uestion: I know you have a background in land protection. Could you please share your insights on how the preservation of land, habitat, and species intersect?
Freitag: I’m a systems guy. The knee bone’s connected to the thigh bone, as they say. You care about critters? Then save the places they need to live and eat and mate. You worry about how the critters will adapt to climate change? Connect the protected landscapes so they can move. And for heaven’s sake, take care of the water. Every life depends on it. But most importantly, understand that human beings are not separate from nature but instead a participant. As Jane Goodall says, you cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you, so decide what kind of impact that will be. What will your grandchildren say about your impact?
Macaw Recovery Network announces its first land purchase toward the restoration of habitat for the critically endangered Great Green Macaw. Its purchase of La Peninsula in northern Costa Rica will help save not only this magnificent bird but all forest wildlife that share its habitat.
Along with colleagues from Syracuse University and INCAE, Costa Rica’s main business school, CLC Executive Director Christian Freitag recently co-authored an article concerning Nosara, Costa Rica, one of only five “blue zones” in the world.
We are proud of the progress that has been made in our landscape this past year and the bright future ahead. None of this could be possible without the hard work and time commitment from all of you, including both landowners dedicated to conservation and partnering organizations and agencies.
The Conservation Law Center is proud to announce the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust has continued their support of CLC’s Clean Water Indiana Program with a grant of $180,000. This grant represents a longstanding partnership between the Pulliam Trust and CLC, with a shared goal of improving water quality in the state of Indiana.
The Conservation Law Center is excited to announce the creation of a new position - the Constance and Terry Marbach Conservation Attorney. Indiana University Maurer School of Law Class of 2021 Alum Kacey Cook has accepted this inaugural position.
Conservation Law Center is making that investment each day by working to protect and improve the health, diversity, beauty and resilience of the planet and defend our shared natural heritage in Indiana and beyond.
The designation of more than 3.5 million acres in southern Indiana as a Sentinel Landscape will protect critical habitats and species, conserve natural resources, strengthen military readiness, and help the state prepare for environmental change. Southern Indiana is one of 3 new additions to the federal program, bringing the total to 10 nationwide.
Bats are often still seen as pests or disease spreaders but they actually play important roles in pollination and pest control. Here in Indiana they are especially helpful with pest control as bats can eat up to 1,000 mosquitoes an hour. That not only protests us from these pests, but also helps farmers protect their crops.
In 2020, Conservation Law Center partnered with Hoosier Environmental Council and the Indiana Audubon Society in a suit against Natural Prairie and the US Army Corps of Engineers. Contrary to its name, Natural Prairie is a confined animal feeding operation (CAFO) with over 4300 cows in the bed of the former Beaver Lake…
IU Well's Scholar, Amangul Hydyrova, wrote a guest column on the Indiana University - Maurer School of Law homepage highlighting the work of the Conservation Law Center and Clinic from the student perspective.
In the article, Kacey Cook said of her clinic experience, “Having peers at the same stage of the learning process can be a comfort and the real source of encouragement. We were all learning together.”
This report, requested by the Macaw Recovery Network (MRN), details the ways in which the rapidly growing pineapple industry in Costa Rica threatens the survival of the Great Green Macaw, an already endangered species. It specifically examines the impacts of the pineapple industry on the environment, labor rights, and public health. It also provides overviews of several initiatives aimed at amending the pineapple industry and offers suggestions for enhancing Great Green Macaw conservation efforts. Finally, the report outlines potential next steps for continued research that may be helpful to MRN’s conservation efforts.
I know what you’re probably thinking, how is already the middle of March? Well, we are feeling the same way. Since Spring is going to be here before we know it, we wanted to talk about the bumblebee!
Bumblebees are in great danger due to loss of habitat, disease, pesticides, and climate change. As a result of these problems, the Rusty Patched Bumble Bee, known as Bombus affinis by scientists, has been classified as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. These insects call grasslands and prairies their home, but much of this land has lost, degraded, or fragmented in recent years. Climate change is one of the biggest, most salient issues regarding the declining population of these fuzzy insects.
As winter slowly drips away and temps warm, I am easily distracted by thoughts of my garden. Daydreaming of that first bright warm day, usually in April, when I’ll throw on scrubby jeans, a sweatshirt, and my college cap and finally get my hands in the dirt. It isn’t glamorous, anyone would agree. The abundant blooms of June are much more gratifying. But after being stuck in my home all winter long I don’t mind that the only things to greet me are stalks of picked over coneflower and the bobbing seed heads of last season’s penstemon.
And they’re off, south for the winter! As birds head toward the winter home, they travel follow specific paths called “Flyways.” Along the way, they have to handle plenty besides the long journey alone, including urbanization, pollution, and changing conditions related to climate change. Throughout the years, Conservation Law Center has worked to preserve the migratory habitats the birds need to survive.
Macaws are some of the most beautiful birds in the world, and among the most threatened. Great Green Macaws are a particular concern to conservationists right now, due to pressures from habitat loss and the pet trade in Central America.
