Author of BELOVED BEASTS, http://tinyurl.com/belovedbeasts. Contributing ed. @HighCountryNews.bsky.social, bylines @nybooks.com, @TheAtlantic.bsky.social, etc. Conservation Works newsletter: http://substack.com/conservationworks Signal @shellhuis.21 https://bsky.app/profile/nijhuism.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/nijhuism.bsky.social/post/3mllmmomjo22d“Conservation is not a failure — it’s actually achieving real results. But those results are uneven, sometimes inefficient, and often poorly tracked.” A new paper suggests that success depends on measuring what works. https://substack.com/home/post/p-19625594011 May 2026 15:46 +0000at://did:plc:movn52m7eolpemw2tzha6gmo/app.bsky.feed.post/3mllmmomjo22dhttps://bsky.app/profile/nijhuism.bsky.social/post/3mjl4eh5ra224“I do find hope in the fact that wildlife can surprise us so much.” An interview with Hilary Flower, author of the new book The Kite and the Snail. https://substack.com/home/post/p-19425175216 Apr 2026 00:04 +0000at://did:plc:movn52m7eolpemw2tzha6gmo/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjl4eh5ra224https://bsky.app/profile/nijhuism.bsky.social/post/3mif47ccepk26Is stewardship “the overlooked and most important leg of the conservation stool?” People have some feelings about this one ... maybe you will, too. New post from #Conservation Works. https://conservationworks.substack.com/p/words-we-need-stewardship31 Mar 2026 21:20 +0000at://did:plc:movn52m7eolpemw2tzha6gmo/app.bsky.feed.post/3mif47ccepk26https://bsky.app/profile/nijhuism.bsky.social/post/3mgbmawqze22cI’ve been thinking about Liz Bucar's viral essay "What If Trevor Noah Is Right About the Left and Religion?" since she published it last month. Here are a few thoughts about that piece — and about transformation, #conservation, & the imaginative power of both. https://substack.com/home/post/p-18991634105 Mar 2026 01:07 +0000at://did:plc:movn52m7eolpemw2tzha6gmo/app.bsky.feed.post/3mgbmawqze22chttps://bsky.app/profile/nijhuism.bsky.social/post/3mg4ijrrqw22vUntil last year, the US government was one of the world's biggest funders of #biodiversity protection. For @biographic.bsky.social, I wrote about what's been lost since Trump slashed USAID and other agencies, and how people & organizations are moving forward now. https://www.biographic.com/the-future-of-conservation-without-us-aid/03 Mar 2026 00:17 +0000at://did:plc:movn52m7eolpemw2tzha6gmo/app.bsky.feed.post/3mg4ijrrqw22vhttps://bsky.app/profile/nijhuism.bsky.social/post/3mfnwk423qc27Join me this Thursday at 7 pm AKST / 8 pm PST for a discussion about the future of environmental journalism, kindly hosted by UAF Journalism. I'll be in Fairbanks in person, but if you'd rather not break out your Sorels, please tune in on Zoom! 🥶 🙏 🌌 https://www.uaf.edu/news/environmental-journalist-michelle-nijhuis-to-speak-at-uaf.php25 Feb 2026 05:17 +0000at://did:plc:movn52m7eolpemw2tzha6gmo/app.bsky.feed.post/3mfnwk423qc27https://bsky.app/profile/nijhuism.bsky.social/post/3mewdc2n4ts2qRachel Carson's "Fable for Tomorrow" worked brilliantly — but only once. How can we create conservation fables for today? https://conservationworks.substack.com/p/how-to-build-a-better-fable15 Feb 2026 20:02 +0000at://did:plc:movn52m7eolpemw2tzha6gmo/app.bsky.feed.post/3mewdc2n4ts2qhttps://bsky.app/profile/nijhuism.bsky.social/post/3mdjswsao5k2vCongressional Republicans are breaking conservation and using democracy as a cover. New from Conservation Works: https://conservationworks.substack.com/p/the-other-crisis-in-minnesota29 Jan 2026 03:12 +0000at://did:plc:movn52m7eolpemw2tzha6gmo/app.bsky.feed.post/3mdjswsao5k2vhttps://bsky.app/profile/nijhuism.bsky.social/post/3mdgiivnfzl2rWriters and readers — please tell me about the essays you can’t forget. 💙📚27 Jan 2026 19:27 +0000at://did:plc:movn52m7eolpemw2tzha6gmo/app.bsky.feed.post/3mdgiivnfzl2rhttps://bsky.app/profile/nijhuism.bsky.social/post/3mczn43alp22cHow Octavia Butler predicted the rise of MAGA ... and how conservation can learn from her. https://conservationworks.substack.com/p/how-and-why-to-predict-the-future22 Jan 2026 16:45 +0000at://did:plc:movn52m7eolpemw2tzha6gmo/app.bsky.feed.post/3mczn43alp22chttps://bsky.app/profile/nijhuism.bsky.social/post/3mbrshwprdk2s@highcountrynews.org and our friends at Public Domain got a shoutout on Maddow last night for our story on Trump official Karen Budd-Falen's financial ties to the Thacker Pass lithium project in Nevada. Kudos to Jimmy Tobias for his tenacious reporting! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bycHTPuqpoU06 Jan 2026 20:34 +0000at://did:plc:movn52m7eolpemw2tzha6gmo/app.bsky.feed.post/3mbrshwprdk2shttps://bsky.app/profile/nijhuism.bsky.social/post/3mbf3f7fmmc2eChange socks, beat fascism: Woody's New Years Rulin's are forever. #happy2026 https://conservationworks.substack.com/p/wake-up-and-fight-again01 Jan 2026 19:09 +0000at://did:plc:movn52m7eolpemw2tzha6gmo/app.bsky.feed.post/3mbf3f7fmmc2ehttps://bsky.app/profile/nijhuism.bsky.social/post/3mbcikmp24k2eA look back at conservation in 2025. https://conservationworks.substack.com/p/how-conservation-worked-in-202531 Dec 2025 18:27 +0000at://did:plc:movn52m7eolpemw2tzha6gmo/app.bsky.feed.post/3mbcikmp24k2ehttps://bsky.app/profile/nijhuism.bsky.social/post/3mace4xai3k24My story @theatlantic.com about the Trump administration's proposed dismantling of the National Center for Atmospheric Research, a global hub for climate and weather science. https://www.theatlantic.com/science/2025/12/climate-science-global-mothership-ncar/685313/18 Dec 2025 23:43 +0000at://did:plc:movn52m7eolpemw2tzha6gmo/app.bsky.feed.post/3mace4xai3k24https://bsky.app/profile/nijhuism.bsky.social/post/3ma77k5fzxs26Before the Trump administration took a USAID archive offline earlier this year, researchers organized a digital rescue mission to distill the archive's lessons. Here's what they found. New post from Conservation Works — thanks for reading! https://conservationworks.substack.com/p/sixty-years-of-lessons-for-conservation17 Dec 2025 17:43 +0000at://did:plc:movn52m7eolpemw2tzha6gmo/app.bsky.feed.post/3ma77k5fzxs26https://bsky.app/profile/nijhuism.bsky.social/post/3m6znrefwh22kOn the persistence of Silent Spring persuasion tactics in a Braiding Sweetgrass world. https://substack.com/home/post/p-17996141402 Dec 2025 19:16 +0000at://did:plc:movn52m7eolpemw2tzha6gmo/app.bsky.feed.post/3m6znrefwh22khttps://bsky.app/profile/nijhuism.bsky.social/post/3m5zdqbcbgk2kOn "A House of Dynamite," the meaning of expertise, and the one thing I really admire about Pete Hegseth. 💇‍♂️ New post at Conservation Works. https://conservationworks.substack.com/p/a-primal-scream-for-competence19 Nov 2025 22:51 +0000at://did:plc:movn52m7eolpemw2tzha6gmo/app.bsky.feed.post/3m5zdqbcbgk2khttps://bsky.app/profile/nijhuism.bsky.social/post/3m4jidoxpn22qWinter's coming. Time to sinter ❄️ New post from Conservation Works. https://conservationworks.substack.com/p/words-we-need-sintering #conservation #biodiversity31 Oct 2025 22:06 +0000at://did:plc:movn52m7eolpemw2tzha6gmo/app.bsky.feed.post/3m4jidoxpn22qhttps://bsky.app/profile/nijhuism.bsky.social/post/3m2a3ydqh2k2tA bittersweet pleasure to stay up late last night thinking about Dr. Jane Goodall for @theatlantic.com. She was truly one of the greats. https://www.theatlantic.com/science/2025/10/jane-goodall-fame-research-conservation/684433/02 Oct 2025 17:40 +0000at://did:plc:movn52m7eolpemw2tzha6gmo/app.bsky.feed.post/3m2a3ydqh2k2thttps://bsky.app/profile/nijhuism.bsky.social/post/3lw5jd7l47c2cNew post at Conservation Works about gratitude, darkness, going forth, and the legacies of Joanna Macy and my friend Nathan Suter. #ecogrief #biodiversity #conservationscience 🌍🌎🌏 Photo from Amanda Stronza's Animal Memorials series. https://conservationworks.substack.com/p/the-work-that-reconnects11 Aug 2025 19:20 +0000at://did:plc:movn52m7eolpemw2tzha6gmo/app.bsky.feed.post/3lw5jd7l47c2chttps://bsky.app/profile/nijhuism.bsky.social/post/3luicyvepnc2mI’ve observed plenty of dialogues intended to resolve deep-seated disputes over wildlife, and only rarely have I seen them produce anything but frustration. The National Wolf Conversation was different. https://conservationworks.substack.com/p/more-than-a-conversation?r=h2931 🧪🌍 #biodiversity #goodgreennews #conservation21 Jul 2025 15:36 +0000at://did:plc:movn52m7eolpemw2tzha6gmo/app.bsky.feed.post/3luicyvepnc2mhttps://bsky.app/profile/nijhuism.bsky.social/post/3lqd2uxzwhk2tBlock, bridge, build: a conservation strategy for the foreseeable future. New from me at Conservation Works: https://open.substack.com/pub/conservationworks/p/block-bridge-build #conservation #ecology #restoration #biodiversity https://open.substack.com/pub/conservationworks/p/block-bridge-build?r=h2931&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true29 May 2025 15:47 +0000at://did:plc:movn52m7eolpemw2tzha6gmo/app.bsky.feed.post/3lqd2uxzwhk2thttps://bsky.app/profile/nijhuism.bsky.social/post/3loyuyfzvjk2dFiction can distract us from climate reality; it can also help us face it. New post at Conservation Works: https://open.substack.com/pub/conservationworks/p/any-apocalypse-but-our-own?r=h2931&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true #climate #biodiversity12 May 2025 21:09 +0000at://did:plc:movn52m7eolpemw2tzha6gmo/app.bsky.feed.post/3loyuyfzvjk2dhttps://bsky.app/profile/nijhuism.bsky.social/post/3logmiogzxc2jIf only Trump had taken the Alcatraz audio tour and learned about the three guys who escaped through the air vents after widening them with spoons https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2025/05/05/trump-alcatraz-prison-reopening/05 May 2025 14:50 +0000at://did:plc:movn52m7eolpemw2tzha6gmo/app.bsky.feed.post/3logmiogzxc2jhttps://bsky.app/profile/nijhuism.bsky.social/post/3lmzx4ptoe22wMorrissey sucks but this 2023 Glastonbury set of Smiths covers from Rick Astley and Blossoms is the joy I need right now https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxtrbG8zN5M&ab_channel=JustinWhiting17 Apr 2025 20:30 +0000at://did:plc:movn52m7eolpemw2tzha6gmo/app.bsky.feed.post/3lmzx4ptoe22w