The Gila River Indian Community Council in September approved plans to reclaim an 80- to 100-square-mile section of the Gila River and floodplain from invasive salt cedar, or tamarisk.
Removing invasive salt cedar reduces the risk of wildfires, but it also offers a chance to restore native plants and wildlife.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has removed the Hualapai Mexican vole (Microtus mexicanus hualpaiensis) from the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife because genetic research shows that it’s not a separate subspecies.
After 30-plus years of wrangling, wildlife managers have yet to agree on a revised recovery plan for the endangered Mexican wolf. As a November deadline looms, a study by the Arizona Game and Fish Department and British Columbia’s Wildlife Genetics International offers guidance for finding common ground.
As Congress eases rules for selling public lands and considers measures to weaken the Endangered Species Act, conservation efforts may rely increasingly on private facilities like the Phoenix Zoo, which supports its Arthur L. and Elaine V. Johnson Foundation Native Species Conservation Center with a portion of its gate receipts.