Juanpablo Ramirez-Franco
I cover issues related to wildlife, conservation and ecology for Harvest Public Media and the Mississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk from WNIJ in DeKalb, Illinois. I’m a Report For America corps member.
Before landing at WNIJ, I worked with StoryCorps, City Bureau, the Third Coast International Audio Festival and In These Times magazine. I’ve produced national stories for All Things Considered and Morning Edition.
I grew up in Rockford, Illinois and graduated from Knox College, where I studied Latin American History and Economics.
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The EPA has completed less than 5% of its Endangered Species Act caseload in reviewing pesticides. Now the agency is proposing a new strategy for scrutinizing agricultural chemicals’ effects on listed species.
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In an effort to reach zero carbon emissions by 2050, the Biden administration is offering more tax credits for carbon capture sequestration and utilization. The program once expected to cost $3.2 billion now could exceed $100 billion.
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A major surge in climate resilience funding is allowing urban forestry departments to focus on trees. About $1.5 billion of funding will be invested in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service Urban and Community Forestry Program.
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A growing legal movement to grant natural entities like rivers and forests legal rights is gaining traction in the U.S., and environmentalists are now setting their sights on the Mississippi River.
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The disease, Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease Virus Type 2, was first observed in the southwest United States in March of 2020 and has rapidly spread to nearly half of all states.
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The Environmental Protection Agency recently released new rules regarding the Waters of the United States that decide which bodies of water fall under federal protection. But a case the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to rule on soon throws those rules into question and could mean less protection for wetlands.
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Many ag industry and farmworker advocacy groups had high hopes that farm labor reform would make it through Congress last year. Now the future is murky.
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The Census of Agriculture produces the clearest snapshot of agriculture in the U.S. as it exists. The USDA will begin mailing questionnaires to all known agricultural producers this month.
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Bobcat hunting and trapping is commonplace throughout much of the United States, with the exception of a handful of holdout states. Despite the abundance of the wildcat nationwide, some conservationists are pushing back on the open season.
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Climate change-fueled hurricanes and sea-level rise get a lot of attention, but Mississippi River Basin communities also are experiencing the effects of global warming.