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Conserving Just 35% Of The Nation's Waterways Could Sustain Freshwater Biodiversity | A Freshwater Resilient And Connected Network To Sustain Biodiversity Under A Changing Climate
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https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0351782 <-- shared paper
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https://phys.org/news/2026-09-nation-waterways-sustain-freshwater-biodiversity.html <-- shared technical article
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H/T @erik@techhub.social Martin | Spatial Analyst/Developer
“By evaluating the health of waterways across the U.S., researchers have identified a network encompassing about one-third of rivers and streams that, if conserved and restored, could sustain the nation's freshwater biodiversity in the face of habitat degradation and climate change [1st link above.]…
During the past century, streams and lakes in the U.S. have deteriorated as more than 150,000 dams have fragmented river networks, and changes to the landscape and groundwater use have altered how and where the water flows. Many freshwater species are now in rapid decline, exacerbated by the impacts of climate change.
To address this crisis, [the researchers] worked with 66 freshwater conservationists to map freshwater networks in the contiguous U.S. and evaluate their resilience to degradation. Each watershed was scored based on its connectivity, condition, water availability and naturalness of flow, and checked against local surveys of freshwater biodiversity…”
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@ The Nature Conservancy
