Date: Tue, 21 Nov 2000 11:01:55 -0800 (PST) From: Barry Meyers-Rice <bamrice@ucdavis.edu> To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com Message-Id: <aabcdefg3367$foo@default> Subject: Bog preservation
Hey Folks,
Some interesting stuff on the listserve re: Bog preservation.
My thoughts on this have two levels.
First, the sad reality is that at this point we are really just arguing
over the crumbs of habitat that haven't yet been drained or developed in
the southeastern USA. Since 90%+ of the habitat is gone, you have to start
wondering if the long-term viability of these plants and animals are
really intact. Furthermore, there is simply no way to fight the huge
amount of land transformation that is still occurring. You can argue that
big government is hurting land development, but it is really only just
slowing it slightly. Take a visit to the southeastern US and see the
development boom, and you'll see that government isn't doing much in the
way of planned development.
Second (and here is a silver lining), there *are* organizations involved
in land conservation. I'm biased, but The Nature Conservancy is doing a
great job in terms of buying wetlands in the USA. Taking a
nonconfrontational approach, The Nature Conservancy is extremely
successful, and is bigger (in terms of fund-raising and land
ownership) than all the other large conservation organizations *put
together*. More than 1300 preserves (9 million acres) across the country.
Before I started working for The Nature Conservancy, I was attracted to it
as a CPer because they have a large wetland emphasis, and that meant CP
conservation.
Barry
------------------------
Dr. Barry A. Meyers-Rice
Carnivorous Plant Newsletter
Conservation Coeditor
barry@carnivorousplants.org
http://www.carnivorousplants.org
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