through collaboration efforts with state and local government that have helped reintroduce species and further restore the area.

Threatened wildlife co-exists with poverty stricken communities who inhabit the Arizona-Mexico border region. Borderlands Restoration's conservation scientists are hoping to alleviate poverty while repairing the local environment by providing jobs that help preserve and renew the environment.

The nonprofit Bees in the D maintains 220 beehives at schools, businesses, and other nonprofits it partners with across Detroit. They are bringing bees back to the city to pollinate urban gardens and support the local ecosystem.

In Montana, landowners, hunters, outfitters, and biologists created the Devil’s Kitchen Working Group to facilitate conversations about elk management which led to a successful management framework that has been relatively unchanged for years.