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Wildfires prompt evacuation in the Carolinas as New Jersey crews battle their own blaze; Iowa town halls find 'empty chairs'; CA groups bring generations together to work on society's biggest problems; PA works to counter Trump clean energy rollbacks.

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Lawmakers from both parties face angry constituents. Some decide to skip town halls rather than address concerned voters and Kentucky considers mandatory Medicaid work requirements.

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Cuts to Medicaid and frozen funding for broadband are both likely to have a negative impact on rural healthcare, which is already struggling. Plus, lawsuits over the mass firing of federal workers have huge implications for public lands.

Conservationists: Study of Atlantic menhaden critical to preserving species

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Thursday, February 6, 2025   

A small forage fish near the bottom of the food chain has a significant effect on the survival of several iconic predators along the Atlantic Seaboard, including striped bass, bluefish and ospreys.

A coalition of conservation groups in Rhode Island and beyond is supporting a renewed push for studies on the ecology, fishery impacts and economic significance of the Atlantic menhaden.

Jaclyn Higgins, forage fish program manager for the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, said scientists lack current data on the number and condition of menhaden fisheries in the Chesapeake Bay region.

"This is the largest fishery on the Atlantic coast. It's the third-largest fishery by volume in the U.S.," Higgins pointed out. "We don't have any information on how many menhaden are in the Bay, how many should be in the Bay, how many should be left over to play an ecological role."

A bill pending in the Virginia General Assembly would provide $3 million for the Virginia Institute of Marine Science to complete a three-year study of the condition and outlook of the menhaden fishery population.

Conservation groups, including the Audubon Society, Nature Conservancy and the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, are backing the research effort. Higgins noted menhaden are considered a critical species along the entire Atlantic coast.

"They run from Maine to Florida over the course of the year," Higgins explained. "In the winter, they spawn offshore along Virginia and North Carolina. In the spring, they run up to the estuaries mainly in the Chesapeake Bay, and then they move up north toward Maine."

Rich Hittinger, first vice president of the Rhode Island Saltwater Anglers Association, said menhaden are a major food source of striped bass, one of the state's most important sport fish.

"Rhode Island has a history of managing menhaden probably better than most states," Hittinger contended. "Our state regulators began managing the population at least 15 or maybe as long as 20 years ago."

Disclosure: The Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership contributes to our fund for reporting on Climate Change/Air Quality, Endangered Species and Wildlife, Environment, and Public Lands/Wilderness. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.


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