Ben Goldfarb
@bengoldfarb.bsky.social
Independent conservation journalist writing a book about fish. Author of CROSSINGS, on #roadecology, and EAGER, on beaver belief.
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Ben Goldfarb
@bengoldfarb.bsky.social
· Nov 15
To new Bluesky peeps: I'm currently working on another book, on the organisms nearest my heart. It's fundamentally about fish as engineers—both of ecosystems & human affairs—and how we revitalize their roles in our waterscapes & lives. If this aligns with your interests & expertise, cast me a line!
Mama we made it (in New Zealand).
Look what made the list of staff picks @christchurchlib.bsky.social in the Ecology section, @bengoldfarb.bsky.social!
December 28, 2025 at 11:26 PM
Mama we made it (in New Zealand).
Since you’re on Bluesky you probably didn’t need another reason to resent the gun lobby, but just in case you were on the fence… it’s killing the loons! (Though we anglers deserve most of the blame tbh.)
Great/frustrating @cestmoilanglois.bsky.social feature. 👇
www.biographic.com/why-are-loon...
Great/frustrating @cestmoilanglois.bsky.social feature. 👇
www.biographic.com/why-are-loon...
Why Are Loons Still Dying from Lead Poisoning?
In the United States, efforts to save a beloved species face pushback from a surprising foe: gun rights advocates.
www.biographic.com
December 28, 2025 at 3:16 AM
Since you’re on Bluesky you probably didn’t need another reason to resent the gun lobby, but just in case you were on the fence… it’s killing the loons! (Though we anglers deserve most of the blame tbh.)
Great/frustrating @cestmoilanglois.bsky.social feature. 👇
www.biographic.com/why-are-loon...
Great/frustrating @cestmoilanglois.bsky.social feature. 👇
www.biographic.com/why-are-loon...
Last (?) book of 2025: Zeb Hogan’s ichthyological memoir, a series of journeys undertaken in pursuit of Mekong catfish, arapaima, gator gar, and other freshwater megafish, with science and conservation interwoven throughout. Fun & informative, though I wish the publisher had given it a better cover.
December 27, 2025 at 11:07 PM
Last (?) book of 2025: Zeb Hogan’s ichthyological memoir, a series of journeys undertaken in pursuit of Mekong catfish, arapaima, gator gar, and other freshwater megafish, with science and conservation interwoven throughout. Fun & informative, though I wish the publisher had given it a better cover.
Reposted by Ben Goldfarb
CORMAC MCCARTHY: He never sleeps. He says that he will never die. He dances in light and in shadow and he is a great favorite. He never sleeps, the judge. He is dancing, dancing. He says that he will never die.
JOE ROGAN: sure. I've met guys like that
JOE ROGAN: sure. I've met guys like that
December 18, 2024 at 2:25 AM
CORMAC MCCARTHY: He never sleeps. He says that he will never die. He dances in light and in shadow and he is a great favorite. He never sleeps, the judge. He is dancing, dancing. He says that he will never die.
JOE ROGAN: sure. I've met guys like that
JOE ROGAN: sure. I've met guys like that
Reposted by Ben Goldfarb
Via @liamjscott.bsky.social at the other site here’s the full email from 60 Minutes correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi. She’s putting her career on the line by fighting here. And she’s fighting for all of us.
December 22, 2025 at 3:28 AM
Via @liamjscott.bsky.social at the other site here’s the full email from 60 Minutes correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi. She’s putting her career on the line by fighting here. And she’s fighting for all of us.
“What were once bedrock aspects of daily life & spirituality increasingly appear as infrastructure, background scenery, or vague environmental concern. Our lived relationship w/ rivers has, in a quiet but profound way, been deleted.”
— @andrewrypel.bsky.social
tnature.substack.com/p/no-one-tal...
— @andrewrypel.bsky.social
tnature.substack.com/p/no-one-tal...
No One Talks About Rivers Anymore
How modernity blinded our aquatic ancestry
tnature.substack.com
December 22, 2025 at 2:53 AM
“What were once bedrock aspects of daily life & spirituality increasingly appear as infrastructure, background scenery, or vague environmental concern. Our lived relationship w/ rivers has, in a quiet but profound way, been deleted.”
— @andrewrypel.bsky.social
tnature.substack.com/p/no-one-tal...
— @andrewrypel.bsky.social
tnature.substack.com/p/no-one-tal...
I only drink beers with benthic fish on the label now.
December 22, 2025 at 2:24 AM
I only drink beers with benthic fish on the label now.
Reposted by Ben Goldfarb
Still there by the Williamsburg Bridge.
December 20, 2025 at 4:07 PM
Still there by the Williamsburg Bridge.
Reposted by Ben Goldfarb
Just gotta say, this book wouldn't be anything without Ben's work. If you haven't read Crossings yet, read it. I am hugely indebted to him. bookshop.org/p/books/cros...
December 19, 2025 at 6:44 PM
Just gotta say, this book wouldn't be anything without Ben's work. If you haven't read Crossings yet, read it. I am hugely indebted to him. bookshop.org/p/books/cros...
Huge #roadecology news this week, as Sen. Martin Heinrich introduced a bill that authorizes $200m for USDOT’s Wildlife Crossings Program thru 2031. Heinrich is a staunch champion for connectivity and I hope he & staff have the resources they—wait, what’s that on his table? Enhance… enhance… enhance…
December 19, 2025 at 4:07 PM
Huge #roadecology news this week, as Sen. Martin Heinrich introduced a bill that authorizes $200m for USDOT’s Wildlife Crossings Program thru 2031. Heinrich is a staunch champion for connectivity and I hope he & staff have the resources they—wait, what’s that on his table? Enhance… enhance… enhance…
Huge thanks to @thewaroncars.bsky.social legends @sgoodyear.bsky.social & @brooklynspoke.bsky.social for hooking me up with a copy of their masterpiece, hot off the presses! Can’t wait to dig into their expansive, optimistic vision of our auto-free future. #roadecology
December 19, 2025 at 3:32 PM
Huge thanks to @thewaroncars.bsky.social legends @sgoodyear.bsky.social & @brooklynspoke.bsky.social for hooking me up with a copy of their masterpiece, hot off the presses! Can’t wait to dig into their expansive, optimistic vision of our auto-free future. #roadecology
Realizing I know approximately nothing about commercial pike fishing. Is it a Great Lakes fishery? What are the non-gefilte markets?
(This is a @drfishsg.bsky.social and @drkatfish.bsky.social question.)
(This is a @drfishsg.bsky.social and @drkatfish.bsky.social question.)
December 17, 2025 at 8:59 PM
Realizing I know approximately nothing about commercial pike fishing. Is it a Great Lakes fishery? What are the non-gefilte markets?
(This is a @drfishsg.bsky.social and @drkatfish.bsky.social question.)
(This is a @drfishsg.bsky.social and @drkatfish.bsky.social question.)
Favorite papers (or even just anecdotes or stray thoughts) about fish response to flooding, floods as keystone events for fish reproduction/rearing, floodplains as critical aquatic habitats we’ve mostly eliminated, etc.?
a truck is driving down a flooded road with a viralhog watermark at the bottom
ALT: a truck is driving down a flooded road with a viralhog watermark at the bottom
media.tenor.com
December 16, 2025 at 5:47 PM
Favorite papers (or even just anecdotes or stray thoughts) about fish response to flooding, floods as keystone events for fish reproduction/rearing, floodplains as critical aquatic habitats we’ve mostly eliminated, etc.?
Life highlight achieved! Huge thanks to @solomonrdavid.bsky.social for showing me my first alligator gar, a 104-lb beauty netted from a floodplain lake by the Mississippi River. Incredible to be in the presence of such ancient, massive, successful critters—the epitome of charismatic ichthyofauna.
December 16, 2025 at 4:10 PM
Life highlight achieved! Huge thanks to @solomonrdavid.bsky.social for showing me my first alligator gar, a 104-lb beauty netted from a floodplain lake by the Mississippi River. Incredible to be in the presence of such ancient, massive, successful critters—the epitome of charismatic ichthyofauna.
Good line from this @boyceupholt.bsky.social gem:
“Levees have yielded a kind of landscape new upon the Earth: a dried-out floodplain.”
“Levees have yielded a kind of landscape new upon the Earth: a dried-out floodplain.”
December 15, 2025 at 2:33 AM
Good line from this @boyceupholt.bsky.social gem:
“Levees have yielded a kind of landscape new upon the Earth: a dried-out floodplain.”
“Levees have yielded a kind of landscape new upon the Earth: a dried-out floodplain.”
“Retrofitting something as seemingly mundane as a culvert can have vast ecological & cultural ramifications.”
@seattlebryn.bsky.social speaking my language!
Also note improved fish passage preventing wildlife collisions. Better culverts work for all. #roadecology
magiccanoe.org/salmon-rebou...
@seattlebryn.bsky.social speaking my language!
Also note improved fish passage preventing wildlife collisions. Better culverts work for all. #roadecology
magiccanoe.org/salmon-rebou...
Salmon Rebound After Tribes Fight for Culvert Upgrades - Magic Canoe
An unprecedented project to reconnect fish migration routes in western Washington State is showing exciting signs of ecological and cultural benefits.
magiccanoe.org
December 13, 2025 at 7:29 PM
“Retrofitting something as seemingly mundane as a culvert can have vast ecological & cultural ramifications.”
@seattlebryn.bsky.social speaking my language!
Also note improved fish passage preventing wildlife collisions. Better culverts work for all. #roadecology
magiccanoe.org/salmon-rebou...
@seattlebryn.bsky.social speaking my language!
Also note improved fish passage preventing wildlife collisions. Better culverts work for all. #roadecology
magiccanoe.org/salmon-rebou...
Wild investigation on the unholy alignment of industrial agriculture, thirsty data centers, and corrupt elected officials, all of it resulting in groundwater pollution and severe public health impacts. Worth the time.
www.rollingstone.com/culture/cult...
www.rollingstone.com/culture/cult...
'The Precedent Is Flint': How Oregon's Data Center Boom Is Supercharging a Water Crisis
Amazon data centers constructed in eastern Oregon's farmland have worsened a water pollution problem that’s been linked to cancer and miscarriages.
www.rollingstone.com
December 13, 2025 at 7:19 PM
Wild investigation on the unholy alignment of industrial agriculture, thirsty data centers, and corrupt elected officials, all of it resulting in groundwater pollution and severe public health impacts. Worth the time.
www.rollingstone.com/culture/cult...
www.rollingstone.com/culture/cult...
The climax of GET OUT when the cop car arrives as Chris is righteously choking his evil gf, the door opens, and Rod the TSA agent steps out was followed by the greatest crowd pop I’ve ever witnessed. Just a giant collective shout of relief in our theatre. People were literally crying tears of joy.
Raising the always fun question: What are your most memorable theater-going experiences?
Mine also include The Matrix, Blair Witch, and being way too stoned in Belgium when Fellowship of the Ring was sold out so we sat in the back row for Mulholland Drive instead.
Mine also include The Matrix, Blair Witch, and being way too stoned in Belgium when Fellowship of the Ring was sold out so we sat in the back row for Mulholland Drive instead.
It was hands-down one of the most memorable theater-going experiences I can remember, a collective 30-minute butt-clench/armrest-grab for the final climb. And we knew he lived! Wild.
December 13, 2025 at 12:25 AM
The climax of GET OUT when the cop car arrives as Chris is righteously choking his evil gf, the door opens, and Rod the TSA agent steps out was followed by the greatest crowd pop I’ve ever witnessed. Just a giant collective shout of relief in our theatre. People were literally crying tears of joy.
My political identity can best be described as "returning Pacific lamprey to downtown Spokane."
www.nwcouncil.org/fish-and-wil...
www.nwcouncil.org/fish-and-wil...
December 9, 2025 at 7:26 PM
My political identity can best be described as "returning Pacific lamprey to downtown Spokane."
www.nwcouncil.org/fish-and-wil...
www.nwcouncil.org/fish-and-wil...
Reposted by Ben Goldfarb
This entire grift relies on convincing people that they don't know how to do the things they have always known how to do, and ironically, if it works, we will, in a very short amount of time, forget how to do all the things we have always known how to do.
Jimmy Fallon: "And do you use ChatGPT when raising your baby?"
Sam Altman: "I cannot imagine figuring out how to raise a newborn without ChatGPT."
Sam Altman: "I cannot imagine figuring out how to raise a newborn without ChatGPT."
December 9, 2025 at 3:40 PM
This entire grift relies on convincing people that they don't know how to do the things they have always known how to do, and ironically, if it works, we will, in a very short amount of time, forget how to do all the things we have always known how to do.
What's your favorite example of parental care among fishes?
December 8, 2025 at 8:41 PM
What's your favorite example of parental care among fishes?
Reposted by Ben Goldfarb
I can't remember if I read "Eager" by @bengoldfarb.bsky.social because I was writing about beavers or if he inspired the essay. I do remember the book is wonderful and unexpectedly hilarious. Either way, reading & writing about beavers is fun.
shorturl.at/EBf1d
#nature #naturewriting #mondayblogs
shorturl.at/EBf1d
#nature #naturewriting #mondayblogs
Beavers: nature's brilliant water engineers
North American history is beaver history. Earth's consummate water engineers, beavers had it figured out. Now we are actively enlisting their help.
shorturl.at
December 8, 2025 at 4:15 PM
I can't remember if I read "Eager" by @bengoldfarb.bsky.social because I was writing about beavers or if he inspired the essay. I do remember the book is wonderful and unexpectedly hilarious. Either way, reading & writing about beavers is fun.
shorturl.at/EBf1d
#nature #naturewriting #mondayblogs
shorturl.at/EBf1d
#nature #naturewriting #mondayblogs
When your buddy gets his copy of @highcountrynews.org
December 8, 2025 at 5:41 PM
When your buddy gets his copy of @highcountrynews.org
Reposted by Ben Goldfarb
Tired: flat streets
Wired: Speed humps, tables, etc
Inspired: Speed *dips*, because modern clearance and suspension makes taking speed bumps at speed no big deal, but dips still make drivers worry they'll damage their car, and that has the highest level of encouraging compliance
Wired: Speed humps, tables, etc
Inspired: Speed *dips*, because modern clearance and suspension makes taking speed bumps at speed no big deal, but dips still make drivers worry they'll damage their car, and that has the highest level of encouraging compliance
December 8, 2025 at 1:33 AM
Tired: flat streets
Wired: Speed humps, tables, etc
Inspired: Speed *dips*, because modern clearance and suspension makes taking speed bumps at speed no big deal, but dips still make drivers worry they'll damage their car, and that has the highest level of encouraging compliance
Wired: Speed humps, tables, etc
Inspired: Speed *dips*, because modern clearance and suspension makes taking speed bumps at speed no big deal, but dips still make drivers worry they'll damage their car, and that has the highest level of encouraging compliance