Today’s good news comes from the Good News Network.

Australia now boasts one of the world’s largest acreages of private land set aside for conservation, and the Guardian recently reported that generous and wealthy citizens are to thank for it.

Leaving land to conservation purposes in wills and making bequests of estates have played a big role in amassing 24 million acres of privately conserved land.

Bush Heritage Australia manages some 3 million acres of these, and its CEO, Rachel Lowry, told the Guardian that such contributions play an outsized role in their work.

Last year, for example, the organization reported 4,600 such bequests, almost double the 2022 total. They believe it stems from people truly attempting, as we’re often taught, to leave the world in a better place than when they found it.

“Some of Australia’s most threatened and fragile ecosystems and wildlife sit outside of the national reserve system,” said Lowry. “They’re found on private land or pastoral country, and they may have deep cultural and ecological values, but they’re not protected from threats such as land clearing, mining, or invasive species.”

Several organizations in the country, such as the North East Tasmania Land Trust, are carrying out similar work, and the governments of the Australian states are taking notice. One of Bush Heritage’s protected areas, the Pilungah Reserve, was granted protection under Queensland state law equivalent to a federal National Park, demonstrating how valuable the work is seen by the public sector.

In the United States, one of the largest protected areas is a private-public partnership called American Prairie.

American Prairie has spent over 2 decades buying and leasing land between the Charles M. Russel Natural Wildlife Refuge and the Upper Missouri Breaks Natural Monument in Montana to create America’s largest assemblage of wild prairie for the purposes of conservation and recreation. It’s also received donations of land on the way to reaching its current size.

GNN has reported on several major milestones of this massive and constantly growing mosaic of grasslands, hills, woods, and wetlands, including a substantial 22,000-acre land purchase that had blocked public access to the Missouri Breaks, and the clearance of over 100 miles of derelict fencing across their land.

The organization has accumulated 603,657 acres, which comprises 167,070 deeded acres and 436,587 leased public acres. Their goal is ultimately to protect, and in some cases, rewild 2.3 million acres.

In 2024, American Prairie set a new visitation record for the seventh year in a row with more than 6,600 overnight visitors to its huts and campgrounds, and over 5,000 visitors at its National Discovery Center in Lewistown, Montana.

An American organization that helps connect and advocate for private conservation land in the US reports that 61 million acres—more than all the US national parks—are privately held for conservation. This amounts to about 3% of the 60% of American lands that are privately owned.

Called the Land Trust Alliance, it aims to double this number by the end of the decade.

The Good news in today’s story is that private land donations are helping preserve natural resources. Today’s JohnKu talks about private methods. of conservation. I hope you have a super weekend.

Contributions by John W. Howell © 2026

Individuals

Have the power to conserve . . .

God bless those who do.

Today’s good news story comes from The Pulse and was sent to me by Noelle Granger.

Foxes were allowed into a solar farm, and they ended up turning the panels into part of their habitat

by Warren van der Sandt

April 25, 2026

in Energy

It wasn’t part of the plan.

Solar farms were built to generate clean energy, not to host wildlife. Large, fenced-off areas filled with panels don’t exactly look like a natural habitat.

But when a small, endangered fox was allowed into one of these sites, something unexpected happened.

Instead of struggling to survive, it adapted—quickly. And what researchers saw next began to change how these spaces are understood.

How solar farms started behaving like ecosystems

At first glance, solar farms seem simple. Rows of panels. Open land. Minimal human presence. But that last detail turned out to matter more than expected. Because once construction ends, these areas become relatively undisturbed. No heavy traffic. No constant noise. Limited human activity.

Over time, that creates stability. Vegetation begins to grow beneath the panels, often encouraged by design. Native plants take hold, insects follow, and small prey species begin to appear. It doesn’t happen overnight.

But slowly, these sites begin to resemble something else. Not just infrastructure—but a habitat. And for some species, that shift is enough to create an opportunity.

A species on the edge finds an unlikely refuge.

The San Joaquin kit fox has been struggling for decades. Native to California’s Central Valley, this small canid has lost more than 95% of its natural habitat due to agriculture and development. Survival has become increasingly difficult. It relies on space, cover, and access to prey. And it moves constantly, often using dozens of dens to avoid predators.

So when conservationists began exploring whether solar farms could support wildlife, the idea seemed uncertain. Could a human-made environment really replace what had been lost? The only way to know was to try. And when the foxes entered these sites, their behavior was closely monitored.

What researchers found wasn’t hesitation. It was an adaptation.

What actually happened inside the solar farms

The foxes didn’t just pass through these areas. They started using them. Solar farms provided something rare: protection and resources in the same place. The perimeter fencing, originally designed to secure the site, acted as a barrier against larger predators. Inside, the environment was rich with small animals—rodents and insects that thrive under the panels. That meant food was readily available.

The panels themselves created shade, helping regulate ground temperature and making conditions more stable during extreme heat. And perhaps most importantly, human disturbance was minimal. The foxes began establishing dens within the solar farms, using the land as part of their regular territory.

In some cases, according to the Bren School of Environmental Science & Management, they returned repeatedly, treating these sites as reliable habitat. What was meant to be an energy facility had become something more.

Why this changes how we think about how energy and wildlife interact

For years, one of the biggest concerns about renewable energy projects has been land use. Building large-scale solar farms requires space—and that space often overlaps with natural habitats. But this example suggests a different possibility. With the right design and management, these sites don’t have to displace wildlife. They can support it. That doesn’t mean every solar farm will have the same effect. Conditions matter. Location matters. Planning matters. But the success of the San Joaquin kit fox shows that coexistence is possible. And in some cases, it may offer a second chance for species that are running out of options.

The idea is still evolving.

But one thing is becoming clear. What looks like a field of solar panels from the outside might be something very different on the inside—a place where technology and nature are starting to share the same ground.

The good news in this story is that conservation of resources does not have to come at the expense of native species. Today’s JohnKu talks about smart conservation. I hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Co-Existance by John W. Howell  © 2026,

Clean energy has,

Risks to the animal world . . .

That can be reduced.