Lyle Lewis
@race2extinct.bsky.social
Former U.S. Fish & Wildlife endangered species branch chief with more than three decades of experience in wildlife conservation and ecological policy. https://substack.com/@lylelewis1?r=3fnb3k&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=profile
When “less mortality” becomes the goal instead of “avoiding mortality,” we’ve quietly redefined success.
On a windswept Norwegian island, scientists painted a single blade black on 4 wind turbines, and the number of birds killed by those spinning blades fell by about 72 percent
Its long white blades sweep around in a wide, steady arc.
ecoportal.net
People build in forests because they love forests. But forests also burn. What is happening near Spokane is a tragedy—and a warning about decades of allowing homes to spread through fire-prone landscapes. Coeur d’Alene and Sandpoint may face an even greater reckoning.
More than 700 structures lost as 65,000 evacuate in Washington state wildfires
Officials have yet to determine how many of the destroyed structures were homes, businesses or schools. No injuries have been reported.
apple.news
As environmental crises deepen, yesterday’s unthinkable becomes today’s necessity. The more desperate the situation, the less room there is for ecological restraint or consideration of consequences.
South-eastern Europe faces heatwave energy crunch as Romania detonates Danube rock to increase water flow – as it happened
Explosives used to move a large rock and let more water flow to cool nuclear power plant
theguardian.com
The Department of the Interior has gone from the agency responsible for conserving America’s natural heritage to one helping liquidate it.
Interior Highlights Scientific Leadership Supporting the Genesis Mission | U.S. Department of the Interior
The U.S. Department of the Interior today highlighted its extensive contributions to the Genesis Mission, a government-wide initiative led by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy that harnesses artificial intelligence to accelerate scientific discovery, strengthen American Energy Dominance and bolster national security.
doi.gov
I messed up. The interview won’t publish until this coming Thursday. Sorry for jumping the gun.
Lyle Lewis@race2extinct.bsky.social · 3d agoHope matters. Selective perception is dangerous. Those two ideas—and why I think they’re often confused—were among the topics I discussed in a recent interview with the University of Hawaiʻi.
Hope matters. Selective perception is dangerous. Those two ideas—and why I think they’re often confused—were among the topics I discussed in a recent interview with the University of Hawaiʻi.
same problem identified here with ev cars applies to renewables which often destroys nature to “save it.” same as ev cars, renewables require more mining, extraction, exploitation and habitat destruction for humans and all life on earth. a sneaky switch at the end there youtube.com/watch?v=3OTx...
You Can't Shop Your Way Out of Climate Change
YouTube video by PBS Terra
youtube.com
There is a federal comment page embedded in the article. Please use it!!!!
Lyle Lewis@race2extinct.bsky.social · 3d agoMore than half of the wetlands in the lower 48 are already gone. Now USFWS may weaken protections for wetlands that taxpayers and hunters already paid to preserve permanently. Since when does “permanent protection” not mean permanent protection?
More than half of the wetlands in the lower 48 are already gone. Now USFWS may weaken protections for wetlands that taxpayers and hunters already paid to preserve permanently. Since when does “permanent protection” not mean permanent protection?
America's Duck Factory Could Soon Lose Key Habitat Protections
The US Fish & Wildlife Service is considering an obscure rule change that could drain the Prairie Potholes.
fieldandstream.com
Invasive species do become part of nature. The problem is what nature becomes. It is rarely a one-for-one exchange. A single invasive species can eliminate many native species. The result is a fading echo of nature.
The Big Debate: Should we control invasive species?
If aliens exist somewhere out there, will we ever get a chance to say hello?
apple.news
"Ecological systems respond to total demand. Both the number of consumers and the demands of each consumer matter. We readily accept this principle when discussing deer populations, rabbits on islands, ... , algae blooms, or locust swarms ... Discussions about humans become different."
Lyle Lewis@race2extinct.bsky.social · 5d agoWe readily apply ecological principles to every other species. Why do we make an exception for ourselves? New Essay: The Human Exception
We readily apply ecological principles to every other species. Why do we make an exception for ourselves? New Essay: The Human Exception
The Human Exception
Environmental debates often become arguments over which single factor matters most.
open.substack.com
Even if parts of the Rio Grande occasionally dried, the historical river still held side channels, ponds, wetlands, and shaded refuges where fish and other life survived until flows reconnected. Today, that ecological safety net is gone.
Lyle Lewis@race2extinct.bsky.social · 6d agoHow quickly we forget that the Rio Grande once sustained an entire living world. Now people gather to watch water briefly return to its riverbed.
How quickly we forget that the Rio Grande once sustained an entire living world. Now people gather to watch water briefly return to its riverbed.
The Clock Is Ticking for New Mexico to Cut Rio Grande Water Use - Inside Climate News
For now, the state is counting on voluntary cuts among vegetable and pecan farmers. But that might not be enough.
insideclimatenews.org
One ancient alerce tree supported more than 300 unique fungal species beneath its roots. Now imagine the invisible extinctions caused by cutting half the forest.
Scientists looked beneath one of the oldest trees on Earth. What they found is astounding
The researchers discovered a hidden world of life among the roots of Chile’s ancient alerce trees. Here’s why that’s important The towering conifers of Chile’s southern rainforests do far more than shape the skyline. Research in Biodiversity and Conservation reveals that these ancient trees are hubs of hidden biodiversity, highlighting their crucial role in the forest ecosystem. The temperate rainforests of the Chilean Coast Range are home to many unique and important species, including an
apple.news
We know little about the insects of ancient ecosystems. Once in a while, someone notices an overlooked detail and an entirely new story emerges. How many ecological relationships disappeared without leaving enough evidence for us to even know they existed?
Scientists entered a cave on a mysterious Caribbean island, strewn with strange fossils. What they found there was like nothing else on Earth
Bees are known for being incredibly smart – this recent discovery confirms that their ancient counterparts were just as resourceful. July 9, 2026 Thousands of years ago, bees came across scattered bones in a cave – and decided to use them as nests in an impressive feat of adaptability. It looks like a bee, acts like a bee – but this is no bee... The ancient bee nests were discovered on the Caribbean island Hispaniola, once a key territory for the pirates of the area, in a cave called Cueva de
apple.news
The Aral Sea may be one of the planet’s greatest environmental disasters. We drained an inland sea, created a toxic desert, and a massive source of carbon emissions.
The Aral Sea isn't just an ecological nightmare — it's a carbon bomb
Most of this inland sea is a dry lakebed the size of Ireland, and it has already released 748 million metric tons of CO2.
grist.org
“…..the search for strategic perfection can become indistinguishable from paralysis.” Compelling post advocating pro-active deployment of the law. Restraint may be unwise: use it or lose it. #ForNature
Lyle Lewis@race2extinct.bsky.social · last wk.Environmental laws do not protect anything when we are too afraid to use them. Meanwhile, the road is built, the forest is cut, and the species disappears. My new essay: Waiting for the Perfect Environmental Lawsuit
Environmental laws do not protect anything when we are too afraid to use them. Meanwhile, the road is built, the forest is cut, and the species disappears. My new essay: Waiting for the Perfect Environmental Lawsuit
Waiting for the Perfect Environmental Lawsuit
Why conservation can lose everything while waiting for a better case, court, or administration
open.substack.com
No form of energy production is environmentally finished once it is built. Its infrastructure must be maintained, replaced, and expanded—and each step creates new damage.
Line 5 tunnel in Michigan clears major permitting hurdle, in blow to opposition
Michigan regulatory officials on Wednesday issued several key permits for the construction of a tunnel to replace an aging section of the Line 5 pipeline in the Straits of Mackinac, the waterways that straddle the state’s Upper and Lower peninsulas.
apple.news
A few decades ago, Western water fights were farmers vs endangered species. Now they’re farmers vs towns, data centers, solar projects, and semiconductor plants. I miss the good ol’ days when endangered species were still part of the argument.
In US West, drought pits farms against towns, industry in scramble for water
In Arizona, dead fish lie in the dry bed of a reservoir. To the north, a small Utah town could run out of water in months. And in Colorado, a rancher has sold a fifth of her herd as stock ponds stand empty.
apple.news
While conservation waits for the perfect lawsuit, destruction proceeds without delay. New essay: Waiting for the Perfect Environmental Lawsuit — Sunday
bluesky is where a “clean” energy shill made a post about how insects, bats & birds are worth sacrificing and they were applauded. and this is where acknowledging the earth is finite is racist & ecofascist. renewables are too politicized & most dont want to know the reality about the predicament
During peak season, a bison may have to cross traffic and move through crowds of people before one encounter becomes an “attack.” The remarkable thing isn’t that conflict occurs. It’s that it doesn’t happen more often.
What went wrong in Yellowstone bison attack? Utah wildlife expert explains
Days after a man was attacked by a Yellowstone bison, wildlife experts in Utah said the encounter underscores how quickly bison behavior can escalate, especially during breeding season.
ksl.com
This is True Large scale wind & solar power farms are killing countless numbers of birds & bats every year And the U.S. Flop & Waffle Service & corporate env NGOs are as quiet as church mice about it
Lyle Lewis@race2extinct.bsky.social · 2w agoA wind farm fragments habitat before the blades ever turn. Once operating, it kills birds and bats—and alters the air, temperature, and moisture across the habitat that remains.
A wind farm fragments habitat before the blades ever turn. Once operating, it kills birds and bats—and alters the air, temperature, and moisture across the habitat that remains.
In Illinois, a wind farm left a giant ‘thermal footprint’ by warming the wind in a single direction, and satellites detected it from space
In Illinois, a wind farm left a giant ‘thermal footprint’ by warming the wind in a single direction, and satellites managed to detect it from space.
ecoportal.net
In Europe, stork populations are rebounding. This is celebrated as a big success of rewilding. Nothing could be further from the truth. Due to climate change, storks don't need to migrate to Africa anymore - fewer deaths. But waste & landfills are now their main food source and this can't end well.
Couch potatoes and junk food junkies
Instead of migrating to Africa, storks are spending their winters feeding at landfills in Spain and Portugal. Storks across Europe are staying put due to availability of food waste at dumps - which ca...
dw.com
Lyle Lewis@race2extinct.bsky.social · 2w agoDelisting a species should mean it can withstand the world it’s entering—not merely the one it has just survived.
Delisting a species should mean it can withstand the world it’s entering—not merely the one it has just survived.
Pacific gray whales facing ‘catastrophic’ die-off as climate crisis hits food supply
Trump administration urged to relist a species in ‘very, very serious trouble’ under Endangered Species Act
theguardian.com
