By John F. Calvelli Last June, more than a ton of ivory was crushed in New York City’s Times Square. With the crush, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), WCS (Wildlife Conservation Society), and other conservation groups sought to call attention to the slaughter of 96 elephants by poachers every day in Africa and…
By John Calvelli [Note: This is the seventh in a series of blogs by Calvelli celebrating the history and conservation of the American Bison.] Our national emblem is the bald eagle. This majestic bird, no matter how many times we’ve seen it on currency, t-shirts, or flags, still inspires awe in those who see it soaring…
By John Calvelli When Americans hear that elephants are being poached into extinction for their ivory, there is a tendency to think of it as somebody else’s problem. Those elephants are being killed thousands of miles away in Africa, often benefiting extremist groups, and short of standing guard in the national parks ourselves or financially…
By John Calvelli [Note: This is the sixth in a series of blogs by Calvelli celebrating the history and conservation of the American Bison.] This weekend, Americans will spend the 4th of July thinking of the things that make the United States great. Of course, that means independence and freedom, and probably barbecues and fireworks…
By John F. Calvelli At the Clinton Global Initiative’s Annual Meeting today, the Wildlife Conservation Society reported a number of encouraging gains achieved over the past year in the fight to save Africa’s elephants. Those include the successful 96 Elephants campaign in the United States, social media outreach efforts in China, and the newly passed…
By John Calvelli [Note: This is the fifth in a series of blogs by Calvelli celebrating the history and conservation of the American Bison.] This Thanksgiving, we celebrate a great milestone for both bison and the modern conservation movement. November 28 marks the 100th anniversary of the transfer and restocking of 14 bison from the…
By John Calvelli [Note: This is the fifth in a series of blogs by Calvelli celebrating the history and conservation of the American Bison.] This Thanksgiving, we celebrate a great milestone for both bison and the modern conservation movement. November 28 marks the 100th anniversary of the transfer and restocking of 14 bison from the…
By John Calvelli [Note: This is the fourth in a series of blogs by Calvelli celebrating the history and conservation of the American Bison.] At a time when lawmakers rarely agree on much, the bison, a quintessentially American mammal, is drawing support from both sides of the aisle in Congress in an increasingly rare example…
By John Calvelli [Note: This is the fourth in a series of blogs by Calvelli celebrating the history and conservation of the American Bison.] At a time when lawmakers rarely agree on much, the bison, a quintessentially American mammal, is drawing support from both sides of the aisle in Congress in an increasingly rare example…
By John Calvelli [Note: This is the third in a series of blogs by Calvelli celebrating the history and conservation of the American Bison.] Native American groups joined with bison producers and conservation organizations in 2012 to initiate a campaign called Vote Bison. The campaign, which grew to include 35 coalition members across the nation,…
By John Calvelli The first in a series of blogs by Calvelli celebrating the history and conservation of the American Bison. When Kai Ryssdal announced on National Public Radio’s daily financial round-up Marketplace recently that “political gridlock is over,” he wasn’t talking about health care, the national debt, or immigration policy. He was referring to…