Conservation

Jordan Teisher and Matthew Albrecht are leading efforts at the Missouri Botanical Garden to bring back plants that have been extinct in the wild for more than 100 years.

The Missouri Department of Conservation believes that an increase in mountain lion sightings indicates a healthier environment.

A new Planned Parenthood in Kansas City, Kansas, opened in June, just after the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade. Just a few months in, the demand for abortion services has become more than they can handle. Plus: How Hays, Kansas, became the pioneer for water conservation in the Midwest.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture spent $7.4 billion dollars on two of its conservation programs in recent years, but a report from an environmental group found a very small percentage of that money went to practices that help fight climate change.

A new initiative pairs an artist with conservation efforts to remove the invasive species of bush honeysuckle in Johnson County’s parks.

Dunn Ranch Prairie has the first grassbank in the Midwest, a partnership where The Nature Conservancy allows local ranchers to graze their cattle on its grasslands while the ranchers’ pasture is allowed to rest.

Roger MacBride, the captain of The Kansas City Lady, wants more people to engage with the river he loves. The boat has become a friendly space for friends, artists, musicians and just about anyone hanging around onshore.

The salamanders, also known as “snot otters,” are an endangered species and some of the largest of their kind in North America. Some scientists estimate that there were about 45,000 hellbenders in Missouri 40 years ago, but the population had declined by over three-quarters.

Under the Paseo bridge at 77th Street in Kansas City, native flowers and insects are springing up thanks to one local artist bringing beauty to a neglected corner of the metro.

NexGen Mining Inc. plans to mine silica sand in Ste. Genevieve County despite blowback from residents concerned about how the mine might affect native wildlife or residents who get their drinking water from wells.

The National Audubon Society is taking a market-based approach to conservation. Its “bird-friendly beef” certification program proposes to measure ecosystem health by using birds as a metric.

Ranchers and sportsmen turn to mass coyote hunts to reduce livestock predation. But in Kansas, the hunts may actually be spurring coyotes to even higher reproduction rates.