Clipmarks | ruralart's 'conservation' clips

Saving Jaguars in Mexico and the US

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 01:58:53 GMT

clipped by: ruralart

Jaguars once roamed the Americas — from the Grand Canyon to Argentina. But hunting and habitat loss have reduced their numbers dramatically over the past century.

Today, there are no jaguars permanently in the United States — and only a small group of 80 to 120 jaguars can be found in the Mexican state of Sonora.

That's why The Nature Conservancy and partners Naturalia, Northern Jaguar Project and Defenders of Wildlife are working to save this rare group of northern jaguars. The partners are combining land protection efforts with innovative projects like the use of trip-cameras to monitor jaguar movements.

Key strategies in this effort are:

Educating and providing ranchers with incentives to not kill the jaguars; and

Helping the Mexican government create and strengthen federal reserves;

Indeed, payments to ranchers for trip-camera photographs of the jaguars have become an important incentive for conserving the species in the corridor.

Tags: jaguar, mexico, conservation

Biofuel Invasion Danger

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 17:44:36 GMT

clipped by: ruralart

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

Fuel crops 'pose invasion risk'

Nations should avoid planting biofuel crops that have a high risk of becoming invasive species, a report warns.

A study by the Global Invasive Species Programme (GISP) said only a few countries have systems in place to assess the risk or contain an outbreak.

It has listed all the crops used to produce biofuels, and urged governments to only select low-risk varieties.

The global cost of tackling invasive species costs $1.4 trillion (£700bn) each year, the report estimates.

"This usually involves the importation of foreign (alien) species of plants that are known for their fast and productive growth.

GISP, a partnership of four conservation organisations, including IUCN and the Nature Conservancy, fear the biofuels boom could expose gaps in nations' bio-security measures.

Rapeseed is fine to grow in Europe, but invasive in Australia

Tags: biofuel, plants, conservation

Saving the Coral

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 14:38:11 GMT

clipped by: ruralart

Clip Source: www.nature.org

World Ocean Day is June 8. Celebrate by helping us rescue the coral reefs of the tropics. With your help, we can protect the world’s beautiful seascapes and Rescue the Reef!

Just below the water's surface lies a magical world teeming with life and value. Coral reefs are home to 4,000 fish species and provide the world with goods and services — such as jobs, foods, medicines and storm protection — worth $375 billion annually.

But scientists estimate that 70 percent of all corals reefs could be lost by 2050 if current rates of destruction continue — from factors ranging from overfishing to climate change.

That's why The Nature Conservancy is supporting three major policy efforts by island nations around the world to conserve marine diversity — the Micronesia Challenge, the Coral Triangle Initiative and the newly launched Caribbean Challenge, which is being aided by a $20 million Conservancy pledge.

aim of protecting 20 percent of the region's marine and coastal habitat by 2020

Tags: coral, caribbean, conservation, nature

Helping Shad upstream in SC

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 17:53:38 GMT

clipped by: ruralart

Clip Source: www.thestate.com

Shad shocked, chauffeured

Crews help fish bypass dam, continue journey upstream

S.C. Department of Natural Resource officials catch shad in front of the Augusta Canal dam Tuesday. The fish ladder that usually allows shad to slip around the dam and go upstream on the Savannah River is broken, so Natural Resources officials from South Carolina and Georgia are giving the fish a hand. Officials gave the water in front of the dam a series of electrical shocks, which stun the fish and make them easier to catch. The fish were then scooped" />

It was the most unusual mile among thousands of miles of travel and the most unusual day in a four-year journey for 362 shad.

The American shad’s life cycle begins in the shoals of coastal rivers, builds with a trip to Canada’s Bay of Fundy and ends back at the same river shoals. For the thousands that returned to the Savannah River this year, the trip ended about 15 miles short.

Tags: shad, fish, conservation, rivers

Travel the Desert on foot by internet

Sun, 27 Apr 2008 19:48:36 GMT

clipped by: ruralart
clipper's remarks: This is pretty cool... great info and pictures.

Clip Source: www.nature.org

Our scientist is traveling across 300 kilometers of desert on foot — and you can follow along right here!

Sanjayan, lead scientist for The Nature Conservancy, is trekking across Africa's Namib Desert — the world's oldest and possibly driest desert — to map and assess a proposed national park in the Namib that would protect priority habitat for lions, elephants, rhinos, cheetah and oryx.

The Conservancy's partners — Save the Rhino Trust and Round River Conservation Studies — are working hard to establish this communally managed area. See below for the latest updates from Sanjayan's journey across one of the most remote spots on Earth!

Day 1: Hobatere Conservancy
The expedition is underway — and we're already down three camels and our solar-powered gear works only in fits. Oh, and then there's this pride of lions nearby...

Tags: nature, desert, travel, africa

Woman killed by flying ray

Sun, 23 Mar 2008 20:10:56 GMT

clipped by: ruralart
clipper's remarks: This is too sad and strange. How horrible for both the woman, and the ray (who also died).

Clip Source: www.ajc.com

MARATHON, Fla. — A 55-year-old woman from Michigan died Thursday in a freak accident in which she was struck by a 75-pound spotted eagle ray that jumped out of the Atlantic Ocean just off the shore of Key Colony Beach near Marathon, said Bobby Dube, spokesperson for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

There was no immediate cause of death, although authorities said no barb wounds were found on the woman. The spotted eagle ray landed in the bow of the boat, and it appears the woman may have hit her head on a metal rail on the side of the boat. She will be taken for an autopsy to be performed by the Monroe County medical examiner.

The woman was pleasure boating with her elderly parents and a sister about 10 a.m. on a 25-foot open fisherman vessel.

Spotted eagle rays are capable of leaping completely out of the water when pursued. They swim by "flying" gracefully through the water via the undulation of the pectoral fins.

Tags: death, ray, eagle ray, florida

Fantastic Nature Photos of Place to Protect

Fri, 21 Mar 2008 17:09:39 GMT

clipped by: ruralart
clipper's remarks: These are great photos, and many more are on the Nature Conservancy site. Definitely worth going to.

Clip Source: support.nature.org

Congratulations to all the finalists in The Nature Conservancy's 2nd Annual digital photo competition. This page represents our 2007 Grand Prize Winner, Finalists and Honorable Mentions for the Best Places We Protect Photo category.

Charles Robertson

Beach City, Texas

Sunset, Amboseli NP, Kenya

Grand Prize Winner

See Full Image

Jeff Zimmerman

Asheville, North Carolina

Black Balsam Knob, Pisgah National Forest, North Carolina, USA.

Great Blue Heron, Great Falls National Park, Maryland, USA.

Sunset, Great Falls National Park, Maryland, Virginia, USA.

Elakala Falls, Blackwater Falls State Park, West Virginia, USA.

Blue Footed Booby, Galapagos Islands

Blue Ridge Mountains

Lake McDonald, Glacier National Park, Montana, USA.

Big Horn Rams, National Bison Range in Moiese, Montana, USA.

Tags: nature, photos, photography, wild, conservation

Coral Reefs, Mangrove swamps, tourism interrelated

Sat, 03 Nov 2007 20:23:46 GMT

clipped by: ruralart
clipper's remarks: The Nature Conservancy does an incredible job of preserving nature while empowering local people in positive ways.

Clip Source: www.nature.org

Coral reefs often appear to divers as independent communities — symbiotic villages where fish, corals, crustaceans and shellfish seem to exist apart from the vast surrounding ocean, content to live within their own world of blazing color and darting movement.

But reef systems are complex and fragile ecosystems, greatly dependent on what surrounds them. For instance, in Bocas del Toro, an archipelago on the northwest Caribbean coastline of Panama, coral reefs are particularly reliant on the hundreds of neighboring mangrove islands that are now being overrun by rapid development.

As part of its work in Panama, The Nature Conservancy is partnering with the local government to create a land-use plan that will preserve undeveloped areas of Bocas del Toro and protect the coral reef and mangrove systems.

While Conservancy staff is working to create solutions that are unique to the Bocas del Toro archipelago, the threats facing the reef are common to systems around the world.

Tags: nature, conservation, coral reef, ocean, sea, mangrove, panama

Nature Conservancy - fabulous photos

Sun, 28 Oct 2007 00:15:52 GMT

clipped by: ruralart
clipper's remarks: The slide show is truly incredible - gorgeous photos. The Nature Conservancy is definitely worth donating to.

Clip Source: www.nature.org

The best of more than 11,000 images.

Shot by leading photographers.

Now at your fingertips.

"Natural Light" gives you access to the most arresting photos from The Nature Conservancy's huge archives. From Tibet to Tanzania, from hissing alligators to quivering zebras, "Natural Light" opens a brilliant window onto our work and the astonishing nature that we at the Conservancy encounter every day.

Tags: nature, nature conservancy, photography, conservation