Habitat Conservation Is Now More Important Than Ever

Hi-

My compatriot Bloggin' Bart strikes again!  Here's his latest guest blog:

If you get most of your news from the mainstream media you may have noticed something lacking from all of the discussion about global warming: habitat conservation. Between all of the talk about windmills and solar panels and hybrid cars and other technological fixes one might begin to think that the traditional conservation movement with its focus on protecting habitat is passé in this new green era. It is not. Indeed it is more important than ever. 

Prairie habitats are able to sequester carbon at a level of between 1.2 to 1.8 U.S. tons per acre. According to Ducks Unlimited of the 22 million acres of native prairie that still exist on the Northern Great Plains, only 1 million are protected in perpetuity. To help secure an additional 71,000 acres of prairie and other habitat on public land, Sierra Club, Safari Club International, Trout Unlimited and other conservation organizations are working together as part of the South Dakota Grasslands Wilderness Coalition and urging Congress to secure prairies on the Buffalo Gap National Grasslands for generations  to come by adding them to the National Wilderness Preservation System.

Wetlands also help sequester carbon, perhaps as much as 40% globally. Unfortunately we are losing as much as 80,000 acres of wetlands a year in the U.S.  If you’re not ready to retrofit your home with solar panels or a Prius just isn’t practical with your outdoor lifestyle then consider aiding wetlands conservation by purchasing a Federal Duck Stamp. Federal Duck Stamps must be purchased by anyone wanting to hunt ducks and geese in the U.S. 

For every dollar spent on duck stamps, 98 cents goes towards the purchase or leasing of wetlands for inclusion in the National Wildlife Refuge System. Since first being sold in 1934 the stamps have raised $670 million that has been used to protect over 5 million acres of wetlands. You need not be a bird hunter to purchase a duck stamp, you don’t even have to have a hunting license, you just need to be someone interested in aiding the fight against global warming.

While it may not be getting the attention it deserves from politicians or the press, Sierra Club has not lost sight of the value of securing healthy lands and waters in the face of global warming. Sierra Club's Resilient Habitats Initiative is a bold and optimistic effort to both fight global warming and defend America’s outdoor heritage by protecting the habitat fish and wildlife depend on. Through the initiative Sierra Club is bringing together diverse outdoor interests so that the lifestyle we value does not burn away in a warmer world and so that we keep a world worth saving.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Comments

[DANIELLE SKIENDZIELEWSKI]

I TRULY, BELIEVE CONSERVATION IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN EVER NOW.