Op-Eds and Blogs

In a celebration of the wolverine for Alaska Magazine, WCS's Tom Glass describes how wolverines eke out their lives in the harsh and unforgiving northern landscapes of the world—tundra, taiga, and rugged alpine mountains.

In a new commentary for Scientific American, WCS's Lauren Oakes argues that careful monitoring and upfront investment are necessary to ensure reforestation efforts yield benefits for communities and biodiversity.

In a new commentary for Scientific American, WCS's Rebecca McGuire asks whether Arctic birds can adjust their nesting behavior to keep pace with the rate at which the Arctic’s climate is changing, or will additional evolutionary adjustments will be required?

Conservation investments are at risk of failing as the climate changes. The good news is that conservation practitioners are experimenting with novel approaches to conservation that embrace the realities of this global challenge.

After a satellite collar helped locate a lion who lost a hind leg to a poacher’s trap in Uganda's Queen Elizabeth National Park, WCS teamed with local partners to nurture the lion back to health. Read the story by WCS's Simon Nampindo at PBS Nature.

“Moving on from one of our nation’s most divisive elections,” note Roger Fragua and Ted Roosevelt V in an op-ed for the Salt Lake Tribune, “we have an opportunity to remember that we still have much to learn from the history of buffalo conservation.”

Monitoring bats is critical at a time when they are facing many challenges like the steady spread of White Nose Syndrome. Scientists are keeping their ears open to better understand how we can help these fascinating creatures.

In a new commentary for Mongabay, WCS's Simon Cripps argues that one of the biggest challenges in getting political will for protecting 30 percent of the oceans in MPAs by 2030 and maintaining it thereafter is financial.

WCS's Dale Miquelle and his colleague Martin Gilbert, argue it is incumbent upon science-based conservation agencies to consider vaccinating high-risk tiger populations to mitigate extinction risks.

In a new interview, WCS president and CEO Cristián Samper describes how WCS is focused on the health of wildlife all over the globe. Even before the Covid-19 pandemic, WCS warned about the dangers of a viral pandemic.

Sound is an integral part of a beluga’s life, so the quality of the underwater acoustic environment is very important for their health and survival. Yet climate change is transforming the Arctic marine environment, and it is likely becoming more noisy underwater.

In a new op-ed for Undark magazine, WCS's Sue Lieberman and Chris Walzer argue that part of pandemic preparedness is acknowledging that human, wildlife, and ecological health are inseparable.

In a new excerpt from his award-winning book "Owls of the Eastern Ice," WCS's Jon Slaght describes the sound of two fish owls for Scientific American readers as part territorial call and part pair bond affirmation as their cries break the silence of a frozen Siberian landscape.

In the wake of the current COVID-19 crisis, all stakeholders must work to stop destroying the habitats of species in the Amazon if we are to minimize the risk of another, perhaps more lethal, pandemic.

In a new commentary for the German publication NZZ, WCS's Chris Walzer argues that the corona pandemic shows what happens when the structure of humans, animals and the environment is out of balance.

Zoonotic diseases are on the increase. Reducing the risk of further pandemics requires action in a range of areas, including measures centering on a One Health approach that could be taken to prevent further outbreaks of devastating diseases.