Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Taylor McKinnon @publiccarbon.bsky.social · 7d

This is unprecedented partisan politicization of a public land agency website. I admit chuckling at the sinister irony of “three cheers for volunteers” amidst a shutdown. Lack of agency staff - like for endangered species critical habitat enforcement - risks real to harm our most vulnerable species.

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Taylor McKinnon @publiccarbon.bsky.social · 9d

This is like IBM launching a model year 2025 typewriter.

www.blm.gov/press-releas...

Interior unleashes American coal power in bold move to advance Trump administration priorities | Bureau of Land Management

The Department of the Interior announced the opening of 13.1 million acres of federal land for coal leasing, tripling the benchmarks set by the landmark One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

www.blm.gov

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Taylor McKinnon @publiccarbon.bsky.social · 15d

"Gosar's bills mark a new low in his career of servicing industry's interests over the public's," said Taylor McKinnon, Southwest director with the Center for Biological Diversity.

via @pmingram.tucsonsentinel.com, @tucsonsentinel.com

www.tucsonsentinel.com/local/report...

Enviros criticize Rep. Gosar's renewed attempt to undo protections for Ironwood Forest Nat'l Monument

Environmental groups blasted legislation submitted by U.S. Rep. Paul Gosar on Wednesday attempting to nullify two national monuments in Arizona, including Ironwood Forest National Monument just northw...

www.tucsonsentinel.com

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Reposted by Taylor McKinnon

Native American Rights Fund @nativerights.bsky.social · 16d

A new bill in the U.S. House seeks to abolish the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni–Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument. The monument honors Tribal Nations, protects sacred lands, and reflects the will of the people: thttps://buff.ly/yTVYymT

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Taylor McKinnon @publiccarbon.bsky.social · 15d

Here, a new account of C. Hart Merriam's biological survey of the San Francisco Peaks.

May, Roy Jr. 2024. The Merriam Expedition to San Francisco Mountain: Life Zones and the Founding of Ecology. Journal of the Southwest. Vol. 67, No. 4, 391-555.

muse.jhu.edu/article/961009

Project MUSE - The Merriam Expedition to San Francisco Mountain: Life Zones and the Founding of Ecology

muse.jhu.edu

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Taylor McKinnon @publiccarbon.bsky.social · 15d

For those interested in Southwestern forest fire ecology, this presentation on the structural legacies of moderate severity fire in ponderosa pine forests is both informative and worth watching.

youtu.be/kfzRZxorQAU?...

Spatial patterns of a ponderosa pine and subsequent regeneration following a moderate severity fire

YouTube video by Association for Fire Ecology

youtu.be

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Reposted by Taylor McKinnon

Jack 🦫 @jackhumphrey.com · 19d

Biodiversity Battle in the Borderlands: I recently spoke with Russ McSpadden @peccarynotpig.bsky.social from @biologicaldiversity.org. Hear stories about Jaguars, Ocelots, Bears, a huge number of bird species, and what you can do to help protect them. www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Ech...

Episode 155: Jaguars, Justice, and the Border Wall – Stories from the Frontlines With Russ McSpadden

YouTube video by Rewilding Institute

www.youtube.com

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Reposted by Taylor McKinnon

Center for Biological Diversity @biologicaldiversity.org · 27d

The Roadless Rule has protected nearly 60 million acres of roadless national forests since 2001.

But now, the Trump administration wants to strip protections from 45 million of those acres.

The public comment period is only open until Sept. 19th. Please add your voice ➡️ https://bit.ly/3IeiP1D

Image of a lush forest with towering trees, featuring a quote by Randi Spivak, Public Lands Policy Director, advocating for the protection of public lands from industrial harm.

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Taylor McKinnon @publiccarbon.bsky.social · Sep 4

The Center today filed a 671-page notice of intent to sue federal agencies to end chronic, multi-year, and often severe damage from cattle grazing to almost all of the streamside critical habitat for endangered species on the Tonto National Forest.

biologicaldiversity.org/w/news/press...

Lawsuit Launched to End Widespread Cow Grazing Damage to Tonto National Forest’s Endangered Animals

TUCSON, Ariz.— The Center for Biological Diversity and Maricopa Bird Alliance today filed a notice of intent to sue the U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to end years of illegal c...

biologicaldiversity.org

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Reposted by Taylor McKinnon

Ted Zukoski @tedzukoski.bsky.social · Aug 30

If you love birds, here's something you can do to protect their habitat.

The US Forest Service is proposing to open 45 million acres of national forests to road bulldozing and commercial logging.

Here's how to fight back. #birds.

www.outdooralliance.org/blog/2025/8/...

Roadless Rule Under Threat: Speak Up for 45 Million Acres of National Forests — Outdoor Alliance

Nearly 45 million acres of backcountry forests are at risk. Before September 19, tell the USDA to keep these landscapes protected.

www.outdooralliance.org

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Reposted by Taylor McKinnon

Laiken Jordahl @laikenjordahl.bsky.social · Aug 25

Breaking: Trump's DHS waives all enviro laws to wall off premier Texas Wildlife Refuge.

There’s a special cruelty in walling off a wildlife refuge created for conservation. All under the guise of a fake emergency, as border crossings are at record lows.
biologicaldiversity.org/w/news/press...

Trump Administration Waives Dozens of Laws to Bulldoze Border Wall Through Texas National Wildlife Refuge

Center for Biological Diversity: STARR COUNTY, Texas— The Trump administration today waived 31 environmental and public health laws to speed border wall construction through the Lower Rio Grande Valle...

biologicaldiversity.org

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Taylor McKinnon @publiccarbon.bsky.social · Aug 23

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Kevin J. CREATURE @kevinjkircher.com · Aug 23

Well, at least future Democratic administrations can stop paying lip service to "technology neutrality" in energy policy. Pick winners and shut down the losers. Stop bringing pool noodles to knife fights.

The New York Times @nytimes.com · Aug 23

Breaking News: The Trump administration ordered construction to stop on a $4 billion wind farm off the coast of Rhode Island that has already mostly been built.

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Reposted by Taylor McKinnon

Our Hen House @ourhenhouse.org · Aug 22

We were thrilled to interview Elise Bennett on last month's Animal Law Podcast, and we are even more thrilled to hear this incredible news! Listen to the details of the case: ourhenhouse.org/alp122

Taylor McKinnon @publiccarbon.bsky.social · Aug 22

Following a Center for Biological Diversity lawsuit, a federal judge today ordered Florida and the Trump admin. to halt construction, stop bringing new detainees, and begin winding down operations at “Alligator Alcatraz” in Big Cypress National Preserve. biologicaldiversity.org/w/news/press...

Judge Halts Operations at Everglades Detention Center With Preliminary Injunction

MIAMI— A federal judge today ordered the state of Florida and the Trump administration to halt construction, stop bringing new detainees and begin winding down operations at the mass detention center ...

biologicaldiversity.org

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Taylor McKinnon @publiccarbon.bsky.social · Aug 22

Following a Center for Biological Diversity lawsuit, a federal judge today ordered Florida and the Trump admin. to halt construction, stop bringing new detainees, and begin winding down operations at “Alligator Alcatraz” in Big Cypress National Preserve. biologicaldiversity.org/w/news/press...

Judge Halts Operations at Everglades Detention Center With Preliminary Injunction

MIAMI— A federal judge today ordered the state of Florida and the Trump administration to halt construction, stop bringing new detainees and begin winding down operations at the mass detention center ...

biologicaldiversity.org

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Reposted by Taylor McKinnon

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences @pnas.org · Aug 18

Tree-ring fire records from 649 pine trees in central and eastern Arizona show that fires occurred more often in the territory of the Western Apache, or Ndee, than in other regions between 1600–1870, suggesting a culturally controlled fire regime. In PNAS: www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

A 1940 Western Apache (Ndee) farm site with two wickiups in a ponderosa pine forest.
CREDIT: Lee Russell/Library of Congress

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Taylor McKinnon @publiccarbon.bsky.social · Aug 19

PHOENIX— The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued an emergency injunction today blocking the Trump administration from handing Oak Flat over to a private mining company while three lawsuits challenging the land exchange proceed. biologicaldiversity.org/w/news/press...

Federal Appeals Court Blocks Oak Flat Land Exchange in Arizona

Center for Biological Diversity: PHOENIX— The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued an emergency injunction today blocking the Trump administration from handing Oak Flat over to a private mining co...

biologicaldiversity.org

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Taylor McKinnon @publiccarbon.bsky.social · Aug 14

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Chris Nagano @charliesaito22.bsky.social · Aug 14

YES! This is fantastic!!

Wilcox Playa has the highest diversity of tiger beetles in North America, incl many rare species

It’s also a wintering site for large numbers of Sandhill cranes

Wilcox Playa & associated drainages should be a National Wildlife Refuge

open.substack.com/pub/chrisnag...

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Taylor McKinnon @publiccarbon.bsky.social · Aug 13

The Center yesterday petitioned the Fish and Wildlife Service to protect the Willcox Playa tiger beetle under the Endangered Species Act. The endemic beetle is threatened by climate change, water diversions, and groundwater pumping that are drying the playa.

biologicaldiversity.org/w/news/press...

Endangered Species Protections Sought for Rare Desert Tiger Beetle in Arizona

TUCSON, Ariz.— The Center for Biological Diversity petitioned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today to protect the Willcox Playa tiger beetle under the Endangered Species Act.

biologicaldiversity.org

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Taylor McKinnon @publiccarbon.bsky.social · Aug 8

www.kjzz.org/politics/202...

Center for Biological Diversity sues Arizona water agency over Benson groundwater designation

The Arizona Department of Water Resources was slapped with a lawsuit this week by the Center for Biological Diversity, a Tucson-based nonprofit arguing the agency isn’t doing its job to protect ground...

www.kjzz.org

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Reposted by Taylor McKinnon

Center for Biological Diversity @biologicaldiversity.org · Aug 7

Good news 🎉 Endangered Mexican gray wolf, Asha, has been released into the wild along with her mate and pups.

Asha twice roamed north of Interstate 40 in New Mexico before being captured and kept in prolonged captivity for having strayed beyond the arbitrary boundary.

Read on ➡️ bit.ly/45xxPPY

A male Mexican gray wolf runs through tall, yellowed grass at Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge in New Mexico. He is leaping through the air, only one paw on the ground, with his tongue out and eyes focused straight ahead.

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Reposted by Taylor McKinnon

Center for Biological Diversity @biologicaldiversity.org · Aug 7

The Center and allies have won a temporary restraining order on further construction of "Alligator Alcatraz." Our fight to put an end to this destructive and unjust project goes on. The Everglades should be home to wildlife, not prisons.

Read on ➡️ bit.ly/4fvbmYn

#AlligatorAlcatraz

The Everglades, seen from above. A network of green plantlife interlaced with ribbons of shining water stretching to the horizon. There is yellow and white text with a transparent black background laid over the image: “It’s a relief that the court has stepped in to protect the Everglades’ sensitive waters, starry skies and vulnerable creatures from further harm while we continue our case,” said Elise Bennett, Florida and Caribbean director and an attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity. “We’re ready to press forward and put a stop to this despicable plan for good.”

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Taylor McKinnon @publiccarbon.bsky.social · Jul 31

The New York Times today featured the Center for Biological Diversity's recent report about and litigation challenging newly proposed border wall that would sever the most important migration corridor for wildlife like jaguar between Arizona and Mexico.

www.nytimes.com/2025/07/31/c...

Trump Wants a New Border Wall. It Would Block a Key Wildlife Corridor.

www.nytimes.com

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Reposted by Taylor McKinnon

Russ McSpadden @peccarynotpig.bsky.social · Jul 30

Fourth lawsuit launched to challenge the land transfer of Apache sacred site to Resolution Copper.

'So much has been taken': Apache women sue to halt land swap for Oak Flat copper mine

Four Apache women filed suit in Washington, D.C., asking a judge to block a land exchange needed to build a copper mine at Oak Flat.

www.azcentral.com

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Taylor McKinnon @publiccarbon.bsky.social · Jul 30

On the heels of our recent Bendire's thrasher petition, the Center for Biological Diversity today petitioned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to protect the LeConte’s thrasher under the Endangered Species Act.

biologicaldiversity.org/w/news/press...

Endangered Species Protections Sought for Declining Southwestern Desert Thrasher

TUCSON, Ariz.— The Center for Biological Diversity petitioned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today to protect the LeConte’s thrasher under the Endangered Species Act.

biologicaldiversity.org

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Reposted by Taylor McKinnon

Ben Winslow @benwinslow.bsky.social · Jul 29

I talked to @deedaseed.bsky.social, who is among those suing Utah over its handling of the Great Salt Lake.

"We’re facing a crisis of our own making here and we can unmake it," she said, calling on everyone to consider how they use water: www.fox13now.com/news/great-s... #utpol #Utah

Great Salt Lake drops to a low kicking off forced conservation measures

The Great Salt Lake has dropped low enough that forced conservation measures will be enacted, officials announced

www.fox13now.com

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