wildlife

Ahead of a House vote scheduled for today, the White House threatened to veto a water bill backed by California Republicans, saying it overrides state water law and the Endangered Species Act, "thereby resulting in conditions that could be detrimental to the Delta fish and other species."

A state survey shows a 30-percent drop in the population of breeding waterfowl in California in one year due to drought and poor habitat, says the Sacramento Bee.

The government will spend up to $50 million over five years to reduce flooding and improve water quality, soil health,and wildlife habitat in the Red River of the North basin. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the project at Moorhead, Minn, across the Red River from Fargo, ND.

The Agriculture and Interior departments unveiled an eco-system-wide program to enhance habitat for threatened and endangered species in the U.S. Southwest.

The USDA announced the first general signup for the Conservation Reserve, which pays landowners an annual rent to idle fragile cropland for at least 10 years, since the 2014 farm law limited the reserve to a maximum of 24 million acres.

Gov. Jerry Brown and California legislative leaders proposed a $1 billion drought-relief package as the state enters its fourth year of drought. The pair of bills includes $128 million to alleviate the impact of drought...

A rare coalition of grain processors, conservationists and clean-water groups asked the Agriculture Department to dedicate one-third of the Conservation Reserve to buffer strips, windbreaks and other practices that protect water quality and wildlife habitat.

In a letter, 52 House Democrats asked President Obama to "be bold" and protect the monarch butterfly under the Endangered Species Act, "the last, best chance to save this amazing species and its incredible migration."

In a CNN interview, President Obama called for regulations for drones to ensure "that we get the good and minimize the bad." The president commented one day after a two-foot wide drone crashed on the White House grounds.

The biggest USDA conservation program, the Conservation Stewardship Program, slights ongoing work by farmers in favor of operators who are new to the program or agree to take on additional land, water and wildlife work, say two small-farm groups.

California is the world's largest grower of almonds, with trees on 860,000 acres, a crop that be imperiled especially in the drought now entering its fourth year, says the New York Times.

The Agriculture Department unveiled revisions in the Conservation Stewardship Program to reflect the directions of the 2014 farm law and invited public comments on its proposals.

A USDA blog cites Wyoming ranchers, who collectively replaced 29,000 feet of woven and five-strand barb wire fencing, to make the point that one of its largest conservation programs, the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, will share the cost of erecting wildlife-friendly fencing. The …

Landowners enrolled in the Conservation Stewardship Program, which pays farmers to practice soil, water and wildlife conservation as part of their daily operations, will have two months to apply for a renewal of their contract, says a USDA bulletin.

It's well-known that agricultural practices can affect soil fertility, water quality, wildlife populations and pest numbers for good or bad.

Three widely used neonicotinoids are likely to adversely affect, in at least some way, most of the threatened and endangered species in the country, said the Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday.