By Katherine Shaver, 2/12/12, Washington Post Maryland biologists study­ing box turtles rescued from the bulldozers on the Intercounty Connector construction site have made a grisly find: An alarming number of the tiny turtles later died, and biologists say their demise appears to be unrelated to the highway. Worse yet, the cause of their death — an animal disease called ranavirus taking root across the United States — also is believed to have killed nearly every tadpole and young salamander in the study area in Montgomery County’s North Branch Stream Valley Park since spring 2010. The discoveries have alarmed state wildlife officials and biologists, who worry about how far ranavirus has spread, how widely it has affected the ecosystem, and how…

(Williamsburg, VA)---The Center for Conservation Biology at the College of William and Mary and Virginia Commonwealth University has compiled 2011 survey results for the Virginia bald eagle population.  The 2011 survey checked more than 1,000 nests and monitored 726 occupied territories. This number represents an 6.2% increase over 2010.  More than 130 new nests were mapped.  Eagle territories were located within 45 counties and 10 independent cities.  A total of 938 chicks were counted during the productivity flight.  This is the highest chick production recorded throughout the long history of the survey.  The Virginia population continues to have tremendous reproductive momentum.  Of 11,030 chicks documented in the past 35 years, 8.5% were produced in 2011 and 73.2% were produced since…