While I was enjoying my August beach vacation, the federal government was releasing its plan for rebuilding the New York City metro area and the New Jersey shore in the … Read more
John Kostyack’s Archive
40 Years of Success Protecting Endangered Species & Other Wildlife in Our Backyards
2013 is the 40th anniversary of two important moments in wildlife conservation history. In 1973, Congress enacted and President Nixon signed into law the Endangered Species Act. The ESA has … Read more
Engaging with local communities has big salmon and water conservation payoffs
NWF’s Yakima River salmon and ecosystem project shows how engagement with local communities pays off. Read more
Hands-On Habitat Volunteers – A Key to the Future of the Environmental Movement
The near absence of any discussion of the environment in the presidential debates has led me to think about the state of the U.S. environmental movement. In one sense, conservationists … Read more
Communicating about Climate Change and Wildlife
The folks at Climate Access have asked me to share lessons I have learned in my past decade dealing with opponents of taking action on climate change. A key lesson … Read more
Settle the BP Oil Spill Litigation? Maybe, But Let’s Not Let BP Shortchange the Gulf Yet Again
Next week, the long-awaited trial begins to decide the liability of BP, Transocean, Halliburton and other companies involved with the April 2010 oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. The trial … Read more
Saving the Appalachians from Mountaintop Removal Mining
Last week I travelled to Charleston West Virginia to see mountaintop removal coal mining. I saw the scale of mining underway and was taken aback. No community should be forced … Read more
Victory for Endangered Species
Today’s bipartisan vote in the House of Representatives to restore protections for endangered species was a nice surprise. Read more
Settlement Will Increase Protections for Imperiled Wildlife
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) recently announced that it has resolved a host of lawsuits concerning deadlines it missed to protect wildlife under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). … Read more
An Opportunity for the Supreme Court to Hold Polluters Accountable
Today I attended arguments at the US Supreme Court over the question of what role the courts should play in holding polluters accountable for climate change. The Players On one … Read more