Habitat loss and fragmentation are the greatest threats to species biodiversity. In our nation’s more arid environments, the vast bulk of all biodiversity is found in the increasingly fragile riparian buffers of our watersheds.  Healthy floodplains and other ecosystem functions rely directly on vital intact buffers.  For these important reasons, conservation and restoration activities must increasingly focus [...]

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Over the past year, visitors to the EcoBlu blog have been reading about the “Native Fish Restoration” projects ongoing in Montana and elsewhere.  These controversial projects involve clear-cutting the aquatic ecosystem with poison and then restocking with a fish monoculture.  Increasingly, government agencies and conservation groups are promoting the 60-year-old practice as necessary to avoid species extinction at the [...]

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