, to take me to the site of a proposed solar farm. On the way, we drive through hollows so steep and narrow that only one row of small, run-down houses fits along the creek. Just beyond their backyards, the Cumberland Forest property begins. Kreps points out railroad cars used to carry coal, idle for so long that kudzu vines have clambered all over them. Coal is fading. Appalachia knows it. The communities here are poor, and there’s not much work.
If you want to do conservation everywhere, then you have to include places where people are using the land or sea to make money. Boyd takes me, along with two state scientists, to see the animals in their new habitat. We drive up through trees, past coal-bed methane pumps, then pop out onto another Appalachian mesa, this one a pale green meadow. Silhouetted on the horizon is a massive bull elk, its heavy antlers ready to drop.
The Nature Conservancy doesn’t want to manage this land indefinitely. The plan is to set up permanent provisions that would allow public access as well as restrict development in the most ecologically valuable parts, and then sell the land and distribute the profit to the investors. Often the biodiversity at risk isn’t even on the farms. Consider the Chesapeake Bay. Nitrogen and phosphorus from farms in a 64,000-square-mile watershed spanning six states flow into the 200-mile-long estuary. If streams are polluted, the bay will be too. And dirty, turbid water kills seagrass, which forms a habitat for other species, such as blue crab, striped bass, and white perch. Even turning the entire bay into a protected area could not save it from threats upstream.
Holter plunges in a shovel so I can inspect the soil. “Bacteria form microbial glue,” he explains proudly, as I run my fingers through the moist, caramel-colored dirt, which is indeed gluey—and fragrant. “We’ve increased soil organic matter to 6 percent from 3 percent,” Holter says. His pasture is literally twice as alive as it used to be.
In 2021, farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners received more than $3.3 billion through U.S. Department of Agriculture conservation programs, covering more than 108 million acres. Those are big numbers, but more can be done. Programs that incentivize harmful practices—grants for waste lagoons at confined animal feeding operations, for example—could be phased out. Smarter investment in conservation for farms and forests could truly empower farmers to be environmental leaders.
We NEED stricter enforcement & laws that cannot be broken to put our country serious action on pollution & global warming. Other countries are already doing this….why is our “great” USA not following suit?
Yet these corporations have bought the Amazon River Basin and is now being destroyed for palm oil plantations. It’s disgusting.
what do you mean by america
get rid of all the cell towers.
This a wonderful notice, please more of this may save the planet and more NG graphic videos on climate change time is not on our side JustStop_Oil EUClimateAction USClimate USclimateindex USClimateRRN UNFCCC
All creation is for people and people's life affects everything. If we want to change something, we have to change ourselves
Once we see what has happened to all the wilderness, we can see the solution.
True talk
So beautiful
Great article..unbelievable commitment by those who care.
creative work
Once our land is broken beyond repair, who's going to care?
but the thing is, north america ecosystem is not that rich. so the impact is just a little for the planet. but it's still a good thing tho. we need to repair our earth even for the smallest thing. but our main priority should be on tropical region and ocean.
titanic.
swilkesphoto Beautiful photos! Yes, we all want to protect environment and protect ourselves. W-MTD decomposes and reduces organic wastes w/o using power or fuel.
We need to ban the import of products made from deforestation in the Amazon, the Taiga, and the Congo POTUS.
I agree!
Everywhere in the Americas, we need to do what's necessary to restore nature.
Water should be the number one priority. The Colorado drying up, no water to cool nuclear reactors, fight forest fires - let alone safe water to drink, seriously wake up!
LMAO
Yes. Why we should continue using safe environmentally friendly energy, plant more trees, and fund national/state/local parks for conservation efforts. To include ocean conservationists. Green space and wild places are key to good health for the world.
titanic.
DawnRoseTurner
An important message for the world.
Liars!! Global Warming aka Climate Change is a FRAUD!!! 100% SCAM ❤️🇺🇸🤨🙏🏻
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