Ben Goldfarb
@bengoldfarb.bsky.social
9.9K followers 560 following 750 posts
Independent conservation journalist writing a book about fish. Author of CROSSINGS, on #roadecology, and EAGER, on beaver belief.
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bengoldfarb.bsky.social
To new Bluesky peeps: I'm currently working on another book, on the organisms nearest my heart. It's fundamentally about fish as engineers—both of ecosystems & human affairs—and how we revitalize their roles in our waterscapes & lives. If this aligns with your interests & expertise, cast me a line!
Reposted by Ben Goldfarb
tomjoscelyn.bsky.social
“I spent three nights and three days in federal custody. During that time, I was never told what I was charged with, was not allowed to shower despite being covered in tear gas and pepper spray, had no phone call to my family, and no access to an attorney.” - George Retes, U.S. citizen and veteran.
I’m a US citizen and a veteran. ICE arrested me for no reason.
Jailed for three days without an explanation or ability to notify anyone, George Retes argues the only path to healing starts with the government taking accountability for its actions.
newsletter.ofthebrave.org
Reposted by Ben Goldfarb
aarnegranlund.bsky.social
Fall colours in Savonranta at the Vuokalankoski dam removal site. It opened up fish migration between the huge Saimaa lakes and Vuokala Lake in 2021. The water quality is still excellent.

#RestoreNature
Old mill buildings and a bridge over a restored river. The birch trees are in fall foliage. Fall foliage on the upper part of the Vuokalankoski rapids.
Reposted by Ben Goldfarb
davidzipper.bsky.social
Deep dive into the surge in US pedestrian deaths:

"It’s not that more pedestrians are getting hit by vehicles; it’s that the ones that are getting hit are more likely to die."

"[That] seems like fairly strong evidence for the theory that the rise in large SUVs is behind the uptick in ped deaths."
Why Are So Many Pedestrians Killed by Cars in the US?
It’s unfortunately not uncommon for pedestrians to be killed by cars in the US.
www.construction-physics.com
Reposted by Ben Goldfarb
carlzimmer.com
Today my @nytimes.com colleagues and I are launching a new series called Lost Science. We interview US scientists who can no longer discover something new about our world, thanks to this year‘s cuts. Here is my first interview with a scientist who studied bees and fires. Gift link: nyti.ms/3IWXbiE
nyti.ms
Reposted by Ben Goldfarb
snowhydro.bsky.social
It's not just about wildfire, but about wildlife as well. See @bengoldfarb.bsky.social 's CROSSINGS.
wildwoods.bsky.social
"Research shows wildfires are 4x more likely in areas w/roads than in roadless forests...and >90% of wildfires occur within 1/2 mile of a road. Even USFS's own research undercuts the argument that repealing the roadless rule would have a positive effect on fire mgmt."🌍 www.sacbee.com/opinion/op-e...
The Trump administration’s latest attack on cherished public lands | Opinion
“For more than two decades, the Roadless Rule has protected nearly 60 million acres of our national forests from industrial development.”
www.sacbee.com
Reposted by Ben Goldfarb
brendannyhan.bsky.social
Monstrous.

"federal agents detained nearly every resident of the 130-unit building—including children and babies—placing them in zip ties and separating them by race into vans for more than two hours early Tuesday morning."
dlknowles.bsky.social
Good reporting on the South Shore raid from South Side weekly here.

Confirms one thing I was told but didn't put in my own piece because I didn't have a second source and it seemed too insane: border agents segregated arrested residents by race

southsideweekly.com/federal-agen...
Federal Agents Storm South Shore Building, Detaining Families and Children
Families were woken by flashbangs and helicopters as hundreds of federal agents raided their homes. Days later, neighbors are still searching for the missing.
southsideweekly.com
Reposted by Ben Goldfarb
sgoodyear.bsky.social
This book changed the way I see the world. HIGHLY recommend making Jeff Bezos mad as hell by ordering it through Bookshop.
bengoldfarb.bsky.social
Sure why not! Support indies by ordering America’s favorite #roadecology masterpiece through Bookshop and I’ll send ya a free signed bookplate (DM w/ proof of purchase and address). Bezos will be absolutely *furious.*

bookshop.org/p/books/cros...
bengoldfarb.bsky.social
Sure why not! Support indies by ordering America’s favorite #roadecology masterpiece through Bookshop and I’ll send ya a free signed bookplate (DM w/ proof of purchase and address). Bezos will be absolutely *furious.*

bookshop.org/p/books/cros...
bengoldfarb.bsky.social
Eighty-five percent participation in a voluntary program to slow down and thus reduce vessel noise is… actually pretty impressive? Probably much higher than the percentage of drivers who stick to the speed limit in, say, Yellowstone. #marineroadecology

www.sierraclub.org/sierra/slow-...
Slow Lanes Help Save a Dwindling Orca Population
Reducing speeds can help killer whales navigate an increasingly louder sea
www.sierraclub.org
bengoldfarb.bsky.social
What bird am I holding? Chaffee County, Colorado.

(Flew in through an open door, bumbled about the office a bit before being apprehended, and, after a few minutes of discombobulation and a sip of water, departed seemingly unharmed.)
bengoldfarb.bsky.social
"Today the consequences of excessive roadbuilding are perfectly foreseeable; it’s the wisdom that remains scarce."

For @bostonglobe.com's Wild Issue, I wrote about Trump's plan to rescind USFS's Roadless Rule, which — spoiler — is a terrible idea. #roadecology

www.bostonglobe.com/2025/10/04/o...
A road runs through it - The Boston Globe
America’s wild lands are already home to vast networks of paved and dirt roads. Now the Trump administration is about to expand their reach.
www.bostonglobe.com
Reposted by Ben Goldfarb
y2y.bsky.social
Roadless areas are “incredibly important from an ecological standpoint,” says Leslie Weldon, former deputy chief of the US Forest Service and Y2Y board member.

But that's just the start of the impacts if the Roadless Rule is overturned. Read more in this opinion from @bengoldfarb.bsky.social
A road runs through it - The Boston Globe
America’s wild lands are already home to vast networks of paved and dirt roads. Now the Trump administration is about to expand their reach.
www.bostonglobe.com
Reposted by Ben Goldfarb
kellireef.bsky.social
“The allure of the car is so strong that it has persuaded Americans to treat forty thousand human lives as expendable each year; what chance does wildlife have?” From Crossings by @bengoldfarb.bsky.social

#WeekWithoutDriving
Reposted by Ben Goldfarb
brenttoderian.bsky.social
This is good —the Mayor of Yellowknife NWT in Canada’s far north weighs in on “Car Bloat” (truck bloat actually) and its many big costs & consequences (thanks @davidzipper.bsky.social for heads-up). And like most who dare tell the truth about that, he’s taking flack.
www.linkedin.com/mwlite/feed/...
Screenshot of LinkedIn post from Yellowknife Mayor describing the costs and consequences of trucks having gotten so much bigger. In the link, he explains the backlash he received for his post.
bengoldfarb.bsky.social
Appreciated this paragraph on the emotions that motivate conservation, from @nijhuism.bsky.social's newsletter. Agree that love—of place, wildlife, community—is the more powerful force, especially now, when everything seems rather, well, hopeless.

conservationworks.substack.com/p/what-to-do...
bengoldfarb.bsky.social
Love this concept (intuitively obvious and profound, not yet empirically demonstrated to my knowledge): that mycorrhizal fungi distribute salmon-derived nutrients throughout forest and thus extend benefits of carcasses. Beautiful idea.

From Lynda Mapes’ THE TREES ARE SPEAKING.
Reposted by Ben Goldfarb
merriam-webster.com
We are thrilled to announce that our NEW Large Language Model will be released on 11.18.25.
Reposted by Ben Goldfarb
strayhounds.bsky.social
I finished Eagar: the surprising, secret life of beavers and why they matter by @bengoldfarb.bsky.social ! What an amazing book, one that makes you long for the soggy landscape of America before colonization. Eager was written with a true love of beavers and their place in the ecosystem, covering --
Book cover reading "eager: the surprising secret life of beavers and why they matter by Ben goldfarb, foreword by Dan flores." The cover is mostly white with a small silhouette of a beaver below the title
Reposted by Ben Goldfarb
jurassicparks.bsky.social
What did Frank and Deborah Popper get right and wrong about the Great Plains in their famous Buffalo Commons paper?

(I have thoughts - also interviewed them recently - but curious about others)

knrc.org/Files/MtNRC/...
knrc.org
bengoldfarb.bsky.social
As much as MAGA professes to hate soy-boy beta males, Trump’s legacy will ultimately be quadrupling the domestic tofu market 🫡
sarahtaber.bsky.social
US farmers are saying they "just need temporary help, until things get better."

Here's the thing. US farm exports- which are mostly soy- CANNOT get better.

Other countries expanded their soy industries to fill China's demand.

We've walled ourselves out of the global market, folks. This is it.
bengoldfarb.bsky.social
thanks, this is cool stuff! reminiscent of all the amazing work (which i think nautilus covered recently) on the importance of older herring in guiding migration.
bengoldfarb.bsky.social
Interrupting the rise of authoritarianism with a request: would love to see your favorite papers/resources on life-history diversity in fishes (particularly but not exclusively salmonids). Bring me your weird spawning run timings, your unexpected anadromy, your improbable portfolio effects. Thanks!
a dolphin is jumping out of the water with a netflix logo in the background
ALT: a dolphin is jumping out of the water with a netflix logo in the background
media.tenor.com