Free Republic

The last time anyone saw the San Quintin kangaroo rat was more than 30 years ago, in the arid scrublands of Baja California in Mexico. Mexican authorities declared the small mammal critically endangered, and possibly extinct, in 1994. So biologists couldn't believe their eyes when not one, but four San Quintin kangaroo rats (Dipodomys gravipes) hopped into their survey traps in 2017. Named for their ability to leap like kangaroos, the rats are key species in arid areas across western North America, dispersing seeds and feeding predators such as coyotes and foxes. The San Quintin kangaroo rat is about 12...

Trump’s decision to renege on the nuclear deal was a terrible unforced error, and the process that led to that decision is no less worrisome: Even if Mr. Mattis had wanted to fight for the deal, it is not clear how much he would have been heard. Mr. Bolton, officials said, never convened a high-level meeting of the National Security Council to air the debate [bold mine-DL]. He advised Mr. Trump in smaller sessions, otherwise keeping the door to his West Wing office closed. Mr. Bolton has forged a comfortable relationship with the president, several people said, channeling his “America...

Court settlement stymies development in K-rat reserve Download story podcast 11:01 PM PDT on Sunday, May 2, 2010 By DAVID DANELSKI The Press-Enterprise More than 1,000 acres near March Air Reserve Base has been caught in a 16-year tug-of-war between Riverside County leaders who see it as prime for development and conservationists who say it is needed to help ensure the survival of the endangered Stephens' kangaroo rat. The federal government has agreed in a court settlement to rescind its 2003 decision to allow development on the 1,178 acres, which was designated a reserve for the 2-ounce, nocturnal rodent, found...