The coordinated protests across the United States and around the globe were planned in part to coincide with Tax Day in the United States.

Carbon capture and storage is critical to near-term decarbonization in Pennsylvania.

Hydrogen itself may be critical to our ability to reach net-zero because of its potential to decarbonize hard-to-abate sectors.

Europe is facing a planning gap, which, left unaddressed, might jeopardize climate action altogether.

A new, first-of-its-kind modeling tool from Clean Air Task Force highlights the vast energy potential of superhot rock geothermal energy.

For natural gas to have a role in in a net zero energy system, it must include aggressive mitigation of methane and carbon dioxide emissions from the entire gas supply chain.

Offshore wind is a ready-to-deploy clean energy technology that can play a key role in decarbonizing electricity.

The science you support protects snow leopards! Every research finding, be it on disease risks, home range size, diet, livestock depredation, dispersal, etc., helps inform conservation policy. Below are just a few of our more significant learnings. Conserving Habitat Through GPS tracking, we’ve found that snow leopards use significantly larger home ranges than previously believed, which means existing protected areas are too small to support viable populations. Our work with snow leopard country governments through the Global Snow Leopard Ecosystem Protection program has resulted in a commitment to protecting a quarter of the global snow leopard habitat and promoting human-snow leopard coexistence across 23 mountainous landscapes. Preserving Genetic Diversity Data from our long-term study indicate that the biggest threat to genetic exchange between snow leopard populations is posed by border fences and other infrastructure that can fragment populations. A recent paper by Snow Leopard Trust scientists shows that even though snow leopards do not settle in flat steppe habitats, these areas can serve as important travel corridors that connect populations. Understanding how landscapes affect animal movements is critical to advocating for conservation of these important corridors and improving genetic diversity. Identifying Risks & Solutions Compared to other big cats, our findings show that snow leopards are uniquely vulnerable because females don’t typically reproduce until the relatively late age of 3-4 years and only give birth at two-year intervals. This means that the small populations of snow leopards, occurring at low densities, could be more susceptible to catastrophic declines. Reduced prey density, disease or intensified poaching, can therefore pose much greater extinction risks to snow leopards than previously thought. The more we understand about these vulnerabilities the better we can shape conservation efforts to protect this magnificent cat. To stay up to date on our latest research findings, sign up for our monthly E-News.  Below are just a few of the research papers our teams have published in international peer-reviewed journals. These publications provide insights into snow leopard ecology, genetics, habitat suitability, disease risks, conservation strategies, climate change impacts, human societies and community conservation initiatives across the major mountain ranges of Asia. Increasing risks for emerging infectious diseases within a rapidly changing High Asia.  Guidelines for telemetry studies on snow leopards.  Detection and genetic characterization of viruses present in free-ranging snow leopards using next-generation sequencing.  Keeping predators out: testing fences as a means to reduce livestock depredation at night-time corrals.  Health and zoonotic infections of snow leopards Panthera uncia in the South Gobi desert of Mongolia.  Identification errors in camera-trap studies result in systematic population overestimation.  The timing of breeding and independence for snow leopard females and their cubs.  Natal dispersal and exploratory forays through atypical habitat in the mountain-bound snow leopard.  Photo credit: Prasenjeet Yadav The post Celebrating 15 Years of Groundbreaking Science appeared first on Snow Leopard Trust.

But we couldn’t keep her safe without the help of community rangers like Enkhburen (Buren) Nyam. Buren has lived his entire life in the Tost mountain region. He has a connection to this land and a passion for protecting it and the wildlife who share it with him. He once considered snow leopards a threat to his family’s livelihood. Today, he is an award-winning Conservation Hero, protecting Mongolia’s most studied population of snow leopards, including several females like Presnel who have successfully raised multiple generations. “I saw my first snow leopard with my father when I was 7 or 8 years old. It was far away, but we could see it clearly. My childhood image of a snow leopard is of a cat with a long furry tail who always walks away stealthily. Living with snow leopards can sometimes be difficult for our way of life. It’s better now, but some issues remain as we try to coexist. Livestock are an important resource for a herder’s living. When cats attack their livestock it leads to conflict. But, we are striving to mitigate the losses. These are some of the world’s most endangered cats and I’m proud to share this land with them.” ~ Buren Nyam Your gifts provide rangers with equipment, training and support to patrol the Tost Nature Reserve for illegal activity. You make it possible for them to share best practices with herders to protect their livestock from predators and help establish community-run livestock insurance programs. These local conservation initiatives are critical to promoting coexistence with snow leopards. When people thrive, snow leopards can too. Your support means we can: Build predator-resistant corrals to keep more livestock safe and foster coexistence Install research cameras so rangers can better monitor and protect snow leopards Provide vital ranger equipment, including GPS units, laptops and binoculars Presnel has been part of our research study for many years now and has had three litters of cubs. Our community ranger initiatives are working to keep both her and any livestock she encounters safe. These programs are a lifeline to snow leopards and the communities who share their habitat.  Will you help us expand our community ranger program to protect more snow leopards? Please make a gift today. Our field teams recently shared that Presnel’s nearly-grown cubs separated from their mother in February and are now searching for their own territories to call home. Your donation will help ensure this new generation of snow leopards can find mates and raise their young in a place where cats and people can coexist. The post This little cub is a mother now. appeared first on Snow Leopard Trust.

Given their adaptations to life in cold conditions, we expect snow leopards to be able to weather these conditions over the short term. However, their prey populations are likely to be affected because their forage plants are blanketed by snow and ice. Many of you have reached out regarding these extreme winter conditions, also known as a dzud. Our Mongolia team has connected with our partner communities and determined that their livestock losses are significant. Our initial response was to offer support by provisioning hay for their remaining livestock to survive the dzud period. However, the Mongolian government has helped the communities considerably by providing livestock feed, and we applaud this timely action. With immediate needs taken care of, our team is now discussing with our community partners how we can help enhance their resilience against such climate shocks in the future. We hope to begin implementing a comprehensive strategy by early next year.   Our existing conservation-linked livelihood programs are largely ecosystem-based and founded on the sustainable use of those ecosystem services. They involve diversification of income, which allows the risk to livelihoods to be spread across multiple sources. This strategy is expected to help improve the resilience of vulnerable communities as the intensity and frequency of extreme climatic events and other threats increase. Our annual monitoring of snow leopard prey, including ibex and argali, will help us understand the extent to which wild prey have been affected by the dzud. We will provide an update as we make progress. We’re grateful for your concern and unwavering support. Photo credit: D. Otgonbaatar  The post Statement about Mongolia’s Ongoing Climate Disaster appeared first on Snow Leopard Trust.