Blog Archives

DNA samples from one of the world’s largest and oldest plants — a quaking aspen tree (Populus tremuloides) in Utah called Pando — have helped researchers to determine its age and revealed clues about its evolutionary history. By sequencing hundreds of samples from the tree, researchers confirmed that Pando is between 16,000 and 80,000 years old, verifying previous suggestions that it is among the oldest organisms on Earth. They were also able to track patterns of genetic variation spread throughout the tree that offer clues about how it has adapted and evolved over the course of its lifetime. The findings were posted on the bioRxiv preprint server on 24 October.The work has not yet been peer reviewed.

Nicole Hynson normally gets roped in to help when all else fails. The conservation biologist from the University of Hawaii is involved in bringing back all kinds of critically endangered plants from the brink of extinction. Unfortunately, she’s kept busy in her home state, Hawaii, which is also known as the extinction capital of the world. Her latest conservation target is a flowering tree that’s fighting a losing battle in the wild: the Gardenia brighamii, or, as it’s known among some local communities, the na’u. The na’u is one of three gardenia species endemic to the archipelago. The na’u’s crowning glory is its fragrant flower, a pearly blossom that was once frequently woven into traditional floral wreaths called leis.

Trucks line an unpaved road about 50 minutes up Robinette Mountain Road near Dayton, Washington. Crews are ready to burn over 37 acres at the Rainwater Wildlife Area. As wildfire season winds down, crews around Washington and Oregon perform prescribed fires. Lindsay Chiono is a wildlife habitat ecologist with the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation. During this burn, she’s also the firing boss. That means she’s guiding the lighters — the people setting the fire. “We’ve tried to burn this unit for three years in a row. Just a few weeks ago was summer, and high fire hazard. So it’s a small window up this high elevation,” she said. Chiono and 22 members from tribal, governmental and private organizations performed the prescribed fire on the tribe’s lands in late September.

Michael Bennet

The Colorado congressional delegation in Washington, D.C., is calling on the U.S. Forest Service to continue partnerships with Rocky Mountain communities amid the agency’s hiring freeze on seasonal employees. Colorado Senators Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper as well as Joe Neguse and Brittany Pettersen penned a letter to U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary. In particular, the letter takes issue with the Forest Service applying the hiring freeze not only to positions funded through the federal budget but also to positions supported by local funding… “We are deeply concerned by the Forest Service’s announcement about the agency’s budget shortfall and subsequent hiring freeze of all non-firefighting, temporary seasonal employees,” the letter states. “Colorado’s forests are some of the most visited in the nation and serve as critical infrastructure for Colorado.”

The Nature Conservancy in New Hampshire (TNC) announced today that it has been awarded $10 million from the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) to administer a Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) to support Climate Resilient Forest Management in New Hampshire and Western Maine. This significant funding, matched by approximately $1 million in partner contributions, will support efforts to tackle the twin crises of biodiversity loss and climate change through innovative forest management practices. The project will build on the successful Climate Resilient Forest Management (CRFM) project that has been led by TNC, the Northern Institute of Applied Climate Science, and the University of Vermont since 2022… In all, The Nature Conservancy is receiving $102.5 million for conservation projects across six states.