JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Alaska wildlife agents can resume shooting and killing black and brown bears — including from helicopters — as part of a plan to help recover a caribou herd that was once an important source of food for Alaska Native hunters, a judge ruled Wednesday. Two conservation groups, the Alaska Wildlife Alliance and Center for Biological Diversity, sought to halt the program while their lawsuit challenging its legality plays out. But Superior Court Judge Adolf Zeman said the groups had failed to show that the state acted without a reasonable basis for approving the plan. The timing of the ruling is important: The Mulchatna caribou herd in southwest Alaska is expected to begin calving soon. The babies are particularly susceptible to being eaten by bears or wolves. State officials see the bear-killing program as important to helping the caribou herd recover. The herd, which once provided up to about 4,770 caribou a year for subsistence hunters from dozens of communities, peaked at around 190,000 animals. But the caribou population began declining in the late 1990s and early 2000s, and by 2019 numbered around 13,000 animals. Last year, the population was estimated around 16,280, according to the state Department of Fish and Game. Hunting has not been allowed since 2021. Related Stories New oil and gas lease sale set for Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, amid litigation First lease sale in Alaska petroleum reserve in years draws strong interest despite pending lawsuits As winters warm, falling through the ice is becoming more common — and deadly The state killed 180 bears from 2023 to 2024, most of them brown bears, plus 11 more last year, according to the conservation groups’ lawsuit. The groups argue that the Alaska Board of Game last year authorized reinstating the program without key data on the bears’ population numbers and sustainability. Cooper Freeman, Alaska director at the Center for Biological Diversity, said in a statement the groups want to see the caribou herd thrive, “but the state simply hasn’t shown that the unrestrained killing of bears is going to help us get there.” “We need to stop this disgraceful waste of the state’s limited resources and work based on science to protect all our wildlife,” Freeman said. State attorneys have said that officials took a “hard look” at factors related to bear numbers in adopting the plan. “The herd has persisted at low numbers but started showing a positive response since 2023, when bear removal during calving seasons began,” they wrote in a court filing. The Alaska Department of Law welcomed Zeman’s decision “to allow this management program to continue during the upcoming caribou calving season, a crucial time for herd recovery,” spokesperson Sam Curtis said by email. The department represents the board and Department of Fish and Game. “Continuing this program makes sense in light of the scientific record,” Curtis said. Attorneys with Trustees for Alaska, representing the conservation groups, are reviewing the ruling and “will consider all available options,” spokesperson Madison Grosvenor said by email. The program has been the subject of ongoing litigation. A judge last year, in a case previously brought by the Alaska Wildlife Alliance, found fault with the process in which it was adopted and concluded the state lacked data on bear sustainability. Emergency regulations implemented by the state were later struck down. A subsequent public process was announced surrounding plans to reauthorize the program, which the board did last July.

PLYMOUTH, Mass. (AP) — Glorianna Davenport looks out at hundreds of acres of protected wetlands that were once her family’s cranberry farms. In her hands are laminated pictures of striking red cranberry bogs fed by razor-straight water channels. It’s hard to believe the land where she stands — full of sinuous streams, wildlife, moss and tall trees — once looked so different. The land’s transformation, documented through a network of cameras and sensors, offers a playbook for wetland restoration as cranberry farms see slimmer profits from New England to Wisconsin because of climate change and other factors. The crop requires cold winters and plenty of water, but warmer temperatures and longer droughts are challenging harvest seasons. Settlers in Plymouth were among the first to farm this native New England crop, and since then cranberry farms have been passed down through families for centuries. “For many of these farmers, it’s their life savings and what they want to pass on to their children,” Davenport says. “It’s very complicated.” Land that Davenport and her husband sold for restoration, now known as Tidmarsh Wildlife Sanctuary, has set an example as the single largest freshwater restoration project in Massachusetts. Together with researchers, technologists and artists, she has created a living laboratory for wetland conservation science. The cameras and sensors provide live, publicly available data showing how the land is recovering its natural biodiversity. This photo shows the Tidmarsh Wildlife Sanctuary in Plymouth, Mass., Sunday, March 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough) Read More This photo shows the Tidmarsh Wildlife Sanctuary in Plymouth, Mass., Sunday, March 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More ___ EDITOR’S NOTE: This story is a collaboration between the MIT Graduate Program in Science Writing and The Associated Press. ___ Scientists who studied the sanctuary and an adjacent town preserve that’s also on her family’s former farmland have published peer-reviewed studies documenting the changes. Lessons learned at Tidmarsh also helped the state launch a cranberry bog restoration program to connect farmers with nonprofits, which will either buy the land to restore it or help them take on a restoration project themselves. Kim Snyder, an education coordinator at Mass Audubon, a conservation organization, speaks during an interview with The Associated Press, Thursday, March 19, 2026, at Tidmarsh Wildlife Sanctuary in Plymouth, Mass. (Julia Vaz/MIT Graduate Program in Science Writing via AP) Read More Kim Snyder, an education coordinator at Mass Audubon, a conservation organization, speaks during an interview with The Associated Press, Thursday, March 19, 2026, at Tidmarsh Wildlife Sanctuary in Plymouth, Mass. (Julia Vaz/MIT Graduate Program in Science Writing via AP) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Nature lovers have found other creative uses for the data: Once, birdwatchers took audio data of a bird call from several microphones to triangulate a bird’s location. Some users play wetland sounds for ambience in their bedrooms or offices. Restoring the land To make restoration possible at Tidmarsh, over 20,000 native plant species were planted, several old dams removed and new waterways dug. Excavators sifted through sandy soil degraded by more than a century of cranberry production that formed a thick, hard layer over the natural freshwater wetlands the farms were built on. Kim Snyder, an education coordinator at Mass Audubon, a conservation organization, shows sphagnum moss growing at Tidmarsh Wildlife Sanctuary in Plymouth, Mass., Thursday, March 19, 2026. (Julia Vaz/MIT Graduate Program in Science Writing via AP) Read More Kim Snyder, an education coordinator at Mass Audubon, a conservation organization, shows sphagnum moss growing at Tidmarsh Wildlife Sanctuary in Plymouth, Mass., Thursday, March 19, 2026. (Julia Vaz/MIT Graduate Program in Science Writing via AP) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Ecologists who believed cranberry farmland to be “ecologically dead” saw a wetland emerge instead. Within just a year of the restoration work that began in 2010, the sandy soil began to sprout. A 2025 study of sites including the Foothills Preserve in Plymouth, land that was also once part of Davenport’s farm, by researchers at the Woodwell Climate Research Center and the University of Connecticut suggested the sand at Tidmarsh held long-dormant native seeds that just needed to be mixed with peat to germinate. Similarly, a 2021 study of Tidmarsh and other restored sites — including an earlier, smaller restoration in Plymouth known as Eel River Headwaters — found that water retention, soil health and microbial communities improved rapidly in just a few years. “We discovered that former cranberry farms were actually highly restorable,” says Beth Lambert, director of the Massachusetts Division of Ecological Restoration. A stream runs through Tidmarsh Wildlife Sanctuary in Plymouth, Mass., Sunday, March 15, 2026. (Julia Vaz/MIT Graduate Program in Science Writing via AP) A stream runs through Tidmarsh Wildlife Sanctuary in Plymouth, Mass., Sunday, March 15, 2026. (Julia Vaz/MIT Graduate Program in Science Writing via AP) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More A cranberry bog is visible as cranberry vines are dormant during the offseason Sunday, March 15, 2026, in Wareham, Mass. (Jamie Jiang/MIT Graduate Program in Science Writing via AP) A cranberry bog is visible as cranberry vines are dormant during the offseason Sunday, March 15, 2026, in Wareham, Mass. (Jamie Jiang/MIT Graduate Program in Science Writing via AP) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More The results of the transformation are on display during tours given by Mass Audubon, the conservation organization that bought and manages most of the land at Tidmarsh. Kim Snyder, the group’s education coordinator, leads groups ranging from birdwatchers to schoolchildren on field trips. “A lot of Plymouth residents who have been here a long time remember it as a cranberry farm,” Snyder says. Setting an example Lambert says Tidmarsh helped launch the state’s Cranberry Bog Restoration Program, which can provide technical assistance and connect farmers to federal funding and conservation-minded buyers. Today, the state has helped complete construction on nine restoration projects totaling around 500 acres (202 hectares) and 10 miles (16 kilometers) of stream habitat. And 11 additional projects spanning another 500 acres are currently in planning stages. Lambert says she aims to have restored another thousand acres in the next 10 to 15 years. Water flows down a stream at Tidmarsh Wildlife Sanctuary, a restored wetland in Plymouth, Mass., Saturday, March 14, 2026. (Julia Vaz/MIT Graduate Program in Science Writing via AP) Read More Water flows down a stream at Tidmarsh Wildlife Sanctuary, a restored wetland in Plymouth, Mass., Saturday, March 14, 2026. (Julia Vaz/MIT Graduate Program in Science Writing via AP) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More According to the United States Department of Agriculture, the number of retired cranberry farms in Massachusetts grew by about 40% between 2017 and 2022. It’s not a given that farmers will choose to sell their lands for conservation purposes. They can sell to other buyers to develop. Or they could let the land languish, taking decades to return to a wild, productive ecosystem. “If we don’t conserve, if we don’t protect these lands that … owners are walking away (from), we lose it forever,” Davenport says. A now-retired filmmaker, Davenport believes that the more research on wetland restoration she supports, the more knowledge can be communicated to the public — which could inspire other restoration projects launching elsewhere. A Living Observatory sensor that measures temperature, humidity and atmospheric pressure is seen at Tidmarsh Wildlife Sanctuary in Plymouth, Mass., Sunday, March 15, 2026. (Jamie Jiang/MIT Graduate Program in Science Writing via AP) A Living Observatory sensor that measures temperature, humidity and atmospheric pressure is seen at Tidmarsh Wildlife Sanctuary in Plymouth, Mass., Sunday, March 15, 2026. (Jamie Jiang/MIT Graduate Program in Science Writing via AP) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Brian Mayton, a member of the Living Observatory and research affiliate at Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Lab, holds a prototype of a sensor meant to collect ecological data from wetlands Wednesday, March 25, 2026, at MIT in Cambridge Mass. (Jamie Jiang/MIT Graduate Program in Science Writing via AP) Brian Mayton, a member of the Living Observatory and research affiliate at Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Lab, holds a prototype of a sensor meant to collect ecological data from wetlands Wednesday, March 25, 2026, at MIT in Cambridge Mass. (Jamie Jiang/MIT Graduate Program in Science Writing via AP) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More That belief led her to create the Living Observatory, a nonprofit group that describes itself as a “learning collaborative” for researchers, artists and others to document how former cranberry farms recuperate. Through the network of sensors — which monitor conditions from soil moisture to temperature — and live cameras, the Living Observatory created a trove of data on how to restore cranberry farms. The project’s website now houses data from multiple restoration sites in the state beyond Tidmarsh. Brian Mayton, a member of the Living Observatory and research affiliate at Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Lab, reads research papers at his desk at MIT, Wednesday, March 25, 2026 in Cambridge Mass. (Jamie Jiang/MIT Graduate Program in Science Writing via AP) Read More Brian Mayton, a member of the Living Observatory and research affiliate at Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Lab, reads research papers at his desk at MIT, Wednesday, March 25, 2026 in Cambridge Mass. (Jamie Jiang/MIT Graduate Program in Science Writing via AP) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Gershon Dublon, a data and systems researcher and director of the board of the Living Observatory, said researchers were grateful for a fairly simple tool: a centralized place to access the data and add their own. After the success at Tidmarsh, ecologists from as far as the Amazon rainforest reached out to Living Observatory asking for their input on how to deploy a similar bespoke sensor network in their work, Dublon says. Climate-resilient landscapes Wetland restoration projects and the knowledge gained from them are important tools in the fight against climate change, says climate scientist Christopher Neill at the Woodwell Climate Center. Wetlands work as barriers that soak up water from floods and storms, Neill says. According to scientists, extreme precipitation is becoming more common in the Northeast. A native pitcher plant grows in a wetland on a former cranberry farm at Tidmarsh Wildlife Sanctuary, Saturday, March 14, 2026, in Plymouth, Mass. (Jamie Jiang/MIT Graduate Program in Science Writing via AP) Read More A native pitcher plant grows in a wetland on a former cranberry farm at Tidmarsh Wildlife Sanctuary, Saturday, March 14, 2026, in Plymouth, Mass. (Jamie Jiang/MIT Graduate Program in Science Writing via AP) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More At Tidmarsh, one example of that resilience is sphagnum moss growing next to a mile-long boardwalk. Snyder likes to tell visitors about its antimicrobial properties. The moss also absorbs and stores planet-warming carbon dioxide. “It’s a great property to show … the scope of restoration work,” she says, smiling. Glorianna Davenport, founder of the Living Observatory, walks through soggy ground of the restored wetland at Tidmarsh Wildlife Sanctuary in Plymouth, Mass., Saturday, March 14, 2026. (Julia Vaz/MIT Graduate Program in Science Writing via AP) Read More Glorianna Davenport, founder of the Living Observatory, walks through soggy ground of the restored wetland at Tidmarsh Wildlife Sanctuary in Plymouth, Mass., Saturday, March 14, 2026. (Julia Vaz/MIT Graduate Program in Science Writing via AP) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More The changes at Tidmarsh, a farm that had been owned by her husband’s family, give Davenport hope. Native pitcher plants grow in clusters in the wetlands. Insects drone over running brooks. Her boots sink on the mushy, wet ground. Those were sounds she never heard on the farm before. “The quiet goal is, can we make a dent in the amount of land that’s put in conservation?” Davenport says. ___ This story has been updated to correct that Davenport did not grow up on the farm and to clarify that she and her husband sold the land. ___ The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Officials and experts in Argentina are scrambling to determine if their country is the source of a deadly hantavirus outbreak that has gripped an Atlantic cruise. The health emergency aboard the ship that’s moored across the ocean comes as Argentina sees a surge of hantavirus cases that many local public health researchers attribute to the recently accelerating effects of climate change. Argentina, where the cruise to Antarctica departed, is consistently ranked by the World Health Organization as having the highest incidence of the rare, rodent-borne disease in Latin America. Higher temperatures expand the virus’ range because, in part, as it gets warmer and ecosystems change, rodents that carry the hantavirus can thrive in more places, experts say. People typically contract the virus from exposure to rodent droppings, urine or saliva. “Argentina has become more tropical because of climate change, and that has brought disruptions, like dengue and yellow fever, but also new tropical plants that produce seeds for mice to proliferate,” said Hugo Pizzi, a prominent Argentine infectious disease specialist. “There is no doubt that as time goes by, the hantavirus is spreading more and more.” Related Stories Study finds climate change set the stage for devastating wildfires in Argentina and Chile Search for Brazil flood survivors continues as death toll rises to 64 Argentina approves Milei's bill that eases protections for glaciers despite environmental backlash The Argentine Health Ministry on Tuesday reported 101 hantavirus infections since June 2025, roughly double the caseload recorded over the same period the previous year. A hantavirus found in South America, called the Andes virus, can cause a severe and often fatal lung disease called hantavirus pulmonary syndrome. The disease led to death in nearly a third of cases in the last year, Argentina’s Health Ministry said, up from an average mortality rate of 15 in the five years before that. Authorities said passengers on the MV Hondius ship tested positive for the Andes virus. The cause of infection remains under investigation Argentine officials say they’re trying to pin down where infected passengers traveled in the country before boarding the Dutch-flagged cruise liner in Ushuaia, a city in southern Argentina known as the end of the world. Once they know the itineraries, they say they will trace contacts, isolate close contacts and actively monitor to prevent further spread. The U.N. health agency, or WHO, says that the first death on board, a 70-year-old Dutch man, happened on April 11. His 69-year-old wife, also Dutch, died on April 26. The third passenger, a German woman, died on May 2. The virus can incubate for between one and eight weeks. That makes it hard to know whether the passengers contracted the virus before leaving Argentina for Antarctica on April 1; during a scheduled stop to a remote South Atlantic island; or aboard the ship. The province of Tierra del Fuego, where the vessel docked for weeks before departing, has never seen a case of hantavirus. Before boarding, the Dutch couple went sightseeing in Ushuaia, and traveled elsewhere in Argentina and Chile, WHO said. The Argentine government’s leading hypothesis is that the couple contracted the virus during a bird-watching outing in Ushuaia, according to two investigators who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media as they sifted through still-fragmentary evidence. Authorities are also tracing the Dutch tourists’ footsteps through the forested hillsides of Patagonia in southern Argentina where some infections are clustered. Because early symptoms resemble the fever and chills of a flu, “tourists might think they just have a cold and not take it seriously. That makes it particularly dangerous,” Raul González Ittig, genetics professor at the National University of Córdoba and a researcher at state science body CONICET, said. On Tuesday, the mountain resort town of Bariloche, Patagonia’s most common northern entry point, recorded its first human hantavirus case of 2026, the government of Río Negro Province said. He was hospitalized on Wednesday. Climate change sends rodents to new frontiers Argentina in recent years endured a historic drought. But it also had bouts of unexpectedly intense rainfall, part of a broader pattern of wild weather that scientists attribute to climate change. Some of this variability has created conditions that have allowed hantavirus to flourish, experts say. Dry spells drive animals out of their usual habitats in search of food and water. Huge amounts of rain lead to vegetation growth, scattering seeds that attract leaf-munching rodents. “When precipitation increases, food availability increases, rodent populations grow, and if there are infected rodents, the chance of transmission between rodents — and eventually to humans — also increases,” Ittig said. Although hantavirus cases once were limited to the southern reaches of Patagonia, now 83% of cases are found in Argentina’s far north, according to the Health Ministry. In January, the ministry issued an alert on several fatal hantavirus outbreaks, including in the most populous province of Buenos Aires. “With the climate changing, the epidemiological picture has completely changed,” said Pizzi. “The ship may be an isolated case. But this virus isn’t going anywhere.”

After two previous attempts to decide how to deal with a couple who chopped down 38 trees in North Oakland in violation of the city’s Protected Trees Ordinance, the Oakland City Council decided Tuesday to fine them $915,135. The fine is perhaps the largest ever in Oakland for destroying trees. Councilmembers Janani Ramachandran, Noel Gallo, Kevin Jenkins, Zac Unger and Charlene Wang voted for the fine. Rowena Brown, Carroll Fife and Ken Houston voted no. Emeryville residents Matthew Bernard and Lynn Warner purchased the hillside lot behind the Claremont Hotel and Club in 2019. Two years later, city staff said the couple started felling trees without permits. The trees included native live oaks, broad-leaf maples, buckeyes and other species. Bernard repeatedly ignored warnings that he needed permits to cut down the trees, city staff said. Some of the trees were on neighboring properties. The couple applied for building permits to construct a single-family residence, but Oakland issued them a notice of violation of the city’s protected tree ordinance last year. When staff calculated the value of each tree — from a small plum worth $750 to a mature coast live oak valued at $95,000 — the total was nearly $1 million. Related Stories Dense tree barriers to cut air pollution are coming to West Oakland Inspectors let ‘lightly infested’ goods into state. Lawmakers want it to end Oakland attributes a 6-decade low in homicides, in part, to life coaches City staff say trees provide valuable ecosystem services like preventing fires, holding hillside together against erosion and debris flows, supporting biodiversity, cleaning the air and improving people’s mental health. Bernard and Warner requested a public hearing on the matter before the City Council, an option afforded to people facing fines under the city’s tree protection law. The council was unable to resolve the matter during its first two attempts in December and April. At its April 14 meeting, a motion to impose the maximum fine did not pass after councilmembers Fife, Brown and Houston voted no, and Gallo’s absence was recorded as a no vote. In the run-up to today’s meeting, environmental advocates flooded the councilmembers’ inboxes with messages supporting the fine. Some spoke at the meeting, saying they were concerned that if the city didn’t fine Bernard and Warner, it would send a message to developers and other property owners that they could chop down trees with impunity. “This is not simply an environmental issue,” said Arash Daneshzadeh, director of programs at the Oakland Parks and Recreation Foundation. “It’s a civic, public safety and equity issue. When violations, particularly in egregious cases like this, go unpenalized, it sends a clear message that compliance is optional.” Before today’s vote, Bernard made his case to the council, arguing he had tried in good faith to follow the city’s process. He also claimed that some of the 38 trees were already cut down or diseased and dead. “We dispute there were 38 trees removed,” he said. “Some trees fell prior to our purchase, others fell during storms.” City staff said they gathered extensive evidence of the violations and included in materials submitted to the council were photographs of the lot before and after the trees were cut, photos of people cutting trees on the property and detailed reports by Oakland’s arborist staff. Police also took reports when they responded to the property while Bernard and others were cutting trees. Bernard asked the council to resolve the matter by waiving the fine and allowing him and Warner to replant new trees after they built their home. Councilmembers Brown and Fife wanted to find a solution more favorable to Bernard. Brown called Oakland’s protected tree ordinance “outdated” and said it felt unfair to impose such a large fine on the property owners for chopping down trees the city would likely have permitted removal of anyway. “I believe a truly equitable approach requires us to distinguish between preventable loss and inevitable removal,” she said. She tried to get her colleagues to vote for a roughly $300,000 reduction in the fine. Fife railed against what she said were racially inequitable policies, making comparisons with the drug war, mass incarceration and colonization, while noting that Bernard is Black and his property is located in an area where people of color were prohibited from living in the early 20th century. She supported Brown’s proposal. In the end, a majority of the council embraced the notion that laws matter and the city shouldn’t be making excuses for people who violate them. Ramachandran said Oakland needs “to be crystal clear to anyone who wants to come into our city and trash our city, and violate our laws, and think you can get away with it: …You are going to be fined.” Similarly, Jenkins said Oakland needs to restore the confidence among residents that it will uphold its laws. Appealing to Gallo and Houston — both of whom frequently complain during council meetings about their frustrations with the perception that Oakland is lawless — Jenkins asked them to support the fine. “Are we going to enforce the laws? Do they mean anything?” he said. ___ This story was originally published by The Oaklandside and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.

A new University of Vermont extreme weather monitoring station opened in Lyndonville on Tuesday, the first in a planned network of monitoring stations to help fill gaps in extreme weather predictions and response. The station will be able to monitor the lead-up to major weather events like flooding or blizzards, giving the National Weather Service and state level emergency response officials localized data to inform evacuations and reducing the severity of property damage, according to Joshua Beneš, associate director of research facilities and networks at the UVM Water Resources Institute. Beneš said that even a few hours more of lead time before a flooding event escalates can have a huge impact for a local community. Vermont’s geography makes it susceptible to smaller isolated extreme weather, according to Gabriel Langbauer, the meteorologist-in-charge at the NWS regional office in Burlington, necessitating the expanded coverage. The 10 meter tall tower that opened Tuesday is a prototype and the first of roughly 20 stations planned to be installed across the state. The first station was funded with support from UVM’s Leahy Institute for Rural Partnerships. The university is still in the process of procuring spots for the stations, but the hope is to have enough density of data collection points to study weather phenomena that are small enough to appear in gaps in current radar coverage. Related Stories Flying blind: Honolulu officials held off evacuations as North Shore flooded Honolulu Council Criticizes Slow City Response To North Shore Flooding Historic Hawaii floods leave 2,000 people without power The Northeast Kingdom was hit last year with flooding from isolated flash flood events with damage to property in towns like Sutton and Burke. Vermont’s weather radar and monitoring infrastructure is based mostly in Chittenden County, and the Green Mountains can obstruct the view of more rural parts of the state, according to Langbauer. The monitoring station that opened Tuesday is in the region of the state most obstructed, with Mount Mansfield blocking the view of the main radar located in Burlington, according to Beneš. Langbauer said that a storm that hit St. Johnsbury in 2024 was only partially captured by radar. “If it had been just a little bit further off and missed that observation, it would have been easy to miss that flood completely,” he said. Currently, weather events like thunderstorms, flash flooding and localized snow squalls can appear in pockets out of view of the National Weather Service, at times making it more difficult for the state to send out evacuation announcements and begin mobilizing resources. “East of the Greens we really have a hard time seeing,” said Langbauer. “So getting more stations like this new Lyndon one that are east of the Greens in that little radar hole is very valuable.” Beyond measuring more standard metrics like rainfall, the new stations will also measure soil moisture levels, data that Beneš says will greatly improve flood prediction. Beyond the immediate application, more detailed data can improve longer-term flood mitigation efforts, informing where floodplain restoration projects will be most effective. “This is one of those pieces that helps get us closer to being able to answer some of those bigger questions around how we reduce long-term future risk,” said Stephanie Smith, deputy director at Vermont Emergency Management. The state’s Dam Safety Program and Vermont Agency of Transportation will also be able to use data to inform decisions around water management and road conditions, according to a statement from UVM announcing the opening of the weather station. The data has additional utility beyond emergency response, such as in informing agricultural decisions about when to plant or harvest crops. Beneš said that the stations can also be used for long-term research looking into the effects of climate change and as an educational resource for meteorology students at the Vermont State University campus in Lyndonville. Some of the research stations are potentially going to be built on local school grounds, so Beneš hopes that they can introduce younger students to meteorology. ___ This story was originally published by VTDigger and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.

Richland County voters on Tuesday backed a move by their three county commissioners and preserved a ban on wind and solar power by a thinner margin than partisan politics may suggest. In a tight contest, 12,189 voters (52.9%) voted to uphold a ban on industrial-scale wind and solar in most of the county, while 10.853 (47.1%) voted to overturn it, according to preliminary election results. This means the north-central Ohio county will maintain its prohibition on renewables in 11 of 18 townships there, a restriction imposed by the county’s three Republican commissioners. Solar power in Ohio is often polarized along political lines, with Democrats in support and Republicans opposed. But only about 1 in 4 primary voters in Richland County picked a Democratic ballot, meaning a broad swath of Republican voters wanted to reverse the ban. The referendum campaign tailored its messaging around Republicans, framing the issue as one of government overreach and not global climate change. Regardless, the effort fell short. Morgan Carroll, a central figure in the repeal campaign, said in a phone call Tuesday evening that the result was disappointing, but proved that solar isn’t a clean-cut partisan issue. Related Stories Ohio let counties ban solar. In Richland, it’s now on the ballot Virginia voters approve redistricting plan that could boost Democrats’ seats in Congress Redistricting battle narrows for US House as states seek partisan edge in November elections “It wasn’t that far off from being 50-50,” she said. “It’s telling from such a Republican county that we’d even have that close of a result.” Darrell Banks, a county commissioner who supported the ban, said the county won despite the outside money that poured in. “This is an affirmation by the voters that their Township Trustees and County Commissioners are aligned with the best interest of their communities,” he said. “We appreciate the support of Richland County voters.” Several interests from far outside Richland County sought to move the needle there. The Natural Resource Defense Council, a national environmental nonprofit via its political arm, and Ohio Citizen Action, a grassroots organization from Columbus, spent heavily in support of a repeal. On the other side, known Republican operatives backed the campaign in support of the wind and solar ban. The election was the second test in state history of a 2021 law that gives local governments broad powers to block renewable energy projects in their jurisdictions – powers they don’t have when it comes to coal, gas or nuclear energy projects. ___ This story was originally published by Signal Ohio and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.

WOODS HOLE, Mass. (AP) — Green cells whirl around a red-light chamber, propelled by a blade through bubbling water. These little seaweed cells, called gametophytes, will develop into a strain of fast-growing kelp — part of what was once a government-funded initiative to develop sustainable biofuels for American transport. Electricity from solar and wind energy can power cars, however ships and aircraft largely run on liquid fuels made with a large percentage of oil or gasoline. When burned, those emit carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that causes global warming. Biofuel, refined from organic material like plants or algae, is a potential option to change the fuel makeup. One kind of biofuel comes from kelp. Through a process that uses heat and pressure to produce fuel, known as hydrothermal liquefaction, this humble seaweed could power ships and aircraft without any petroleum. “We need other sources of energy that are sustainable, we can’t just rely on petroleum,” said Scott Lindell, a marine scientist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution about a 90-minute drive south of Boston. “There’s hardly anything simpler, or anything that grows quite as fast and as sustainably, as seaweed.” A seaweed bioreactor circulates kelp gametophytes, little seaweed cells, under controlled light and temperature conditions Friday, March 13, 2026, at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Woods Hole, Mass. (Ana Georgescu/MIT Graduate Program in Science Writing via AP) A seaweed bioreactor circulates kelp gametophytes, little seaweed cells, under controlled light and temperature conditions Friday, March 13, 2026, at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Woods Hole, Mass. (Ana Georgescu/MIT Graduate Program in Science Writing via AP) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Kelp strands dry on a line in Scott Lindell's lab Friday, March 13, 2026, at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Woods Hole, Mass. (Ana Georgescu/MIT Graduate Program in Science Writing via AP) Kelp strands dry on a line in Scott Lindell's lab Friday, March 13, 2026, at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Woods Hole, Mass. (Ana Georgescu/MIT Graduate Program in Science Writing via AP) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More A researcher holds a piece of tank-grown kelp Friday, March 13, 2026, at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Woods Hole, Mass. (Ana Georgescu/MIT Graduate Program in Science Writing via AP) Read More A researcher holds a piece of tank-grown kelp Friday, March 13, 2026, at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Woods Hole, Mass. (Ana Georgescu/MIT Graduate Program in Science Writing via AP) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More ___ EDITOR’S NOTE: This story is a collaboration between the MIT Graduate Program in Science Writing and The Associated Press. ___ Existing biofuels, like corn-derived ethanol, primarily work as gasoline additives. Corn crops require agricultural land, fresh water and pesticides while kelp, by contrast, can be grown in the ocean with minimal resources. Read more One of America’s oldest weather observatories shows people the science behind our climate Massachusetts is dumping sewage into waterways. Grassroots organizations are fighting back 22 How a retired cranberry bog helped change the game for wetland restoration 14 Although any bioethanol — whether produced from corn or kelp — releases hazardous gases when burned, such as acetaldehyde, these fuels produce fewer greenhouse gases overall compared to petroleum-based fuels. Researchers like Lindell have successfully bred kelp varieties that in some cases produce up to three times more biomass than conventional strains. Yet energy companies are hesitant to invest in large-scale aquaculture projects without demonstrated demand, and farmers are reluctant to scale up without a guaranteed buyer, forming a circular problem that has slowed industry development. Government interest in biofuels is inconsistent Hadley Kerr, left, and Morgan Anthony examine pieces of kelp Friday, March 13, 2026, at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Woods Hole, Mass. (Ana Georgescu/MIT Graduate Program in Science Writing via AP) Read More Hadley Kerr, left, and Morgan Anthony examine pieces of kelp Friday, March 13, 2026, at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Woods Hole, Mass. (Ana Georgescu/MIT Graduate Program in Science Writing via AP) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Aquaculture farms today remain small, supplying kelp primarily to restaurants, cosmetics companies and fertilizer producers. Hauke Kite-Powell, an engineer and economic analyst at Woods Hole, said scaling kelp production to support a biofuel economy would require sustained government support, beyond just the private sector. While oil price volatility, driven in part by international conflicts such as the war in Iran, has led to bursts of renewed interest in energy independence, government support for options like biofuel fluctuates in the United States. In 2016, a program run by the Department of Energy set out to develop tools for kelp-based biofuel production. A man pumps gas Sunday, March 15, 2026, in Cambridge, Mass. (Zoe Beketova/MIT Graduate Program in Science Writing via AP) Read More A man pumps gas Sunday, March 15, 2026, in Cambridge, Mass. (Zoe Beketova/MIT Graduate Program in Science Writing via AP) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More The program, known as MARINER — Macroalgae Research Inspiring Novel Energy Resources — consisted of projects ranging from developing heat-resistant kelp strains that can withstand warming oceans to studies on seaweed genomes. The Department of Energy often backs exploratory, high-risk high-return projects, and researchers involved in MARINER said they made progress, such as increasing kelp yields. The program mirrored a similar feasibility-testing venture that began in the 1970s, which was swiftly terminated once oil prices stabilized. Lindell’s lab, funded by MARINER, focused on improving crop yield by selectively breeding kelp with desirable qualities — such as nonreproductive capabilities to prevent interbreeding with wild kelp — so that, down the line, farmers could scale up their kelp production. Lindell’s MARINER funding lasted six years, finishing in 2024. Since then, federal research funding opportunities have been fewer and delayed. But the urgent need for sustainable energy remains, he said. “I don’t think things have changed incredibly since the first oil crisis.” A middle market for kelp has yet to materialize Oliver Dixon harvests kelp lines in Point Judith, R.I., Friday, March 20, 2026. (Zoe Beketova/MIT Graduate Program in Science Writing via AP) Read More Oliver Dixon harvests kelp lines in Point Judith, R.I., Friday, March 20, 2026. (Zoe Beketova/MIT Graduate Program in Science Writing via AP) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Farmers note the difficulties of finding consistent kelp buyers. Oliver Dixon, a shellfish farmer based in Point Judith, Rhode Island, grows kelp to supplement his oyster business during the winter. As of this month, he expects to harvest about 10,000 pounds (4,500 kilograms) of kelp, selling most of it to local restaurants and seafood markets. “The buyers come in and out, it’s pretty discouraging,” Dixon said. His 9-acre (3.6-hectare) farm is hundreds of times smaller than what would be needed to produce biofuel, and without proven demand from the energy sector, he has no plans to expand. Bren Smith, an ocean farmer and co-founder of GreenWave, a nonprofit supporting ocean farmers, argues that the issue isn’t a lack of demand, but instead where kelp makes sense economically: Kelp is currently more viable in products like cosmetics or food, rather than fuel, which remains one of its lowest-value uses. “We’ve made this mistake before, right?” Smith said, referring to large-scale investments in kelp research focused on fuel production instead of the seaweed’s myriad other uses. “Competing with the most technically advanced, subsidized industry on the globe, the fossil fuel industry.” Red tape slows expansion, but researchers bet on the long game Even with a guaranteed buyer, expanding kelp farming would face regulatory hurdles, according to Kite-Powell. In the United States, coastal waters are largely prioritized for recreation, fishing and conservation, making it difficult to obtain permits for large aquaculture projects. By contrast, countries in Asia often prioritize extensive seaweed farms, sometimes covering entire bays. For now, most U.S. farms remain small and nearshore. Dixon said that he cannot obtain a permit to keep his farm infrastructure in the water year-round, requiring him to remove his lines and anchors each spring and reinstall them in the fall. Ocean industry policy expert Hauke Kite-Powell poses for a portrait in Kendall Square, Friday, March 13, 2026, in Cambridge, Mass. (Ana Georgescu/MIT Graduate Program in Science Writing via AP) Read More Ocean industry policy expert Hauke Kite-Powell poses for a portrait in Kendall Square, Friday, March 13, 2026, in Cambridge, Mass. (Ana Georgescu/MIT Graduate Program in Science Writing via AP) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Moving farms further offshore could allow for larger operations, but it introduces engineering and environmental challenges, including the risk of entangling marine animals and the possibility that farmed kelp could compete with other marine life for nutrients. “We don’t yet have a full understanding of what all the ecological side effects of very large-scale ocean farming might be,” Kite-Powell said. Kelp gametophytes, little seaweed cells, collected from locations across New England are stored under red light Friday, March 13, 2026, at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Woods Hole, Mass. (Ana Georgescu/MIT Graduate Program in Science Writing via AP) Kelp gametophytes, little seaweed cells, collected from locations across New England are stored under red light Friday, March 13, 2026, at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Woods Hole, Mass. (Ana Georgescu/MIT Graduate Program in Science Writing via AP) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Kelp cultures grow in small containers Friday, March 13, 2026, at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Woods Hole, Mass. (Ana Georgescu/MIT Graduate Program in Science Writing via AP) Kelp cultures grow in small containers Friday, March 13, 2026, at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Woods Hole, Mass. (Ana Georgescu/MIT Graduate Program in Science Writing via AP) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Harvested kelp sits in Point Judith, R.I., Friday, March 20, 2026. (Ana Georgescu/MIT Graduate Program in Science Writing via AP) Read More Harvested kelp sits in Point Judith, R.I., Friday, March 20, 2026. (Ana Georgescu/MIT Graduate Program in Science Writing via AP) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Even so, scientists like Lindell remain confident that their work will be applied to a biofuel industry in the future. Around Lindell’s lab are glass vials and flasks of over 2,600 strains of sugar kelp collected from across New England, which he continues to study and breed selectively in hopes of the energy industry transitioning to renewable sources. To him, volatile fuel prices and the finite nature of resources like oil point to an eventual change. “We’ll come to the realization that things have shifted in the marketplace,” Lindell said, “and we can’t squeeze any more oil out of the earth in 30 years’ time.” ___ The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

SACRAMENTO, California — Environmental groups on Wednesday announced that they plan to sue the Newsom administration after it weakened landmark plastic recycling rules. What happened: The Natural Resources Defense Council and Californians Against Waste announced their intent to sue a few days after the Newsom administration finalized rules requiring manufacturers to pay to recycle and reduce single-use plastic packaging to implement a landmark 2022 law, SB 54. The groups, which helped negotiate the 2022 law in the Legislature as part of a deal with plastic manufacturers to avoid a fight at the ballot box, are planning to argue in court that the final rules violate the original intent of the law by exempting certain types of packaging, and by opening the door to advanced recycling technologies that are harmful to the environment. Advertisement “These regulations ignore explicit limits on recycling technologies and create permanent escape hatches the law never authorized,” said Nick Lapis, director of advocacy at Californians Against Waste, in a press release. “CalRecycle’s original draft regulations were already not strong enough to ensure the systemic change that the public expected from this law, but the agency’s final regulations added even more loopholes to protect the status quo for producers of plastic packaging.” GET FULL ACCESS

Press release United Nations proposes new global dashboard to measure progress beyond GDP Secretary–General’s High–Level Expert Group sets out a set of indicators to put people and planet at the centre of decision–making New York, 7 May 2026 — The UN Secretary-General’s Independent High-Level Expert Group on Beyond GDP today released a report proposing the first global blueprint for how countries can assess progress that complements Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The Expert Group’s report presents a dashboard of globally applicable indicators that provides a new compass of progress for people and planet. For decades, GDP has guided major policy decisions at every level worldwide. While it remains an essential measure of economic output, relying on GDP alone risks an incomplete picture of progress — one where the economy can grow even as critical dimensions of well-being, like safety or environmental quality, deteriorate sharply. The case for a broader understanding of progress has never been more urgent. People around the world are growing disillusioned with economic and political systems, and environmental crises are intensifying by the day — all while GDP continues to climb. “GDP ignores inequality and poverty. It does not capture environmental degradation. It misses non-monetary dimensions of well-being, like health, education and peace.” – Nora Lustig, Co-Chair, High-Level Expert Group A practical tool for immediate use Titled “Counting What Counts: A Compass of Progress for People and Planet,” the report responds to a mandate from UN Member States under a 2024 agreement called the Pact for the Future to develop a limited number of country-owned, universally applicable indicators that complement and go beyond GDP. “This report is a landmark step in correcting a longstanding blind spot in measuring progress: the over-reliance on GDP. It was designed to be a narrow metric of economic output, yet became one of the most consequential numbers for international policy —something its architects never intended. This report makes concrete recommendations for complementary indicators that measure what matters most to people and planet.” – António Guterres, UN Secretary-General At the report’s core is a concise, ready-to-use dashboard designed to display a comprehensive assessment of progress, incorporating well-being, equity and inclusion, and sustainability. Drawing on the existing Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) global indicator framework and established statistical systems, the dashboard allows governments to begin using it immediately to inform their decision-making. The report also draws attention to areas that determine progress but that are often overlooked, such as cross-country spillovers, in recognition that well-being in one country is often influenced by activities and decisions in other countries. Building on decades of efforts, including the 2030 Agenda and the Pact for the Future, this report represents a milestone in a generational project needed to move beyond GDP. “Growth can mean many things. Growth in education. Growth in arts and leisure. Better health. Moving Beyond GDP does not mean eschewing economic growth — but instead reflecting progress across the critical dimensions of well-being for people and planet. This is what we hope to capture in our report.” – Kaushik Basu, Co-Chair, High-Level Expert Group Next steps for Implementation The report outlines a clear roadmap of what is needed to go beyond GDP. In addition to a data agenda, the report provides actionable recommendations for different stakeholders— from governments, the multilateral system, the statistical community, and civil society and media. It recognizes that moving beyond GDP needs an all-hands-on-deck approach, with sustained commitment by different stakeholders. Its recommendations will now be discussed by Member States in the General Assembly to agree on a plan to advance measures of progress at national and international levels. *** About the High-Level Expert Group (HLEG) on Beyond GDP The United Nations High-Level Expert Group (HLEG) on Beyond GDP comprises 14 globally recognized experts appointed in May 2025, drawing on expertise in economics, statistics, development policy, inequality, sustainability and public policy from diverse regions and institutional backgrounds. The full report will be available on 7 May, 3 pm EDT: https://www.un.org/en/beyondGDP/documents Media contacts (interviews are available upon request) Sharon Birch, UN Department of Global Communications | E: birchs@un.org Helen Rosengren, UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs | E: rosengrenh@un.org