DIXON, IOWA (May 25, 2022) — Trees Forever, Scott County Conservation Board, Scott County Roadsides, and partners are offering the Stewards of the Beautiful Land Series to individuals in Scott and surrounding counties. Stewards of the Beautiful Land is a four-session course, meeting monthly, geared for the outdoor enthusiast who wants to learn more about prairie plants, trees, and forests, and the environments they thrive in, and how to advocate for native landscapes.

COAL VALLEY, ILLINOIS (May 16, 2022) — The Niabi Zoo is pleased and excited to announce having received a grant for $160,000 from the Roy J Carver charitable trust. The grant will help fund our new Painted dog exhibit, an important component in our Niabi Zoo Masterplan. “So many wonderful and exciting additions have been made, and are underway at the zoo,” said Director Lee Jackson.

COAL VALLEY, ILLINOIS (April 27, 2021) — The Niabi Zoo is excited to announce the birth of two Fennec Foxes ( Vulpes zerda). Fennec foxes are native to the Sahara and Sinai deserts of North Africa, and are active hunters of small mammals and reptiles. Fennec foxes are the smallest of all fox species and are known for their unusually large ears that serve to both locate prey underground and to dissipate heat from their bodies in the harsh desert environment.

Niabi conservation partner, Dr Greg Rasmussen returns to the Niabi Zoo as they work to bring a pack of endangered African Painted Dogs to the Quad Cities. Photo: Painted Dog Research Trust.

WASHINGTON DC (April 19, 2022) — American Rivers today named the Mississippi River one of America’s Most Endangered Rivers® of 2022, highlighting the threats that habitat destruction and pollution, com

COAL VALLEY, ILLINOIS (March 30, 2022) — The Niabi Zoo is pleased and excited to announce it participation in several important national and international research programs involving animals in our zoo, and in the wild. “The role of zoos has changed radically over the last few decades,” said Zoo Director Lee Jackson.

COAL VALLEY, ILLINOIS (March 23, 2022) — The members of the Niabi Zoo & Forest Preserves Foundation have, like all of us, been watching the events unfold in the Ukraine since the invasion by Russia on February 24. No one can watch this destruction occur and not be impacted by the humanitarian catastrophe that is unfolding in real time right before our eyes.

HAMPTON, ILLINOIS (March 16, 2022) — The Rock Island County Forest Preserve District has been awarded a $200,000 grant from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources to support enhancements to the existing Mississippi River Trail/Great River Trail within Illiniwek Forest Preserve.

COAL VALLEY, ILLINOIS (March 8, 2022) — The Niabi Zoo is pleased and excited to announce the successful birth of two critically-endangered Amur Leopards. With fewer than 100 individuals left in the wild, this is the most critically-endangered big cat in the world.

DES MOINES, IOWA (February 15, 2022) — The Iowa Environmental Protection Commission today denied a petition for rules filed by the Iowa Environmental Council (IEC) and Environmental Law and Policy Center (ELPC) last year, ending a six-month review of the request to protect drinking-water from feedlots. Instead, the Iowa DNR announced at the hearing that it intends to address the questions raised in the petition as part of a broader rulemaking process on siting issues.

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