Morgan Erickson-Davis

About

Morgan has been writing for Mongabay since 2008 and came on full-time in 2014. Trained in biology, Morgan has taken any available opportunity to learn more about the world, from working as a fisheries biologist aboard longliners and freighters in the South Pacific to evaluating river health in western Montana. Morgan spent eight years editing technical papers before jumping into journalism, with more than 50 manuscripts under her belt. Currently, she manages Mongabay's forests and global palm oil reporting programs.

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1002 stories
A collared wolf from the Druid pack

How one woman’s wolf ‘moon shot’ changed Yellowstone forever: Interview with director Tom Winston

Jeremy Hance 11 Mar 2025
A flooded field in Lake Province, Chad, in October 2024. The Lutheran World Foundation (LWF) is working with farmers groups as part of their three year "Gender Transformative Climate Adaptation" project. Image courtesy of Marie Renaux/LWF

Lake Chad isn’t shrinking — but climate change is causing other problems

Ruth Kamnitzer 28 Feb 2025
Black flying foxes are found in the forests of the Kimberley region of northern Australia. Image by Andrew Mercer via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).

In Australia’s little-known rainforests, tradition and science collaborate for good

Nick Rodway 28 Feb 2025
The Kazembe nursery group with Mulanje cedar seedlings in 2018. Community tree nurseries, set up with assistance from MMCT, BGCI and other partners, have been central in building support for Mulanje cedar restoration. The nurseries also demonstrate that it is possible to cultivate native trees, something many people previously did not think was possible. Image courtesy of Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI).

Reforesting Malawi’s ‘Island in the Sky’ to save its vanishing woodlands

Ruth Kamnitzer 28 Feb 2025
A Chinese pangolin in Guangdong, China

Pangolin burrows are biodiversity magnets in burnt forests, study shows

Spoorthy Raman 20 Feb 2025
Liberia is home to three species of pangolin, which are also referred to scaly anteaters. This tree pangolin (Phataginus tricuspis) is listed as Endangered while the other two - the giant pangolin (Manis gigantea) and long-tailed pangolin (Manis tetradactyla) - are listed as Vulnerable. Image by Sharp Photography, sharpphotography.co.uk via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How ‘country palm’ could help pave the way toward a sustainable palm oil future in Liberia

Louise Hunt 18 Feb 2025
In September, Moo Deng went viral, becoming famous for her playful, no-holds-barred attitude.

Has the Moo Deng craze helped wild pygmy hippos at all? (analysis)

Jeremy Hance 3 Feb 2025

In Honduras, communities race to establish reserve as La Mosquitia forest disappears

Maxwell Radwin 30 Jan 2025

Study looks for success factors in African projects that heal land and help people

Ruth Kamnitzer 13 Dec 2024

Satellite data show bursts of deforestation continue in Indonesian national park

Spoorthy Raman 30 Nov 2024
Satellite imagery captured September 2024 by Planet Labs shows a fire burning along the boundary between Xingu Indigenous Park and Capoto/Jarina Indigenous Territory. The territories are surrounded by denuded industrial farm fields.

Fires rip through Indigenous territories in Brazilian Amazon

Ruth Kamnitzer 29 Nov 2024
A team from Action for Sustainable Development Investigating the causes of deforestation alerts in Mengame Gorilla Sanctuary in southern Cameroon. Image courtesy of Genevieve Ndjiki.

Monitoring group cracks down on deforestation in Cameroon gorilla sanctuary

Ruth Kamnitzer 28 Nov 2024

Western Kenya’s most important water-capturing forest is disappearing, satellites show

Morgan Erickson-Davis 28 Nov 2024
Restoring the abandoned rice fields required breaking up earthen dykes and clearing channels to restore natural water flow, so that mangroves seedlings and propagules could naturally recolonize the areas. In instances seedlings are also planted to help natural regeneration. Image by Wetlands International & Beyond Borders Media

How a holistic approach aims to heal mangroves in Guinea-Bissau

Ruth Kamnitzer 27 Nov 2024

Reserve in Brazilian Amazon struggles as ‘aggressive’ deforestation spreads

Ruth Kamnitzer 27 Nov 2024

Illegal gold mining drives deforestation in DRC reserve home to ‘African unicorn’

Ruth Kamnitzer 26 Nov 2024

Deforestation around Mennonite colonies continues in Peruvian Amazon: Report

Shreya Dasgupta 22 Nov 2024
Oluwa's forest are home to many species threatened with extinction, including this red-capped mangabey (Cercocebus torquatus). Image by Rufus46 via Wikimedia Commons (CC SA 3.0).

A Nigerian reserve, once a stronghold for chimps, is steadily losing its forest to farming

Morgan Erickson-Davis 21 Nov 2024

Communities band together to save besieged reserve in Bolivia

Iván Paredes Tamayo 20 Nov 2024

Organizations tackle droughts, floods in Brazil by planting forests

Ellen Nemitz 18 Nov 2024

Satellite data detect appearance of new roads in primary forests in Borneo

Shreya Dasgupta 13 Nov 2024

Using regenerative agriculture to heal the land and help communities: Q&A with Kaleka founder Silvia Irawan

Louise Hunt 12 Nov 2024
Image by Aram Kazandjian via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Conservationists mobilize to save Sierra Leone national park and its chimpanzees

Mohamed Fofanah 4 Nov 2024
A Sunda pangolin. Pangolins are heavily poached and exploited, and are among the most trafficked of animals. Image by Piekfrosch via WIkimedia Commons CC BY-SA 3.0).

Cambodia’s once-massive national park continues to lose its forest

Shreya Dasgupta 24 Oct 2024

Honduras taps armed forces to eliminate deforestation by 2029. Will it work?

Maxwell Radwin 13 Sep 2024
With the advance of agriculture in Maranhão, rain cycles have been disrupted and rivers and streams have begun drying. Some of the state’s only remaining rainforest lies within a group of Indigenous lands here, home to the Guarani people. Ana Ionova for Mongabay.

In the Brazilian Amazon, seedlings offer hope for drying rivers

Ana Ionova 30 Aug 2024
The Kaapori capuchin, (Cebus kaapori), one of the world’s most critically endangered primates. Image by Ricardo Ferreira Esteves via Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 4.0).

In Brazil’s Amazon, land invasions — and fires — threaten a protected reserve

Ana Ionova 5 Aug 2024

A Guatemalan reserve turns from civil war refuge to deforestation hotspot

Bobby Bascomb 22 Jul 2024

Venezuela: Water crisis looms as deforestation spreads in Yacambú National Park

Maxwell Radwin 25 Jun 2024

Narco activity takes heavy toll on Colombia’s protected forests, satellite data show

Morgan Erickson-Davis 31 May 2024

Sierra Leone cacao project boosts livelihoods and buffers biodiversity

Spoorthy Raman 18 Apr 2024

Authorities struggle to protect Bolivian national park from drug-fueled deforestation

Iván Paredes Tamayo, Nelfi Fernández Reyes 1 Mar 2024

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