Harvey Neve’s Post

AGOURA HILLS, Calif. — The 10-lane freeway that slices through this part of Southern California is one of the busiest in the country, ushering more than 300,000 cars across the greater Los Angeles area every day. For drivers, it’s a nightmare: This stretch of Highway 101 is known as the “highway from hell,” the infamous host of the nation’s worst commutes. But if the 101 is bothersome for bipeds, it is downright disastrous for the wildlife that also calls the region home. The 101 cuts like a chain saw through a vibrant natural ecosystem of coastal sage scrub and oak trees interspersed with suburban neighborhoods, disrupting the movement of animals and threatening their survival. Now a massive infrastructure project is underway to suture together the vast tracts of fragmented wildlife habitat that have been separated by the highway for decades. Construction on a key phase of the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing — a $100 million structure funded by a mix of public and private money — began last month and it is expected to open in early 2026. The bridge will be the largest of its kind in the world, spanning the highway at roughly the size of a football field, and it will reconnect the undeveloped sections of the Santa Monica Mountains with those of the Simi Hills. The new pathway will be a boon for the rare and struggling species that are trying to subsist amid the sprawl, especially mountain lions, whose local population could perish without it, say the scientists who study the animals. If a wildlife crossing can work in the cradle of American car culture, proponents say, then it can work anywhere. “When the number one threat to wildlife worldwide is the loss of habitat, we can’t write these places off,” Beth Pratt, the project’s lead fundraiser and chief spokesperson, said of urban areas like Los Angeles. “Environmentalists like me usually don’t like bulldozers, but this is the world’s most hopeful construction site.”

https://lnkd.in/gd2muFDY 🌿 Delve into the complexities of human-wildlife interactions and the pressing need for wildlife protection. Explore the implications of a recent black bear incident and the ongoing discussions on grizzly bear reintroduction. #WildlifeConservation #NaturePreservation 🐻

Following my recent testimony to Nevada's Joint Interim Standing Committee on Natural Resources, I wrote a piece making the case how predictable, long-term funding for new wildlife crossing projects will enable Nevada to protect its wildlife, connect habitat, enhance public safety, and bolster its already strong reputation as a national leader on this issue. #wildlifecrossings #NDOT https://lnkd.in/gh_dYnZ5

Wolves in the United States have fallen victim to yet another devastating setback in their recovery. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has denied relisting the Northern Rocky Mountain population of gray wolves under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) after dragging out the status review for 2.5 years, leaving them unprotected. This tragic decision deprives wolf populations of crucial protections necessary for their recovery in the U.S. While federal protections were restored to wolves in many parts of the country in February 2022 after their premature delisting from the ESA in 2020, wolves in the Northern Rocky states of Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming remain vulnerable. Shockingly, these states witness over ❗ 80% of the wolf slaughter ❗ with over 4,000 wolves killed since 2020. “With this decision, USFWS failed not just the wolves of the Northern Rockies, but wildlife and wildlands at large that benefit and rely on healthy and abundant wolf populations to serve their keystone roles in our ecosystems,” said Renee Seacor, Carnivore Conservation Director with Project Coyote. “All wolves are deserving of full, enduring protections that will allow them to live self-determined lives free from persecution.” In partnership with the Relist Wolves Campaign and coalition members, we will continue the fight to #RelistWolves in every state. #RelistWolves #ProtectAmericasWolves #Wolves #GrayWolves #Idaho #Montana #Wyoming #WolfWednesday 📷 Jim Peaco | NPS

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) recent report reveals that wetlands (mostly freshwater) now cover less than 6% of the lower 48 states, half their original area. Loss rates have increased by 50% since 2009. The report calls for action to reverse this trend and continue providing future generations with clean water, protection against natural disasters, resilience to climate change, and habitats for wildlife. #Wetlands #Conservation #NatureBasedSolutions

Kroenke Ranches is taking bold new steps on Texas’s WAGGONER RANCH by adopting a holistic approach to the ecological management of the historic 560,000-acre ranch’s significant wildlife resources. The primary land-management techniques currently being employed by the Wildlife Division are targeted specifically at quail and white-tailed deer habitats. Since Stan Kroenke purchased the Waggoner Ranch in February 2016, brush management has been performed on more than 150,000 acres of the 875-square-mile landholding. This comprehensive management philosophy has served to promote populations of native grasses and forbs and to enhance habitat diversity on the largest single ranch under one fence in the Lone Star State Stan Kroenke's 1,700,000 acres take the Number 4 spot in The Land Report 100 presented by Peoples Company: https://lnkd.in/eDrmGzyu PHOTO CREDIT: © Kroenke Ranches - Peoples Company #LandReport100 #AmericasLargestLandowners #landowners #KroenkeRanches #WaggonerRanch #WildlifeManagement #EcologicalConservation #QuailHabitat #DeerHabitat #BrushManagement #HabitatDiversity #NativeGrasses

To protect work landscapes such as grazing rangelands and enhance their biodiversity is perhaps one of the most important ecological tasks of my generation. Why regenerative meat, leather, tallow, wool? Because these can be and often are by-products of rangelands conservation.

Today is World Wetlands day, a time to celebrate our vast NC wetland types and the wildlife species that rely upon them.🌅 From the Blue Ridge Mountains to the sandhills to the coastal plain, North Carolina boasts a variety of ecosystems, and positioned throughout these regions are some of the state’s most biologically diverse habitat types: wetlands. Many people do not realize the importance of wetlands to our state’s plants, fish and wildlife, and humans. In addition to providing food, water, cover, and areas for reproduction for a vast majority of species, more than 70 percent of North Carolina’s species listed as endangered, threatened, or of special concern depend on wetlands for survival (North Carolina Wetlands). Like many of the natural spaces within North Carolina and beyond, wetlands are in danger of being detrimentally impacted or even destroyed by habitat destruction, degradation, and fragmentation. NCWF is committed to being a voice for these habitats and the fish and wildlife they support. To find out more about our NC wetlands, check out our blog "World Wetlands Day : Everything You Need to Know About NC Wetlands" here: https://lnkd.in/eVBPXUN3

Kroenke Ranches is taking bold new steps on Texas’s WAGGONER RANCH by adopting a holistic approach to the ecological management of the historic 560,000-acre ranch’s significant wildlife resources. The primary land-management techniques currently being employed by the Wildlife Division are targeted specifically at quail and white-tailed deer habitats. Since Stan Kroenke purchased the Waggoner Ranch in February 2016, brush management has been performed on more than 150,000 acres of the 875-square-mile landholding. This comprehensive management philosophy has served to promote populations of native grasses and forbs and to enhance habitat diversity on the largest single ranch under one fence in the Lone Star State Stan Kroenke's 1,700,000 acres take the Number 4 spot in The Land Report 100 presented by Peoples Company: https://lnkd.in/eDrmGzyu PHOTO CREDIT: © Kroenke Ranches - Peoples Company #LandReport100 #AmericasLargestLandowners #landowners #KroenkeRanches #WaggonerRanch #WildlifeManagement #EcologicalConservation #QuailHabitat #DeerHabitat #BrushManagement #HabitatDiversity #NativeGrasses

The National Parks and Wildlife Service is undergoing a major facelift after decades of resource stagnation. We look at the major hurdles to overcome in managing national parks & protected sites. https://lnkd.in/eDAQxkg3