Good News Network · 11 hours ago

Us Again Wins Battle on Wake Atoll–Against Invasive Rats Depleting the Seabird Populations

A remote Pacific atoll once overrun by invasive rats has been restored to ecological health through a rare collaboration between conservationists, the USDA, and the Air Force. Where rats once devoured seabird eggs and seeds, sixteen species of native birds are now nesting again, including a newly discovered Bonin Petrel colony, while thousands of native Pisonia seedlings emerge from soil that ornithologist John Gilardi notes had been barren: "I had never seen a seedling before the rat eradication." The recovery has rippled beyond wildlife-military personnel stationed on Wake now live free from disease-carrying rodents and have begun organizing their own beach cleanups, inspired by what renewal looks like. What began as pest eradication has become something larger: proof that ecosystems can heal swiftly when we make space for them to do so.