As famous in her heyday as any contemporary author today, Gene Stratton-Porter was a celebrated naturalist, author, photographer, and film producer. Born in Indiana in 1863, she grew up with a love of nature, especially birds, and spent her childhood roaming farms and forests, learning about their unique habitats and capturing the beauty of the […]
FOB signed onto the following letter alongside other environmental protection groups to Leader McConnell, Speaker Pelosi, Leader Schumer, Leader McCarthy in Washington DC on March 23rd regarding the links between zoonotic diseases, including COVID-19, the trade of wildlife, and habitat destruction. As you begin to consider additional larger stimulus packages for the U.S. economy to […]
Friends of Blackwater and the Center for Biological Diversity both submitted comments on the Rusty Patched Bumblebee Draft Recovery Plan created by the Fish and Wildlife Service. In addition to our letter, FOB submitted nearly 300 petition signatures and comments from FOB supporters like you! Primarily, we were concerned that the Recovery Plan failed to […]
Friends of Blackwater is excited to support a bill that would permanently fund State Parks! Public lands are such a valuable part of West Virginia- they generate nearly $250 in annual economic significance, protect thousands and thousands of acres of unique and beautiful habitat, provide top notch recreational activities, preserve cultural history, and so much […]
In June of 2019, Friends of Blackwater, the Center for Biological Diversity, and the West Virginia Highlands Conservancy filed objections to a large-scale timbering proposal for 171,579 acres on the Monongahela National Forest located near White Sulfur Springs– called the “Panther Ridge Habitat Enhancement Project.” On November 21, 2019, the Forest Service filed their response, […]
By Ashley Archer All of those animal sounds you hear when walking through a forest, like birds calling, frogs croaking, and insects chirping, are used by wildlife to communicate a variety of messages. In addition to sounds that are within the hearing range of your typical human, some wildlife species communicate in the range that […]
Thanks to many generous supporters, Friends of Blackwater is continuing to support research on “Ginny the West Virginia Northern Flying Squirrel, conducted by Purdue University researchers on the Monongahela National Forest. The intent of this year’s study was to humanely capture flying squirrels and fit them with radio collars, allowing researchers to then track the […]
The Fish and Wildlife Service recently protected critical habitat for four species of Endangered mussels. Most of us assume that getting a species listed as Endangered means it will automatically be protected, but in reality it can take years for the agency to designate and protect critical habitat. In the case of these species, it […]
On May 16th, Friends of Blackwater visited the Mountain Laurel Learning Cooperative in Thomas to talk about wildlife, in honor of Endangered Species Day. Students ranging from 3 all the way up to 12 listed and classified species, deciding which were domestic, which were wild but common, and which were wild and rare. Domestic animals […]
A new lawsuit filed by the Center for Biological Diversity alleges that the federal government is taking far too long to decide whether or not species are Endangered and identify critical habitat. Listing decisions are supposed to be a 2 to 3 year process, but in reality the process takes an average of 12 years. […]
