Earlier this year, Conservation without Conflict had its 2024 Summit in Arlington, VA. One of the Keynote speakers was Leslie Allison, Executive Director of the Western Landowners Alliance. Her presentation was not only beautiful, but it was impactful. Leslie presented a topic that we do not often talk about in the conservation community. In her presentation titled: “Advancing policies and practices that sustain working lands, connected landscapes and native species,” she highlighted the need to fully incorporate humans and their land use methods into conservation and conservation planning. Her presentation inspired me to write this, capturing her main messages and hopefully inspiring others to act.
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) announced that tests have now confirmed highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) A (“H5N1 bird flu”) in 24 dairy herds as of April 10. So far, the virus has been detected on 10 Texas farms, along with five in New Mexico, three in Kansas, two from Michigan, and one each from Idaho, North Carolina, Ohio, and South Dakota. Officials in North Carolina, Michigan, Idaho, and Ohio have connected infections in their states to dairy cows brought in from Texas.
