Erica Henry, postdoctoral researcher in environmental science, carefully lifts the netting from the side of the small, improvised tent and squirms underneath.

Once partly inside, she begins to poke among the grasses and tiny, wild violets in search of rare caterpillars transplanted weeks earlier from a special breeding program at the Oregon Zoo.

That caterpillar carries the hopes and efforts of state and federal agencies, the zoo and dozens of other partners to keep the Oregon silverspot butterfly from extinction.

Henry estimates 200 butterflies will emerge this summer from the grass fields near Yachats.

Washington State University scientist Jenifer McIntyre will testify before members of Congress on research linking a chemical found in tires to the die-off of endangered salmon.

An assistant professor at WSU’s School of the Environment, McIntyre studies urban runoff and its effects on aquatic animals, including salmon. She is one of several experts set to testify virtually Thursday, July 15, before members of the Natural Resources Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, which is probing scientific evidence that a chemical found in car tires, playground surfaces, and other sources plays a role in the massive death of coho salmon.

“I’m looking forward to the opportunity to share this important issue with members of Congress, in order to continue our efforts to protect aquatic animals from harmful environmental pollutants,” said McIntyre, who continues to study the effects of the molecule on fish.

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Forests are critical to the Earth’s ecology. They capture and store carbon out of the atmosphere. They can alter the air quality and quantity of drinking water. And they provide the most habitat for the world’s terrestrial species.

Accelerated deforestation continue to threaten the jaguar habitat, especially when it occurs in corridors that connect conservation areas, according to a 2016 study published in the scientific journal Biological Conservation. Without the corridors to travel through, the populations can become isolated and lose genetic diversity, which could then affect the short and long-term survival of the species.

There is a possibility that jaguars could reestablish a population in the United States through Mexico, which is the current northern edge of the range, Dan Thornton, assistant professor in the Washington State University School of the Environment and one of the authors of the study, told Washington State Magazine.

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