skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Saturday, December 28, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Powerful thunderstorms threaten Texas and Louisiana, delaying holiday travel; Volunteers vital for meal delivery to older IL residents; Bald eagle gets official nod as Maine population soars; Tips to help avoid holiday scams.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Immigrants' advocates worry about Trump's mass deportation plans. Voters from both parties oppose ending the EPA's regulatory power. And older adults want lawmakers to lower prescription drug costs.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

From the unprecedented election season to the latest environmental news, the Yonder Report looks back at stories that topped our weekly 2024 newscasts.

Report Cites Wildlife-Migration Challenges, Solutions

play audio
Play

Tuesday, October 11, 2022   

Like humans, animals are creatures of habit and often do not adjust when their migration routes are disrupted.

A new report said there is adequate science to meet the challenge in New Mexico and other Western states. Each year, mule deer, elk, pronghorn and other large animals travel hundreds of miles in search of food.

Jesse Duebel, executive director of the New Mexico Wildlife Federation, said by fitting migrating wildlife with GPS collars, scientists learn their routes and can recommend where overpasses, underpasses, box culverts and strategic fencing should be built, which he said has three major benefits.

"Number one, we're creating jobs in local communities; number two, we're reducing the number of wildlife/vehicle collisions happening on our roadways; and the third benefit, of course, is to the wildlife itself," Duebel outlined. "We're not losing wildlife on our roadways."

Duebel pointed out New Mexico's recently adopted Wildlife Corridors Action Plan is the first in the country to tackle wildlife habitat and driver-safety concerns holistically, rather than as separate issues.

Matt Skroch, project director of U.S. public lands and rivers conservation for the Pew Charitable Trusts and the study's author, said wildlife are important for natural landscapes and support the multimillion-dollar recreation industry.

"If they can't journey along these migration routes, in many cases the populations decline," Skroch explained. "A declining population is bad for the wildlife, and it's bad for the people that depend on those wildlife."

Duebel noted while GPS has been around for several decades, it has only recently been scaled up for broad applications in wildlife research.

"So by just doing all of this mapping and utilizing these GPS collar technologies, we can see exactly where the problems are and then work with the Department of Transportation and the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish to develop long-term durable solutions," Duebel stated.

New Mexico's Wildlife Corridors Act directs state agencies to seek input from the public, tribal governments and other stakeholders as the plan is implemented.

Disclosure: The Pew Charitable Trusts Environmental Group contributes to our fund for reporting on Endangered Species & Wildlife, Environment, and Public Lands/Wilderness. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.


get more stories like this via email
more stories
The Farm Bill extension is in effect through Sept. 30, 2025, and includes nearly $31 billion in economic and disaster aid for farmers. (Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

Farmers in Wisconsin may be breathing a sigh of relief going into the new year with the farm bill extension but it may be temporary, as experts said …


Social Issues

play sound

More middle-aged and older South Dakotans had financial concerns this year, especially around health care, according to a new survey. Advocates for …

Social Issues

play sound

By Anya Petrone Slepyan for The Daily Yonder.Broadcast version by Roz Brown for New Mexico News Connection for the Public News Service/Daily Yonder Co…


Social Issues

play sound

Virginia's child welfare system grapples with a surge of unfounded reports that critics say stem from overly broad mandatory reporting laws, …

Olive, a poodle mix, has comforted more than 300 kids in Missouri's court system. (Photo courtesy of Therapy Paws)

Social Issues

play sound

A Missouri-based therapy dog has an inspiring journey that began as a homeless stray on the streets of Los Angeles. Olive, a ten-pound poodle mix…

Social Issues

play sound

California has more than 60,000 children in the foster care system and about 7,000 in extended care up to age 21 but many do not receive all the servi…

Social Issues

play sound

By Dwight Adams for Mirror Indy.Broadcast version by Joe Ulery for Indiana News Service reporting for the Mirror Indy-Free Press Indiana-Public News S…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021