No one had seen a single living blue-bearded helmetcrest since 1946, and the species was known only from preserved museum specimens. But that all changed last month when researchers rediscovered the bird in the mountains of Colombia.

Many Liberians rely on the forests for direct economic benefits, and the presence of intact forests may even be important for preventing the future outbreak of disease such as Ebola, which can be transmitted to people from animal vectors displaced by deforestation.

When Vietnamese Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry meet in early October, China’s aggressive behavior in the waters of Southeast Asia will top their agenda. In the months leading up to the meeting, Washington’s foreign policy elite has been debating whether it is in America’s interest to get involved in the dispute. The strategic implications of letting China have its sway are too serious for the United States to adopt a binary policy of going in all guns blazing or looking the other way. Kerry and Minh should work out a middle course that protects U.S. policy autonomy while maintaining balance in the region.