Thursday, July 27, 2023

Things we wish would go extinct.

 Ancient pathogens released from melting ice could wreak havoc on the world, new analysis reveals

Published: July 27, 2023 4.11pm EDT  from The Conversation


Science fiction is rife with fanciful tales of deadly organisms emerging from the ice and wreaking havoc on unsuspecting human victims.

From shape-shifting aliens in Antarctica, to super-parasites emerging from a thawing woolly mammoth in Siberia, to exposed permafrost in Greenland causing a viral pandemic – the concept is marvellous plot fodder.

But just how far-fetched is it? Could pathogens that were once common on Earth – but frozen for millennia in glaciers, ice caps and permafrost – emerge from the melting ice to lay waste to modern ecosystems? The potential is, in fact, quite real.

Dangers lying in wait

In 2003, bacteria were revived from samples taken from the bottom of an ice core drilled into an ice cap on the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau. The ice at that depth was more than 750,000 years old.

In 2014, a giant “zombie” Pithovirus sibericum virus was revived from 30,000-year-old Siberian permafrost.

And in 2016, an outbreak of anthrax (a disease caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracisin western Siberia was attributed to the rapid thawing of B. anthracis spores in permafrost. It killed thousands of reindeer and affected dozens of people.

Bacillus anthracis is a soil bacterium that causes anthrax. William A. Clark/USCDCP

More recently, scientists found remarkable genetic compatibility between viruses isolated from lake sediments in the high Arctic and potential living hosts.

Earth’s climate is warming at a spectacular rate, and up to four times faster in colder regions such as the

Sunday, July 23, 2023

Virginia DEQ Stormwater and Erosion Training Dates (most are virtual)




The Virginia DEQ is offering multiple stormwater and erosion control classes. Learn more, view the complete schedule, and a description of the class at https://www.deq.virginia.gov/our-programs/training-certification

Register at https://vadeq.csod.com/client/vadeq/default.aspx.

Program Administrator for ESC – August 8, 2023 --Virtual
Program Administrator for SWM – August 9, 2023 -- Virtual
Inspector for SWM – August 15-16, 2023 – Fairfax, VA
Inspector for ESC -- August 22-23, 2023 -- Virtual
Plan Reviewer for SWM – August 29, 2023 – Virtual
Inspector for SWM -- September 6-7, 2023 -- James City County, VA
Plan Reviewer for ESC -- September 19-21, 2023 – Virtual
Plan Reviewer for SWM -- September 26-28, 2023 – Fairfax, VA

Friday, July 21, 2023

Nationwide Conservation Jobs - July 21

 

55 new job postings

AK

Bristol Bay Engagement Manager
Anchorage, Trout Unlimited - Alaska
ESA Section 7 Mapper
Anchorage, Saltwater Inc
2023 Alaska Trails Corps Project Leader
Anchorage, Student Conservation Association
Naturalist - Education Specialist
PORTAGE, Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center

AR

Director of Planning and Inventory
Hot Springs, Weyerhaeuser

AZ

Native Plant Nursery Member - Grand Canyon National Park
Grand Canyon, American Conservation Experience

CA

Postdoctoral Research Associate Position in Ecohydrology and Processed-Based Restoration
Davis, Center for Watershed Sciences; University of California Davis

Thursday, July 20, 2023

Advocates react to House Funding Bill threats

 from www.biologicaldiversity.org


For Immediate Release, July 19, 2023

Contact: Stephanie Kurose, (202) 849-8395, skurose@biologicaldiversity.org

House Republicans Advance Funding Bill Attacking Environment, Endangered Species

WASHINGTON— The House Appropriations Committee passed a funding bill today with massive cuts to the U.S. Department of Interior and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The legislation, passed along party lines, also contains dozens of poison pill riders attacking public health, the environment and endangered species.

The bill slashes U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s overall budget by 14% compared to last year’s funding levels. The EPA’s budget would be gutted by 40%, bringing the agency back to funding levels not seen since 1991.

“It’s a sick joke that House Republicans want to force the EPA back to an era when VCRs were in every household and the World Wide Web was first invented,” said Stephanie Kurose, a senior policy specialist at the Center for Biological Diversity. “This disastrous bill would undo decades of progress and bring windfalls for the biggest fossil fuel polluters driving the climate crisis.”

The legislation contains dozens of harmful policy riders that would undermine the Endangered Species Act and other safeguards for our nation’s most vulnerable wildlife.

One rider would remove federal protections for all gray wolves in the lower 48 states, except a small population of Mexican gray wolves in Arizona and New Mexico. Another rider would remove protections for grizzly bears in the Greater Yellowstone and Northern Continental Divide ecosystems.

The legislation also includes a provision that would block the Service from considering protections for the greater sage grouse. Congress has included this rider in spending legislation for the last 

Sunday, July 16, 2023

300+ year old tree lost in recent storm

 Our 300+ year-old Red Oak hs been struggling since we bought our farm along South Branch of the Potomac.  It was there when Lord Fairfax granted the land to the French and Murphy families, long before West Virginia became a state. It fell apart after Saturday's weather.  

It varied from 6 to 8 feet in diameter and was more than 24 feet in circumference.  Ten years ago the state forester told me it would certainly be in the top 10 statewide but they only keep records on the top 5.





Thursday, July 13, 2023

Volunteer Opportunities: James River Association


There are multiple upcoming events. Learn more and register at https://thejamesriver.org/what-you-can-do/volunteer/. Organized by the James River Association.

Invasive Species Removal at Chapel Island – July 21, 2023 and August 25, 2023 (12-2pm) – Richmond, VA

Lower James RiverRat Training Session – August 5, 2023 (10am-2pm) – Williamsburg, VA

Monday, July 10, 2023

NatureServe's 2023 Biodiversity in Focus Report

 


You'll prefer to view this online at https://www.natureserve.org/biodiversity-in-focus/story

Biodiversity in Focus: United States Edition

A new analysis addresses five essential questions about biodiversity — the variety of life on Earth — that need to be answered if we are going to effectively conserve nature.

Friday, July 7, 2023

List of Lists: Conservation Jobs

I re-post this occasionally.  You'll find some lists are generic and others focus on more narrowed disciplines, particularly within water.

Virginia-specific resources:
Other online job boards and resources:
On Twitter: 

Monday, July 3, 2023

Snorkeling with extended downtime

 I've been a diver since 1982 and an instructor since the 1990's, but still prefer snorkeling when the conditions are right. I planned to explore this new device this summer but it's getting exposed as a scam due to the 20+ minutes hand pumping necessary for a 4-minute dive. I wonder about other strategies that would not have CO or CO2 concerns.   


Friday, June 23, 2023

Plant This Instead! Guide (free)


This is written for North Carolina, but applicable to much of our eastern coast.

The downloadable guide helps coastal property owners, landscapers, and designers avoid invasive species and choose native plants.  Written for coastal North Carolina.  


Published by the Coastal Landscapes Initiative.