Outdoor News Bulletin

Since the creation of the current model of western conservation, there has existed a struggle for broader societal relevance. The expression “societal relevance” is really just a way of expressing society’s level of awareness and regard for an issue. Most people in the conservation arena aspire for conservation as a practice to be more widely valued with more people caring about the effective conservation of wild animals, wild places, or some combination thereof, often including other natural resources like soil and water.

Adapted from Tony Wasley’s remarks during the Special Session The Foundation of Conservation is Cracked at the 90th North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference in March 2025

Is the foundation of conservation cracked? Presently, it’s certainly under duress. There are some significant fissures beginning to show but before we can answer that question, we need to identify what we mean by the term foundation. What really constitutes conservation’s foundation? What are the elements that shape our conservation views and drive our conservation priorities? Where did they come from? Everything that we build rests on these foundations, and every now and then there comes a time that when enough change happens, it warrants a pause, a purposeful reflection, and a reassessment of where we are, how we got here, and for us to ask ourselves if there is a need for adaptation or an evolution of our approaches.

In the rolling Baraboo Hills of Wisconsin, just a quarter mile from Aldo Leopold’s Shack—where A Sand County Almanac took root—a diverse group of two dozen gathered for the Wild Goose Chase II meeting from May 6–7, 2025. Private landowners, conservationists, federal agency leaders, policy experts, and academics united with a shared goal: conserving species while keeping America’s working lands thriving.

The 91st North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference will be held March 29 - April 3, 2026, in Columbus, Ohio at the Hilton Columbus Downtown. The Conference Steering Committee is seeking ideas and participation from professional conservation interests to help develop the conference agenda. In particular, proposals for the four conference Special Sessions are invited. Ideas for prospective plenary keynote speakers and technical workshops are also welcome.

A federal judge in Iowa has ruled against a landholding company that sought to dismantle a long-standing wetlands law called Swampbuster. Starting in 1985, the Farm Bill put conditions on the receipt of federal subsidies: farmers must not drain wetlands (“Swampbuster”) or plant crops on highly erodible land (“Sodbuster”) if they want to receive the subsidies. Chief Judge C.J. Williams in the Northern District of Iowa dismissed CTM Holdings’ claims, saying Swampbuster falls within the spending power of Congress. Congress can attach conditions to federal funds “in pursuit of the general welfare and may require a recipient’s compliance with conditions to receive the funding."

USGS researchers at the New Mexico Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit are leading efforts to monitor American pronghorn (hereafter, pronghorn) movements in the Chihuahuan desert grasslands in southwestern New Mexico. The goals of this 3-year project are to monitor space use and movements, identify barriers to movement, and assess habitat use patterns, particularly in relation to vegetation restoration treatments by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Vegetation restoration treatments involve strategies to enhance and restore healthy ecosystems, specifically in areas affected by wildfires, invasive species, human activity, and environmental degradation.