Tag Archives: endangered species

Bringing back black bears

Posted on April 29, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Cool. It’s difficult to visualize these days, what with the light pollution, overdevelopment and sprawl that have come to define the greater Houston area, but the ground we now stand on was once the domain of 5’ 6” black bears. … Continue reading →

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The bracted twistflower

Posted on May 13, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Gotta save our wildflowers, y’all. The bracted twistflower, a Texas wildflower threatened by growing urban sprawl, was declared a threatened species Monday by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The tall, bright purple flower, which has seen significant decline across … Continue reading →

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A win for butterflies

Posted on March 6, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

I’m sure this will end up in court, but it’s still a good thing. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Monday declared the prostrate milkweed an endangered species and mandated new habitat protections for the plant, closing a chapter … Continue reading →

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Let’s protect Galveston’s red wolves

Posted on September 4, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

They’re one of the cooler things about Galveston. The coyotes that roam Galveston Island are quickly becoming famous. The animals are the subject of dedicated social media pages and their silhouettes have been emblazoned on T-shirts. Earlier this year, they … Continue reading →

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Kemp’s ridley turtles making a comeback

Posted on August 25, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

We deserve a little good news. For the first time in 75 years, hatchlings of the world’s smallest sea turtle species have been discovered on the Chandeleur Islands, a chain of barrier islands in the Gulf of Mexico off the … Continue reading →

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The aoudad story

Posted on November 28, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Did you know before reading this post what an aoudad is, other than a potentially useful word to know the next time you play Scrabble? I admit that I had never heard of them, but the state is Texas has … Continue reading →

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Pity the poor lion hunters

Posted on September 14, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Gag me. Houston was once the nation’s top destination for African lions killed by U.S. trophy hunters, but public backlash and new federal restrictions have all but ended the sport, according to a group of big game hunters that has … Continue reading →

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The red wolves of Galveston County

Posted on February 23, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Very cool. The coyotes Ron Wooten spotted on Galveston Island’s west end had eye-catching dark, reddish fur and long, slender builds. In the golden dusk of that July evening in 2013, about a dozen of the animals rested in what … Continue reading →

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The dino turtles of Buffalo Bayou

Posted on January 3, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

I love this story. The creature didn’t growl and didn’t need to. The alligator snapping turtle held menace enough in its massive, gaping jaws, which ended in a sharp beak poised like the fangs of an agitated rattlesnake. Its long, … Continue reading →

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What the Texas State Aquarium is up to after Harvey

Posted on June 16, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

They’re doing what they need to do, which they should be doing. During Harvey, aquarium officials took in other birds and marine animals from the University of Texas-Austin Marine Science Institute in Port Aransas and the Aquarium at Rockport Harbor … Continue reading →

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Border walls are bad for the environment

Posted on March 11, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Not that anyone pushing for a border wall cares, but just so you know. There’s been a lot of debate about how effective the Bush-era barrier has been at keeping out illegal crossers and drug smugglers. Some data indicates the … Continue reading →

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Texas v the feds, Endangered Species edition

Posted on December 2, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

One more for the road. For perhaps the last time before President Barack Obama leaves office, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed suit against the federal government for what he considers federal overreach, this time in an endangered species … Continue reading →

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Another bad year for Kemp’s ridley turtles

Posted on July 22, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

This does not look good. The nesting season for the endangered Kemp’s ridley sea turtle is ending with zero nests found on either Galveston Island or the Bolivar Peninsula for the first time in at least a decade, although the … Continue reading →

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Whither the monarch butterfly

Posted on July 17, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

We should try to keep them from going extinct. That would be bad. The state’s chief financial officer has approved a $300,000 grant to investigate why the number of monarch butterflies is declining in Texas, and what can be done … Continue reading →

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Making room for quail

Posted on December 7, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Preservation isn’t just for urban elites. Jim Willis knows it isn’t easy to love a prairie. The quilt of burnt orange and brown that covers his Colorado County land can’t awe or inspire the way a canyon or mountain range … Continue reading →

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Kemp’s ridley sea turtle in trouble

Posted on November 23, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Dammit. Texas’ official sea turtle is on a slide that could eventually lead to extinction after a spectacular comeback and years of effort to save it, according to figures released Tuesday at a gathering of scientists and environmentalists. “It was … Continue reading →

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A home where the Texas State Bison Herd can roam

Posted on August 31, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Very cool. It was a little confusing at first, but the bison at Caprock Canyons State Park are settling into a pasture that’s 10 times what they were used to — basically the entire park. Park staff opened up 10,000 … Continue reading →

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The dino turtle

Posted on April 18, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Please don’t go extinct. The extremely rare, utterly impressive and scary looking alligator snapping turtle is actually even more rare than first thought, according to a study out of Florida this week. Researchers in in the sunshine state have found … Continue reading →

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Reintroducing the jaguarundi

Posted on February 8, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Cool. The federal government has established a recovery plan for the jaguarundi, almost four decades since the small wildcat was listed as an endangered species and almost three decades since one was confirmed in the U.S. But don’t expect to … Continue reading →

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How about those gators?

Posted on November 25, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

They’re doing well, with a little help. The largest reptile in America was nearly extinct by the 1970s. But, efforts to protect the American alligator resulted in a conservation success story that led to its removal from the endangered species … Continue reading →

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The black bears return to Texas

Posted on August 16, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Very cool. SOMEWHERE IN BLUE ELBOW SWAMP — Hope, sometimes, is based on the strangest things. Here, deep in the near-impenetrable thickets of the Sabine River basin, it rides on sardines and tampons soaked in pastry filling. That exotic bait, … Continue reading →

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