The crimson Hawaiian damselfly (Megalagrion leptodemas) is one of three Hawaiian damselflies recently added to the endangered species list. (Credit: Dan Polhemus / USFWS)

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Adds 23 Oahu Species to Hawaii’s Endangered List
(Hawaii Magazine)  
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced that 20 plant species and three Hawaiian damselfly species found on Oahu will receive protection under the Endangered Species Act. The plant species include an annual herb, shrubs, trees and a fern. The animal species are the crimson Hawaiian damselfly, blackline Hawaiian damselfly and the oceanic Hawaiian damselfly. MORE

Canadian Environment Minister Eyes Wildlife Protection Reform, But Not in Omnibus Budget Bill
(CBC)  
After 10 years of ups and downs, the legislation that protects precarious wildlife is ready for an overhaul that will kick into high gear this fall, Environment Minister Peter Kent says. In an interview with The Canadian Press, Kent said he wants to spend the next few months figuring how to make the Species At Risk Act more efficient. In particular, he wants the recovery plans provided for in the legislation to consider whole ecosystems, rather than just species in isolation. MORE

Ecologists Convert Wildlife Professor’s Notes into Soundscape of 1940s Wisconsin
(Wired UK)
Two ecologists have scoured through meticulous birdsong notes taken 70 years ago by conservation pioneer Aldo Leopold and transformed them into a soundscape of an ecosystem that no longer exists. Leopold, a professor of wildlife management at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the ’30s and ’40s, lived on a 32-hectare estate in Sauk County that had been logged and farmed to within an inch of its life. MORE

Viral Outbreak Killing Deer in New Jersey
(Philly.com)
White-tail deer in New Jersey are dying from an outbreak of a viral infection spread by small flies, the state Division of Fish and Wildlife said. The disease — Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease — cannot be transmitted to humans, but officials are asking hunters and outdoor enthusiasts to report sightings of deer with symptoms of the illness. EHD Type 2 Virus has been confirmed in three counties, and test results are pending for samples from five more counties. MORE

NRCS, FWS to Extend Wildlife Conservation Efforts on Working Ag Lands
(Feedstuffs)
Natural Resources Conservation Service chief Dave White and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service director Dan Ashe announced an agreement that will provide long-term regulatory predictability for up to 30 years to farmers, ranchers and forest landowners participating in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Working Lands for Wildlife Initiative. Participants voluntarily implement conservation practices designed to protect wildlife habitat, including several at risk species and vulnerable game species on private lands. MORE

Alaska Game Officials Reject Wolf-Protection Zone Around Denali
(Los Angeles Times)
The Alaska Board of Game has refused to consider a request to establish an emergency no-hunting zone for wolves on the edge of Denali National Park, a buffer sought after the park’s best-known pack lost two of its prime breeding females and largely disappeared from public view. The issue has consequences for tourism, but state officials say a ban on hunting and trapping on the edge of the park is not necessary. MORE

Wildlife Officials Keeping a Close Watch for Signs of Asian Carp in Ohio Waters
(Cleveland Plain-Dealer)
The search for Asian carp has moved to Ohio’s Sandusky River, where eDNA sampling showed where bighead carp might have been. But survey nets and electro-shocking boats couldn’t prove it. “The hunt for Asian carp, or other invasive species trying to enter the Great Lakes, will never be over,” said Rich Carter, the Executive Administrator of Fish Management Research for the Ohio Division of Wildlife. MORE

Clash Over Proposed Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge Gator Hunt
(Sun Sentinel via WPTV-TV)
Hunters and environmentalists clashed over a proposal to allow alligator hunting at Florida’s Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge, a vast swath of the Everglades that juts into western Palm Beach County. At a public meeting in West Palm Beach, opponents held signs that read, “This is their land! No alligator hunts!” “No hunting in a refuge” and “Alligator hunters not welcome!” MORE

Bear Hunting Ban Declared by 10 BC First Nations
(CBC News)
After years of urging the Canadian government to ban so-called trophy hunting for bears in their territory, 10 First Nations on B.C.’s north and central coasts have declared their own moratorium, but it is not clear if they will be able to enforce it. Coalition spokesman William Housty admits that enforcing the ban won’t be easy because the provincial government is showing no indication that it was willing to go along with a ban. MORE

Shrinking Snow Threatens Seal Lairs in Arctic
(Live Science)
Arctic-dwelling ringed seals build snow caves on top of sea ice so they can shield their pups from freezing temperatures and predators. But shrinking snow cover could threaten the seals’ ability to make these icy lairs, researchers warn. The seals need at least 8 inches (20 centimeters) of snow cover to make their shelters. While the mid-winter snowfall rate is expected to increase slightly by the end of the century, Arctic sea ice is expected to start forming later in the season. MORE

Dying for Ivory
(The New York Times – OPINION)
The latest casualty figures in the ancient war of man versus beast in Africa are in, and they look bad for both sides. At least 25,000 elephants may have been slaughtered in Africa in 2011 — more than in any year since reporting began in 2002 — according to Kenneth Burnham, the statistician for Monitoring the Illegal Killing of Elephants, an intergovernmental research agency. Hundreds of humans have also died as a result of the elephant slaughter. MORE

Ecuador’s Bold Idea Now as Endangered as Eden’s Wildlife
(The Age)
In their first hour in Yasuni’s Amazonian forest, many people will see more creatures than they have in their lives, including some that have yet to be documented by science. To paddle up the Ayango creek, which leads from the traffic and pollution of the Napo River into the most biodiverse region on earth, is to encounter a wall of noise, bursts of color and unimaginable combinations of life. MORE