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A Quiet Rule Review Could Drain the Prairie Pothole Region, America’s “Duck Factory”

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service rule revision would drain thousands of tiny-but-vital wetlands across the northern Great Plains

“Right now, the most important waterfowl habitat in the United States of America is at risk. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is considering repealing the rule that protects the integrity of the Duck Stamp easements that have been purchased for generations. Whether you’re a duck hunter or not, you understand the importance of conservation, the importance of waterfowl habitat, wildlife habitat, and clean water. Please take advantage of this opportunity to make your voice heard.”  - Adam Putnam, CEO of Ducks Unlimited

On the northern Great Plains, the grasslands in states from Montana and the Dakotas to Minnesota and Iowa, as well as parts of Canada, are dotted with countless often-temporary wetlands. Some cover less than an acre. Many dry up and disappear during the year, only to return with snowmelt and spring rain. Collectively, these glacial depressions form one of North America’s most productive wildlife landscapes—the Prairie Pothole Region (PPR). Often called the continent’s “duck factory,” this is the breeding, nesting, and hatching habitat for over 60% of ducks in North America, as well as dozens of other species of migratory waterfowl, shorebirds, and songbirds. This sprawling collection of millions of shallow wetlands is arguably America’s least known yet most important and threatened ecosystem. Now, however, an obscure federal review by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has placed the future of many thousands of those tiny wetland habitats in doubt. "Right now, the most important waterfowl habitat in the United States of America is at risk. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is considering repealing the rule that protects the integrity of the Duck Stamp easements that have been purchased for generations," said Adam Putnam, CEO of Ducks Unlimited. "Whether you’re a duck hunter or not, you understand the importance of conservation, the importance of waterfowl habitat, wildlife habitat, and clean water. Please take advantage of this opportunity to make your voice heard..."

Read more and speak up for your ducks, geese, pelicans, cranes, sandpipers, grebes, and dozens of other water and songbirds here:

i recently learnt that many nuns were not the devout and chaste women that males would love us, and have continuously forced us, to be — and, for a non-trivial amount of women, being a nun had very little to do with submission to a male “God”

in many medieval and early modern European societies, women (and particularly lesbians) became nuns because it was one of the very few ways to escape marriage, (marital) rape, childbirth and a lifetime of exploitation by her husband — though, of course, the vast risks of male violence by religious men in the church remained

convents were one of the extremely rare places where women could access formal education and intellectual communities. here, women could learn how to read and write, and gain a broad education in theology, philosophy, music, languages, medicine and other areas

certain nuns, particularly abbesses of wealthy convents, had considerable authority which she could never have achieved in the outside world — including managing estates, controlling finances, and negotiating with political and religious authorities

in other words, it was more desirable for many women to pay a religious dowry and sell herself to “God”, than to pay a marital dowry and be sold by her family, and by society, to a man

of course, many convents were extremely abusive institutions, and the experiences of women differed greatly dependent on her social class and the historical period in question

It took me years of trial and error with my own training to basically reach the same conclusions he presents in this article.

Another thing I think is holding many women back too is not eating enough and getting scared if they notice their weight go up. Someone pointed out in the tags how the women in the photos are almost concerningly lean, which I don't disagree with but I'd like to point out that most of those photos are of fitness/bodybuilding competitors at their comp weight. That level of leanness is not maintained over long periods and competitors deliberately dehydrate themselves and cut their eating before comps to showcase muscle definition. Yes that is kinda crazy but that's the sport. It's not even really endorsing the comp physique as an "ideal" in my opinion. Most competitors are very open about it being an unsustainable and uncomfortable state.

A woman has successfully defended herself against a £70,000 libel claim from a man she accused of sexually assaulting her, even though the police took no action against him.

In a landmark ruling regarding social media, a High Court judge rejected a claim from a Glasgow tattoo artist who complained that Nina Cresswell had falsely accused him of attempted rape.

The ruling in favour of Cresswell, 33, over Billy “the Bastard” Hay potentially sets a precedent for a public interest defence in relation to the discussion of “experiences of sexual violence” online.

It is thought that the decision from Mrs Justice Heather Williams at the Royal Courts of Justice in London could protect people from being sued when they post comments about alleged attacks.

During the hearing Cresswell claimed that Hay tried to rape her about 13 years ago after the pair met at a nightclub while she was a student in Sunderland.

She reported the incident to the police at the time, but officers took the matter no further.

Hay has always maintained that the allegation was false and that he had only made an “ill-judged offer of a kiss” outside the club. But in 2020, amid the #metoo backlash against sexual crimes against women, Cresswell posted comments on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and a blog site in which she related her version of the incident.

Her barrister told the court that Hay “pushed” Cresswell into a wall, pinned her arms and “when she crouched to extricate herself, exposed his penis and asked her to suck it”.

The barrister told the court that Cresswell was in tears but managed to escape. She later told her mother and friends and went to the police.

Hay sued her over the publications, claiming £70,000 libel damages for the serious negative impact he said the online posts had on his reputation.

But the judge found that Cresswell’s story of the attack was “substantially true on the balance of probabilities”, the civil law standard of proof, which is lower than the criminal standard of beyond reasonable doubt.

Williams said that she accepted that publishing the statements was not the only way that Cresswell “could have taken steps to try to afford protection to other women”. But she said that the question for the court was “whether her belief that publishing the statements was in the public interest was a reasonable one to hold”.

After the ruling, Cresswell said that she was “hugely relieved and delighted at the judgment and I can’t believe that I am finally free to speak the truth about the man who attacked me”.

The Giant Beast of the Desert

March 2026, digital painting

"Details of Collared Peccary"

Lives of Game Animals, Volume 3. 1927. Written and illustrated by Ernest Thompson Seton.