#Mountain ecosystems

[reasonsforhope]

"Construction of the “largest wildlife crossing in the world” passed a significant milestone in April placing the first girders over an 8-lane freeway near Los Angeles to preserve the local mountain lion population.

After years of tireless work, erecting the first horizontal section of the 210-foot-long crossing was an historic moment for the National Wildlife Federation, the Caltrans highway department, and many private and public partners.

“We all cheered when the crane lowered the first concrete beam across the freeway, as we truly saw the bridge starting to take shape,” said an excited Beth Pratt, the California Executive Director of National Wildlife Federation.

“This structure is a testament to us all wanting a future for wildlife and mountain lions in the Santa Monica Mountains.”

Moving forward, up to 82 additional concrete girders will be placed, with each beam weighing between 126 and 140 tons. As these critical horizontal supports are placed, the structure will ultimately reconnect two long fractured global biodiversity hotspots in the Southern California region—providing safe passage for not only the cougars, but bobcats, deer, lizards, and coyotes, as they move between the Santa Monica Mountains and the Simi Hills of the Santa Susana mountain range.

[Note: The setting looks pretty rural in that rendering, but the wildlife crossing is actually only five minutes from the Los Angeles city border and the densely populated San Fernando Valley.]

For drivers on the 101 Freeway in Agoura Hills, the construction is interrupting traffic from 11:00 PM to 4:00 AM on one side of the highway each week (Northbound or Southbound). The FAQs can be found here.

CBS news estimates about 1,500 of these wildlife passages have been built both over and under major highways and rural roads across America.

Watch CBS’s recent feature that highlights crossings over America’s longest highway, US 90, which runs across the northern states, and how a new US grant program is paving the way for more crossings…"

-via Good News Network, May 9, 2024

-video via CBS Sunday Morning, April 21, 2024

[ravensvalley]

#UndisturbedEcosystems

… preservation is crucial for maintaining the balance of our natural world. It includes benefits such as flood control, water filtration, and carbon sequestration which help regulate the effects of climate change, and contribute to human well-being and mental health.

@BenAdrienProulx July 30, 2024.

[sanska]

@madatobiweek Day 7: Free Day

It was always going to end this way

[maeve-is-annoying-about-books]

I didn't really wanna talk ahead of the Dungeon Meshi anime but I had this thought bugging me as I was skimming the manga. So, spoilers for what's to come.

I don't think it's any coincidence that Laios' party, out of a cast of infinitely more capable people, makes it to the final floor of the Dungeon. Why? Cause they aren't heroes.

Look at Kabru, he's the poster boy for anime protagonists. He has a tragic backstory, a personal beef with the dungeon, skills trained by a master of the crafts, and a large party who seems genuinely friendly together. He has everything going for him to one day dive to the bottom and gain closure for his story but he just can't. He never will, because the dungeon does not work on his logic. It turns out that there is no plot armor against hearing a siren sing for the first time.

What about Mithrun then? Personally wronged by the Demon, he's the paradigm of vengeance. A tragic hero who will do anything it takes to get to his goal and probably die achieving it. He has a party full of dark history and interesting dynamics, really laden with moral greyness. Not Berserk but a step closer to it than Kabru's story. But he is, unfortunately, also a classic hero archetype, and although his skills are impressive they aren't fit for the ecosystem around him, singleminded vengeance will see you killed by changelings, the cold, or starvation.

Shuro, it's gotta be Shuro right? A man from a distant land but a familiar one to the primary readerbase. He goes back to train, hone his mind, collect a party, and save the love interest from a cruel fate. Perhaps he will learn there is no saving her, and tragically be forced to slay the monster she's become. His journey ends the second Faligon dies, so he has no chance, ever, of becoming the Dungeon Lord. There doesn't need to be any extra traps to deter him, he'll get what he wants at the fourth level and be gone, his desire simply isn't pointed that way.

Laios, on the other hand. None of his party are heroes, they're all here for selfish reasons and have absolutely zero illusions about heroics and greater goods. Laios is here to save Falin, he only wants his sister to be safe. And to eat and document monsters. Marcille is here for forbidden magic and Falin, and her two desires coincide with her resurrection. Chilchuck is here because he got paid up front and can't leave without rumors spreading. Senshi was always here and he just wants to live in peace with nature. None of them have heroic intent, broadly. But it also means they don't have heroic conceit either.

Laios' party will eat anything. They'll run from battle, take shortcuts. They treat monsters not as grand challenges to overcome but something to fight for their lives with. With their teeth if need be. There is no honor here there is only living. Honor gets you strangled by treasure bugs. Revenge will see you abandon your party to giant spiders for the mere shot at your target. Duty sees you skipping meals because your goal is so important. It is striking how different the dungeon is between Laios and the others. They all treat the dungeon as their personal hell to be striven against and conquered, only Laios sees it as an extension of the living world and understands his place in it. And I think that is so fucking cool, it's so multifaceted. Like, their exact skill set is perfect for getting through the dungeon because of how they all treat it. But also because the dungeon wants them there, because they have very personal, strong desires. Desires that shape their skills, and desires shaped by their skills in a kind of Ouroboros.

And it's an interesting question of how much of both factors into their progress in the story.

[dimsilver]

could use some prayers - my grandparents’ ranch in the Texas Panhandle is threatened rn by some massive wildfires in the area. At least part of the ranch is on fire now. They’re not there right now and it’s not their main residence, but someone else rents the property for his cattle and they have a barn and a lot of equipment they might lose. Also, last time this happened it took about 10 years for the vegetation and wildlife to come back, and my grandparents are pretty sad because they may not get to see it thriving again in their lifetimes.

[alzir--emojis]

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[aisling-saoirse]

Grassy Outcropping, Tranquility Ridge, NJ - June 4th 2024

[katsy-kitty]

please someone give it 1 more like

I need to see something

[ethereal-forest-furry]

Scolia bicincta!!!! gardener getting excited!!!!!!

if youve ever tried to grow anything in most of north america then you probably know about my worst nightmare and mortal enemy the japanese beetle. basically theyre shiny little fuckers who eat EVERYTHING and come in swarms. and there are very few ways to manage them that dont involve ecological devastation over a single critter. EXCEPT MY BEST FRIEND SCOLIA BICINCTA (AND OTHER SCOLIIDS) THEY EAT THEM!!!! AND THEYRE GOOD AT IT TOO. FUCK YEAH

not as adults tho- the adults are pollinators that spend their time searching for flowers and mates and somehow (???) sensing the presence of japanese beetle grubs and other scarab larvae. then they dig down into the grubs chamber and lay eggs on them that hatch into little baby wasps that burrow into the grub and eat it alive- they eat the least essential organs first to keep the rest of it fresh for longer- and then once theyve stored enough food, like a caterpillar, they transform into adult wasps, emerge from the dead grub, and dig up to the surface to fly away and mate and live their lives pollinating flowers and saving trees and gardens. also theyre so pretty their wings are like purpley and iridescent and its hard to get a picture of so just go look at them irl-

a few years ago, when i started my garden, japanese beetles would appear in massive numbers every summer and undo all the progress i had worked so hard on. but then i learned about native plants and wasps and i planted a patch of mountain mint (SCOLIIDS FAV❗❗❗) and let the lawn grow tall to create habitat. and this year is the first time the beetles were literally negligible. ive seen like two or three all summer. mountain mint alone can do so so so much for the ecosystem i dont even have a lot and if youre in its native range i truly cannot recommend highly enough that you plant it. theres a few different species so you can probably find one adapted to your garden. its so good and so important seriously

ALSO ANOTHER TIP IS JAPANESE BEETLE GRUBS FAV FOOD IS THE ROOTS OF LAWN GRASS WERE LITERALLY FARMING THEM AND THEN GETTING MAD THAT THEY EAT OUR VEGGIES. PLANT NATIVE PLANTS FUCK LAWNS

[jadedaegis]

people really slept so fucking hard on Star Fox: Adventures and I will die on that hill. The reason Star Fox never has any sequels is because the fans seem to demand that they re-invent the wheel and just release "Star Fox 64 but better" (whatever that means) Like- Seriously. Imagine a re-interpretation where, perhaps, Krystal isn't locked up. Give her the staff to manipulate the Blue Guy Avatar-ass mystic temples. THERE ARE MAMMOTHS AND TRICERATOPS AND STEGOSAURS AND TYRANNOSAURS ALL ON THE SAME ASS PLANET THIS IMPLIES A LOGIC OF "oh, hey, no-one actually gave a shit about when the period was!" WHICH MEANS A RE-IMAGINING COULD INCORPORATE, I DON'T KNOW, MAYBE FUCKING CAMBRIAN AND PERMIAN AND TRIASSIC CRITTERS.

[wizardnuke]

i'm not anti gun at all. i think for as long as cops carry guns then civilians should be allowed to as well. that being said i think it is lame as hell at best and stupid dangerous at worst to open carry in a walmart. buddy the likelihood of someone getting shot in here was zero and now it isn't. cause you're in here.

[ravensvalley]

#LifeCycle

A progression through a series of differing stages of development.

[sitting-on-me-bum]

This alpine lake near Bear Tooth Mountains is one of hundreds of waterways in Shoshone National Forest in far northern Wyoming. Part of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, Shoshone brims with natural beauty.

PHOTOGRAPH VIA EDUCATION IMAGES, UNIVERSAL IMAGES GROUP/GETTY IMAGES