
Juanpablo Ramirez-Franco
Reporter, WNIJI cover issues related to wildlife, conservation and ecology for Harvest Public Media and the Mississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk from WNIJ in DeKalb, Illinois. I’m a Report For America corps member.
Before landing at WNIJ, I worked with StoryCorps, City Bureau, the Third Coast International Audio Festival and In These Times magazine. I’ve produced national stories for All Things Considered and Morning Edition.
I grew up in Rockford, Illinois and graduated from Knox College, where I studied Latin American History and Economics.
If you have story ideas for me or just want to chat, feel free to reach out via email jramirez11@niu.edu or follow me on Twitter @__juanpab
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The EPA has completed less than 5% of its Endangered Species Act caseload in reviewing pesticides. Now the agency is proposing a new strategy for scrutinizing agricultural chemicals’ effects on listed species.
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A major surge in climate resilience funding is allowing urban forestry departments to focus on trees. About $1.5 billion of funding will be invested in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service Urban and Community Forestry Program.
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A growing legal movement to grant natural entities like rivers and forests legal rights is gaining traction in the U.S., and environmentalists are now setting their sights on the Mississippi River.
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The disease, Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease Virus Type 2, was first observed in the southwest United States in March of 2020 and has rapidly spread to nearly half of all states.
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The Environmental Protection Agency recently released new rules regarding the Waters of the United States that decide which bodies of water fall under federal protection. But a case the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to rule on soon throws those rules into question and could mean less protection for wetlands.
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Many ag industry and farm worker advocacy groups had high hopes that farm labor reform would make it through Congress last year. Now the future is murky.
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The Census of Agriculture produces the clearest snapshot of agriculture in the U.S. as it exists. The USDA will begin mailing questionnaires to all known agricultural producers this month.
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Bobcat hunting and trapping is commonplace throughout much of the United States, with the exception of a handful of holdout states. Despite the abundance of the wildcat nationwide, some conservationists are pushing back on the open season.
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An Indigenous-led effort is returning buffalo to tribal lands across the Midwest. Some of the animals come from The Nature Conservancy’s buffalo herds.
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Efforts focus on keeping invasive fish out of the Great Lakes, but what about the Mississippi River?Federal and state agencies spend millions of dollars every year to keep destructive invasive carp out of the Great Lakes. Meanwhile, at least 25 destructive species — like water fleas and bloody red shrimp — are inching closer to the Mississippi River Basin.