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Roads, Wildlife and YouBy Ashley Cotter, USFWS A new discipline might change the way the next road near you is built. Road Ecology is the study of the affects roads have on nature and wildlife. During my internship this past summer, I got to learn a great deal about this burgeoning field - and how even I could make a difference. Get Involved: Endangered Species Day Youth Art ContestKnow any budding Picassos or Georgia O’Keeffes? Tell them to grab their art supplies and enter the 2012 Endangered Species Day Youth Art Contest! They’ll need to use their creativity to visually portray one or more land- and/or ocean-dwelling endangered species—animal or plant—found in the United States. The contest is open to all K-12 students and entries must be postmarked by March 15, 2012. A prestigious panel of artists, photographers, and conservationists will judge the entries. Winners will be chosen in four categories: K-Grade 2, Grades 3-5, Grades 6-8 and Grades 9-12, along with one overall national winner. Complete rules for the contest can be found on the Endangered Species Day website. Some of last year’s semi-finalists include:
Let's Go Outside! Featured Refuge Events for the Week of November 28thThe weather may be getting colder, but that doesn't mean there isn't anything to do outside! Here are some of the events happening at refuges across the country this week. As always, make sure you head over to the Refuge System's homepage and use their searchable map to find a Wildlife Refuge near you! Let's go outside!
What We Do to Protect Endangered Species – the Road to RecoveryThe past two years have seen a herculean response by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Park Service and other agencies working with the scientific community to save the last wild and growing Franciscan manzanita; a plant thought to be extinct in the wild.
California: Incorporating Climate Change into Planning California’s Bay-Delta Future
As federal, state and local experts continue to examine the factors contributing to the recent decline of California’s Bay-Delta ecosystem, the effects of climate change have surged to the forefront of study. The Bay-Delta (Sacramento/San Joaquin River Delta-San Francisco Bay Estuary) is considered one of the most vital estuary ecosystems in the U.S. The Delta is at the crossroads of federal and state operated delivery systems that transport water from Northern California to agricultural and urban water users to the south. It’s a source of drinking water for approximately 22 million people while supporting an approximate $30 billion agricultural industry. The Delta and its watersheds also support several threatened and endangered species, and a popular recreational and commercial fishing industry. But the Bay-Delta is in the throes of a well-chronicled crisis. Four recent years of below average precipitation have hammered this fragile ecosystem, contributing to the puzzling decline of the Delta fishery and the collapse of California's salmon fishing industry. The combination of decreased water supplies (from the drought), and seasonal water restrictions to protect the threatened delta smelt, endangered Chinook salmon and other species, has created a volatile political situation.
Climate change, barely mentioned a decade ago, is now considered a major factor in the Delta planning picture. The rise in sea level, temperature, and changes in the timing of rainfall and snowmelt– all considered effects of climate change – are altering the landscape. |
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