Conservation

A wave of massive data centers is expanding across Texas, prompting warnings from experts who say the new water demands could push the state’s already strained supply to the brink.

Lubbock Lake Landmark is a snapshot of the land before settlement, preserving archeological evidence of early-human life and the natural history of the region’s plants and animals. Through its discoveries, education, and conservation, staff with the Landmark have reintroduced native wildlife driven out of the area, and continue to explore possibilities for the land and for those who love it.

Texas is home to approximately 1,200 species of bee and about 25% of them are specialized bees, meaning they only pollinate specific plants. The bristly nama may not be a familiar name for those on the South Plains, but the plant and its purple flowers are all over Lubbock and its bees are hard at work to keep the ecosystem alive.

The bird dwells west of Lubbock, and in the tip of the Panhandle, north of Amarillo.

As more and more AI mega data centers are being built in Texas, there's a growing awareness of the water demand of Big Tech. If not addressed, AI data centers could consume a serious portion of the state's water supply.

The decision by a Texas federal court removed the lesser prairie chicken of any endangered or threatened species protections, which were established through a Biden-era ruling. The Trump administration had tried to reverse the designation, on behalf of livestock and oil producers.

Quail populations across Texas have been plummeting for decades. But now, a Texas Tech researcher and his team may have turned that trend around with the invention of a medicated wildlife feed that’s been approved by the FDA and is now commercially available.

The proposal would have let landowners donate land to the refuge.

“It is only by going out and documenting these new species can we have a better and more comprehensive understanding of how nature works to sustain all the life that we know on Earth.”

KERA's Katherine Hobbs reports that conservationists at the Fort Worth Zoo released a record-breaking number of Texas horned lizards in the month of October. Texas Parks and Wildlife says now is the time to plant wildflowers to help our pollinators. You can find more information on what to plant in your region from the Native Plant Society of Texas at npsot.org.