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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1046 stories
A forest fire burns in Valparaíso, Chile, in February 2024. Image courtesy of the Gobierno de Chile via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0 CL)

Tropical forest loss hit new heights in 2024; fire a major driver in Latin America

Ruth Kamnitzer 21 May 2025

Study finds fast traffic noise is infuriating Galápagos warblers

Spoorthy Raman 20 May 2025
A crab-eating macaque (Macaca fascicularis), incredulous that its habitat may be able to coexist with oil palm crops without affecting commercial productivity. Image by Alain Rival/TRAILS.

Borneo project hopes to prove that forests and oil palms can coexist

Louise Hunt 15 May 2025

Scientists warn coral restoration can’t keep pace with global reef collapse

Elizabeth Fitt 29 Apr 2025

Whales and dolphins at risk as report reveals ecological decline in Gulf of California

Astrid Arellano 25 Apr 2025
The 14 women who make up Las Chelemeras.

‘It has been worth it’: The local women saving Yucatán’s mangroves

Astrid Arellano 25 Apr 2025
A part of Putumayo rainforest showing areas of deforestation.

Armed groups, cattle ranchers drove 35% rise in Colombia’s deforestation in 2024

Antonio José Paz Cardona 18 Apr 2025
Red deer in the Rhodope Mountains, Bulgaria.

How is conservation preparing for a much hotter world? Experts share

Jeremy Hance 10 Apr 2025

As Acapulco’s mangroves disappear, Mexico takes strides to protect its coastal forests

Gonzalo Ortuño López 8 Apr 2025
Roots and nodules of a lab-grown yam plant. Image courtesy of Asrat Amele / IITA.

Farmers turn to living ‘yam sticks’ to grow their crop and spare the forest

Mark Hillsdon 3 Apr 2025
A grizzled tree kangaroo (Dendrolagus inustus)

PNG’s Torricelli Mountains teem with life — and the risk of extinction

John Cannon 31 Mar 2025
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

News and Inspiration from Nature's Frontline.

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Technicians in Zimbabwe inspect solar panels. Image © UNDP Zimbabwe.
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The last photo taken between Rhett Butler and Jane Goodall--who shared a friendship for nearly 15 years--at the Forbes Sustainability Leadership Summit. Photo by Sofia Negron.
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