For wildlife on a beautiful 32-acre property in Mount Airy, Maryland, life is sweeter—and safer—because of the pledge landowners Jennifer Bevan-Dangel and Andrew Dangel made to follow the Humane Stewardship Alliance’s humane stewardship principles in managing their land. Lands of all sizes can be...

We’re delighted to welcome the Unexpected Wildlife Refuge in New Jersey’s Pinelands region to the Humane Stewardship Alliance. With 767 acres of swamps, bogs, forests, fields and lakes, this new HSA member’s land supports an impressive array of woodland warblers and other songbirds, several owl...

Today, the New York state legislature passed a bill that ends inhumane wildlife killing contests, in which participants compete to kill the most, the heaviest and the smallest animals for cash and prizes. In 2018 and 2020, the Humane Society of the United States released undercover investigations...

The term “roadkill” was coined in the 1940s, according to Merriam-Webster, entering the lexicon alongside “DDT” and other harbingers of a dystopian technological age that runs roughshod over the natural world. In the 1990s, the word became a cheeky insult when a rival called then-House Speaker Newt...

Walk into a roadside restaurant after a long day on the highway, and you can practically taste your meal before sitting down. The familiar smells of fresh-baked pie and salty fries need little introduction en route to your belly. That sensory experience is similar for wildlife coming upon lush...

The jogger crossed Francis Scott Key Bridge every day—and every day, she saw the goose underneath it. Worried the bird was stuck, she called the Humane Rescue Alliance in Washington, D.C. The lower bridge was only accessible by boat, but thanks to HRA’s relationship with a local fire department...

While soaking her raised beds in preparation for tomato planting last summer, Gail Goldman was startled to see a tiny, waterlogged creature pop up out of the soil. Later another one briefly poked out his head. “Basically, I was watering shrews,” the Seattle gardener says of her foiled vegetable...

One of the Humane Stewardship Alliance’s newest members is the 264-acre Taft Gardens & Nature Preserve in Ojai, California. A bit northwest of LA and Lake Casitas, Ojai is nestled in the foothills of the beautiful Topatopa Mountains. This hidden gem includes both exotic gardens and extensive natural...

Conflicts between humans and wildlife are increasing as human populations and urbanization continue to expand globally. A number of additional factors increase the likelihood of human-wildlife interactions and those include wild animals adapting to and flourishing in urban areas, rural areas...

In a quiet corner of Black Beauty Ranch, on a stone plinth beneath a maple tree, there’s an oval etching of a man and a burro. The man is Cleveland Amory, author and founder of the Fund for Animals, and the burro is Friendly, one of the first animals to call the sanctuary home. The two met in 1980...

The suspect creeping up near my front fence was a tough character—broad-leafed and thick-stemmed and threatening to invade my property and swallow it whole if I didn’t act fast. There was no hesitation that summer morning as I headed to work: Off with his head! It was a decision made all too easy by...

Wherever you are in the U.S., a coyote may be taking up residence less than a mile away. If you live in the city, you’re more likely than your rural cousins to encounter raccoons. And regardless of geography, you probably share your home with dozens of species of insects and spiders. These facts...

As monarch butterflies and hummingbirds headed south this fall, I dreamt of following my favorite snowbirds to Mexico and Central America. But I stayed home instead, where I have a window onto the spectacular world of winter wildlife: northern flickers tossing maple leaves with their beaks in search...

As black bear numbers increase in some North American communities and more people move into bear habitat, encounters between bears and people have risen. Whether you live in bear country or are just visiting, you can take simple steps to avoid conflicts. Learn More About Bears (Please note that this...

White-tailed deer, North America’s most abundant larger herbivore, number an estimated 30 to 35 million in the United States, found in every state but Alaska, California, Hawai'i, Nevada and Utah. With hunting restrictions, their population has rebounded to where it was before Europeans arrived...

By some human standards, my pond is a hot mess. Underneath and around the water lilies are fallen leaves, branches and other debris of decomposing plants. Along the edges, sea oats, sedges and swamp sunflowers hug the rocks. But if humans are picky in their desire for orderliness, frogs are just as...

Maryland legislators have introduced three bills to improve wildlife management and coexistence in the state. These bills promote humane coexistence with black bears, increase the diversity of voices and scientific input in the state’s wildlife policymaking process, and improve the procedure for...

It started in 2002: The bears around Durango, Colorado, came down from the hills to feast on the city’s garbage. Normally, natural food—nuts and berries and acorns—keeps them in the woods, but a series of droughts and late freezes in 2002, 2007, 2012 and 2017 left them hungry. Despite their fear of...