Should conservation work in places where biodiversity isn’t high but the benefits to people would be? Haiti, El Salvador, Bangladesh and other countries make a strong case, argues Beth Tellman.

Also in our best of the web: NOAA nods to saltwater sport fishers, springtime rattlesnake confab, golf courses for conservation, and a bit more TED-tweaking.

Looking for a great wildlife road trip, or just a reason to explore the neighborhood park? Our blogger offers top 10 wildlife experiences for spring, from baby bison to mayfly madness.

Species losses due to habitat fragmentation may be less bleak than predicted under the island biogeography theory, says a study of bat biodiversity in Costa Rica and Panama.

For centuries, wetlands were considered worthless, regularly filled and paved. A new piece in Ensia magazine by Mark Tercek and Jane Lubchenco argues that restoring coastal wetlands benefits not only ecology but also our economy, our safety and our quality of life.

Citizen Science Tuesday connects you to projects that benefit conservation. This week: take a voyage with the mariners of oldWeather and improve data for climate models.

What does it mean to be smart about pursuing conservation objectives? Timm Kroeger presents the how and why of maximizing conservation “return” on investments.

Seafood certification and working with the fishing industry often benefits biodiversity far more than traditional protected-area approaches, says Ray Hilborn.

Also in our best of the web: punk frogs, sea serpents on video, sadistic trolls (really), Masai fencing innovation, and Peter Matthiessen remembered

Both adaptation and mitigation strategies will help farmers in the tropics deal with climate change. The problem? These strategies are often pursued separately, reducing their effectiveness in meeting broader conservation goals.

They’re the largest fish in the world, not to mention one of the most fascinating. Marine blogger Alison Green jumps into the clear waters of the Gulf of California for a close encounter.

The recent news of a “pulse flow” in the Lower Colorado River has highlighted a steadily growing trend in freshwater conservation along “working” rivers – restoring elements of natural flow regimes. A new paper reviews such flow experiments and their effects on ecological restoration.

Citizen Science Tuesday connects you to projects that benefit conservation. This week: track the reproductive success of birds and improve understanding of challenges they face with NestWatch. Who doesn’t want to spend time watching baby birds?

Louisiana’s Atchafalaya River Basin isn’t just “Swamp People” — it’s 1 million acres of amazing biodiversity and heavily engineered nature covered by decades of science. Learn why the Conservancy’s Bryan Piazza just had to write a book about it.

Also in our best of the web: rattlesnake wrangling, high-end environment news, art meets climate science, and an endangered mammal that looks like an artichoke