The Urban Wildlands Group

The Urban Wildlands Group is dedicated to the conservation of species, habitats, and ecological processes in urban and urbanizing areas.

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November 2008 -- National Geographic magazine features Travis Longcore, Catherine Rich, and The Urban Wildlands Group in its cover story: "The End of Night: Why We Need Darkness." The story reviews research presented in Ecological Consequences of Artificial Night Lighting, edited by Rich and Longcore.

August 29, 2008 -- Lange's metalmark butterflies reared and successfully mated at the butterfly project at Moorpark College were released into restored habitat at Antioch Dunes National Wildlife Refuge. Click for news and videos about the project from the Ventura County Star, Contra Costa Times, and the homepage of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

July 25, 2008 -- The Wall Street Journal's Robert Lee Hotz published a column on light pollution with a reference to Ecological Consequences of Artificial Night Lighting.

June 18, 2008 -- Science Director Travis Longcore testified at a congressional staff briefing on light pollution sponsored by Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and the International Dark-Sky Association.

June 10, 2008 -- UWG research on bird mortality at communication towers was published in the leading ornithology journal The Auk this week: Height, guy wires, and steady-burning lights increase hazard of communication towers to nocturnal migrants: a review and meta-analysis by Travis Longcore, Catherine Rich, and Sidney A. Gauthreaux Jr. This article is already being used in conservation efforts.

June 2008 -- The spring issue of Wings, the journal of the Xerces Society, contains anessay by UWG's Travis Longcore and Catherine Rich titled "Invertebrate Conservation at the Gates of Hell." They explore the value of the patches of habitat that remain in heavily industrialized landscapes that, seemingly at odds with their surroundings, are often home to rare species. The issue is dedicated to urban invertebrate conservation and the five essays together "make a powerful argument that it is time to re-examine the ways we encounter and conserve invertebrates in urban settings."

March 2008 -- The Urban Wildlands Group's work is featured in an article in Chicago Wilderness Magazine about a groundbreaking new ordinance to protect the nighttime environment from excess light in Homer Glen, Illinois.

March 18, 2008 -- Palos Verdes blue butterflies are flying and the Los Angeles Times covers a release of adults into the wild by biologist Jana Johnson and the outstanding student workers at Moorpark College.

March 17, 2008 -- Ben Harder of U.S. News and World Report published an article on light pollution that cites our book Ecological Consequences of Artificial Night Lighting.

January 24, 2008 -- Science Director Travis Longcore presented ideas about the need for nature in cities as part of the Humane Metropolis conference in Riverside, California. Reported in The Press-Enterprise.

December 12, 2007 -- Our captive Lange's metalmark butterfly larvae have begun to hatch from their eggs.

December 10, 2007 -- Science Director Travis Longcore spoke at the inaugural greenXchange Global Marketplace Conference on sustainable urban infrastructure. Reports on his presentation in the blogosphere are found here and here.

October 21, 2007 -- Science Director Travis Longcore spoke at the Morongo Basin Lighting Conference in late September. News account here.

September 6, 2007 -- Lange's met Lange's metalmark ovipositing almark butterflies were collected yesterday by biologist Jana Johnson, consultant Ken Osborne, and the rest of "Team LMB" at the Antioch dunes. These butterflies have been transported to our site at Moorpark College to establish a captive population. Gordon Pratt collected specimens for a separate site in Murietta. Photo of captive female by Louis Terrazas (USFWS). The Contra Costa Times reports.