skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

SD public defense duties shift from counties to state; SCOTUS appears skeptical of restricting government communications with social media companies; Trump lawyers say he can't make bond; new scholarships aim to connect class of 2024 to high-demand jobs.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The SCOTUS weighs government influence on social media, and who groups like the NRA can do business with. Biden signs an executive order to advance women's health research and the White House tells Israel it's responsible for the Gaza humanitarian crisis.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Midwest regenerative farmers are rethinking chicken production, Medicare Advantage is squeezing the finances of rural hospitals and California's extreme swing from floods to drought has some thinking it's time to turn rural farm parcels into floodplains.

Conservationists Seek Help to Bring Back 3 Billion Birds

play audio
Play

Friday, September 20, 2019   

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – A new study from the journal Science shows a steady decline of nearly three billion wild birds in North America since 1970.

Nearly a half century ago, about 10.1 billion birds used to soar the skies across the United States and Canada. That has dropped by 29%.

Scientists say while the cause varies, from development, agricultural conversion to even sea-level rise, they all stem from human activity. Julie Wraithmell is the executive director of Audubon Florida.

"Things that are really even common showed decline, things like Baltimore orioles, barn swallows,” says Wraithmell. “These are common birds that we see, especially on migration. "

The research led by Cornell University conservation scientist Kenneth Rosenberg covered wild birds.

Also not all bird populations are shrinking. Thanks to focused efforts, bluebirds are increasing and scientists say people can help keep that trend going by avoiding use of pesticides and drinking bird-friendly coffee.

Wraithmell says she sees the decline as a clarion call for Florida's leaders to make Everglades restoration, climate change and protecting lands through the state's conservation program, Florida Forever, a top priority.

"I think that it underscores just how important it is that we are protecting our landscape, not just for the benefit to watershed and parks for people, but also habitat for wildlife,” says Wraithmell.

Experts say habitat loss was the number one reason for bird loss. There also is concern and a call for people to keep their cats indoors after a 2015 study showed cats kill 2.6 billion birds each year in North America.

Experts say taking up birdwatching and spreading awareness also can help in increasing the population of birds.

More on the study and #BringBackBirds can be found at www.3billionbirds.org.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
Iowa families can apply for up to $7,600 a year for private school costs. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

An ethics committee in the Republican-led Iowa House has dismissed a complaint filed by a group of community activists against a state lawmaker for hi…


play sound

Each spring, hundreds of thousands of California high school seniors have to figure out if they can afford to go to college in the fall - and two new …

Health and Wellness

play sound

A health care workforce shortage in New Hampshire is leaving Alzheimer's patients and their families with few options for treatment. Patients facing …


South Dakota ranks 49th in the country for its contribution to indigent legal defense costs, according to a 2023 report from the Indigent Legal Services Task Force. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

South Dakota is creating an Office of Indigent Legal Services after House Bill 1057 passed the Legislature with nearly unanimous support this month…

Environment

play sound

A Knoxville-based environmental group is voicing concerns over what it sees as an increasing financial strain imposed on taxpayers by nuclear weapons …

Environment

play sound

A bipartisan law set to take effect this summer prohibits foreign adversaries from buying Hoosier farmland. The signature of Gov. Eric Holcomb was …

Social Issues

play sound

Today, people across Arizona are voting in the Presidential Preference Election, a chance for registered Democrats and Republicans to choose their …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021