Nature Conservancy

Barbados to refinance debt, help protect ocean in rare deal

By DÁNICA COTOSeptember 21, 2022 GMT

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Barbados announced Wednesday that it is refinancing part of its debt to help save the ocean as part of a unusual deal.

Government officials agreed to a $150 million debt conversion deal with The Nature Conservancy and the Inter-American Development Bank, the third of its kind in the world.

Ex-Sen. Frist elected board chair of The Nature Conservancy

August 17, 2022 GMT

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Former U.S. Sen. Bill Frist will serve as the new board chairman of The Nature Conservancy.

The environmental nonprofit announced Tuesday that the former Republican majority leader from Tennessee will begin a three-year chairman term in October.

Dam removal temporarily stops due to low water intake levels

July 6, 2022 GMT

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (AP) — Work to remove a dam on the Green River is on hold due to low water intake levels, officials said.

Crews began removing Green River Lock and Dam No. 5 last September, but stopped work after Edmonson County Water District General Manager Tony Sanders expressed concern last week about water intake levels.

Crews battle 500-acre wildfire in North Carolina preserve

May 10, 2022 GMT

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Firefighters are trying to contain a wildfire that covered more than 500 acres in southeastern North Carolina on Tuesday and forced the shutdown of a highway, state officials said.

Maine looking for citizen scientists to track spawning smelt

March 2, 2022 GMT

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — A group of Maine conservation organizations and a state agency are looking for volunteers to help with a project to restore a species of important fish to the state's waters.

The Maine Department of Marine Resources has been working to rebuild the population of rainbow smelt for several years.

Native American tribe, New Mexico ink water leasing deal

By SUSAN MONTOYA BRYANJanuary 20, 2022 GMT

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A Native American tribe has agreed to lease more of its water to help address dwindling supplies in the Colorado River Basin, officials announced Thursday.

The agreement involves the Jicarilla Apache Nation, the New Mexico Interstate Stream Commission and The Nature Conservancy.

New California wildlife preserve gives animals room to roam

January 4, 2022 GMT

TEHACHAPI, Calif. (AP) — Mountain lions, eagles, salamanders and other protected animals will have room to roam without threat of encroaching development thanks to a vast new nature preserve that creates a wildlife corridor connecting Northern and Southern California.

New study outlines high costs of extreme heat in Phoenix

By ANITA SNOW December 7, 2021 GMT

PHOENIX (AP) — Extreme heat is expensive.

That's the conclusion of a study presented Monday by The Nature Conservancy, which commissioned a look at the costs of rising temperatures in Phoenix.

Nonprofit plans Mississippi oyster shell recycling program

November 6, 2021 GMT

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — An environmental group is using fines from the 2010 BP oil spill to plan Mississippi’s first oyster shell recycling program.

“It’s very straight forward — take the actual oyster shell and reuse it to help restore the very resource it’s providing.

Conservation organizations recognize removal of large dam

September 21, 2021 GMT

ROUNDHILL, Ky. (AP) — Conservation organizations are recognizing the removal of a large dam on the Green River in southcentral Kentucky.

Representatives from The Nature Conservancy, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S.

The Nature Conservancy buys 13.5K acres in Hancock County

September 19, 2021 GMT

BANGOR, Maine (AP) — The Nature Conservancy has acquired approximately 13,500 acres of forested land north of Tunk Mountain in Hancock County.

The land, which will continue to be open for birding, hunting and fishing, abuts an existing preserve to the north of Tunk Mountain and the northwest corner of the state’s Donnell Pond Public Land, the Bangor Daily News reported.

Dominion to partner on solar project in Virginia coalfields

September 13, 2021 GMT

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A global conservation nonprofit and Virginia's largest electricity utility announced plans Monday to develop what they say will be a large-scale solar project on former surface mines in the southwest Virginia coalfields.

Conservation group creating oyster reef off Phippsburg

September 12, 2021 GMT

PHIPPSBURG, Maine (AP) — A group wants to create an oyster reef off the coast of Phippsburg to improve water quality, protect a shoreline from storm surges and act as a habitat for other smaller shellfish.

Audubon merges Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi offices

July 20, 2021 GMT

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The National Audubon Society is merging its Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi offices into a regional office called Audubon Delta, the nonprofit conservation group said Tuesday.

Conservation corridor planned for Michigan’s western UP

June 5, 2021 GMT

MICHIGAMME TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — A conservation corridor with links to existing protected areas is planned for a remote region in Michigan’s western Upper Peninsula.

The nonprofit Nature Conservancy said the 6,172-acre (2,497-hectare) Wilderness Lakes Reserve in the Michigamme Highlands area is being expanded by 4,854 acres (1,964 hectares) of forest and wetlands.

Pandemic-hit oyster farmers turn to conservation to survive

By MICHAEL CASEYMay 13, 2021 GMT

DURHAM, N.H. (AP) — When the pandemic struck last year, oyster farmer Chris Burtis soon realized the restaurants that bought his oysters had mostly closed. Without a new market, his Ferda Farms faced potential economic ruin.

Hawaii coral reefs stabilizing following bleaching event

January 24, 2019 GMT

KAILUA-KONA, Hawaii (AP) — Coral reefs off the Big Island are stabilizing nearly four years after Hawaii's worst bleaching event, an environmental organization said...

Conservation groups make point: Sometimes trees have to go

By Tony KennedyMarch 11, 2018 GMT

Fifteen years of systematic tree removal from prairie landscapes in Minnesota hasn’t altered the initial response that many people still experience when they witness the conservation handiwork of a chain saw or bulldozer.

Restoring the Wetlands: Nature group purchase major stride in plan for Bahia Grande

By STEVE CLARK Staff ReportSeptember 18, 2017 GMT

A major land acquisition by The Nature Conservancy represents the final piece of the puzzle in the restoration of the sprawling Bahia Grande wetland between Brownsville and the Laguna Madre.

TNC just closed on the purchase of 1,800 acres on the wetland’s north side, according to Boyd Blihovde, manager of the Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge, which in 2000 acquired the 21,700-acre “Bahia Grande Unit.” Both are managed by the U.S.

Protector of the land

Jessica Else - The Garden IslandOctober 22, 2016 GMT

LIHUE — Chipper Wichman, head of the National Tropical Botanical Garden, said receiving The Nature Conservancy’s Kako’o ‘Aina Award was one of the more humbling experiences of his life.

“I’ve received a few awards over the years, but to receive this award from The Nature Conservancy was so meaningful,” Wichman said.