National Parks

Mike at the Big Stick blogs about a new upcoming PBS series on National Parks directed by Ken Burns. PBS' website for the series can be found here. The series will debut at the end of September. If there is ever a case to be made for conservation, this is one of them.

h/t The Big Stick.

Ok, one last post for today ...

... this is a truly awesome story.

By the 1980s, nearly one in three turtles that nested on Matura Beach were killed. When the government asked for volunteers to help protect the endangered creatures, Baptiste and several others answered the call. In 1990, they started Nature Seekers, one of Trinidad's first environmental groups.

What effect did they have?

Gradually, her message of conservation turned the tide of public opinion, and after nearly two decades under Baptiste's leadership, Nature Seekers has largely won its battle. Today, the leatherbacks' survival rate on Matura Beach is virtually 100 percent.

Over 5000 leatherbacks nest on Matura Beach a year now.

Here is their website: Nature Seekers.

Not a good day to be a mammal ...

... 1 in 4 mammalian species in danger of becoming extinct.

The new report updates the IUCN's Red List of Threatened Species, which overall includes 44,838 species, of which 16,928 are threatened with extinction. Of these, 3,246 are in the highest category of threat, critically endangered, 4,770 are endangered and 8,912 are vulnerable to extinction. The IUCN estimated that 76 mammal species have gone extinct since 1500.

That's a staggering number, and it's due primarily to man's own actions.

"Within our lifetime hundreds of species could be lost as a result of our own actions, a frightening sign of what is happening to the ecosystems where they live," added Julia Marton-Lefevre, IUCN director general. "We must now set clear targets for the future to reverse this trend to ensure that our enduring legacy is not to wipe out many of our closest relatives."

The word for today is: Conservation.