Weekly News Roundup: White House Champions of Change and More!

Climate Change vs. Big Cats

Photo donated by National Wildlife Photo Contest entrant William Brose.

From intimidating bears to fierce gators, mascots across the country are the face of any college athletic program.  It is hard to not feel a surge of school spirit when you see your beloved mascot take the field.  But mascots across the U.S. are facing some steep competition going up against climate change.  Many of our big cat mascots such as, tigers, lions, lynxes, and panthers, could be eliminated as climate change makes is increasingly more difficult for them to survive.

 

What’s happening at National Wildlife Federation this week?

Obama Administration Honors NWF’s Na’Taki Osborne Jelks with a White House Champions of Change Award

EarthTomorrow

March 18-  The Obama Administration has selected Na’Taki Osborne Jelks, manager of Education and Advocacy Programs in National Wildlife Federation’s Atlanta office, as one of 14 White House Champions of Change for her outstanding work in engaging the next generation of conservation leaders.

Na’Taki Osborne Jelks’ recognition comes from her initiative to develop and lead NWF’s Atlanta Earth Tomorrow® Program a multi-cultural, environmental education and leadership development program that creates opportunities for  youth from underserved communities to develop environmental literacy and life skills that help them make valuable contributions to the ecological health and leadership capacity of their communities.

“Through the Earth Tomorrow Program, I have been fortunate to work with a number of talented youth leaders who care about the future of our planet and who take action to protect and restore it for current and future generations,” said Na’Taki Osborne Jelks. “I am awed by their passion and creativity and inspired by the transformations that I have witnessed in participants that propel them from the realization that there are pressing conservation challenges in their communities to engaging their peers, parents, and decision-makers in taking action for change.

Read more here!

 

NWF to Honor President Clinton with Lifetime Achievement Conservation Award

Conservation Achievement Award

March 18President Bill Clinton has been selected as the recipient of the J.N. “Ding” Darling Conservation Award for lifetime achievement. President Clinton will receive the award and deliver remarks at the National Wildlife Federation’s Conservation Awards and Gala Event on April 30 in Washington, DC.

“The Clinton Administration was one of the greatest for the environment in the modern era,” said Larry Schweiger, president and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation. “We’re honored to award President Clinton for his body of conservation achievements that he, the Clinton Foundation and the Clinton Global Initiative have accomplished over many years. President Clinton’s huge wins include protecting many of America’s public lands and resources, reducing pollution, and combating climate change.”

For more details on attending the 2014 Conservation Achievement Awards, visit this link.

 

NWF in the news:

Denver Post:  Tighter controls needed for oil and gas wells near Colorado waterways

“This doesn’t go far enough,” said Bill Dvorak, a public lands organizer for the National Wildlife Federation. “We really need riparian setbacks to keep oil and gas operations away from streams.”

HGTV Gardens: A Guide to Frogs and Toad

Spring has sprung! Be on the lookout for amphibians in your own backyard.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer: ND hunters less successful as deer numbers fall

Kreil said the department has programs aimed at improving deer habitat, but can’t make up for the loss on its own. The new federal farm bill should help, he said. The legislation allocates nearly $58 billion for conservation programs over the next 10 years, according to the National Wildlife Federation.

Times and Democrat: T&D, Walmart kick off 2nd ‘Mini-Gardening Workshop’ series

On April 26, the workshop will be on “Establishing a Backyard Wildlife Habitat,” following the basic guidelines from the National Wildlife Foundation, Miller said.

Union Leader: Your yard could be a certified wildlife habitat

“We can restore elements of habitats in cities and towns by what we plant in our gardens,” said Mizejewski, who is regularly featured on talk shows and morning news programs. “You don’t need a ton of land and it doesn’t matter where you live or how much money you have. You can be doing good things.”

Queens Village Times:  Flushing’s PS 154 wins Eco-School green award

“You all have become student leaders, taking on this program,” Emily Fano, of the National Wildlife Federation, told a roaring gymnasium of fifth-graders last week at a celebration of the award. “It’s not easy to be a Green Flag school. It takes a lot of hard work.”

The Oregonian: Celebrating National Wildlife Week

National Wildlife Week, an annual event organized by the National Wildlife Federation to promote education about and connect kids to wildlife, starts today, March 17, and runs through March 23. This year’s theme is wildlife and water

EcoWatch.com: 10 Wildlife Species You May Not Know Exist in the Gulf of Mexico

The Gulf of Mexico is home to more than 15,420 species—from the coastal estuaries to the deep sea floor, the biodiversity of the Gulf is astonishing.

Bangor Daily News: South Portland likely to extend tar sands moratorium

The moratorium on loading and unloading so-called “tar sands” oil will likely be extended until Nov. 1.

Akron Beacon Journal:  March Madness takes on new meaning for top seed’s mascots; climate change brings endangered status

“We have a new version of ‘March Madness’: Extreme weather fueled by climate change, deeper droughts, and intensifying wildfires,” said Doug Inkley, senior scientist and lead author, in a news release.