Interstate 40 is designated as the northern limit of the Mexican Wolf Recovery Area, but is it hurting or helping the species? I thought this piece offered an in-depth look at the history of the recovery program, in light of the recent news about Anubis, the wandering wolf that was relocated from Coconino National Forest back in August. 

What are your thoughts on the recovery program? And, have you ever seen a Mexican Gray Wolf yourself...?

The ivory-billed woodpecker was perhaps the best known species the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed to remove from its list of endangered species on Wednesday, due to extinction.

It’s a rare move for wildlife officials to give up hope on a plant or animal, but government scientists say they’ve exhausted efforts to find these 23, which include several species of birds and Southeastern freshwater mussels, a flower from Hawaiʻi and a bat from Guam.

They join the list of at least 650 other U.S. species that have likely been lost to extinction, according to the Center for Biological Diversity.  

Scientists warn that climate change, on top of other pressures, could make such disappearances more common  as a warming planet adds to the dangers facing imperiled plants and wildlife.

The active monsoon season has provided some respite from severe drought conditions that have affected the Southwest. 

We have experienced the wettest monsoon season through July 25 to date due, in part, to the recent rain and thunderstorms.

According to the U.S Drought Monitor, parts of Pima County have transitioned out of the worst drought category for the time being.

For more information, read this article.

According to UCLA climate scientist Daniel Swain, the relief from the megadrought conditions will be short-lived.

"For this reason, the temperature-driven portion of this is not going to reverse itself this century -- even if we see a higher precipitation period that otherwise would have broken the megadrought," Swain said.

As drought conditions in the Southwest pick up where they left off before the summer rains, the question remains:  What action, if any, do we take?

Do you think the megadrought is directly linked to climate change? What should we be doing to conserve our groundwater?

Feel free to reply to these questions or add your comments in the Reply thread below.

Lori Grace Bailey is a new NABUR member and storm photographer. Multiple publications have featured her photography, including "Backpacker Magazine". I recently had a chance to talk with Lori about how she got into storm photography, memorable storm chasing moments,  monsoon photo tips, and "MonsoonCon"- a storm enthusiast convention she directs. 

Lori will be judging an upcoming monsoon photography contest on NABUR, so stay tuned.

Without any further ado, meet your NABUR Lori Grace Bailey.