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 ProjectsLifestyles and Citizen Action: Land ProtectionBackground
One can contribute to the preservation of biological diversity worldwide in many ways. Land protection is key to species' preservation. In foreign countries, biological diversity is at great risk, with extinctions occurring on a daily basis. Through support of international organizations, vital tracts of land can be purchased or the government convinced to designate them as national parks. In the United States, bogs, vernal ponds and other temporary wetlands, longleaf pine forests, old-growth cedar forests, tallgrass prairies and desert springs are some examples. They are vital to the survival of countless species, but receive little or no state or federal protection from destruction, and harbor many endangered species. Making a project of protecting a threatened habitat and/or species could spell the difference between survival and extinction for a particular plant or animal species, a very worthwhile project.
Activities
o Support organizations that specialize in setting aside land. This is key to saving the wildest, most pristine and important habitats before they are ruined. By obtaining issues of past magazines and press releases of organizations, such as The Nature Conservancy or Conservation International, learn what land they have protected that provided important habitat for endangered species and how they work to identify and protect biologically important areas in need of conservation. Help an organization that is raising money for land that harbors rare or endangered species in a foreign country. One class raised more than $100,000 to purchase a sizeable rainforest tract, teeming with beautiful tropical birds, in Costa Rica. Far less funds per acre are needed to acquire land in many countries where biodiversity is high than in the United States or Europe.
o On a local basis, a class could save an endangered species by helping to purchase its habitat. Information on a state-by-state basis on endangered species and habitats can be obtained from the Natural Heritage Programs connected with each Environment or Wildlife Department. These programs identify rare, endemic and declining species and their habitats, including those in need of protection. Also, national, state and local organizations and government departments can help in identifying land in need of protection. In some cases, an organization that specializes in a particular type of animal, such as frogs, cranes or turtles, will know of such areas and may already be raising money to purchase them. The class can choose an area in need of fund-raising and begin to aid in a fund-raising campaign. It would be more feasible to choose land that is not so expensive or large that many years would be needed to purchase it. The Nature Conservancy or another organization may be preserving the land. Another option is to launch a campaign to convince a town, state or federal agency to designate an area as protected. A field trip should be taken to the site, guided by a biologist familiar with the habitat--its plants and animals. Someone in the class could be designated to photograph the site, while others would take notes on what the guide says for a report and write letters to the editors of local newspapers. The site may preserve one or more endangered species, as well as an endangered habitat. Once successful, contact local newspapers to publicize the event, and write up the achievement in terms of how the goal was attained and what biological treasures were protected.
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