Natural England announced today that the wild beavers living on Devon's River Otter will be allowed to remain free under a 're-introduction' licence granted to Devon Wildlife Trust.
… 28th January 2015 News UK Natural World Water Rivers beavers_on_river_otter_2_dave_land-cut.jpg Natural … today that the wild beavers living on Devon's River Otter will be allowed to remain free …
Soon after Devon's wild beavers on the River Otter escaped capture by zealous officials, they have given birth to two or even three kits - a clear indicator that they are happy in their habitat, and there to stay!
… Water beaver-kits.jpg The beaver kits on the River Otter. Photo: Tom Buckley / DWT. Soon after Devon's wild beavers on the River Otter escaped capture by zealous … at an undisclosed location on East Devon's River Otter. Two of the kits have been seen …
Russia's Lake Baikal is under threat by a massive dam and pipeline on the main river that feeds into it, that would supply mines with power and water, writes Anson Mackay. In line to fund the project? The World Bank.
… by a massive dam and pipeline on the main river that feeds into it, that would supply … is hoping a massive dam on its largest river could provide much needed power and … Hydropower Plant, planned on the Selenga River in northern Mongolia, was first proposed …
Drought is returning Lake Powell, impounded behind the Glen Canyon dam on the Colorado river, back to desert, writes Grant A. Mincy - and a fine thing too! As nature turns billions of dollars of infrastructural abomination to junk, this creates the chance to reclaim our commons and recreate ravaged ecosystems.
… behind the Glen Canyon dam on the Colorado river, back to desert, writes Grant A. Mincy - … a series of such projects along the Colorado River in the appropriately named ' Golden Age … executives could not accurately predict river flow, did not take into account the …
With California's wild Coho salmon populations down to 1% of their former numbers, there's growing evidence that beavers - long reviled as a pest of the waterways - are essential to restore the species, writes Maria Finn. In the process, they raise water tables, recharge aquifers and improve water quality. What's not to love?
… freshwater from the Klamath and Sacramento rivers. Dams built for reservoirs on these rivers have cut off many salmon from their … and Coho salmon. Only 5% of the Sacramento River winter-run Chinook salmon survived this …
The key to reducing the risk of more floods like those in Carlisle is to realise that conventional 'flood defence' can never provide security against the ever more extreme weather events that global warming will bring. We must embrace natural solutions to holding back flood waters: more trees; and bring back the beavers!
… which aim to constrain floodwaters into river channels, are only ever part of the … by the time the surge of water is in the river channel, it's already too late. The … Park, and the North Pennines AONB, with rivers that drain them converging on the city …
President Obama Earth Day appearance on the Florida Everglades' failed to disguise the truth, writes Grant A. Mincy - that governmental and corporate domination of ecosystems brings their all too predictable destruction. It's not national parks that will save our nature, but restoration of the commons and their management by local communities.
… Earth Day on the River of Grass Grant A. Mincy | 25th April … Natural World Commons Society Protected Areas river-of-grass-cut.jpg President Obama Earth … and domination. Wild places, like Florida's River of Grass, are doomed. Without wild …
The idea of a 'good, or even great, Anthropocene' as promised in the Ecomodernist Manifesto is purely delusional, writes Derrick Jensen. Worse, it underlies a narrative in which the wholesale destruction of nature and of sustainable indigenous societies is repackaged as a noble mission - one whose ultimate purpose is the complete alienation of humans from the planet that spawned us.
… a paradise. There were so many salmon in the rivers that the rivers were "black and roiling" with fish. The … do it." I said, "What about pollution in the river? We agree that mines pollute, right? …
In the battle to save America's real wild west of unlogged forests, grizzly bears, mountain goats, Bull trout, free flowing streams and roadless wilderness, a single person stands out, writes Jeffrey St Clair, for her dedication, courage and remarkable success: Arlene Montgomery of Friends of the Wild Swan, Montana.
… indeed. While doing surveys on the Flathead River, the fish biologists recorded a sobering … southern Oregon, and Oregon to the Jarbridge River in Nevada. In other words, almost all of … One biologist called it the grizzly of the rivers. It's also wide-ranging, with some bull …
Northern Ireland shows just how much we need the EU's laws protecting nature, writes Andy Atkins - and for the Government to enforce them. The province's wonderful natural heritage is at risk from aggressive and often unlawful developments. And the EU nature laws are essential for us to fight off a host of threats - among them sand dredging, gold mining, road-building and over-fishing.
… with ancient oak woods and the Owenkillew River winding through. The river holds the last viable population of … mine to be sunk in the hillside above the river. And yes, you've guessed: they did so …
Ecuador's president, Rafael Correa, has personally attacked eco-defender Carlos Zorrilla in TV broadcasts for resisting a vast new copper mine in a precious area of pristine cloud forest, and opposing the advance of oil exploration into the Amazon. Fearful for his life, Zorilla is now seeking international support for his, and his community's, battle for land, water and the natural world.
… forests of incredible biodiversity, clean rivers, waterfalls and stunningly beautiful … and maintaining the natural flow of rivers. Based on a preliminary study … of "desertification" , contamination of rivers and streams with lead, arsenic and …
A new EU Regulation aims to limit the spread of invasive species through 'pathway controls' and bans on possession, transport and trade, writes Yannic Rack. But will it be up to the most important task - keeping the most hazardous aliens out, before they ever get the chance to become a nuisance?
… ever get the chance to become a nuisance? Rivers covered entirely by water hyacinth, … to France and you see tens of kilometres of rivers completely covered by Japanese knotweed … which covers an estimated 13% of Britain's riverbanks, either. "If it does work, it can …
The zebra and quagga mussels, exotic invaders from the Caspian, are already causing huge damage in North America by 'biofouling' and disrupting native ecosystems, writes Yannic Rack. And now Britain is having to gear up for an impending invasion that threatens a costly meltdown of our aquatic biodiversity.
… Samantha Ho was wading through the Wraysbury River, a shallow stream that runs just a few … down an ideal substrate for the quagga in riverbeds and on the bottom of reservoirs. … and needs to be managed." The Wraysbury River flows into the Thames only a few miles …
Decades of regular mowing left my front lawn looking bare and sterile, writes Jo Cartmell. But in fact, the exhausted, infertile soil made it the perfect place for a host of wild flowers to take up residence - some from planted seed, others blown-in, or from long buried seed lying dormant in the soil. And after that, the butterflies ...
… I hoped that it would start a trend and a river of wildflowers would begin to spread … meadow has now doubled in size, although a river of meadow lawns has yet to flow through …
Who are we? We are the people who are ready to fight back, writes Derrick Jensen. The people who no longer live in hope that the Earth will be saved, but in the certainty that we will save her. We are activists, survivors, lovers and fighters. And we say: the destruction will stop.
… their permission speak for salmon, redwoods, rivers, voles, spotted owls. We speak for the …
Native wild beavers in their natural range are meant to receive stringent protection under European and Scottish law, writes Louise Ramsay. But farmers have declared 'open season' on the small but growing population, shooting them at will, while the Scottish Government and its wildlife agency look the other way.
… beavers are also credited with restoring rivers , wetlands and watersheds, creating … for the future of free beavers on the River Tay and its tributaries. Follow her on …
An unimaginably large volume of plastic debris is reaching the world's oceans every year, write Britta Denise Hardesty & Chris Wilcox - and it's set for a ten-fold increase over the next decade, adding to the already terrible toll on marine life from turtles to seals, sea birds and fish. The solution must be to give waste plastic value - if we can find a way.
… into oceans from land-locked countries via rivers, these were excluded in the study, …
Yellowstone Park is home to America's last pure-bred wild bison, writes George Wuerthner. Yet the Park's management is planning to kill around a thousand of these precious animals this winter. Ostensibly it's to protect cattle on public lands near the park from brucellosis. But bison have never been known to transmit the disease to them. The real reason is to keep all the pasture for livestock.
… of sage grouse habitat, to the dewatering of rivers critical to trout, and even global … of sage grouse habitat, to the dewatering of rivers critical to trout, and even global …
The EU's nature directives provide effective protection for endangered species and habitats, writes Leonardo Mazza. So why the Commission's decision to 'review' and 'modernise' the laws? With its commitment to business-friendly deregulation and uninterest in the environment, the aim is surely to gut them - something only EU-wide citizens' mobilisation can prevent.
… new 17.1 kilometre bypass through the Rospuda river valley - a series of unspoilt habitats …
It's time to halt the loss of the nation's front gardens to dreary paving, writes Jenny Jones. Green gardens protect against floods, provide homes for wildlife, keep cities cool in summer, and help us all feel happier. Now, with 7 million gardens already paved over, we must protect those that remain.
… floods these toxins can end up polluting rivers. After the 2007 floods, the Government …
Ranchers can deliberately abuse public land and the wildlife that lives on it at will, writes George Wuerthner, confident that any breaches of the law are likely to be overlooked. But it's another thing altogether if you're trying to protect that land from destructive exploitation. Why the double standard?
… the law. How about the draining of our rivers and streams for irrigated hay and …
In his new book environmental journalist Michael McCarthy bears witness to the astonishing decline in the once common wildlife of our countryside of the last few decades. But as Chris Rose writes, he does far more than bemoan the losses as he shares with us the joy that he still discovers in nature.
… boy from Birkenhead, the town across the River Mersey from Liverpool. There he …
UNESCO's Lake Ohrid-Prespa Biosphere Reserve at Mount Galicica, Macedonia, is at risk from a raft of aggressive developments, write Elena Nikolovska & Daniel Scarry: tourism complexes, a new expressway and ski resort all threaten its tranquility and stunning diversity of wildlife, backed by loans from the EU's taxpayer-funded Bank, the EBRD.
… Lukovo Pole, were to be constructed on the River Radika in the heart of Macedonia's …