Latest Agriculture and the environment News
Chesapeake Bay's dead zone is smallest it's been in years
SALISBURY, Md. (AP) — Researchers say that the Chesapeake Bay's infamous dead zone is the smallest it's been in years. The so-called dead zone is an area where oxygen levels are so low that aquatic life dies. The area is caused by pollution, often from runoff from farms and cities in the bay's watershed. ...
Road, logging restrictions to end in largest national forest
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The federal government announced plans Wednesday to lift restrictions on logging and building roads in a pristine rainforest in Alaska that provides habitat for wolves, bears and salmon. Conservation groups vowed to fight the decision. The U.S. Department of Agriculture said it has...
Review: Why small farms need a reordering of our society
“A Small Farm Future: Making the Case for a Society Built Around Local Economies, Self-Provisioning Agricultural Diversity and a Shared Earth,” by Chris Smaje (Chelsea Green) With the possible exception of parks, perhaps no use of the land is viewed more favorably in America than a small farm....
Drought may slow growth for red oak, white pine trees
DURHAM, N.H. (AP) — Growth for trees such as red oak and white pine trees is likely to lag next year because of the severe drought, a University of New Hampshire researcher said. Heidi Asbjornsen with the New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station said both trees have very different ecological...
4 sickened after consuming raw milk products from Maine farm
SHAPLEIGH, Maine (AP) — Maine officials are investigating four cases of people becoming ill from consuming raw milk products. The Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry and Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention said four cases of cryptosporidiosis connected to raw milk were...
Bird flu fears: Dutch farms ordered to keep poultry indoors
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The Dutch government said Thursday it is ordering poultry farms to keep their birds indoors after six wild swans were found recently dead and tests on two of the birds came back positive for a highly pathogenic strain of bird flu. The order was set to come into force at...
Database shows Maine has more than 600 kinds of spiders
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — A database published by the Maine Forest Service shows that the state has more than 600 kinds of spiders. The Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry said the state's spider checklist is the result of 14 years of work and collaboration between the state and...
‘Missing piece’ of historic Bay Area land to open to public
MARTINEZ, Calif. (AP) — The National Park Service has acquired an historic farm in the San Francisco Bay Area that will allow public access to thousands of acres of land crucial to saving wildlife such as the red-legged frog and the golden eagle, according to a newspaper report Monday. Often referred to...
Invasive plant found in southern Maine for first time
YORK, Maine (AP) — Maine agriculture authorities are urging nursery owners and land managers to search properties for the presence of an invasive plant that has been found in York County. The Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry said it recently confirmed the first Maine location of...
W.Va. man partakes in program to improve wildlife habitat
IRELAND, W.Va. (AP) — At age 79, John Cobb doesn’t have to spend six to eight hours a day working to improve wildlife habitat. He does, though, because he wants to. Like an ever-growing number of West Virginians, Cobb participates in a program that reimburses private landowners for turning patches...
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