Once again among scorched giants, watching the seedlings of a new generation reach up towards the sun.

The western U.S. faces its lowest snowpack on record despite average or above-average rainfall. Warmer temperatures mean more precipitation falls as rain rather than snow, and will worsen droughts in areas like the Pacific Northwest and the Colorado River Basin. science.nasa.gov/earth/earth-...

This also highlights why the work of the observers, witnesses &, ideally, _journalists_ is so important: Liam is home for now due to that picture. This is harm reduction and mitigation, not a cure, but a life saved is still a life saved and worth celebrating while inspiring the continuing struggle.

Federal judge has ordered the release of Liam Ramos (the bunny hat boy) and his father. A brief and rather remarkable order. Clearly written to be shared widely, so please do. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

This seems... unsurprising. To amass that much $$$ in the first place, these folks actively ignore the moral implications of their business (labor conditions, worker pay, environmental impacts, implications for communities, customer service, etc.).

A manual for ICE's immigrant-targeting computer system, Palantir ELITE, was leaked today. Let's look at it, then step back to evaluate how far we've come along a dangerous road and where that road might take us. 🧵

Never mind the jobs you had, tell me five classes you took in college. Introduction to Equine Science Everglades Natural History, Management, & Restoration Sustainable Ecotourism Development Economic Issues, Food, & You Invasion Ecology of Reptiles & Amphibians

With all the terrible things happening everywhere, good times with old friends and new friends have never felt more important. There's nowhere else I'd rather be and there's nothing else I'd rather be doing, and a big part of that is owed to the people I take care to surround myself with.

In case anyone wants a little break, here are a few of my favorite facts that I learned in 2025, in no particular order. Some trees benefit from, and may even encourage, getting struck by lightning because it kills their nearby competitors nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1...

Honestly I feel like all GREAT science involves a whole lot of creativity. You can’t have one without the other.

everybody is saying a lot of stuff but the basic advice for a regular person is: just keep doing what you’re doing. it’s working. it will continue to work for as long as you don’t give up. the machinations of The Totality are obscure at best but you just keep hammering the morally correct actions

How many STEM Ph.D.s were lost from the U.S. federal government last year? My colleagues @mghersher.bsky.social and @policyhound.bsky.social dug into a recent data release to find the answer. A @science.org exclusive. www.science.org/content/arti...

A feel good applied science post: last week our new MS on testing post-fire reseeding strategies that involve higher seed rates and multiple year seedings was sent to our local National Forest. I got this note back from a forest practitioner.

your first moment of calm

A fellow 37-year old Federal employee who dedicated his life to serving the American public. And ICE executed him for it.

If you’re struggling, I’m copy pasting what a trauma therapist friend suggested here: “Highly recommend dunking your face in a bowl of cold water, drinking some water to help your body flush the adrenaline and finding something to smell or touch for grounding and avoiding dissociation”

For all my talk of the necessity of hope and resilience and resistance, I won't pretend that I don't have a hard time getting out of bed on mornings like this. I want to bury my head in my pillow and scream and tear it all apart. But we keep going because we have to build something better than this.

"abolish ICE and prosecute everyone involved" is the moderate position

for comparison purposes

yo yo yo if you haven't already checked it out, take a look at the Minneapolis Communications system and their tactics/techniques/procedures guide. I brought this up at a local meeting and everybody gave me the deer-in-headlights. this shit is important to know. docs.proton.me/doc?mode=ope...

This thread has me in tears Sending love to Minnesota ❤️

While there is sobering truth here, I want to make the point that a lot of us who were able are still hanging on to help ensure the continuity of federal science. Many are the early-career folks like myself taking up that mantle as our senior cohort/institutional expertise are forced out.

They expect - they NEED - the people they threaten to fall in line, like the law firms and universities and media companies and billionaires and Congress did. If you say “No, make me,” they simply do not have a Plan B. TRUMP DOES NOT HAVE ENOUGH GUYS TO MAKE YOU.

Any one of these daily atrocities should result in a full congressional investigation and a disbanding of the agency. The fact that it’s all just shrugged off by those with the power to stop it is a national disgrace.

Solid article highlighting the NPS I&M Network including challenges they're currently facing and the value of long-term studies and monitoring - something federal science/land management agencies are uniquely positioned to do.

The Dalles wants to pull more water out of the Mt Hood forest. It says it’s for a growing population, but the city hasn’t grown much in recent years. What has: Google’s footprint. The tech giant uses a third of the city’s water. www.opb.org/article/2026...

I don’t think people quite understand that the occupation by ICE in the Twin Cities has more or less erased non-white people from public life. They cannot safely exist in any space accessible to the public and moving between private places leaves folks vulnerable to kidnapping by armed masked goons.

Fireweed blooming in fires scar, Chambers Lake #nativeplants #FallBackFlowers #FallBack to July 16 🌿

Senator Susan Collins killed the amendment to protect the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) -- perhaps the world's premier research center for work on #weather, #climate, models, and remote sensing. Remember that.

We are funded!! No shutdown for US Forest Service (and others, obvs) come Feb 1!!!!!!!!!!

The FBI searched the home of a Washington Post reporter seeking classified state documents. Nothing she wrote about could be considered classified. They simply want to suppress dissent via intimidation. Don't let them. Here is what she wrote. Please share. www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

Just some photos from the last few days, bit of a timeline cleanse.

I really want ppl w/o Minneapolis connections to understand You might've heard that Mpls public schools went hybrid bc so many families are in hiding. Well, a coworker just told me that today, during his kid's hybrid class, a kid's apt building was raided onscreen *Everyone has stories like this*

anyone who's actually been hired by a normal part of the federal government knows how difficult the process is. ICE HR is apparently just handing out badges in cans of Ghost Energy.

🧵1/4 🚨 WEEKEND APPEAL 🚨 We need hundreds more public comments on a harmful proposed rule. 🗓️ Due Jan 29 OPM (aka Vought 🤮💩) is proposing changes that make it easier to fire probationary employees and much harder to appeal. OPM = Office of Personnel Management 🔗 www.regulations.gov/document/OPM...

It's worth reminding each other every couple days that every delay you create, every horrible opportunity you deter means someone gets home to their family, might even mean someones actual life is saved. All of it is worth it.

BREAKING and HUGE news for transgender people: The bipartisan final negotiated text for these spending bills REMOVED language to restrict gender-affirming care as part of the Federal Employees Health Benefit Program. docs.house.gov/billsthiswee...

Second, and probably most importantly, it's tactically wrong. "No point discussing political opposition to fascism, there won't be elections anyway" cedes victory to your enemies. It's defeatism and nihilism.

This thread is the best refutation of social-media doomerism that I have seen.

Hiiiii weird time for good news but I finally got through the main acceptance hurdle so - I'm excited to share that I'll be starting my MS degree with Oregon State's College of Forestry this spring!! * Still keeping my agency job, my thesis topic overlaps a current work project! More on that soon 👀

We've removed the paywall from this guide so everyone can access it. 👇 Stay safe.

There’s a special kind of grief many of us are feeling tonight. Because it didn’t have to be like this.

This is the proper framing.

As daily goals, "stop fascism," "defeat evil," and "save the world" probably aren't going to get you anywhere, and might leave you feeling overwhelmed and helpless, but "work towards building something good" is always achievable, concrete, and useful.

Utah penstemon (Plantaginaceae: Penstemon utahensis) inhabits dry areas of the southwestern US. The bright tubular flowers provide nectar for hummingbirds, who are the primary pollinators. Capitol Reef National Park, Utah, 11 Apr 2014.

It would be so cool if the United States Congress still existed.

Don't forget folks: allowing yourself a vision of the future you'd want for our country and planet - not the one you'd settle for, not the one you fear, but the future of your dreams - isn't naive, it's a vital cognitive skill. That's how we articulate what we most value. What's worth fighting for.

Oak savanna in January

Do you need geese? I think you need a ridiculous volume of geese (sound on). What can't be fixed by a massive flock of geese???? Hahahahahahahaaa

What if none of these things is a distraction from the other things and instead they're all just horrible things