Designing with Vision: Funding Pre-Disaster Adaptation in New Jersey
Courtesy of Environmental and Energy Study Institute
By Hadley Brown and Hannah Wilson-Black
NEW JERSEY - A study by Allstate and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce found that every dollar spent to prepare for climate disasters prevents thirteen dollars’ worth of economic impact, damage, and cleanup costs.
Hudson River includes six parks in Hoboken designed to retain and rebuff water. In 2022 and 2023, Hoboken saw an 88% reduction in all flooding events and 4.2 million gallons of rain and stormwater were isolated in the City’s resiliency parks during storm events.
The benefits of Hoboken’s investment in adaptation have quickly become apparent. In 2022 and 2023, Hoboken saw an 88% reduction in all rainfall flooding events, and flooding was prevented in 107 out of 121 storms. Up to 4.2 million gallons of rain and stormwater were isolated in the resiliency parks during these storm events.
Read more:
https://www.eesi.org/articles/view/designing-with-vision-funding-pre-disaster-adaptation-in-new-jersey
Since Zion's Shuttles Went Electric “The Smog is Gone”
Courtesy of Planetizen
UTAH - Zion National Park, one of the Southwest’s most treasured landscapes, is quieter and has cleaner air thanks to the park’s introduction of electric shuttle buses last year. The park first started using a shuttle system in 2000 to reduce traffic in the canyon, which sees up to five million visitors per year.
Unlike other parks with optional shuttle systems, Zion’s system is mandatory for visitors who want to visit the canyon between March and November. According to park officials, the change resulted in an increase in wildlife and an improved visitor experience.
Read more:
https://www.planetizen.com/news/2025/07/135567-zions-shuttles-went-electric-smog-gone
Wisconsin DNR official shares ways to stay ‘weather aware’ when camping in state parks
Courtesy of WPR.org
By Trevor Hook
WISCONSIN - Missy VanLanduyt is recreation partnerships section chief for the Wisconsin DNR. She told WPR’s “Wisconsin Today” that the department urges people in Wisconsin’s park system to exercise caution when spending time outdoors — as the parks’ 500 staffers have limited ability to warn the 15,000 campers that can fill sites around the state.
This includes awareness of potential dangers from severe weather events like storms and wildfires, as well as adapting to long-term climate changes like warming temperatures and increased precipitation.
Read more:
https://www.wpr.org/news/wisconsin-dnr-stay-weather-aware-camping-state-parks
California Advances Its 30x30 Conservation Goals
Courtesy of Planetizen
By Clement Lau
California is making steady progress toward its ambitious 30x30 conservation goal — an initiative to protect 30 percent of the state’s lands and coastal waters by 2030. As reported by Lila Seidman, the state has now safeguarded 26.1 percent of its land and 21.9 percent of its coastal waters, representing significant gains since the initiative’s formal launch in 2022.
However, this progress faces potential setbacks. The Trump administration has signaled a willingness to reverse federal protections, including rolling back the designations of the Chuckwalla and Sáttítla Highlands monuments. Since nearly half of California’s land is federally owned, such reversals could jeopardize the state’s ability to meet its 30x30 targets. Conservation advocates also raise concerns about whether areas like the Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary should count toward the goal, citing the allowance of certain industrial activities that may undermine biodiversity protection.
Read more:
https://www.planetizen.com/news/2025/07/135603-california-advances-its-30x30-conservation-goals
U.S. Department of Agriculture announces reorganization
Courtesy of NACo
By Owen Hart
In an effort to “bring USDA closer to its customers,” USDA will relocate thousands of employees from the National Capital Region to five regional hubs:
- Raleigh (Wake County, N.C.)
- Kansas City (Jackson, Clay, Platte and Cass counties, Mo.)
- Indianapolis (Marion County, Ind.)
- Fort Collins (Larimer County, Colo.)
- Salt Lake City (Salt Lake County, Utah)
These five regional hubs were selected based on existing concentrations of USDA personnel and regional cost-of-living factors. USDA notes that 90 percent of its employees are already based outside the National Capital Region, and that relocating additional staff will place key agency personnel closer to the communities they serve while also reducing costs associated with high federal salary locality rates in USDA’s current footprint.
The U.S. Forest Service (USFS) will eliminate its nine Regional Offices within the next year. Stand-alone Research Stations will be consolidated into a single location in Fort Collins, Colorado. The agency will retain a reduced state office in Juneau, Alaska; a service center in Athens, Georgia; and two research facilities, the Fire Sciences Lab and the Forest Products Lab.
The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) will realign its regional structure to match the USDA hubs.
Read more:
https://www.naco.org/news/us-department-agriculture-announces-reorganization
Parks commission pushes for state to take over national parks during government shutdowns
Courtesy of ARLnow
By Scott McCaffrey
VIRGINIA - The Arlington County Park and Recreation Commission is throwing its weight behind a proposal to have the state government take over operation of Virginia’s national parks during federal shutdowns.
If a version of Bulova’s bill is resurrected and passed, it would require an agreement between the state government and the U.S. Department of the Interior to lay out the ground rules.
Read more:
https://www.arlnow.com/2025/07/21/parks-commission-pushes-for-state-to-take-over-national-parks-during-government-shutdowns/
Zoological Society interns teach young campers about conservation
Courtesy of Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
By Mia Thurow
WISCONSIN - Every morning this summer, 20 college students make their way to the Milwaukee County Zoo grounds. The students aren't there on a regular visit to the zoo; they're getting ready to teach children about conservation.
The Zoological Society of Milwaukee's conservation education interns spend 10 weeks teaching children ages 3-14 about science, animals and conservation through interactive curriculum. Interns help in the classroom, lead zoo tours, prepare classroom materials and more.
Read more:
https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/education/2025/07/11/milwaukee-zoological-society-interns-teach-campers-about-conservation/84333828007/
Out of the Wild: How A.I. Is Transforming Conservation Science
Courtesy of Yale Environment 360
Around the world, thousands of researchers are using A.I. to further biological research and conservation projects. In the U.K., a company called BioCarbon Engineering uses A.I.-equipped drones to map forests and plant seeds in the most optimal habitat, and around the globe A.I. tracks diseases in wildlife. In Yellowstone National Park, Colossal Biosciences and Yellowstone Forever, the nonprofit partner of the park, just announced a project that will integrate audio and visual data to identify the acoustic fingerprint of wolves — individual howls, chorus howls, growls, barking — to noninvasively identify packs, their movements, and their behavior. The equipment can also identify the sound of gunshots, enabling a quick response to possible illegal killing of wolves.
“We are helping biodiversity enter the big data world,” said Loarie. “Biodiversity is still in this world where you go to a museum and open a drawer and pull out a couple of specimens,” he said. “We have hundreds of millions of records representing one of four named species on the planet.”
Read more:
https://e360.yale.edu/features/artificial-intelligence-conservation
Grant Opportunities
Courtesy of the National Special Districts Association
FY 2025 & 2026 Small Surface Water and Groundwater Storage Projects
(Small Storage Program) (Reissued)
Department of the Interior
WHAT DOES IT FUND? This program provides funding for small surface water and groundwater storage projects to enhance water storage opportunities for future generations. This program supports stakeholder efforts to stretch scarce water supplies and avoid conflicts over water in the 17 western states, Alaska, and Hawaii.
WHO'S ELIGIBLE? State, county, city or township, and special district governments; Native American Tribal governments and organizations; 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations; and joint powers authorities located in the 17 western United States, as identified in the Reclamation Act of 1902
TOTAL FUNDING AMOUNT? $43.5 million
WHEN IS IT DUE? April 17, 2026
https://www.grants.gov/search-results-detail/360059
FY 2025 Public Humanities Projects
National Endowment for the Humanities
WHAT DOES IT FUND? This program supports projects that bring the ideas and insights of the humanities to life through in-person exhibitions and historic site interpretations. Projects must focus on one of the following areas: American Military History and Valor, The American Dream and Economic Freedom, American Exceptionalism in World Affairs, or the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
WHO'S ELIGIBLE? Nonprofit organizations recognized under section 501(c)(3), accredited institutions of higher education (public or nonprofit), state and local governments and their agencies, and federally recognized Native American Tribal governments
TOTAL FUNDING AMOUNT? $6 million
WHEN IS IT DUE? September 10, 2025
https://apply07.grants.gov/apply/opportunities/instructions/PKG00291206-instructions.pdf
