As hearings on the 2023 Farm Bill begin, a push is on to ensure biodiversity is part of the conversation. A Senate hearing on the bill s conservation and forestry programs was held on Wednesday. According to Defenders of Wildlife, more than 70% of species listed under the Endangered Species Act rely on private lands, and more than 40 % of private land in the lower 48 states is managed for agriculture. .
By Carey L. Biron for Context.Broadcast version by Brett Peveto for Maryland News Connection reporting for the Solutions Journalism Network-Public News Service Collaboration The owner of Deep Roots Farm in rural Maryland and her workers finished the fall harvest last month, but some of their most vital plantings are still in the ground - and growing fast. Four species of cover crops - plants such as winter rye and hairy vetch, later removed in the spring - are key to soil resuscitation efforts underway at Deep Roots, 53 acres of rolling hills that used to be part of a tobacco farm. .
The Elwha River watershed on the Olympic peninsula has been transformed since dam removal a decade ago, but logging could harm the the habitat s progress. Washingtonians are rallying on Sunday to protect nearby forests. The Elwha River dam removal has been the largest in U-S history to date. .