"This National Bison Day," writes WCS's John Calvelli in an op-ed for National Bison Day in the New York Daily News, "look to the Bronx to remember the animal that sustained countless peoples, survived destruction, and still shapes the land we share. In its quiet power lies the best of who we have been and who we might yet become."

While it's true that extreme heat has driven the fourth global bleaching event since the 1980s and true that large amounts of live coral have now been lost, WCS's Emily Darling and Melissa Wright, Ocean Initiative lead at Bloomberg Philanthropies, argue that in the ocean, the line between life and death isn't so simple.

Alaska's Kasegaluk Lagoon and the other NPR-A Special Areas are part of our collective trust and their stewardship our shared responsibility. In a new essay, WCS's Kayla Shively argues that "whether they endure for future generations will depend on what we choose to value and defend today."

"Belgium sits at the crossroads of international finance and sustainability," writes WCS's Arnaud Goessens in a new commentary for Forbes Belgium. Adds Arnaud, "Its financial sector — already a leader in responsible investing and green bonds — has the expertise to scale the next wave of solutions. Beyond today’s crises lies a powerful opportunity: innovative financial models that can redefine how we value and protect nature. To rise to the challenge, we must unlock private capital — and Belgium is well placed to help turn promising mechanisms into real impact."

Recognizing biodiversity protection as a core duty of care, health professionals must chart a path that safeguards the ecological foundations of health for present and future generations, write WCS’s Chris Walzer and his colleague Neil Vora in a new essay for Stat 10

"The urgency and scale of biodiversity loss leave no doubt that new conservation tools are needed," writes WCS's Liz Bennett in a new essay for Context. "Synthetic biology," she continues, "offers a growing number of sustainable and cost-effective applications to protect endangered species from the evolving threats they face. And it is already having an impact."

In a new commentary for Amazon Web Services, WCS's Emily Darling and Kim Fisher recall that when WCS launched MERMAID AI on World Oceans Day in June 2025, it marked the first time that benthic photo quadrat analysis could be done directly inside MERMAID. "Instead of importing photo annotations created in other platforms," they write, "users can now drag, drop, and use AI to classify photos seamlessly alongside their fish, bleaching, and habitat data."

WCS's Sue Lieberman joins NPR's "Short Wave" podcast to discuss the recent vote by members of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to support the responsible use of synthetic biology for the protection of biodiversity while remaining vigilant to the possible unintended consequences of the growing technology. Notes Sue, "We're in the middle of a biodiversity crisis, we're in the middle of a climate change crisis, so I think we need to employ every tool we can to prevent further collapse of ecosystems."

In Papua New Guinea’s Eastern Highlands, five clans have come together to formally protect 2,000 hectares of ancestral forest through the Yasina Conservation Deed. As Wild Audio's Hannah Kaplan reports in conversation with WCS's Harshad Hemant Karandikar and Bennie W. Atigini, this landmark agreement shows how Indigenous communities can lead conservation, safeguarding biodiversity while preserving their cultural traditions.

"While spreading awareness of conservation helped me feel like I was contributing to change," writes Christine Peralta in a new essay at PBS Nature for Hispanic Heritage Month, "I wanted to get my boots muddy and see my neighborhood reflected in the audiences I was working with. Enrolling in the Advanced Inquiry Program (AIP) made it possible."

In a new essay timed to the IUCN World Conservation Congress in Abu Dhabi, WCS's Christopher Holmes and the Republic of Congo’s Minister of Environment, Sustainable Development Arlette Soudan-Nonault highlight the recent formal adoption by the Congolese government of guidelines for “Other Effective Conservation Measures,” or OECMs. "Though the term may sound bureaucratic," write Christopher and Mrs. Soudan-Nonault, "it represents a breakthrough for how we think about conservation — and it comes from the first country in the Congo Basin to chart this course."

“As the COVID-19 pandemic reminded us, biotechnology will play a critical role in preparing for and responding to future health crises.,” write WCS’s Sue Lieberman in an essay in support of a nuanced embrace of synthetic biology at the IUCN World Conservation Congress in Abu Dhabi. “Developing vaccines and diagnostic tools quickly saved millions of lives. Closing off avenues of research now would risk leaving humanity unprepared for threats we know are coming, from the next viral outbreak to the spread of antimicrobial resistance.”

A key motion under consideration at the IUCN World Conservation Congress opening this week would create guidelines for managing the wildlife pet trade, and that’s key because across the world, millions of live animals — mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians — are taken from the wild every year. Read this report on the stakes of this issue from WCS's Liz Bennett at Mongabay.

Once numbering in the tens of millions, the American bison was nearly driven to extinction by the early 1900s. But a coalition of conservationists, Native American communities, and private partners were determined to save the species. In this episode of the Unseen Upside podcast, WCS's John Calvelli shares the remarkable story of the near extinction and subsequent restoration of the American bison in North America.

A hundred years after the Wildlife Conservation Society's Arcturus research vessel first explored the Hudson Canyon, this undersea treasure once again draws explorers to its depths. This month, scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) are sending a remotely operated vehicle more than a mile into its depths. As WCS's John Calvelli notes in a new essay for PBS Nature, the unmanned submersible will relay footage of a world rarely seen—revealing corals, sponges, and sharks in a hidden marine wilderness.

Every four years, the International Union for Conservation of Nature, or IUCN, brings together governments, NGOs, scientists, and Indigenous leaders at the World Conservation Congress. Soon, it will be convened in Abu Dhabi. As WCS's Liz Bennett explains, the growing threat of the pet trade in terrestrial wildlife is one of the important issues that will be addressed there.