Founder's briefs News

Founder’s Briefs is an occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. Rhett founded Mongabay in 1999 to raise awareness about tropical forests and biodiversity. In 2012, he transitioned Mongabay to a non-profit organization and oversaw its growth into a multinational, multilingual news service. Beyond Mongabay, Rhett has advised a range of institutions, while his writing and photography have appeared in hundreds of publications. Rhett's work has been recognized with the Heinz Award and the Parker/Gentry Award, among other honors.

For 50 years, Philip Fearnside has calculated the costs of losing the Amazon

Rhett Ayers Butler 31 Aug 2026
Francis Hallé. Photo by Thomas Samson / AFP

Francis Hallé, the botanist who took a raft into the rainforest canopy

Rhett Ayers Butler 22 Jan 2026

A new treaty comes into force to govern life on the high seas

Rhett Ayers Butler 17 Jan 2026
A North Atlantic right whale with calf. Image via Wikimedia Commons (Public domain).

North Atlantic right whale births increase

Rhett Ayers Butler 13 Jan 2026
Demetrio carrying out monitoring tasks. Image courtesy of Richar Antonio Demetrio.

When Indigenous knowledge enters the scientific record

Rhett Ayers Butler 12 Jan 2026
Product of the women's keeping initiative. Photo credit: Felipe Rodriguez

Conservation’s unfinished business

Rhett Ayers Butler 12 Jan 2026
Bob Weir. From his website.

Bob Weir, a musician who took the environment seriously

Rhett Ayers Butler 11 Jan 2026
The Amazon rainforest. Photo by Rhett Ayers Butler.

The climate fight may not be won in the Amazon, but it can be lost there

Rhett Ayers Butler 5 Jan 2026

Biologist kidnapped in Mexico

Rhett Ayers Butler 4 Jan 2026
Craig. Photo by Cristina Mittermeier

What Craig’s long life reveals about elephant conservation

Rhett Ayers Butler 3 Jan 2026
Truphena Muthoni hugging a tree for 72 consecutive hours. Image by Nyeri Governor Mutahi Kahiga via X.

From Chipko to Nyeri: The enduring logic of the tree hug

Rhett Ayers Butler 2 Jan 2026
Sunset over Borneo in 2025. Photo by Rhett Ayers Butler

Mongabay’s most popular stories of 2025

Rhett Ayers Butler 31 Dec 2025
Richard Frederick Bradshaw. Photo courtesy of Phillips, Hager & North (PH&N).

Investor Dick Bradshaw took a long view of conservation

Rhett Ayers Butler 31 Dec 2025
Tatiana Schlossberg. Photo by Steven Senne/Associated Press

Tatiana Schlossberg, environmental journalist, has died, aged 35

Rhett Ayers Butler 30 Dec 2025
Elizabeth Erasito.

Elizabeth Erasito, custodian of Fiji’s parks and places

Rhett Ayers Butler 30 Dec 2025
George Teariki-Mataki Mateariki. Photo from Cook Islands Tourism

George Teariki-Mataki Mateariki, the Birdman of Atiu, has died, aged 67

Rhett Ayers Butler 29 Dec 2025
California redwood forest in December 2025. Photo by Rhett Ayers Butler

15 forces that could reshape conservation in the next 10 years

Rhett Ayers Butler 28 Dec 2025
Brigitte Bardot. Photo: Getty

Brigitte Bardot, who turned fame into a lifelong fight for animals

Rhett Ayers Butler 28 Dec 2025
Two male ibex in front of Mont Aiguille in the Dauphiné Alps, France.

France’s largest rewilding project

Rhett Ayers Butler 25 Dec 2025
William Bond. Photo courtesy of the University of Cape Town.

William Bond, grasslands researcher who reminded conservation that context matters, has died

Rhett Ayers Butler 24 Dec 2025
Weather over Jambi. Photo by Rhett Ayers Butler.

2025: A year of consequence for Mongabay’s journalism

Rhett Ayers Butler 24 Dec 2025
Neddy Mulimo in the field. Image courtesy of Giraffe Creatives Portraits.

Neddy Mulimo treated ranger welfare as conservation

Rhett Ayers Butler 23 Dec 2025
Jeff Foott. Photo by Judith Zimmerman

Jeff Foott, chronicler of ice, rock, and change, has died, aged 80

Rhett Ayers Butler 21 Dec 2025
Background: rainforest in Brunei. Photo by Rhett Ayers Butler

The value of journalism in the AI era

Rhett Ayers Butler 18 Dec 2025
Tree Aid’s efforts as part of the Great Green Wall has resulted in planting nearly 28 million trees in the region so far.

Navigating the complex world of reforestation efforts

Rhett Ayers Butler 16 Dec 2025

From Kalimantan’s haze to Jakarta’s grit: A journalist’s journey

Rhett Ayers Butler 15 Dec 2025
Photo © California Academy of Sciences

Chris Grinter has spent much of his life surrounded by insects

Rhett Ayers Butler 11 Dec 2025
Deforestation in Borneo, Malaysia. Image by Rhett A. Butler/Mongabay.

Balancing evidence and empathy in an age of doubt

Rhett Ayers Butler 9 Dec 2025
Bamboo lemur in Madagascar. Photo by Rhett Ayers Butler

Lemurs are at risk. So are the people protecting them.

Rhett Ayers Butler 7 Dec 2025

How dropping ads set us free to focus on impact

Rhett Ayers Butler 5 Dec 2025
Gregg Treinish in Botswana's Okavango. Photo by Shah Selbe

Turning adventure into data

Rhett Ayers Butler 4 Dec 2025
Jean Beasley with the Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center with a juvenile Kemp's Ridley sea turtle on Sept. 17, 2013 in Surf City, N.C. Photo courtesy of KEN BLEVINS/STARNEWS

Jean Beasley, who turned her young daughter’s dying wish into a mission to save sea turtles, has died

Rhett Ayers Butler 3 Dec 2025
Early-career conservationists take part in the 2025 EDGE Conservation Tools Course, part of a global fellowship program that supports emerging leaders to drive locally led conservation. Image by Paul Barnes /EDGE of Existence, Zoological Society of London.

Small grants can empower the next generation of conservationists

Rhett Ayers Butler 1 Dec 2025

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