Sales of special license plates help fund research for rare species. Conservationists plant a red spruce forest for northern flying squirrels, ready in 50 years. Settlements with energy companies will pay some landowners and protect a nature preserve. And one man’s love of wetlands.
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- Valuing wetlands as places to keep intact, not build over - Leonard Stewart walks along the wetlands of the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge every day. He says it helps him connect with nature and his community.
- How Your License Plate Could Help Rare Species Like Devil Crayfish and Canby’s Mountain Lover - Those river otter license plates and donations of tax refunds pay for projects that protect some of Pennsylvania's most vulnerable species.
- Talen Energy Agrees to Protect Montour Preserve as Part of Plan to Phase Out Coal - A central Pennsylvania conservation group is declaring the settlement a win for water quality and outdoor recreation, as the power plant moves to natural gas.
- Chesapeake Energy to Pay $5.3 Million in Settlement with AG - Eligible landowners will get paid up to $700. Some say Chesapeake owes them tens of thousands of dollars or more.
- Study Indicates Noise from Natural Gas Compressors Not Good for Nesting Songbirds - Fewer eggs hatched in songbird nests exposed to noise of compressor stations than in nests near quieter locations. Birds were spending less time on the eggs.
- Creating a New Spruce Forest for One Small Inhabitant - The imperiled West Virginia northern flying squirrel needs rare red spruce forests to survive. So forests managers are planting a new one, ready in 50 years.
- Groups Want Fracking Waste Included in Health Study - Fracking waste can be radioactive. Advocates want it included in a pair of state-sponsored studies into fracking and childhood cancer, asthma, and poor birth outcomes.