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As we welcome fall across the Great Plains, I find myself reflecting on the many ways conservation takes shape. Some moments are big and worthy of celebration, while others may seem small at first...

As we welcome fall across the Great Plains, I find myself reflecting on the many ways conservation takes shape. Some moments are big and worthy of celebration, while others may seem small at first...

Native Orgs Call for Tribal Consultation Following Proposed Closing of National Archives .avia-image-container.av-mv8ia4eo-b33596298ab28f91b26f226f930bcd22 .av-image-caption-overlay-center{ color:#ffffff; }

Photo of hundreds of Native children taken from their homes at Carlisle Indian Industrial School, circa 1900.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 14, 2026 Native Organizers Alliance Jennifer Fairbanks (Blackfeet/Ojibwe), Communications Director

WASHINGTON, D.C. — On October 14, 2026, the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition, Native Organizers Alliance, National Congress of American Indians, and Native American Rights Fund sent a joint letter to the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, expressing deep concern about the planned closures of the National Archives at Chicago, and the National Archives at San Francisco, located in San Bruno, California, without meaningful Tribal consultation.

For Indian boarding school survivors, descendants, Tribal Nations, Tribal Historic Preservation Offices, Native researchers, and families searching for answers, these records are far more than historical documents. They can hold the names, experiences, correspondence, and stories that help families reconnect with relatives and communities understand what happened to generations of Native children and families.

Many of these materials are part of Record Group 75: Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, including documentation related to federal Indian boarding schools, Indian agencies, education, enrollment, allotment, land, and other federal policies affecting Native people.

“Access to these records can be part of the healing process. For families and communities seeking answers about what happened to their relatives, these documents can help restore pieces of stories that were separated, hidden, or lost across generations. We have a responsibility to protect that access and to listen to the people whose histories these records hold.”, said Nikki Santos (Coeur d’Alene Tribe), Chief Executive Officer of the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition.

“To understand who Native people are today, we must understand the injustices our ancestors endured in the past,” said Judith LeBlanc, executive director of Native Organizers Alliance. “The closure of these archives is an act of book burning—a way to shield peoples’ eyes from the country’s true history. Not only do our Tribal nations have the right to meaningful consultation, we as Native peoples have a right to know the truth so we can begin healing.”

“The federal government has an obligation to preserve the records that document its relationship with Tribal Nations. These are not ordinary government files—they are the evidence of treaties, land transactions, federal decisions, and commitments that define the United States’ trust and treaty obligations to our Nations,” said Larry Wright Jr., Executive Director of the National Congress of American Indians. “Closing NARA facilities and moving these records out of the communities and regions they serve risks making those records harder to access and less available to the Tribal Nations whose rights and history they document. The government cannot walk away from the historical record of its obligations to Indian Country. These records must be preserved, protected, and accessible to Tribal Nations for generations to come.”

“These archives hold documents and records that sovereign Tribal Nations rely on to vindicate the rights of Tribal members and to hold the federal government accountable for its trust and treaty obligations,” said John Echohawk, Executive Director of the Native Americans Rights Fund . “The United States’ proposed closure threatens the ability of Tribes to access these critical records.  This historical record of the United States relationship with Tribes, including its failure to meet its promises and obligations to Tribes must be made more, rather than less, accessible.”

As the National Archives and Records Administration considers the future of the Chicago and San Francisco facilities and the collections housed there, we ask that Tribal Nations and affected communities have an opportunity to be part of these conversations. Decisions about location, accessibility, and stewardship of federal Indian records have a direct impact on whose histories these records document.

The preservation of these records is ultimately about more than archives. It is about our relatives, families, communities, truth, and opportunity to heal.

Read the letter to NARA: boardingschoolhealing.org/nara-letter/

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About the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition: The National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition (NABS) is dedicated to advocating for Native peoples impacted by U.S. Indian boarding schools. NABS seeks truth through education and research, justice through activism and policy advocacy, and healing through programs and traditional gatherings, boardingschoolhealing.org.

About Native Organizers Alliance: Native Organizers Alliance builds the organizing capacity of Native leaders and groups to create grassroots power for change in Native communities. It serves as a forum for collaboration, sharing best practices, and promoting their work with national allies. The organization supports grassroots-driven social change, advancing the health and welfare of rural, urban, and reservation communities across Indian Country. For more information, visit https://nativeorganizing.org/.

About the National Congress of American Indians: Founded in 1944, the National Congress of American Indians is the oldest, largest, and most representative American Indian and Alaska Native organization in the country. NCAI advocates on behalf of Tribal governments and communities, promoting strong Tribal-federal government-to-government policies and a better understanding among the general public regarding American Indian and Alaska Native governments, people, and rights. For more information, visit www.ncai.org.

About the Native American Rights Fund: NARF is a non-profit 501c(3) organization dedicated to defending and asserting the legal rights of Native Americans. Since 1970, the Native American Rights Fund (NARF) has provided specialized legal assistance to Tribal Nations, organizations, and individuals nationwide on the most important issues to Native Americans. In hundreds of major court cases, legislation and inter-governmental agreements, NARF has achieved significant results in critical areas such as Tribal sovereignty, treaty rights, natural resource protection, voting rights, and Indian education. Like us on Facebook and on Instagram and follow us on LinkedIn to learn about the latest fights to promote justice for Native Americans.

The post Native Orgs Call for Tribal Consultation Following Proposed Closing of National Archives appeared first on Native Organizers Alliance.

This post is sponsored by Ride Illinois.

Last Friday, the Chicago City Council’s Traffic Safety Committee unanimously voted to expand the Smart Streets Pilot Program’s, camera enforcement of bus/bike lanes and bus stops in the central city, so that it eventually becomes a permanent, citywide program. Today it went to the full council for the final decision.

The Smart Street expansion plan.

Currently, the initiative involves cams mounted on CTA buses and City vehicles, which issue tickets to cars and trucks parked or standing in bus and bike facilities. (State legislation would have to be passed to legalize cam enforcement of driving in these lanes and stops.)

An enforcement camera attached to a City vehicle. Photo: City of Chicago

While some other news outlets have reported that the bill involves the camera enforcement of “double parking,” that’s only true if the double parking in question involves a paint-only, non-protected bike lane located on the left side of parked cars. “The program is not currently enforcing double parking [when no bike or bus lanes are present],” Chicago Department of Transportation spokesperson Erica Schoeder told Streetsblog this afternoon. “You’re right they may be confusing it with parking/stopping in bus and bike lanes, and bus stops, which are all being enforced.”

A misleading, basically erroneous Fox Chicago headline.

Committee Chair Ald. Daniel La Spata (1st) who co-sponsored the ordinance with Ald. Andre Vasquez (40th), heralded the win in an email to constituents. “This program has issued over 140,000 citations and generated roughly $2 million in revenue,” he write. “And 82 percent of drivers who get a warning never get a ticket and 64 percent of those that get a first ticket never get a second.”

This morning, Vasquez held a press conference about the legislation at City Hall. Several other alders and civilian Safe Streets advocates gave speeches in support of the bill.

Vasquez, at podium. Active Transportation Alliance Campaign Organizer W. Robert Schultz III is fourth from left. Photo: ATA spokesperson Nathan Cordero

“We support the proposed expansion of the Smart Streets ordinance,” said ATA’s W. Robert Schultz III during the presser. “Many times, when I’m a rider on the Chicago CTA bus number 66, it’s especially frustrating to be delayed when [drivers] park illegally in clearly marked red bus lanes. The Smart Streets program can help buses move faster in designated lanes and protect people biking from [having to make] potentially deadly maneuvers around vehicles parked in bike lanes.” 

Streetsblog live-posted parts of today’s City Council hearing. During Traffic Safety Chair La Spata’s (somewhat hard for a lay person to understand), presentation to the Council, the Smart Streets expansion ordinance was passed without the need for a full vote. Vasquez’s office and CDOT’s Schroeder confirmed this great news.

La Spata makes his (sort of esoteric) presentation to the Council. Screenshot of the livestream.

Here’s what I was able to record from La Spata’s uncharacteristically low-key presentation on the subject: “…passage of this item by the first, most favorable roll call vote from the Committee on Finance, and the associate unsuccessful motion to reconsider the vote.”

“Hearing none, so ordered,” responded Mayor Brandon Johnson.”

Sorry, but I haven’t done enough reporting at 121 N. LaSalle St. to be 100 percent fluent in Chicago City Council lingo.

But anyway, this is a great step forward for making bus and bike travel in our city safer and more efficient, which will likely save lives and prevent heartbreak. It will also make riding buses and bikes in our city a lot more pleasant. Congratulations to Ald. Vasquez, Ald. La Spata, and the Chicago sustainable transportation advocacy community for getting this done!

“Expanding the Smart Streets program citywide is a no-brainer,” Vasquez said in a statement. “We know that enforcing bus and bike lane violations changes driver behavior. The Smart Streets pilot showed that over 80 percent of drivers who received a warning did not commit a repeat violation. Now, with the citywide expansion, we have the ability to go after the companies who have proven to be repeat offenders. I truly believe this legislation will save lives, and I’m enormously proud that we were able to get it passed.”

Here are some more reactions to the win from other folks and organizations that helped make it happen.

this is fantastic news, enactment without enforcement is pointless. don’t park in the bike lanemissing you today Bean, nice to hear you remembered and honored by City Hall with this.

— TGS (@lilybeansdad.bsky.social) 2026-10-14T19:09:43.632Z

“Bean” is the nickname for Lily Shambrook, 3, who lost her life on June 9, 2022. She was riding on the back of her mother’s bicycle when a truck driver obstructed the bike lane they were riding in on Leland Avenue in Uptown, which caused the fatal crash.

Lily Shambrook by a fountain at McCormick Place during a bike ride on the Lakefront Trail. Photo: Provided

Today in the Committee on Pedestrian & Traffic Safety: The Divvy contract extension was NOT voted on. Committee members voted to hold the item in committee to further discuss concerns. The ordinance to make the Smart Streets Pilot permanent and expand it citywide PASSED!

— Alderman La Spata (@aldermanlaspata.bsky.social) 2026-10-09T21:31:47.324Z

Screenshot of posts by Bike Lane Uprising.

If you appreciate Streetsblog Chicago’s livable streets reporting and advocacy, please consider making a tax-deductible donation to support our work. Thank you!

Communities along the Delaware and Schuylkill Rivers face growing threats from flooding, extreme heat, and industrial pollution. A new report and website from Clean Air Council explores how these risks affect five communities in Philadelphia and Delaware County and outlines ways to help residents prepare for a changing climate.

Launched in 2022, Clean Air Council’s three-year Climate Resilient Communities Project brought together residents of Marcus Hook, Trainer, Chester, Eastwick, and Grays Ferry to better understand local climate risks and develop community-driven solutions.

Working with Olin Labs, the Council combined climate modeling, environmental research, and community input to look at how existing industrial pollution and increasingly severe weather could affect public health, infrastructure, and neighborhood safety.

When Climate Risks and Industrial Pollution Overlap

One of the project’s key findings is that climate change can make existing industrial hazards more dangerous. Flooding and severe storms can damage industrial facilities, potentially releasing harmful pollution into nearby neighborhoods and waterways.

The study identified more than 556 industrial facilities and brownfield sites across the project area, including refineries, chemical facilities, hazardous waste sites, and other industrial operations.

The project also highlights how those risks vary by neighborhood. Eastwick faces extensive flooding, while Chester and Marcus Hook have industrial facilities located in areas prone to flooding. In Grays Ferry, limited tree canopy and extensive paved surfaces contribute to extreme heat, while redevelopment of the former Philadelphia Energy Solutions refinery presents ongoing environmental concerns.

Turning Community Knowledge Into Action

Throughout the project, residents participated in workshops and meetings, reviewed climate data, and helped identify neighborhood priorities. Their contributions resulted in a climate resilience report and website with recommendations tailored to each community.

The recommendations address immediate neighborhood needs as well as larger regional and policy changes, including improving emergency preparedness, expanding access to green spaces, strengthening community connections, and reducing risks associated with industrial development.

Clean Air Council also worked with community partners to implement local green infrastructure projects, including improvements to Sun Village Park in Chester; Wilcox Park in Trainer; and the Growing Together Community Garden in Grays Ferry. These efforts also included installing climate information stations in Eastwick and Grays Ferry. 

Explore the Findings and Recommendations

Clean Air Council has developed a comprehensive website featuring the project’s research, community profiles, climate risk maps, and recommendations for all five focus communities.

The resource includes information about industrial hazards, current and projected flooding, extreme heat, and strategies communities and decision-makers can pursue to build long-term resilience.

Explore the Climate Resilient Communities Project, including the full report, maps, and recommendations.

The Siege on Kanehsata:ke (the Oka Crisis) was a 78-day standoff in 1990, sparked by plans to expand a golf course onto sacred Mohawk land in Kanehsatà:ke. The crisis exposed Canada’s deep-rooted colonialism and became a defining moment in the Indigenous land rights movement.

The Wednesday, October 14, 2026, Climate Justice Forum radio program, produced by regional, climate activists collective Wild Idaho Rising Tide (WIRT), features information and opportunities to oppose five Northwest, proposed, fossil fuels pipelines, including the new Bridger tar sands pipeline across eastern Montana, the Pacific Link tar sands pipeline and Salish Sea export terminal supertankers in British Columbia, and three Williams methane gas pipelines: the new Silver Spur from Nevada toward the planned Idaho Power South Hills and Peregrine gas-fired power plants, the Rockies Columbia Connector expansion through the Washington Columbia River Gorge, and the new Valley Trail from the Gorge toward central Washington data centers.  We also share news, videos, and reflections on Dakota Nation concerns about sacred pipestone quarries and the Magellan OneOak pipeline and its Minnesota hearing, Alberta Energy Regulator exemption from environmental review of Suncor Energy’s scheme to treat and release tar sands tailings wastewater into the Athabasca River, upstream of three indigenous nations, and an agreement without financial or site access penalties, which ends the lawsuit brought by the Lithium Nevada mining company against six Native and accomplice defenders of Thacker Pass.  Broadcast for fourteen years on progressive, volunteer, community station KRFP Radio Free Moscow, every Wednesday between 1:30 and 3 pm Pacific time, on-air at 90.3 FM and online at KRFP and the Pacifica Network AudioPort, the show describes continent-wide, grassroots, frontline resistance to fossil fuels projects, the root causes of climate change, thanks to generous, anonymous listeners who adopted program host Helen Yost as their KRFP DJ.

Important Information! November 5, 10 am, 121 7th Place Suite #350, St Paul, Minnesota, Please share!, October 6, 2026 Faith Spotted Eagle/Brave Heart Society

Silver Spur Project (PF26-15-000): Open Houses October 12-15 in Nevada and Idaho, October 13, 2026 Wild Idaho Rising Tide (WIRT facebook post forthcoming)

In Idaho, Company Makes First Move in Massive Pacific Northwest Gas Pipeline Expansion, October 8, 2026 Brendan Gibbons/Oil and Gas Watch News

Silver Spur Project, 2026 Oil and Gas Watch News

See also: Idaho Power Company — Application for Certificates of Public Convenience and Necessity for the South Hills and Peregrine Power Plants and for an Associated Accounting Order, March 11, 2026 Idaho Public Utilities Commission

Webinar: Bridger Pipeline Project, 2026 Montana Environmental Information Center

Oppose the Pacific Link Pipeline and Supertankers to Protect Washington State, 2026 Friends of the San Juans

Sacrifice Zone: Alberta Greenlights the First Step Toward Dumping Tailings Upstream of an Indigenous Community, October 7, 2026 Brandi Morin/Indigenous Insider

Free! Thacker Pass Defenders Settle Lawsuit as Ethics Scandal Grows, October 9, 2026 Max Wilbert

By anaïs

With increasing wildfire smoke and deregulation of dangerous industries, our air is becoming ever more toxic. However, we have the tools to mitigate and monitor these threats as we organize for clean, breathable air. This short zine, developed for work in Ohio but applicable across the US, explains where to find real-time information and how to act on it with filters, masks, and respirators.

The post Air Aware 101: Common Threats to Our Air Quality appeared first on Earthworks.

Café del Decrecimiento n.º 15 "Tejiendo alternativas radicales: construyendo solidaridad global entre movimientos" Fecha y lugar * Fecha: viernes 16 de octubre de 2026 * Hora: 4:30 p. m. (hora local de Copenhague) * Lugar: Folkets Hus, primer piso, Stengade 50, 2200 Copenhague, Dinamarca

[ Tejedores] TGA es una “red de redes”. Cada una de esas redes actúa en diferentes partes del planeta identificando y conectando Alternativas. Son los Tejedores. [ Apoyos] Diversas organizaciones progresitas, post-desarrollo y/o anti-capitalistas apoyan esta iniciativa. Tambien lo hacen académicos, activistas y referentes.

Eventos Próximos eventos Café del Decrecimiento n.º 15 "Tejiendo alternativas radicales: construyendo solidaridad global entre movimientos" - 16 de octubre Global of () es un proceso que conecta alternativas radicales al actual sistema destructivo de todo el mundo, en particular del Sur Global. En este taller presencial y co-creativo, primero ofreceremos una introducción al trabajo de GTAGTAGTAGTAGTATapestryAlternativesTapestryAlternativesTapestryAlternativesGTAGTAGTAGTATapestryAlternativ…

Global of [Weavers] GTA is a “network of networks”. Each of those networks acts in different parts of the planet by identifying and connecting Alternatives. They are the Weavers. [Endorsements] Many progressive, post-developent and anticapitalist organizations around the world endorse this initiative. Also many academics, activists and referents do so.GTAGTAWeaversGTAGTAalternativesAlternatives

In 2026, the Toronto Queer Film Festival is celebrating ten years of bringing 2SLGBTQIA+ filmmaking to Toronto, with radical roots and a focus on amplifying...

The post The Festival that’s been bringing radical queer film-making to Toronto for 10 years first appeared on Spring.

Degrowth Cafe #15 "Weaving Radical Alternatives: Building global solidarity between movements" Date and venue * Date: Friday, October 16th, 2026 * Time: 4:30 pm (Copenhagen local time) * Venue: Folkets Hus, first floor, Stengade 50, 2200 Copenhagen, DenmarkGTAalternativesGTAGTA

National Nurses United (NNU), the largest union of registered nurses in the United States with more than 225,000 members, is proud to endorse Representative Delia Ramirez’s Reimagining Safety Act to abolish ICE, reinvest in care.

Famed for its rolls and fried chicken, the Bread and Chicken House operated as a women-owned cooperative in Big Stone Gap, Virginia from 1971 to 1988. Through determination, shared ownership, and the support of partners like the Mountain Association, the cooperative evolved into a popular bakery and restaurant that created lasting economic opportunity for its owners. 

The cooperative was originally organized by Mother Mary Catherine Rumschlag, a former Mother General of the Glenmary Sisters, a Catholic religious order known for working alongside underserved rural communities. After moving to Big Stone Gap in 1970, she established the restaurant as a long-term community project to provide local employment. 

Recognizing both the economic challenges facing local women and the potential for community-owned business development, Rumschlag’s vision centered on empowering local women to become business owners rather than simply employees. Every member would have a stake in the business and a voice in its future. 

Through a partnership with Demoisey’s Coach House who had baking equipment, the women tested the local market for their goods. Their baking proved to be a success and they opened up next door, adding chicken to their slate of offerings.  

Like many growing businesses, however, success brought new challenges. As the cooperative gained customers and expanded its reputation, it quickly outgrew the facility. At the same time, the management systems that had worked during the organization’s early years were becoming strained. Competition was also increasing as national fast-food franchises began entering the community, creating pressure for the cooperative to adapt and strengthen its operations. 

Bread and Chicken House partnered with the Mountain Association, shortly after we formed in 1976. Our early staff provided business support, technical assistance, and financing guidance to entrepreneurs and community enterprises throughout Appalachia, with a particular focus on cooperatives.  

The Mountain Association’s assistance proved transformational. Staff helped the cooperative secure a larger facility that could accommodate its expanding operations and growing customer base. They also assisted with recruiting and training new management, helping the organization develop leadership capable of guiding the business through its next phase of growth. 

Notes sent to Mountain Association staff as we assisted with financials and cash flow.

Equally important was the work done to strengthen the cooperative’s internal structure. As any member-owned organization grows, balancing democratic participation with effective business management can become challenging. The Mountain Association worked with Bread and Chicken House to implement a stronger cooperative governance model, ensuring that each of the seven members could continue sharing ownership and decision-making responsibilities while maintaining an efficient operation. The organization also helped the cooperative secure the financing necessary to support expansion and modernization efforts.  

As profitability improved, the cooperative began making distributions to members’ share accounts, allowing the owners to directly benefit from the success they had worked together to create. However, over the years, members faced family emergencies, coinciding with local economic issues and increased competition. As a result, the members decided to sell the business. With no buyer found, they made the decision to close in 1988. 

“From wedding and birthday cakes to peanut butter roll and fudge, from rolls the angles could sing about to cornbread and soup beans that lured the most stalwart dieters to break over, it’s all still there for the balance of the week, then the Bread and Chicken House in Big Stone Gap will be a thing of the past,” wrote the local paper on June 8. 

Though many of the people originally involved have since passed away, several families of the women involved highlighted their accomplishments at the restaurant in their obituaries and in their celebrations of life.  

The story of Bread and Chicken House illustrates what is possible when community leadership, cooperative ownership, and targeted technical assistance come together. The Glenmary Sisters helped plant the seeds by supporting a vision for women-owned economic opportunity. The women brought dedication, hard work, and entrepreneurial spirit. And the Mountain Association provided the expertise, financing support, and organizational guidance needed to help the cooperative grow beyond its initial challenges. 

For 50 years, the Mountain Association has invested in people and places throughout Eastern Kentucky and Appalachia. To learn more stories of our history, visit mtassociation.org/history.  

The post Bread and Chicken House: How Women Built a Cooperative in Southwest Virginia in the 70s and 80s appeared first on Mountain Association.

Events Upcoming events Degrowth Cafe #15 "Weaving Radical Alternatives: Building global solidarity between movements" - October 16th Global of () is a process connecting radical alternatives to the current destructive system from around the world, in particular from the Global South. In this in-person co-creative workshop, we will first offer an introduction to GTAs work and then create an opportunity for knowledge exchange around movement building in Denmark and beyond. Whether you're an…

Dear friends, 

Restore the Delta’s Delta Science Program officially wrapped up its summer water quality monitoring at the end of September. Since 2022, our water quality monitoring program includes:

• Recording water temperatures and weather conditions
• Testing for harmful algal blooms (HABs)
• Assessing salinity levels

New this year, in collaboration with the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board (Region 5 of the State Water Board), we added E. coli collection and sampling to our regular monitoring routine. With the introduction of golden mussels into the Delta via Rough and Ready Island and the added E. coli sampling, we have a few new topics to cover, and we want to help break them down.

1. First off, let’s talk about HABs and what our monitoring teams observed in the field.

A bit of positive news for the community: We didn’t see much bloom activity at all this summer; otherwise, you would’ve heard from us earlier this summer through social media to exercise caution while recreating. While there were small traces of blooms, which looked like small flakes in the water at Buckley Cove in Stockton, the blooms posed no threat to recreation due to the low quantities and lack of toxin concern. The lack of HABs may have come as a surprise to many, given that we experienced very hot periods this summer, and HABs thrive in warm water. However, California did experience a wet water year, which kept consistent flows in the San Joaquin River during the hottest periods, according to the few flow monitors near Stockton on the California Data Exchange Center (CDEC). We hope to see this trend continue, but there are concerns with the introduction of golden mussels and a potential interaction with HABs proliferation.

2. Golden mussels were first detected in the Delta in October of 2024 at Rough and Ready Island, near Stockton; learn more about them from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife here.

Within the 2 years that golden mussels were introduced into the Delta, they have spread across California’s water system, with potential to impact drinking water systems across the state. In the field this year, our team observed that the waterways are very clear, so much so that our team was able to see the bottom of the water bodies clearly, which we haven’t been able to do before. What might this have to do with golden mussels? Well, golden mussels are filter feeders, and they have been spotted in large clusters around a majority of the sites that RTD’s monitoring team has been sampling. Although filtering can seem like a great thing because clear water must mean the water is clean, that’s not necessarily the case. One problem is that as golden mussels filter, they release nutrients like phosphorus and nitrogen, which HABs thrive on (Zhang et al. 2024). There’s also the concern of how this clearer water may affect wildlife species within the different water columns – a certain level of turbidity is important for species survival.  Golden mussels are a problem that we don’t fully understand yet, which is why we are glad that Assembly Member Rhodesia Ransom was able to secure 6 million dollars for management and response from State Water agencies.

3. Sampling E. coli levels throughout the Delta this summer.

Overall, much of Stockton fell below the recreational E. coli threshold, but throughout different times of the season, two sites became areas of concern. For one week in June, the Mormon Slough had levels that tripled the recreational-concern threshold of 320 MPN (MPN, the most probable number, is a measure for E. coli). The main concern we saw was at the end of Yosemite Lake on the Smith Canal, at American Legion Park, where many people fish.  The E. coli levels were at their worst, recorded at 8 times the 320 MPN threshold at one point. These levels eventually declined to 2-4 times the threshold in May through July. The levels continued to fluctuate, dropping below recreational levels before spiking to 8 times the threshold again in mid-September. These numbers were a cause for concern, especially for those fishing at American Legion Park and pets that roam the surrounding neighborhood.

Our team would like to acknowledge that this work does not get done without the support we receive. The collaboration with the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board on both the HABs and E. coli testing supplies was pivotal in helping us to maintain our testing.  

We also couldn’t have gotten this work done without the help of our Climate Water Advocates, who quickly adapted to the new monitoring procedures. Although Summer has come to an end, we hope to continue addressing water quality issues with our monitoring programs and to keep our Delta communities informed.

• View this testing season’s recorded E. coli data here.
• Stay up to date with statewide HABs reporting, including the data we have collected, available here.

References: 

Zhang, J., Xu, M., & Yang, Y. (2024). Assessing the effects of environmental factors on filtration rate of golden mussel (Limnoperna fortunei). Ecological Indicators, 158, 111544. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2024.111544

Latin American governments cracked down on forest clearing in 2025, leading global deforestation to fall by the most this decade, but political shifts and the likely impact of a strong El Niño threaten to undo those “fragile” gains, a new report has found.

Seven million hectares of forests – roughly the size of Ireland – were lost last year, a 15% drop from 2024. This marks the first meaningful slowdown in deforestation since 145 countries committed to ending deforestation by 2030 at COP26 in Glasgow in 2021, according to an annual assessment of the pledge. 

But the researchers cautioned that the world remains 70% off track from fulfilling that promise and, despite progress in Latin America, deforestation in tropical Africa, home to the Congo Basin, kept rising. For the first time, it nearly matched losses in Latin America – a trend the report’s publishers called “particularly ominous”.

Erin Matson, a lead consultant at Climate Focus and one of the report’s authors, said the slowdown in the rate of deforestation “is welcome news”, but last year’s figures “look good in part because previous years look so bad”. 

She added that, at the moment, last year’s progress should be seen as an “exception and not a new trajectory because the underlying problem has not gone away”.

President of Brazil’s National Indigenous Peoples’ Foundation (FUNAI) Joenia Wapichana, President of Brazil Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Indigenous Peoples Minister Sonia Guajajara pose during an event to commemorate the International Amazon Rain forest Day at Salão Nobre of Planalto Government Palace on September 5, 2023 in Brasilia, Brazil. (Photo by Andressa Anholete/Getty Images) President of Brazil’s National Indigenous Peoples’ Foundation (FUNAI) Joenia Wapichana, President of Brazil Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Indigenous Peoples Minister Sonia Guajajara pose during an event to commemorate the International Amazon Rain forest Day at Salão Nobre of Planalto Government Palace on September 5, 2023 in Brasilia, Brazil. (Photo by Andressa Anholete/Getty Images) Lula’s policies drive progress

The decline in deforestation was primarily driven by reduced expansion of agriculture and cattle ranching in the Brazilian Amazon rainforest, thanks to a new deforestation action plan introduced by the Lula government and stronger enforcement measures, the report found.

“Brazil provides a concrete example of how national policies can be successful,” said Ana Flávia Corleto, legal analyst at Climate Policy Initiative in Brazil. “The combination of near real-time monitoring and targeted enforcement has contributed to a historical reduction in deforestation alerts in the Amazon, with a 36% decline between August 2025 and July 2026”. 

• Sep 29, 2026 Nature Brazil confident new rainforest fund will reach $10bn donor milestone Brazil’s environment minister said the Tropical Forest Forever Facility has raised billions in record time – which he hopes will convince more investors Read more
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President Lula bolstered efforts to protect the vital Amazon ecosystem when he returned to office in 2023 after enforcement had deteriorated and deforestation skyrocketed under his far-right predecessor Jair Bolsonaro. 

Neighbouring Colombia also contributed to the slowdown in forest loss in Latin America last year, posting a fourth consecutive year of falling deforestation, driven in part by reduced cattle-linked clearing. 

Brazilian election puts gains at risk

But the researchers warn that this progress rests heavily on the choices of a small number of governments and it is “highly vulnerable” to political shifts in recent and upcoming elections across the Amazon basin. 

On October 25, Brazilian voters will choose between Lula and Flávio Bolsonaro, the former president’s son, in a run-off election. Bolsonaro narrowly led the first round with 47% of the vote to Lula’s 45% and polls show the pair neck and neck.

In an interview with TV Globo in August, Bolsonaro said he did not believe in climate change, only in “cyclical” extreme weather events. As a senator, he voted in 2025 for a bill loosening environmental licensing rules.

Although he has pledged to end illegal deforestation by 2029, Brazilian environmental groups fear he could follow his father’s example of weakening forest protections. “Instead of restoring forests, we would face the dismantling of environmental safeguards, land grabbing, illegal mining, and deforestation,” Observatório do Clima, a network of climate NGOs, said on Tuesday. “At the worst possible moment in the global climate crisis, electing another Bolsonaro would be a gift to environmental crime and those who profit from the destruction of the planet”. 

Climate Policy Initiative’s Corleto said changing political priorities in the Brazilian federal government can have significant consequences, especially for federal institutions and budgets. But she added that much of the country’s environmental policy is implemented at local or state level and some continuity can be expected there. 

Deforestation growth in Congo Basin

Threats to forest conservation are already growing elsewhere in the Amazon region. In Colombia, recently elected far-right President Abelardo de la Espriella has repealed mining restrictions and promised to support oil and gas exploration, which the report’s authors said pose threats to forests. 

Latin America has historically been the world’s deforestation hotspot but the second-largest tropical forest, Africa’s Congo basin, has been catching up, the assessment found. Deforestation in tropical Africa rose to 2.4 million hectares in 2025, almost level with the 2.5 million hectares lost across tropical Latin America and the Caribbean.

Forest loss there is driven primarily by smallholder agricultural expansion, logging,  infrastructure development, and regulatory systems that lack either the capacity or the political mandate to counter those pressures, the authors found. 

“We need to see states with very clear policies, strong legislation and very rigorous enforcement capacity,” said Samuel Nguiffo, a lawyer and founder of Cameroon’s Centre for Environment and Development. “Unfortunately, this is what we seem to be missing. There is a deficit in government capacity”. 

El Niño threat

The report also warns that last year’s progress in keeping trees standing could also be eroded by a possible spike in forest fires fuelled by the so-called super El Niño weather pattern which could peak this December. 

In Indonesia, which is severely affected by drought in El Niño years, wildfires are currently burning vast swathes of forest. Fire emissions in Indonesia are on track to match 2015, the country’s worst fire season this century, experts told Carbon Brief.

Matson said the world saw a “huge spike” in tree cover loss during the last “super” El Niño event in 2015 and expects to see a similar increase this year. “We can’t fully project the future, but it’s unlikely that in 2026, we’ll see the same kind of reductions that we saw last year”.

The post Global deforestation slowed in 2025 but Brazil’s election could undo “fragile” gains appeared first on Climate Home News.

We bring you the recently posted Daily Show clip about the border wall fight. The Daily Show is known for using off-beat absurdity to reveal the absurd, and they do not disappoint! All jokes aside, they do a pretty good job of portraying the ridiculousness of such a wasteful, destructive, and unnecessary border wall along the U.S and Mexico border.

The post Daily Show: The Border Wall Fight appeared first on CELDF - Community Rights Pioneers - Protecting Nature and Communities.