The following are current events in conservation. We would like to urge our visitors to act on these issues and to keep us informed of new alerts that should be posted here. Please send information to Pam Mikula.
. To survive the winters, Western Monarchs need to over-winter at hundreds of small locations from Monterey, California to Ensenada, Mexico. However, the main population is concentrated in only eight groves of trees. These groves are in imminent danger of destruction! Please go HERE to learn how you can help save this habitat!
The oil industry wishes to purchase the fragile coastal system of this amazing refuge. Unfortunately, the Refuge's Coastal Plain has not been designated as wilderness and oil developers continue to press Congress for the right to explore and extract oil from that undisturbed wild land.. Click HERE to help put a stop to this.
The Pine Bush, located between Albany and Schenectady, NY is an inland pine barrens sand dune containing over 300 species of vertebrates, 1,500 species of plants and over 10,000 species of insects and other invertabrates. Of high importance, it is home to the federally endangered Karner Blue Butterfly. This habitat is quickly being destroyed. To learn more, please click here.
All intensive prawn farms and damaging acquaculture operations must be removed from the Great Barrier Reef (GBRMP) if this World Heritage Area is to thrive and remain healthy. To learn more, please click here.
The continued use of jet skis in our National Parks comes at too high a price in the form of degraded wilderness, increased conflicts with other recreation users, toxic water pollution, noise disturbances, harassed and injured wildlife, and increased accidents. Please support the Bluewater Network by signing their petition.
Over conservationists' objections, the Clinton administration and leaders of 12 other nations agreed in February to allow tuna caught by setting nets on dolphins to be sold in U.S. markets as early as next year and labeled "dolphin-safe." Click here to learn more and see how you can help.
Congress has a historic opportunity to fund permanent protections for habitat and open space -- please urge your U.S. Representative to cosponsor H.R. 701 and support important changes that would improve the bill. Click here for more info.
Marmots have disappeared from parts of Vancouver Island, particularly in the northern and western extremes of their historic range. The total population remains concentrated, with 75% of all animals found within an area of 40 square kilometres. Despite colonization of new habitats created by logging, total population has declined by 50-60% in the past decade. More colonies declined or became extinct in recent years than were formed.
The Recovery Team views the current situation as precarious. Disease, bad weather and predators could change the overall population quickly, and perhaps irrevocably. Visit the Recovery Team's website to see what you can do to help.
The Brazilian rainforest is, without question, one of mankind's major environmental assets. So much so that such relevant data as biodiversity and rates of destruction are at the fingertips of every concerned citizen. Nevertheless, a construction project co-sponsored by BID (Interamerican Development Bank) is threatening an appreciable portion of the rainforest in southern Brazil. BR-116 is one of Brazil's major highways. It will become even more important as a vital link of the MERCOSUR free-trade area, joining the principal cities of the member countries. For this reason duplication of the highway is being planned between the Brazilian cities of Sao Paulo and Florianopolis. In order to meet the sponsoring agencies' schedules, design work is proceeding at breakneck speed. In one particular case, such haste may well be the reason for an impending ecological disaster. Click here to learn more.
America's Heritage Forests are at risk. These scenic, unprotected wilderness areas provide unmatched opportunities for camping, hiking and other recreational pursuits, valuable habitat for fish and wildlife, and abundant supplies of clean drinking water. These forests are a natural legacy for future generations. But Heritage Forests are not permanently protected from logging, road building and mining. Click HERE to learn more and to send a postcard to the Vice President.
Since the building of four new federal dams on the Snake River, the salmon population there has plummeted by nearly 90 percent. The only way to truly recover all species of Snake River salmon is by removing the four lower Snake River dams, thereby returning the river to a free-flowing state. Click HERE to learn more how you can help.
