It’s condensend Conservation Blog, January 1 – 8. Back on a regular schedule tomorrow.

• Some thoughts on the Salazar nomination in the New West. Probably the key lines: “In the list of things that Obama has on his plate for the coming term, public lands reform is not at the top…Obama, no doubt, did not want to begin his administration’s tenure with a fight over his appointment to Secretary of Interior and use up any political capital over something that would distract him from his larger goals.” Watching Obama roll out his other cabinet picks was sort of satisfying because I had no dog in those fights. “Ah, another sensible pragmatist! Excellent. Good government,” I would think, “Best not to appoint too many ideologues.” To people who don’t really care about Interior, the Salazar nomination probably looks the same way. It’s a strange feeling realizing you’re that far out of the mainstream.
• George Bush, working on his legacy, just designated huge swaths of the Pacific as Marine National Monuments. Who knew that the U.S. had jurisdiction over the Marianas Trench? The Washington Post is eating it up. Well, okay, the Pew Environment Group is saying that “Mr Bush has protected more special places in the sea than any other person in history.” Maybe we all have Laura Bush to thank. Regardless of what he’s doing in the middle of the Pacific, Bush is passing a lot of midnight regulations on his way out of town. Pro Publica is keeping track.
• A nice piece on gorillas, conservation and livelihoods in Rwanda. Meanwhile, WCS says that the key to saving mountain gorillas is funding the guards that protect them.
• A beautiful poster of recently-introduced species to the Amazon.
• It doesn’t take a weatherman to know which way the wind blows, but the piglet squid is always smiling.