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Aaron Kunkler

@aaronkunkler.bsky.social
655 followers 182 following 30 posts

Endangered Species and Carnivore Conservation Media Specialist @ Center for Biological Diversity WA born and raised he/him

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Aaron Kunkler @aaronkunkler.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
www.nytimes.com/2026/09/23/o...
nytimes.com
Opinion | Our Forests Are Demanding a Sacrifice
Wildfire converted me from a tree-hugger to a tree-worshipper.
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Center for Biological Diversity @biologicaldiversity.org · 02/09/2026
The second #BorderWall is being built north of the existing one inside the national monument, with construction rapidly approaching the ecologically and culturally invaluable desert spring. Quitobaquito and the surrounding desert are a sacred area for the Hia-Ced O’odham and Tohono O’odham people.
biologicaldiversity.org
New Video Shows Border Wall Bulldozing Imminent at Arizona’s Quitobaquito Springs
AJO, Ariz.— The Center for Biological Diversity released footage today showing bulldozers plowing a path for a second border wall just 0.7 miles from Quitobaquito Springs on the U.S.-Mexico border in ...
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Center for Biological Diversity @biologicaldiversity.org · 02/09/2026
Nearly 200 advocacy groups, including the Center, and more than a dozen states have voiced opposition to the EPA's proposed change, making it the latest flashpoint in the national debate over the #DataCenters powering the #ArtificialIntelligence boom.
nytimes.com
E.P.A. Moves to Curb Public Input on Data Centers
Under the proposal, states would no longer need to provide public notice or solicit comments on air pollution permits for data centers and other projects.
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Russ McSpadden @peccarynotpig.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
BREAKING: We’ve documented significant clearing of protected desert land inside Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument near Quitobaquito Springs for the Trump admin’s second border wall that will run parallel to the existing 30-foot-tall wall. Read: sl1nk.com/jrbj7yv
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Aaron Kunkler @aaronkunkler.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
Cattle are a disaster for America's wildlands. Allowing even more places where struggling wildlife live to be trampled and trashed by unmonitored cows is straight up negligent. www.opb.org/article/2026...
opb.org
Environmental group challenges federal push to expand grazing across the West, including Oregon
In Oregon, the Bureau of Land Management alone already authorizes livestock to graze on nearly 14 million acres of public lands across. BLM has identified at least 50,000 acres of its own lands and at...
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Aaron Kunkler @aaronkunkler.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
Oregon's small population of coastal #martens were just granted much-needed temporary protections ahead of this week's massive off-road vehicle takeover of the dunes, which puts these adorable animals and the fragile oceanside ecosystem where they live at risk. courthousenews.com/federal-judg...
courthousenews.com
Federal judge rules Forest Service violated law by allowing off-road events in coastal marten habitat
The coastal marten, a rare orange-furred carnivore native to the forests of Oregon and Northern California, was listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act in 2020 after losing much of its h...
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Douglas Main @dmain.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
A tree sit is on to save an ancient cottonwood from border wall destruction My latest for @theguardian.com www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
theguardian.com
Protesters occupy 200-year-old tree at US-Mexico border to stop its destruction: ‘She’s our Statue of Liberty’
Demonstrators stage ‘tree sit’ in Arizona town to stop felling of ancient cottonwood grove to make way for border wall
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Jeff VanderMeer @jeffvandermeer.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
Why do they not already have capybaras at every level of government?!
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Aaron Kunkler @aaronkunkler.bsky.social · 01/05/2026
On top of being an ecological disaster (and massive economic bubble lol), AI is also terrible news for anyone who cares about accurate reporting. Good on these reporters for taking a stand against the slop. www.nytimes.com/2026/05/01/b...
nytimes.com
Reporters at McClatchy Withhold Bylines in Dispute Over A.I. Content
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Aaron Kunkler @aaronkunkler.bsky.social · 18/03/2026
Team Olympic marmot represent! Save the critters, don't be someone who litters! www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...
seattletimes.com
Stuffed marmot urges WA residents not to litter in a new ad campaign
Washington is calling in its official endemic mammal to head up a litter prevention commercial campaign. Crews picked up 6.2 million pounds of litter last year.
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Aaron Kunkler @aaronkunkler.bsky.social · 05/02/2026
Bezos gutting the WaPo climate and environment desks is truly despicable. Not that I expect much from these blackpilled billionaire losers, but it still sucks watching it happen.
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Aaron Kunkler @aaronkunkler.bsky.social · 29/10/2025
www.courthousenews.com/conservation...
courthousenews.com
Conservationists sue for endangered species protection for Olympic marmots
The Olympic marmot is endemic to the mountains of the Pacific Northwest and have faced threats from climate change and coyote predation.
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Aaron Kunkler @aaronkunkler.bsky.social · 22/08/2025
Someone tell Trump and DeSantis that there are still laws.
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Aaron Kunkler @aaronkunkler.bsky.social · 07/08/2025
🥳🥳🥳 apnews.com/article/flor...
apnews.com
Judge orders temporary halt to construction at Florida's 'Alligator Alcatraz' detention center
A federal judge has ordered a temporary halt to construction of an immigration detention center — built in the middle of the Florida Everglades and dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz” — as attorneys argue whe...
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Center for Biological Diversity @biologicaldiversity.org · 07/07/2025
We must put a stop to the massive immigration detention center, cruelly named "Alligator Alcatraz," in the heart of the Everglades. Please join us now in fighting against this harmful development ➡️ biodiv.us/3Gwiqqo
bit.ly
Axe Alligator Alcatraz
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is fast-tracking a plan to build a massive immigration detention center, cruelly named
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Aaron Kunkler @aaronkunkler.bsky.social · 22/05/2025
Trump thought he could open up a national monument to commercial fishing without a fight? Think again, bub. biologicaldiversity.org/w/news/press...
biologicaldiversity.org
Lawsuit Challenges Trump Order Opening Pacific Monument to Commercial Fishing
HONOLULU— Kāpaʻa, the Conservation Council for Hawai‘i and the Center for Biological Diversity, represented by Earthjustice, filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration today challenging its ille...
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Aaron Kunkler @aaronkunkler.bsky.social · 22/05/2025
Entering the 'masked police' phase of this bullshit I see. www.kuow.org/stories/ice-...
kuow.org
ICE agents at Seattle courthouse arrest people whose deportation hearings are dismissed
People showing up for hearings at the Seattle Immigration Court this week are facing something new. Federal immigration agents wait in the courthouse hallways to arrest people if their deportation pro...
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Aaron Kunkler @aaronkunkler.bsky.social · 17/05/2025
Adorable! www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...
seattletimes.com
New species discovered in WA lake
The Okanagan crayfish found in North Central Washington and north in British Columbia is “olive brown to brick red,” researchers said.
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Mary K. Reinhart @mkreinhart.bsky.social · 14/05/2025
"This is a vision of America's future that has hardly a word to say about forests, oceans, fresh water, ecosystems, or wild animals—about anything that isn't made by and for humans." An Abundance Of Concrete - defector.com/an-abundance...
defector.com
An Abundance Of Concrete | Defector
Reliable sources tell me that you’re not supposed to judge a book by its cover. Until you actually read the thing, though, it’s the only data you have to go on. So here’s what I first noticed about Ab...
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Aaron Kunkler @aaronkunkler.bsky.social · 24/04/2025
"Despite a loud minority of voices calling for wolves to be killed, to return to last century’s status quo, most ranchers understand that people can coexist with this long-missing, ecologically-valuable native species." www.sacbee.com/opinion/op-e...
sacbee.com
Wolves have returned to California after a century. We should welcome them, not fear them | Opinion
“Most ranchers understand that people can coexist with this long-missing, ecologically valuable native species.”
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Aaron Kunkler @aaronkunkler.bsky.social · 16/04/2025
Trump is trying to destroy the Endangered Species Act. This morning, rules were proposed to make it legal for companies to wipe out the places where endangered plants and animals live, without consequence. If they're allowed to stand, any shitty company can make a buck driving wildlife extinct.
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John R. Platt @johnrplatt.bsky.social · 07/04/2025
The Beaver Seekers #InternationalBeaverDay therevelator.org/beaver-seeke...
therevelator.org
The Beaver Seekers • The Revelator
Citizen scientists are helping restore the ecosystem engineers to the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument in Oregon.
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Aaron Kunkler @aaronkunkler.bsky.social · 07/04/2025
Who could have known that an administration filled with braindead white nationalists and failed social media influencers would be so cruel and turbulent?
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Aaron Kunkler @aaronkunkler.bsky.social · 02/04/2025
#Republicans are trying to sell off public lands and degrade our National Parks. Why? Because they want to extend #Trump 1.0's tax cuts for billionaires. If you're tired of this garbage, join us this Saturday, April 5, across the country. 👀🫵🛣️ handsoff2025.com?utm_source=c...
handsoff2025.com
Hands Off!
Donald Trump and Elon Musk think this country belongs to them. They're taking everything they can get their hands on and daring the world to stop them. On Saturday, April 5th, we're taking to the stre...
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Ctr4BioDiv: Climate & Energy Justice Programs @cbd-climate-energy.bsky.social · 02/04/2025
Happening NOW: our @biologicaldiversity.org Climate team is testifying in support of California SB 684, the Polluters Pay Climate Superfund Act 🌟 Watch live: www.senate.ca.gov/media-live-e... bill by @dawnaddis.bsky.social & Sen. Menjivar
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Jennifer Molidor @jennifermolidor.bsky.social · 27/03/2025
The illegal killing of the Metolius wolf father in Oregon may condemn the pups to starvation. Killing federally protected wolves, esp. pack leaders/experienced hunters, has no justification. It can *create* not resolve conflicts with livestock - easier prey for desperate pups. biodiv.us/4iLKRhF
Stop killing wolves. $30.5k Reward for help finding Oregon wolf killer. Gray wolf closeup.
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Catrin Einhorn @catrineinhorn.bsky.social · 27/03/2025
From state legislatures to community groups, from tribal lands to city parks to postage-stamp backyards, people are doing quiet, vital work to confront climate change and biodiversity loss. All year, @carabuckley.bsky.social and I will be writing about these efforts. www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
nytimes.com
50 States, 50 Fixes
A series about local solutions, and the people behind them, to environmental problems.
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Aaron Kunkler @aaronkunkler.bsky.social · 27/03/2025
@biologicaldiversity.org sued the Trump admin today for delaying protections for two highly imperiled California salamanders. Neither species have lungs and instead breathe through their skin. How cool is that? Who couldn't love these little guys? biologicaldiversity.org/w/news/press...
biologicaldiversity.org
Lawsuit Challenges Trump Administration Over Delayed Protections for Two California Salamanders
SACRAMENTO, Calif.— The Center for Biological Diversity today sued the Trump administration for delaying Endangered Species Act protections for the Kern Canyon slender salamander and relictual slender...
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John R. Platt @johnrplatt.bsky.social · 27/03/2025
The AP has no corporate owner and no shareholders. If we don’t step up to defend Americans’ right to speak freely, who will? Today the U.S. government wants to control the AP’s speech. Tomorrow it could be someone else’s.    www.wsj.com/opinion/the-...
wsj.com
Opinion | The AP’s Freedom of Speech—and Yours
A brazen attempt to punish us for using words Trump dislikes.
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Aaron Kunkler @aaronkunkler.bsky.social · 26/03/2025
The Trump administration is moving at breakneck speed to destroy so many things. Here at the Center we're fighting back, but it'll take all of us to stop this bullshit for good. See you in the streets. For info & actions near you:👇👇👇 handsoff2025.com
handsoff2025.com
Hands Off!
Donald Trump and Elon Musk think this country belongs to them. They're taking everything they can get their hands on and daring the world to stop them. On Saturday, April 5th, we're taking to the stre...
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Center for Biological Diversity @biologicaldiversity.org · 14/03/2025
“Chuck Schumer and the Senate Democrats who voted for the Republican bill should pack up and go home for the next two years, as they’ve just handed Musk and Trump free rein to destroy our environmental agencies and gut the civil service,” said @bretthartl.bsky.social
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Aaron Kunkler @aaronkunkler.bsky.social · 12/03/2025
“It basically means that the Fish and Wildlife Service won’t take enforcement action against any private party that unintentionally kills migratory birds,” said Tara Zuardo, senior advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity. “It’s devastating.” www.nytimes.com/2025/03/11/c...
nytimes.com
Birds Face Weakened Protections Under Trump Move
The Interior Department is suspending 20 Biden-era legal opinions, including one leading to fines against energy companies if birds die in oil spills or other industrial activities.
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Aaron Kunkler @aaronkunkler.bsky.social · 07/03/2025
Monarchs are doing better than last year which is good. But they're way below sustainable thresholds. The Fish and Wildlife Service rightfully promised these butterflies protections last December. Keep your eyes on Trump to make sure he doesn't reverse them. biologicaldiversity.org/w/news/press...
biologicaldiversity.org
Eastern Monarch Population Improves But Remains Threatened
Center for Biological Diversity: Safeguards Still Urgently Needed to Save Iconic Butterfly
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Aaron Kunkler @aaronkunkler.bsky.social · 06/03/2025
Rest assured that we won't quietly watch Trump destroy the United States' plants, animals and wild places just so his oligarch pals can buy another vacation home. www.nytimes.com/2025/03/06/u...
nytimes.com
Fearing Retribution, Trump Critics Muzzle Themselves
People say they are intimidated by online attacks from the president, concerned about harm to their businesses or worried about the safety of their families.
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Aaron Kunkler @aaronkunkler.bsky.social · 20/02/2025
The damage that the richest man on the planet and his lapdog #Trump are doing to imperiled species is already unfolding. One example: funding for monitoring northern spotted owls in the #PNW is being cut, leaving conservation agencies without lifesaving data. biologicaldiversity.org/w/news/press...
biologicaldiversity.org
President Trump’s Hiring Freeze Stymies Spotted Owl Monitoring
PORTLAND, Ore.— The Center for Biological Diversity learned this week from a project collaborator, Taal Levi, that regional monitoring for northern spotted owls either won’t occur or will be greatly r...
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Democracy Now! @democracynow.org · 18/02/2025
BREAKING: Indigenous activist Leonard Peltier released from prison after nearly 50 years
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Aaron Kunkler @aaronkunkler.bsky.social · 18/02/2025
It's way past time for the PNW's spring-run Chinook salmon to get protections. biologicaldiversity.org/w/news/press...
biologicaldiversity.org
Lawsuit Aims to Protect Spring-Run Chinook Salmon in Pacific Northwest
PORTLAND, Ore. — The Center for Biological Diversity and allies sued the National Marine Fisheries Service today for delaying Endangered Species Act protection decisions for spring-run Chinook salmon ...
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Center for Biological Diversity @biologicaldiversity.org · 08/01/2025
This news isn't all positive though: The agency also proposed a rule to loosen restrictions on when grizzlies can be killed and limit where they get federal protection. The rule would exclude places like California and Colorado, where the bears once lived and abundant habitat remains.
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Center for Biological Diversity @biologicaldiversity.org · 08/01/2025
BREAKING: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today denied petitions to remove Endangered Species Act protections from #grizzlybears, finding that the imperiled animals still need federal protection. More info: biodiv.us/425odvm
A grizzly bear with three cubs in a field of white flowers, under the headline "PROTECTED," announcing the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's decision to maintain Endangered Species Act protections for these bears.
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Aaron Kunkler @aaronkunkler.bsky.social · 03/01/2025
A power company is quietly trying to flood nearly 1,500 acres in southeast Oklahoma for new reservoirs. It's nearly universally opposed, but the FERC isn't listening even though it would likely drive the endangered Ouachita rock pocketbook mussel extinct. www.oklahoman.com/story/opinio...
oklahoman.com
An environmental disaster is looming in SE Oklahoma because of a power project | Opinion
Plans for facilities to send electricity to Texas would harm Oklahoma's environment and threaten endangered species.
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Brett Hartl @bretthartl.bsky.social · 02/01/2025
This is a real gut punch. Southern resident orcas struggle due to massive amount of pollution that bioaccumulates (and then offloads into the newborn calves). Add in a century of dams and overfishing and now the population is at the brink of extinction. www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...
seattletimes.com
Mother orca Tahlequah once again carrying her dead calf
Tahlequah is once again carrying a dead calf, researchers said, as she did in 2018 in a 17-day, 1,000-mile tour that shocked the region and world.
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Center for Biological Diversity @biologicaldiversity.org · 30/12/2024
BREAKING: We just launched our latest lawsuit against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today for failing to provide habitat protection to endangered Sierra Nevada red foxes in California. More info ➡️ biodiv.us/3ZZHPi4
A Sierra Nevada red fox moving under a large tree during nighttime, captured by a trail camera.
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Aaron Kunkler @aaronkunkler.bsky.social · 14/12/2024
Getting rid of the polio vaccine is an absolutely braindead idea. My grandma couldn't walk up more than three stairs because polio paralyzed one of her lungs. Don't let them do that to your kids.
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Center for Biological Diversity @biologicaldiversity.org · 12/12/2024
Great news 🎉: After 10+ years of advocacy by the Center + allies, the USFWS today proposed to protect eastern #hellbenders as endangered under the Endangered Species Act! More information: biodiv.us/4g85vHZ 📷: by David Herasimtschuk / Freshwaters Illustrated
A large Hellbender salamander resting on a rock submerged in a clear stream surrounded by a forested area.
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Aaron Kunkler @aaronkunkler.bsky.social · 10/12/2024
Monarchs got protected as threatened under the Endangered Species Act! It took way too long (the Center and allies petitioned for protections in 2014), but this is an absolutely crucial first step towards recovering these beautiful, iconic butterflies. biologicaldiversity.org/w/news/press...
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Aaron Kunkler @aaronkunkler.bsky.social · 25/11/2024
Today the Center sued the Fish and Wildlife Service to get them to actually protect North America's tiniest turtles. biologicaldiversity.org/w/news/press...
biologicaldiversity.org
Lawsuit Aims to Protect North America’s Tiniest Turtle in Southern Appalachia
Center for Biological Diversity: Suit Also Seeks Decision for Critically Endangered Southern Fish
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Aaron Kunkler @aaronkunkler.bsky.social · 25/11/2024
Can't think of a better first post than these beautiful Yellowstone bison chilling in the Lamar Valley.
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