Thank you for subscribing to the Pitchstone Waters weekly newsletter.

This week's Restoring Biodiversity looks at conservation from several different scales. Researchers are using tiny parasitoid wasps to fight the invasive emerald ash borer threatening hundreds of millions of Texas trees. In the Upper Snake River Basin, competing demands for water demonstrate why Western water problems increasingly involve management as much as supply. We also feature the work of wildlife mapping pioneer Shawn Vickers and his unique perspective on Pitchstone Waters Ranch.

Here is what we’ve been reading, watching and writing about over the past week…

Articles

Emerald Ash Borers Are Decimating Texas Trees. Wasps Might Help Defeat Them.

The emerald ash borer, an invasive beetle first detected in Texas in 2016, continues to spread across the state, threatening an estimated 400 million ash trees and the ecosystems that depend on them. While insecticide treatments can protect individual trees, researchers believe the most promising long-term solution is the use of tiny parasitoid wasps—natural predators of the beetle discovered in Asia—which have already reduced beetle populations in other states. At the same time, conservationists are preserving ash tree seeds and encouraging responsible firewood practices as part of a broader effort to slow the insect's spread and protect Texas forests.

More here ->

Wyoming's Snake River Can't Quench Idaho's Thirst

You can fill every reservoir in the Upper Snake Basin and still not have enough water to satisfy everyone. That's the hard reality of Western water law, where century-old irrigation rights, growing demand, climate change, shrinking reservoir capacity, and ecological needs are all competing for the same finite resource. The recent fight over Jackson Lake Dam—where proposed releases nearly dropped low enough to damage the Snake River through Grand Teton National Park—shows that even in a good snow year, the West's water problems are becoming increasingly about management and competing priorities rather than simply how much snow falls.

More here ->

Videos

Shawn Vickers is one of those guys who was using mapping technology to manage wildlife and ranchland long before everybody started carrying a GPS around in their pocket.

Shawn understands landscapes at scale. He understands wildlife, habitat, mapping, and the technology we use to make better decisions about all three. And he’s been doing it long enough to remember when most of this technology was considered pretty damn cutting edge.

And he put this background to work when he created this video about Pitchstone Waters ranch....

More here ->

What We've Been Reading

Making Way for the Giant Anteaters of Brazil — National Geographic

In Brazil’s vanishing savannas, development is pushing giant anteaters closer to ever more dangerous roadways—prompting conservationists to think creatively about how to keep the beloved and slow-moving creatures safe.

Can Wildflowers Heal the Toxic Mess the L.A. Fires Left Behind? — National Geographic

Last year, devastating blazes polluted soil in parts of Los Angeles. Native plants can help repair the damage—and sow the seeds of something more.

A Drive on Colorado’s I-70 Should Take an Hour. It Took Her Two and a Half. Here’s Why It Won’t Get Better. — Outside

Each winter, Interstate 70 turns a one-hour drive from Denver to Colorado’s ski resorts into a multi-hour crawl of spinouts, jackknifed trucks, and stranded skiers. I rode along to find out how it got this bad, and whether it can ever be fixed. Published: Sep 1, 2026 Originally, I had a vision. It involved getting into a car with strangers. The idea struck me a few weeks before I left for Colorado in March, where I was going to report on the state’s notorious Interstate 70 traffic. Each winter,

And that’s it - as always thank you..

If you haven’t already - please check out our views on biodiversity at https://pitchstonewaters.com