The 'demise' of plow-based farming is coming as farmers use healthier ways to grow food

Jesse Stubs plowing, prepares soil to plant corn on newly-terraced land in Flint River Farms, Ga.,
in May 1939. (Marion Post Wolcott, Library of Congress Prints &Photos via the Post)

The enduring match of farms and plows seems destined for a breakup as more farmers incorporate no-till farming practices. "The demise of the plow and other tools that turn the soil is a rare good-news story in these depressing times for Planet Earth," writes Dana Milbank in his Washington Post opinion. "Modern, mechanized tillage [is] an ecological disaster, killing all that was alive in the soil while worsening erosion and runoff."

Over the past five decades, farmers realized how much harm tilling was doing and began to step away from their plows. Milbank explains, "In 1973, 82.2% of U.S. cropland was managed by conventional tillage, and only 2% was managed by 'no-till' methods, with the remaining 15.8% using reduced tillage. Half a century later, only 27% of U.S. cropland uses conventional tillage, with 38% now using no-till and 35% using reduced tillage."

Part of the shift to no-till includes a change in farming culture. Milbank adds, "If Big Ag destroyed the soil with its heavy use of chemicals and monster tilling equipment, the new agriculture is about building soil health so that it can nurture as it once did." The no-till resurgence takes its lessons from "traditional farming methods that existed for centuries before chemical fertilizers and pesticides. . . . and newer technologies, such as drilling seeds into the soil to preserve the soil’s structure."

John Piotti, head of the American Farmland Trust, which has been working on regenerative practices with big and small farmers and food companies including Land O’Lakes and General Mills, told Milbank, "It’s a very good trend — an excellent trend . . . . It’s really about whether we’re going to have a planet we can live on.”

Flora & Fauna: Considering Waygu cattle; bot swims like a fish; maple syrup debates

Mallie Shuster checks on his Wagyu cow-calf herd.
(Eleven Oaks Farm photo via Lancaster Farming)

Want a better steak or burger? Cattleman Mallie Shuster recommends filling your wallet with cash and choosing a restaurant with Waygu beef. "Shuster remembers how he got the idea to raise Wagyu cattle. He was out to dinner with friends and ordered a cut from this Japanese breed known for producing highly marbled, uniquely flavored beef," reports Dave Lefever for Lancaster Farming. "But it wasn't the flavor that got his attention." It was the price tag. Read how Shuster convinced his father to raise Waygu cattle to add to their company's bottom line.

The cinnamon in morning oatmeal, rolls and any number of baked treats is not true cinnamon. Instead, most cinnamon on U.S. grocery store shelves comes from a cheaper source -- the cassia tree. "Ceylon cinnamon is often called 'true' cinnamon and is native to Sri Lanka. Today, some 80% of Ceylon cinnamon is produced on the island," reports Olivia Peluso of Ambrook Research. "Cassia [cinnamon] is a ground, reddish-brown powder with a strong, spicy-sweet flavor. . . . While the Food and Drug Administration acknowledges them as distinct substances, it doesn't require they be packaged as such."

This clownfish bot looks and swims like a fish as it
collects water research. (Aquaai photo via CNN)

The world's water sources face so many stresses from climate change, multiple pollutants and urbanization that they can't rebalance their ecosystems. Water research offers a path to explore how humans can help these precious resources recover. The technology company Aquaai has developed a fishlike drone to "collect data from underwater environments," reports Amy Gunia of CNN. "Powered by batteries, they are designed to look and swim like fish, with a body and tail that swish from side-to-side as they cruise through the water. With their orange, white, and black neoprene skin, they resemble the clownfish star Nemo."

While Quebec dominates the global maple syrup market, determining which region makes the best-tasting syrup is a stickier dispute with Vermont. "Vermont is about 9,600 square miles and boasts more than six million sugar maple and red maple trees on tap. Quebec is a 595,000-square-mile province. . . hosts a maple syrup cartel. Its 50 million syrup-producing maple trees yield around 72% of the world's supply," reports Vipal Monga of The Wall Street Journal. "Without much argument, Quebec is known as the Saudi Arabia of maple syrup. Vermonter Pat Leclaire isn't particularly impressed. . ." 

As summer farmer's markets and local gardens start to produce luscious fruits and vegetables, consumers can rejoice in all the options but then wonder which ones are the best. Laureate professor in nutrition and dietetics Clare Collins shares in The Conversation her top four plant-based foods to eat.

Tomatoes and pumpkins are packed with nutrition.
(Adobe Stock photo)

Tomatoes: "A review of six trials asked people to consume tomato products equivalent to 1-1.5 large tomatoes or 1-1.5 cups of tomato juice daily for about six weeks. . . . Researchers found people who did this had reduced blood levels of triglycerides (a type of fat in your blood that increases heart disease risk), as well as lower total and 'bad' cholesterol levels. . . .These people also had increased levels of 'good cholesterol".

Pumpkin: "Pumpkin is rich in beta-carotene, which is also a carotenoid (plant pigment). It gets converted into vitamin A in the body and is used in the production of antibodies that fight infection. It's also needed to maintain the integrity of cells in eyes, skin, lungs and the gut."

Mushrooms and oats also top Collins's list. Click here to learn what benefits fungi and oats have to offer.

Opinion: Great Basin Desert residents, advocates and researchers face a 'terrible dilemma' about its future

Wikipedia map

Peaks, valleys, salty dry lakes and rolling stretches of sagebrush have long-defined Great Basin Desert habitats that used to brim with biodiversity. "Sagebrush now covers only half the territory it did before European settlers arrived with their livestock in the 1800s. Exotic annual grasses, including cheatgrass, have increased eight-fold here since 1990, accelerating the fire cycle, outcompeting native plants and decreasing the available forage for grazers, wild and domestic," writes Stephen Tremble in his opinion essay for Writers of the Range.

Great Basin residents and researchers face an impossible choice. "The dilemma is this: Saving sagebrush puts the aromatic shrublands at odds with piñon-juniper woodland — a landscape just as beloved, just as vital," Trimble explains. "Range ecologists believe that growing the sagebrush core means that half of the Great Basin woodlands need 'treatment' —removing younger stands of trees while retaining old growth forest."

Pygmy rabbits thrive in sagebrush.
(Wash. Fish & Wildlife photo)

Before 1860, "two-thirds of Great Basin landscapes in woodland habitat were treeless. Today, less than one-third is treeless, as trees decrease the acreage and vitality of sagebrush," Trimble adds. "But it's unclear if sagebrush animals will soon repopulate cleared habitat. No more than half of tree treatments result in the regrowth of native grasses. Meanwhile, flocks of Pinyon Jays that depend on the trees suffer steep declines."

Trimble asks: "Which matters most? To sage grouse, pygmy rabbits and piñon mice? To backcountry recreationists, to cattlemen? To Indigenous Great Basin Washoe, Paiute and Shoshone people — citizens of what ethnobotanist Gary Nabhan calls 'Piñon Nut Nation?'"

This Pinyon Jay snags a nut from a Pinyon pine.
(Photo by Marie Read via ABC)

As human choices and climate change fundamentally alter the Great Basin, "federal managers need to address causes, not symptoms. Their challenge is huge: to confront invading cheatgrass and junipers and reverse the decline of sagebrush, nut harvests, native grass and birds. All this, while ensuring that mule deer and cows flourish," Trimble adds. "If we want to heal the land and restore the balance between sagebrush and woodland, we need to treat these landscapes as we would with those we love — using every bit of wisdom from both Western and Indigenous traditions for the benefit of our collective future."

Flora and fauna: Shoes for a chicken; cats can eat more than 2,000 species; the decline of snowbirds

Nubz in his reindeer slippers
(Photo by Meesh Davignon via WP)

A tiny chicken missing some toes inspired fans to send him over 60 pairs of chicken shoes. The chicken, lovingly named Nubz, began his shoe journey with "a tiny pair of dog slippers decorated with reindeer" intended for a Chihuahua, reports Cathy Free of The Washington Post. Nubz's owner, Meesh Davignon, created a TikTok page and posted a "video she'd taken of him learning to walk in his reindeer slippers. . . . People loved it, and some wanted to add to Nubz's shoe wardrobe and give him more variety."

As your kitty heads outdoors, they could be hunting any number of creatures to call dinner. "Now, researchers have documented the breadth of cats' global buffet. A study published in the journal Nature Communications found that free-ranging domestic cats (including feral ones) eat more than 2,000 species, raising renewed concerns about the ecological fallout," reports Catrin Einhorn of The New York Times. "It's not the cats' fault they're bad for wildlife. Cats are carnivores. Their talent for preying on rodents is a big reason their ancestors and ours started hanging around together in the first place."

Juncos thrive in the cold.
(Photo by P. Trail via WTR)

National bird populations have declined; snowbirds such as the chill-loving junco are no exception. "Juncos are among the West's most familiar birds, reliable companions on summer hikes and winter days, writes Pepper Trail for Writer on the Range. "Juncos are also in sharp decline. According to the Breeding Bird Survey, a decades-long monitoring study of the nation's birds, junco populations are down by 42% since the surveys began in the late 1960s. . . . But here is the peculiar part: There is no obvious reason for this loss of millions of birds. What seems to be killing juncos is simply . . . everything."

"Have you ever wanted a strawberry so shiny and red that your field looks like it's full of Christmas lights? OK, maybe you haven't thought about it in those terms, but a new, shiny strawberry variety promises to kick off your season with traits growers want," reports Philip Gruber of Lancaster Farming. Kim Lewers, a strawberry research plant geneticist at the USDA's Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, told Gruber, "It was like the Holy Grail was a big, early, sweet strawberry, right? So now I finally have one." Meet the "Lumina" strawberry.

Judging by appearances, it doesn't look like oysters are extraordinarily talented, but looks can be deceiving. "Oysters stabilize shorelines, trap carbon-rich sediment, and help marshes grow," reports Emily Jones for Grist. "And researchers are now studying how creating new oyster reefs could help fight climate change by sequestering carbon."

Blue pigment adds an icy hue to a poplar branch's cellular
structure. (Photo by Robert Berdan, National Geographic)

What do plants look like from the inside? Photographer Robert Berdan aimed to find out: "With his camera-mounted microscope, Berdan zooms in to the cellular level to capture the hidden beauty of poplars, pine cones, and dandelions," reports Annie Roth of National Geographic. "His technique, known as photomicrography, involves photographing dyed specimens under a microscope fitted with a DSLR camera."

New England stone walls are a man-made wonder deserving their own branch of science

Instagram photo via The Conversation

Walls of rock with novel plant and animal life wind through New England, and it's time to give them their own place in science, writes Robert M. Thorson for The Conversation, a journalism platform for academics."The abandoned fieldstone walls of New England are every bit as iconic to the region as lobster pots, town greens, sap buckets and fall foliage. They seem to be everywhere – a latticework of dry, lichen-crusted stone ridges separating a patchwork of otherwise moist soils. Stone walls can be found here and there in other states, but only in New England are they nearly ubiquitous. That's due to a regionally unique combination of hard crystalline bedrock, glacial soils and farms with patchworks of small land parcels."

European settlers working with draft horses built nearly all of the walls. "The mass of stone that farmers moved in that century staggers the mind – an estimated 240,000 miles (400,000 kilometers) of barricades, most stacked thigh-high and similarly wide," Thorson notes. "That's long enough to wrap our planet 10 times at the equator, or to reach the Moon on its closest approach to Earth."

"Natural scientists have been working to quantify this phenomenon, which is larger in volume than the Great Wall of China, Hadrian's Wall in Britain and the Egyptian pyramids at Giza combined," Thorson writes. "This work began in 1870 and generated the U.S. government's 1872 Census of Fences. Today, scientists are using a technique called LiDAR, or light detection and ranging, to measure and map stone walls across New England.

A stoat scurries along a rock wall in search of mice.
(Instagram photo via The Conversation)

"These archaeological artifacts are so ubiquitous that they have become a geological landform that in turn creates a novel ecological habitat," Thorson adds. "But despite their importance, never have the stone walls of New England been technically defined, classified and given a common terminology in a peer-reviewed journal. They fell, it seems, through disciplinary cracks."

The region's rock walls are in "some ways analogous to the region's wetlands, which also are landforms that farmers created or significantly modified as they settled the land in the 18th and 19th centuries. However, since the 1990s, wetlands have earned a robust science, a solid legal framework and excellent management protocols," Thorson writes. "In my view, the time has come to do the same for New England's stone walls."

To read how Thorson and his students and colleagues are working to develop a formal interdisciplinary science of stone walls, click here.

Mussels -- 'the unsung heroes of river life' -- are finally making a comeback in the Apalachicola River

The ACF River Basin watershed.
(Wikipedia map)

It's a success story with muscle, or should we say mussels? "Some good news for the Apalachicola River," reports Dan Chapman from U.S. Fish & Wildlife. "After centuries of pollution, drought, sprawl, dredging, straightening, dam-building, and a 'water war' between Florida, Georgia, and Alabama, the iconic river whose headwaters reach into the Appalachian Mountains has something to brag about. . . . Seems the most vulnerable of its riverine residents, the freshwater mussels, are making a comeback. Scientists say the federally endangered fat threeridge, for example, 'is far more abundant and widely distributed … than previously thought.' The same can be said for the Chipola slabshell, a threatened mollusk that lives along a major Apalachicola tributary with headwaters in Alabama."

Fat threeridge mussels
(USFWS photo)

The fat threeridge has come a long way. "In 1981, a biologist certified the last living fat threeridge in a major Apalachicola tributary," Chapman writes. But the river, which has been in distress for over a decade, needs all the mussels it can muster. "Freshwater mussels are the unsung heroes of river life. They suck up water to feed and, in the process, filter out bacteria, pollutants, and sediment. The 'livers of the river' also serve as keystone species, indicators of a river’s health, and the quality of its water. When they’re in trouble, we’re in trouble."

The return of the fat threeridge and the Chipola slabshell mussel means efforts to restore the river are working. Chris Metcalf, who coordinates the federal-landowner Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program with multiple other services, "has worked on 20 projects on five private properties across the Chipola River watershed," Chapman reports. "They’ve protected 74 acres of stream-side habitat, planted 4,000 trees, installed 16 miles of cattle fencing, and restored 10 miles of stream buffers."  Metcalf told him, "All that work has helped to increase the population of mussels and created more habitat for them to thrive and survive."

Chris Metcalf has worked on 20 projects to help improve
mussel water environments. (Photo by Dan Chapman, USFWS)

Not all of the reasons for the mussel's surprising comeback are clear, but the "recovery of the at-risk species is a success story worth celebrating, especially during the 50th anniversary of the landmark Endangered Species Act," Chapman adds. "It is also a much-needed win for the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint river basin, which, for decades, has dealt with hydrologic, economic, and political decisions beyond its control."

A solution for increasingly arid lands? Taking advantage of the water cycle process alongside soil regeneration.

Water cycle restoration is key to creating water on parched land. (Photo by Daniel Sinoca, Unsplash)

When scientists talk about solutions for depleted water supplies or drought, they're talking about a lot more than high temperatures or insufficient rainfall. Some scientists are using water cycle actions to reverse desertified land and help communities find water solutions in their dirt.

For decades, journalist Judith D. Schwartz has watched "the climate crisis conversation follow a steady, linear path, the message being that climate change puts added stress on water sources," reports Caroline Tremblay of The Daily Yonder. Schwartz told her: "But if we understand how the earth manages heat, it's mostly through water phase changes. . . . By working with the water cycle, we can enhance climate regulation." Tremblay adds, "That's when she decided her book, Water in Plain Sight: Hope for a Thirsty World, would focus on water as a verb, not a noun."

As Schwartz completed research hours at conferences and listened to expert opinions, "She realized so much information about how we can do better is already on the table," Tremblay writes. "But getting people to act — together — remains the biggest challenge. For instance, we've all heard stories of rural and urban communities within proximity vying for water resources while both (had) different needs and obstacles."

Schwartz highlights a workshop she attended in rural New Mexico led by Jeff Goebel, an expert in community consensus building for sustainable solutions. "In a setting she described as 'really the Wild West,' she observed townspeople, ranchers, and the Bureau of Land Management, who had been in a legal tangle over water access," Trembley explains. Schwartz told her: "[The community] went from suspicion, sabotage, and gunfire to committing to work together to restore long-held community relationships and the land. . . . [In places] where people are saying: 'We have no water; there is no hope.' He helped them see where they have agency."

"Schwartz and many others engaged in the climate conversation have become invested in a global movement being led by Savory, an organization facilitating the regeneration of grasslands that are key to this puzzle," Trembley reports. "Schwartz detailed the astounding outcomes of Savory's approach on the ground in ecologically devastated parts of the world, like Zimbabwe. Over 15 years, land there has been revived, wildlife has returned, and erosion has been halted."

Trembley adds, "Schwartz has found similarly noteworthy examples of environmental wins within the United States, from water cycle restoration training to condensation catchment systems." Schwartz told her: "It's time to get real about appreciating that water is at once a force that drives ecological processes and a product of them."

The return of gray wolves to national forests requires strategies that can benefit humans and animals

Gray wolves are tracked with radio collars to help understand
 their habits. (California Fish and Wildlife photo via AP)

More than a century has passed since gray wolves have hunted and howled in the Giant Sequoia National Monument, but a pack recently returned, and a plan for humans and grays to live together means research and understanding. "Yet the sudden appearance of the so-called Tulare Pack is already generating friction among Central Valley livestock owners and the managers of ambitious fuel reduction projects underway in and around areas of Sequoia National Forest and Giant Sequoia National Monument scorched by recent wildfires," reports Louis Sahagun of the Los Angels Times. "In a recent letter, a group of environmentalists urged the Forest Service to suspend post-fire logging operations in the region until it can 'determine whether any activities associated with those and other projects could adversely affect the wolves.'"

Environmentalists emphasize that the return of wolves will help the forest's ecosystem. "Their presence is vital to restoring the rhythms of life among countless other animal and plant species that evolved with them," Sahagun writes. "The trouble is, wolves also kill livestock, raising concerns among ranchers." Kirk Wilbur, vice president of government affairs at the California Cattlemen's Association, told Sahagun: "We believe it will be important for state wildlife officials to put a radio collar on one or more wolves in that pack to better understand how they are behaving. . . . We fully realize how risky and difficult that will be, but we need wolf data to help protect livestock and wolves." Sahagun adds, "So far, there have been no confirmed livestock kills in the region."

The return of the gray wolf to Giant Sequoia brings to mind a larger discussion of predators such as wolves, bears and mountain lions coexisting with humans for the betterment of both. "For conservation scientists like me, it also underscored that Americans have a fraught relationship with large carnivores," writes Neil Carter for The Conversation, a journalistic platform for academics. "My colleagues and I have proposed a federal policy that, when combined with other initiatives, could allow for sustainable coexistence between people and carnivores."

"Major state and federal government efforts are underway to reintroduce grizzly bears to the Northern Cascades and gray wolves to Colorado. These are places where stable populations of these animals have not roamed for many decades," Carter explains. "To manage these risks, people too often default to the widespread killing of carnivores. In 2021 alone, the Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services euthanized nearly 70,000 bears, wolves, mountain lions, bobcats, coyotes and foxes.

Foxes eat disease-spreading rodents.
(Photo by Tim Dalling, Unsplash)

Coexistence with carnivores is possible and "can benefit both carnivores and people," Carter adds. "For example, the presence of wolves and mountain lions lowers the frequency of vehicle collisions with deer, saving money and human lives. Foxes, likewise, reduce an abundance of small mammals that carry ticks, likely reducing cases of Lyme disease in humans. Sea otters maintain healthy kelp forests that support tourism and fisheries and capture carbon."

"A federal policy like the one my colleagues and I propose that sets goals for sharing spaces with carnivores could allow for coexistence between people and carnivores while also recognizing local priorities," Carter reports. "A federal policy could allow states and communities to try out high-risk, high-reward initiatives, like Pay for Presence programs. . . . A federal coexistence policy could also support community outreach and education programs. Teaching communities about carnivore behavior can help them to avoid potentially risky situations, like jogging with a dog or leaving children unattended in mountain lion territory. . . . By reducing negative encounters, these programs can enhance the adoption of nonlethal coexistence strategies, foster more positive attitudes toward carnivores and share the benefits carnivores offer humans."

Rural highways and byways can offer spectacular views in the fall -- take time to soak in the sights at these four stops

'Tis the season for troves of colored trees, exploring harvest bounty and letting crisper air fill your lungs. Wherever you roam this fall, may it be filled with the beauty only rural road trips can offer. "Traveling byways is a great way to sample local flavor and have authentic place-based experiences," reports Kim Kobersmith of The Daily Yonder. "The four trips below all lean into unique ecosystems, habitats, history, and culture, making for particularly lovely autumn destinations."

Pine Barrens National Scenic Byway: "Pine barrens are unique ecosystems with nutrient-poor sandy soil, acidic water, and fire-adapted plants, according to the Pinelands Preservation Alliance. The byway traverses the Pinelands, the 1.1 million acres of pine barrens in New Jersey, the largest forested area on the eastern seaboard between the Everglades and Maine. This special place is an International Biosphere Reserve, and in 1978, Congress designated it the nation's first National Reserve to protect its unique natural and cultural resources. . . . Pine barrens is home to pygmy trees and Warren Grove Recreation Area, where one can take "a surreal walk amongst the lilliputian trees. . . eerily quiet, except for the occasional bird song and the steady susurration of the wind in the pines."

Raking cranberries at a century-old bed (Wisconsin Rapids
Area Convention photo via The Daily Yonder )

Cranberry Highway: Located in central Wisconsin, the highway is the "largest cranberry-producing region in the United States. Along with a taste of the harvest in fall, from late September through October, the century-old cranberry beds and surrounding trees are alight with seasonal color.

The drive is a self-guided agri-tour. Local stores sell everything cranberry, from sausage to hand cream, and farm-to-table restaurants incorporate the fruit in bread, cocktails, and salads."

Cherokee Foothills National Scenic Byway: This history byway sits at the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains and offers "leaf looking," nature exploration and rich history. "Several stops have mountainous overlooks. A fall raptor migration can be seen from the heights of Caesar's Head State Park, and the granite view at Table Rock State Park is iconic. Several waterfalls can be accessed from the drive; Wildcat Branch Falls can be viewed from a paved turnout, and a short roadside hike leads to Issaqueena Falls.

A boat trip on crystal clear Lake Jocassee leads to several streams that drop into the water. . . .The route also winds past Cowpens National Battlefield and Kings Mountain National Park, where visitor centers interpret the importance of these pivotal revolutionary-era battles. The only remaining covered bridge in South Carolina, Campbell's, is right off Route 11."

Ducks in the Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge (Fish and Wildlife Service, Mary Hyde via The Daily Yonder)

The Klamath Basin: The basin is a "crucial migratory stop on the Pacific Flyway, hosting nearly 80% of migratory birds that pass through the region. This outdoorsy-focused trail leads to hikes, kayak-friendly lakes and wildlife drives throughout rugged southern Oregon and northern California. The 300-mile route has 47 stops, including six National Wildlife Refuges and three National Park Service sites. More than 350 species of birds have been identified in the mix of mountains, marshlands, grasslands, old-growth forests and shallow lakes that converge here.

"In northern California, large Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuge is a migratory hotspot for snow geese and sandhill cranes. It has a visitor center, hiking and canoeing trails, and a 20-mile gravel drive open to the public for wildlife viewing. Nearby Lower Klamath Lake was the first wildlife refuge in the U.S., established in 1908."

To find a national or state scenic byway near you, search nsbfoundation.com/travel-byways.
To explore other National Wildlife Refuges this season, read fws.gov/story/fall-wonders.

Flora and fauna: Terrier sniffs out turtles; mow less and pick more flowers; vultures threaten livestock; snap-pea science

Dory searches a leatherback nesting site for the exact location of eggs.

(Walt Disney World Resort courtesy photo via National Geographic)

One terrier can sniff out turtles in a single bound. She "identified 560 sea turtle nests from three species," reports Elizabeth Ann Brown of National Geographic. Named "Dory," this pup's success rate is considered "shocking. . . and could be a game changer." Dory has joined the ranks of "'conservation sniffers' who help scientists get a more complete picture of sea turtle nesting habits."

Did you know that the snap pea was invented? "You'd be forgiven for thinking that sugar snap peas have occurred naturally forever," reports Korsha Wilson of Saveur. "But this specific breed was invented by Dr. Lamborn in 1979, after years of trying to create a commercially viable snow pea with a smoother, straighter pod."

Wildflowers attract insects and butterflies. (Courtesy
photo, Natalie Gilliard via The Washington Post)

Mow. Water. Mow. Water. The cycle can take a toll on summer hours. One couple solved their mowing angst by planting a wildflower garden, reports Cathy Free of The Washington Post. "Growing a wildflower meadow or planting other alternatives to grass is part of a movement to use fewer resources, foster community relationships and help reverse the loss of insects."

Over the past few decades, the eastern monarch population "has dropped precipitously." What were once vast butterfly flocks have dwindled -- "at least somewhat connected to the loss of milkweed plants, where the butterflies lay their eggs," reports Ethan Freedman of Ambrook Research. "The benefits of new habitats planted near agricultural fields might outweigh the risk of pesticide exposure in monarch butterflies — but don't assume that's true for all insects."

Scarabaeus viette (Wikipedia)

This little six-legged creature is a hard-working farmers' helper. "The formidable dung beetle is one of many insects that help process cow pies and maintain balance in your pasture," reports Michael Johnson of Ag Week. "The presence of beetles, which eat and carve out caverns through the drying dung, means that the dung is being processed. . . . That's important on these pastures. . . . Rancher Thomas Stattelman understands that microorganisms are important. He does not use any commercial fertilizer and has not sprayed any chemical on the pastures in the last six years. He said he uses no fly control, either."

Black vultures will kill and eat newborn livestock.
(Photo by Noppadol Paothong, Mo. Dept. of Conservation)

Often considered bug and seed-eaters, many birds are actually carnivores. "Ranchers across the Great Plains are battling black vultures, a federally protected bird that has a reputation for killing newborn livestock," reports Xcaret Nuñez of KOSU in Oklahoma. "While the birds play a major ecological role, their expanding population is becoming a big nuisance for producers. . . . Black vultures aren’t an easy bird to scare away, and because they’re protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, producers can’t legally kill the scavenger bird without federal permission."

Scourge of invasive plants and animals is an 'extinction event on par with the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs'

Brown tree snakes were accidentally introduced in Guam. It ate
many native birds into extinction. (Photo by David Clode, Unsplash)

Black rats, brown tree snakes and water hyacinth are only a few of the more than 3,500 invasive species "wreaking havoc across the planet, destroying crops, disseminating pathogens, depleting fish people rely on for food and driving native plants and animals toward extinction, according to a major report backed by the United Nations," reports Dino Grandoni of The Washington Post. "The landmark assessment found harmful invasive species cost society more than $423 billion a year. . . .A tally only expected to grow as the modern age of global trade and travel continues. . . . The result is a great scrambling of the planet's flora and fauna, with dire implications for humans and the ecosystems they depend on."

Continental globe-trotting "is one of the main causes of Earth's ongoing biodiversity crisis, an extinction event on par with the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs," Grandoni explains. Invasive species are playing a role in 60 percent of extinctions, according to the report, which was created by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, a body made up of more than 140 countries that provide policymakers with scientific assessments to help protect Earth's biodiversity and prevent extinctions. Aníbal Pauchard, a professor at the University of Concepción in Chile who co-chaired the group behind the report, told Grandoni: "It's normal that species move. It's not normal that a species crosses the Atlantic. . . . Not normal that it goes from Australia to Chile."

The report names the black rat as "most widespread invasive animal, which spread by stowing away on ships and scurried its way not only into dense cities but onto far-flung islands as well, where it has decimated ground-nesting seabirds and other animals," Gradoni reports. "The impact of land-dwelling rats on islands is so profound that even nearby reef fish can feel it after the rodents alter the flow of nutrients into the ocean. . . . . On the island of Guam, the voracious brown tree snake has already driven several native birds to extinction."

An innocent-looking water hyacinth floats in a pond at the
Memphis Zoo, Tenn. (Photo by Joshua J. Cotten, Unsplash)

Aquatic systems are facing epic invasions with dire outcomes. "In the Caribbean, venomous lionfish are driving down the numbers of native fish. In the Great Lakes, zebra mussels are clogging the intake pipes of drinking water systems and power plants," Grandino writes. "But one of the most devastating aquatic invaders is a delicate-looking flower," a free-floating plant that spreads so aggressively, "it can cover entire ponds and lakes, leaving a matted mess that impedes boat traffic and fishing. . . . The plants suck up so much water that they render lakes dry and leave communities without drinking water. The report lists the water hyacinth, "which is popping up everywhere from Africa to Australia, the most widespread invasive plant on Earth."

Researchers list prevention as the best solution "through border monitoring and import control," Grandino reports. "In December, nations agreed to try to reduce the spread of harmful invasive species by at least half by 2030 as part of an international agreement."

Helping to save the world might start with inviting bugs back; they've got a lot to offer

Praying mantes are farmers' little helper.
(Photo by Rosie Kerr, Unsplash)

Entomologists appreciate all sorts of insects, and in his opinion for The Washington Post, Dana Milbank encourages all humans to give bugs some love because they are vital to the food chain and human survival. He notes that when insects are allowed to be in their natural habitats, bugs that bite, bite less:

"Here, in the mountains, I walk the fields and putter about in the woods without wearing my usual Eau de DEET, and yet the mosquitoes do not feast. I sit on the porch at dusk, baring my arms to all comers — and not so much as a nibble. . . . It isn’t my imagination. Entomologists tell me this is part of a worldwide phenomenon. We’ve worked so hard to banish bugs from our lives—destroying their habitats with pavement and lawns, killing them with insecticides and stressing them with climate change—that our cities and suburbs are now insect wastelands but for a few hardy pest species, such as the disease-carrying mosquitoes that feed on the blood of people and pets.

"In the country, by contrast, the ecosystem is in better balance. There are actually more mosquitoes here, but a smaller proportion of them dine on human blood and carry disease. Competition with other insects keeps their numbers in check, and the other abundant species in the ecosystem — spiders, frogs, fish and bird—gobble up the mosquitoes. In other words, the problem isn’t that we have too many bugs in cities and suburbs; the problem is that we don’t have nearly enough."

The world, not just humans, needs insects to survive.
(Photo by Europeana, Unsplash)

Millbank writes, "Multiple studies show that the overall insect population is declining by one percent to two percent per year, which means losing perhaps a third of all insects on the planet within 20 years—moving us toward what’s often called an ‘insect apocalypse.’ . . . If this mass extinction of insects isn’t reversed, it will decimate the entire food chain, threaten crop pollination and generally cause havoc.

"Agricultural pesticides are a big problem, but there’s some evidence that we use even more insecticide per acre in cities and suburbs. In the sterile environment we’ve created, a few nasty species flourish, such as the tree-devouring spongy (formerly gypsy) moth, the crop-destroying spotted lanternfly, the domestic cockroach, the bloodsucking mosquito. . . . Luckily, the insect apocalypse is relatively easy to reverse compared with other anthropomorphic disasters. And unlike climate change, you can quickly make a noticeable improvement in your backyard, or even on your apartment balcony. You simply need to invite bugs back into your life. They’ll quickly accept. As a bonus, you’ll also wind up with more songbirds — and you just might save the planet."

For the love of insects: Here are the four smartest

Mother Nature is no respecter of human superiority. She has given animals languages we don’t understand, gifts people cannot learn and “thinking caps” that don’t look or think like ours. Insects are no exception to the creative ways and means nature divinely equips creation. Here are the four smartest, recounts Claire Hamlett of Sentient Media.

Honey bee delights in pollen.
(Shutterstock photo)

Bees are smart and clever dancers. “A study published in 2022, showed for the first time that bumblebees can make trade-off decisions, choosing between enduring discomfort for a reward of a solution with high sugar content or no discomfort and a solution with lower sugar content. . . . Honeybees can do basic arithmetic, which has upended the assumption that a large brain is required to do math. They communicate complex information to each other, like where to find the best source of food to bring back to the hive, by using symbolic movements to indicate distance and direction.”

Ants carrying lunch.
(Photo by J. Lazono, Unsplash)

Ants: They can do more than lift over ten times their weight. “Not only are ants great at the complex task of foraging and finding their way home with their bounty, but they also engage in agricultural activities that show humans are far from unique in being able to cultivate their own food sources. . . . In 2020, another accidental discovery was made about farmer ants when a photographer happened upon brown ants farming giant oak aphids that live on English oak trees. The ants build barns for the aphids out of mosses, lichens, and beetle shells on the tree trunks, and will move them to underground shelters to protect them from bad weather. All this is so the ants can ‘milk’ the aphids for their honeydew.”

Cockroaches can be learners.
(Photo by E. Karits, Unsplash)

Cockroaches--of course, this human nemesis makes the list. “In the Netflix prison drama, "Orange is the New Black," a cockroach named "Yoda," is trained as a courier by inmates and is shown carrying a cigarette between cells. While this scenario might seem a bit far-fetched, it’s certainly not impossible. Cockroaches are not only capable of learning and remembering positive or negative associations with different smells, but they also demonstrate individuality in doing so. Indeed, one study showed that individual cockroaches may be shy or bold, with some much more willing to spend time exploring the kinds of brightly lit environments to which they are averse.”

Female paper wasps fight each other.
(Photo by Tom Sid, Unsplash)

Paper wasps engage in politics and have their own Fight Club. “Paper wasps can recognize individual wasp faces, a cognitive skill that comes in handy given that a nest can have multiple queens who need to negotiate with one another. The dominant queen will lay the most eggs, leaving subordinate queens to decide whether to stay or leave and establish their own smaller nests, which will be more susceptible to attack or failure. In order to determine the dominant queen, paper wasps fight each other. Facial recognition means they know who they’ve fought and whether or not they were beaten, maintaining a more harmonious nest."

Youngmeyer Field Station in the Flint Hills of Kansas offers rural magnificence as an off-the-grid research facility

The roof has a clean line with a sculpted edge. (Photos by Brad Feinknopf, DeZeen)

Off the grid and set into the land of the Flint Hills of southeast Kansas, the Youngmeyer Field Station of Wichita State University stands out with its curved stone and stretching windows gracing a bluff. The station, built by Kansas studio Hutton, was designed "to integrate with the landscape and to withstand heavy winds and other natural forces, reports Jenna McKnight for DeZeen. "The building sits within the 4,700-acre Youngmeyer Ranch, an active cattle ranch and research site." Hutton explained the design: "Like the dugouts of the Midwestern frontier days, the field station is partially embedded in the earth to protect the facility from northern winds and to further the contextual camouflage."

The station houses "a laboratory, meeting space, and a garage, along with living quarters to accommodate up to six researchers. . . . The facility is not tied to public utilities. Rooftop solar panels generate electricity, and water is collected on-site." McKnight writes. "The area's plants, animals, soils and waterways are of interest to researchers, particularly given the ranch's location within Flint Hills, a region known for its important tall-grass prairie ecosystem. Once vast, this type of ecosystem has declined since the 1800s due to farming."

The building's design offers a peculiar integration into the surrounding land, as if the structure had come up from the ground. "Façades consist of four varieties of local limestone, arranged in bands that emulate the layers of sediment in the surrounding hills. One of the stone varieties, Prairie Shell, contains fossilized shells that hint at the story of the prehistoric era," McKnight writes. "To maintain a discrete profile, the team created a 'clean roof line' with a sculpted edge. . . . For added protection from both wind and wildfire, the facility is made of concrete and clad in durable and noncombustible exterior materials such as limestone and glass."

The building's meticulously designed interior brings forth a layer of delight. Station team members told McKnight, "Visitors can take a scavenger hunt around the building for fossils preserved and on display in the walls, including a perfect nautilus right by the front door." McKnight adds: "One finds earthy finishes such as wood and stone and a color palette evoking natural elements such as sediment, heads of grain and the sky. . . . The communal room, which looks to the south and east, is afforded sweeping views of the landscape through large stretches of glass. . . . The team noted that the closest neighboring property is a few miles down the road."