Outdoor News Bulletin

Fall is in full swing. Colors, temperatures, daylight length, and the many season-associated traditions are visible all around us. Pictures and stories of wild game hunts and harvests fill my social media feeds as well as my conversations. Recently inquiring about a friend’s hunt, and after using the word “success,” I paused and began to ponder my use of the word “success” and what “success” truly means. What defines success? Is a harvested animal success? Or are there other ways a hunt is successful? My friend talked about time with family in the field, journeys through incredible wild landscapes, and the joy in scouting, observing, and being immersed in nature. For the record, they did not harvest an animal, but their fall hunt was a huge success.

The forest understory, or what grows beneath taller trees, is a crucial part of the forest ecosystem. From providing food and cover for many kinds of wildlife to cycling nutrients, the understory plays many essential roles in a healthy forest.

The 1990 Listings That Proved Collaboration Beats Conflict

The Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973 stands as one of the United States' most influential pieces of environmental legislation, designed to conserve the ecosystems where threatened and endangered species occur and to recover these imperiled species through science-based decisions and recovery planning. Central to the ESA is Section 4, which governs the listing process and allows for tailored regulations under Section 4(d) for threatened species. This provision enables the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to customize protections, exempting certain activities that do not hinder recovery while prohibiting those that do. In simple terms, for every newly listed threatened species, the Service will determine what protections are appropriate for that species based on science and the specific threats to the species.