Biodiversity

"Work crews ignite dynamite blasts in the remote and rugged southeast corner of Arizona, forever reshaping the landscape as they pulverize mountaintops in a rush to build more of President Donald Trump’s border wall before his term ends next month."

"Construction of President Trump’s border wall moved forward last year even after government scientists said it could harm a nearby wildlife refuge, according to an internal report obtained by The Hill. The report, obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request, showed that the construction of the wall would pull water from the San Bernardino National Wildlife Refuge."

"New research shows that more than 90 per cent of sunflower sea stars off the West Coast have died over the past decade, and the species is close to extinction."

"Thirty-one species of plants and animals were officially declared extinct in a report from an international conservation body published Thursday, which detailed the continued challenges and successes faced by conservationists around the world."

"The Trump administration adopted a rule Tuesday that could shrink the historic habitats of plants and animals threatened with extinction, an action that opponents say will make it more difficult for them to recover."

"The monarch butterfly was turned down by the Trump administration on Tuesday when the government declined to use the powers of the Endangered Species Act to help save it from extinction."

"Trump administration officials are expected to say this week whether the monarch butterfly, a colorful and familiar backyard visitor now caught in a global extinction crisis, should receive federal designation as a threatened species."

"The northern spotted owl has lost 70 percent of its habitat to development and timber harvesting and could go extinct without added federal protection, the Trump administration announced Monday. But the owls won’t get it."

"Researchers believe they have found a previously unknown species of beaked whale in waters off Mexico’s western coast. If confirmed, the new species would mark a significant discovery among giant mammals."