ENWC201 FINAL EXAM

"harm" is further described as

"an act which actually kills or harms wildlife" ... including "significant habitat modification or degradation"

long term support

"nonessential and experimental" -allowed for "taking" and "harassing" examples: -wolf-vehicle collisions -wolves preying on livestock -wolves frequenting private land -self defense

Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (1977)

"prevent adverse environmental effects of surface mining and restore lands which are disturbed" reseeding, +5-10 years of reclamation activities

ecological restoration

"the process of intentionally altering a site to establish a defined, indigenous, historic ecosystem" -can occur at any scale -most often vegetation -occasionally animals

Clean Water Act (1972)

"to restore and maintain...integrity of Nation's waters" "No net loss of areas and or functions of water, INCLUDING WETLANDS" Must restore unavoidable loss

Congress is considering modifying the Endangered Species Act to include "Economic Considerations" in the decision making process over whether or not to protect a given species. This is reflecting which philosophical approach to environmental ethics? Wildcentrism Biocentrism Ecocentrism Anthropocentrism

*not eco most likely anthropocentrism

IUNC Category I:

-only primitive recreation -primary focus is on biodiversity, ecosystem processes/services

Laws regulating "take"

1900 - Lacey Act 1929 - Migratory Bird Conservation Act 1937 - Treaty on Gray and Right Whale harvest 1940 - Bald Eagle Protection Act 1973 - Endangered Species Act

A protected area which includes a "core area", with little human use, surrounded by a "buffer zone", where research, recreation, and other low impact activities occur, and then even further surrounded by a "transition area" with low to moderate human use, including some extractive resource use, is called a: Wilderness Area Biosphere Reserve Ramsar Wetland Reserve System National Park

Biosphere reserve

TOOLKIT

Wildlife Conservation: NGOs, Education -Ethics, values, attitudes -Endangered Species Act -Protected areas -Incentive programs -Ecological restoration -Reintroduction

Is the ESA working?

Yes... -30 species have recovered -28 have been down-listed from E and T No... -10 listed species have gone extinct -11 species have moved from T to E Many listed species are still declining even with Protection.

I feel that koalas have a right to exist, regardless of whether they are of a benefit to my own well being

inherent value

values

increasingly there is a balance between: -economic considerations -ethical considerations -sustainability considerations instrumental / utilitarian intrinsic / inherent -ethics about our natural world

Step 6: Post release monitoring

use adaptive model

I value deer as a food resource and enjoy harvesting them for meat

utilitarian-good value

Every time I take an aspirin I appreciate the fact that the formula was originally derived from the bark of a willow tree

utilitarian-information value

intrinsic / inherent

value is given as a result of its very existence usually biocentric - ecocentric

step 2: select and evaluate sites

within historic range? suitable habitat? are the threats that cause them to leave removed? protected status?

Spotted Owl Controversy

- Late 1980s - Large controversy over old growth timber harvest and spotted owl listing

Setting Goals

-Inherently subjective -Will differ based on cultural VALUES Beyond values you must also consider: -infrastructure -available resources -funding -stakeholder interest

protected areas

-are critical to conserving many species -they are a component of most national or regional strategies for conservation -a requirement of various agreements / conventions

Other classifications in IUNC

-biosphere reserves -world heritage sites -ramsar wetlands

4 primary actions of the Endangered Species Act

-conservation of species -cooperation among agencies -prevent habitat destruction -prevent taking of species -11 sections lay out the law -implemented by: ----US Fish and Wildlife Service ----Nat. Marine Fisheries Service

adaptive management

-coyote interbreeding -sterilized coyotes as placeholders in population -can't interbreed

Section 9: Prohibited Acts

-government must work to protect T and E species -also illegal for anyone to "take" T and E species -makes it unlawful for a person to "take" a listed species

in the developing world:

-high costs not always sustainable in the long term -governments often unable to provide finances

religious environmental ethics

-important to conserving biodiversity -but a broad shared environmental ethic is needed

education

-increases public knowledge and support -fosters a conservation ethic -alters consumption patterns

future needs

-outside the box thinking for protecting park boundaries -incentive programs for conservation (future lecture) -determining what should be protected, and what is enough protection to be ecologically representative

Greatest effect on recovery is dealing with a species' threat of extinction:

-over-exploitation and pollution are relatively easy to deal with -habitat destruction and nonnative species are much more difficult

implementation

-regardless of size -involving volunteers = sense of connection, long term devotion -conclusion of construction -"as-built conditions"

laws

-should match the ethics of a community -they may be changed if they do not -not all ethical issues can be legislated -many environmental issues are not

Black Footed Ferret Case Study

-thought extinct -Shep the dog!

Zimbabwe

-we have protected areas -but people need to eat -we need a sustainable money source that does not rely on outside input and can improve livelihoods

typically there is a large leakage of tourism and wildlife trade dollars

0.1 - 1% - stays directly to area 10% - local economy 20 - 40% National economy Remainder stays in industrial nations

The God Squad?

1) there must be no reasonable alternative to the agencies action 2) the benefits of the action must outweigh the benefits of an alternative action where the species is conserved 3) the action is of regional or national importance

National Parks

1864 - Yellowstone National Park 1979 - Royal National Park 1890 - Yosemite National Park 1892 - Kruger National Park

Steps of Ecological Restoration

1. Site Assessment 2. Setting Goals 3. Design 4. Implementation 5. Monitoring and Adaptive Management

Steps to maximize success of reintroduction

1. feasibility study 2. select and evaluate sites 2. Identify and evaluate stock 4. determine social, political, and economic conditions at site 5. plan/implement reintroduction 6. post release monitoring

"Listed" species (under the Endangered Species Act)

716 US species of animals 947 US species of plants 17 are currently proposed for listing and 28 are candidates for listing (under review)

In the Milking the Rhino film we observed: A community based conservation program centered around a locally owned eco-lodge for wildlife sight seeing. An incentive program that involves selling rhino horn on the traditional medicine market to fund conservation of other species. A community based program that uses rhino habitat for cattle ranching, and the rhinos have been moved within a small local zoo for tourists An incentive program that relies on distributing free milk to community members near rhino habitat, so that they will have an alternative food resource for their children.

A community based conservation program centered around a locally owned eco-lodge for wildlife sight seeing.

The spotted owl has fully recovered, i.e., no longer endangered, and faces no new threats due to our placing it on the Endangered Species Act, and subsequently limiting old growth timber harvest. True False

False

ethics

Aldo Leopold -"a limitation on freedom of action" -constrain self serving behavior -help to define what is right and wrong and why -can differ for everyone, may differ culturally -some issues are/should be agreed upon globally ---a global environmental ethic? -can and do change

CAMPFIRE

Communal Areas Management Program for Indigenous Resources Founded in 1989 -revenues from the program are used to provide schools, electricity, clean water, road building and grinding mills for maize -community-based natural resource management -safari tours (no-hunting) are also sold... -90% of revenue comes from hunts -60% just from elephant hunts

Leopold's Land Ethic

Ecocentric the next step in the evolution of ethics "A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability, and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise."

So we STRESS:

Ecological restoration is a complement to Protection of intact ecosystems NOT a replacement for protection

section 8: international species

Encourages the conservation of endangered species worldwide. • CITES (Convention on the International Trade of Endangered Species).

Wildlife conservation was only successful in Zimbabwe once they banned trophy hunting in the late 1980s. This allowed wildlife populations to flourish (increase dramatically) and for the local people in remote villages to live harmoniously next to the local parks and game reserves. True False

False

Leopold's "Land Ethic" proposes that we: Consider anything that returns to most profit as right, regardless of it's impact on the land. Enlarge our concept of community to include things such as soils, waters, plants, and animals, when making ethical decisions. Focus only on terrestrial habitats in our policy and ethical decisions as most waters are international. Realize that the economics is the main driver behind ethical decisions, and base our land use on economic demands.

Enlarge our concept of community to include things such as soils, waters, plants, and animals, when making ethical decisions.

A common theme throughout the mission statements of each NGO that we reviewed in lecture was to focus primarily on ecosystems and wildlife, despite all of the sacrifices that people would need to make to achieve conservation success. True False

False

Black footed ferrets could only be reintroduced once prairie dog populations had been fully eliminated. The prairie dog was an invasive species that competes with ferrets for their primary food resource (vegetation). True False

False

Category I protected areas allow direct exploitation of fish and wildlife via harvest (fishing and hunting). True False

False

Restoration and even Replacement of ecosystems is such an advanced science that we are able to perfectly mimic nature, e.g., when we create a wetland. This means that we are able to convert a wetland in one location to another land use, such as a parking lot, but then perfectly replace it in another location, thus having no net loss. True False

False

The Endangered Species Act makes it illegal to "take" and endangered animal. This "take" is then defined only as the intentional harvest of an individual (i.e., take = hunting for an animal). True False

False

The benefit of economic incentive programs is that all countries are capable of instituting them based on their tax revenue, and we do not need to develop a sustainable funding base for individual programs. True False

False

instrumental / utilitarian

Goods -timber, venison, fish Services -producing O2, pollinators Information -use environment for science - armadillo and leprocy usually anthropocentric

IUNC Category IV:

Habitat management / intervention 1000 elk fed Greys river wildlife habitat managment area (WY)

Which of the following were threats to the red wolf that caused its near extinction and that needed to be addressed both before and/or after its reintroduction? (choose all correct answers as discussed in lecture) Invasive coyotes that hybridize with red wolves Lead poisoning due to lead shot shells used in duck hunting Pollution of their native waterways Overexploitation due to a predator bounty Habitat loss due to conversion Disease in the form of white-nosed syndrome (spread by bats as a vector)

Invasive coyotes that hybridize with red wolves Overexploitation due to a predator bounty Habitat loss due to conversion

IUNC Category VI:

Managed resource protected area -sustainable use -grazing of cattle for Maasai -still has black rhino Ngorongoro Crater Conservation Area (Tanzania)

Design

Multidisciplinary Team: -genetics -ecology -geology -botany -hydrology -others

IUNC Category III:

National Monuments Natural Features & Recreation (smaller scale than parks) -recreation allowed -but not direct exploitation

IUNC Category II:

National park; mainly for ecosystem protection & recreation

______Parks are protected areas that we have established on a map, but we are unable to enforce their protection due to a lack of resources

Paper

IUNC Category V:

Protected landscape / seascape -natural and cultural area of distinct value -migratory bird flyway -batanes protected seascape and landscape (Philippines)

The Civil War Trust is working to restore the Franklin Battlefield in Tennessee to the condition it was in during the Civil War, but not its natural pre-anthropogenic change state

Re-creation

The Pittsburgh Botanic Garden is benefiting from a Federal program to restore abandoned surface mining sites. Restoration will focus on stabilization of terrain and removal of pollutants.

Reclamation

incentive driven conservation

Recognize that most conservation will have to be achieved through conservation in human social space -make wildlife more valuable "alive" than "dead" -can have social or economic incentives -can be negative or positive incentives

First State Pond is a man-made wetland in Delaware that mimics the shape of the State of Delaware and even has 3 islands in the locations of Wilmington, Dover, and Georgetown. Previous to this restoration activity the site was not a wetland.

Replacement

Ducks Unlimited Goals

Restore wetlands to provide the best possible duck habitat

National Park Service Goals

Restore wetlands to provide variety of ecosystem functions (water storage, sediment storage, wildlife habitat, etc.)

Convention on Biological Diversity (1992)

Signatories are required to restore degraded ecosystems and threatened species

IUNC Category Ia:

Strict nature reserves (research) Hakgala Strict Nature Reserve Sri Lanka Cloud Forest Toque Macaque - endemic and endangered

The "dual mandate" faced by managers of National Parks in the United States refers to: The need to manage for both education as well as exploitation. The need to manage for both recreational opportunities as well as for ecosystems The need to manage for both consumptive resource use (hunting and fishing) as well as non-consumptive use (bird watching, camping, etc.) The need to manage for both ecosystems as well as the wildlife within them.

The need to manage for both recreational opportunities as well as for ecosystems

the reintroduction specialist group

To combat the ongoing and massive loss of biodiversity by using re-introductions as a responsible tool

An NGO is a Non-Governmental Organization that can pursue various activities, including wildlife conservation. They are critical at every level of conservation, from local to international. True False

True

Due to our attitudes, values, and beliefs, we tend to favor reintroduction of animals that are charismatic, i.e., wolves, or ferrets. True False

True

Education is a critical component of conservation as it can help form values and ethics at all levels, e.g., K-12, University, and even through the media. True False

True

I value dung beetles for their effectiveness at decomposistion of cattle feces, as it helps limit infestations of various flies which lay eggs on cowpies.

Utilitarian-Service value

Site Assessment

What IS there? What WAS there? What COULD BE there? "Regional Reference"

When developing a recovery plan for an endangered species the government must consider: Whether or not reintroduction will be necessary to recover the species. Any factors that may be limiting populations, e.g., diseases, harvest, etc. Habitat, including manipulation and acquisition Whether it would be more economically viable to allow the species to go extinct

Whether or not reintroduction will be necessary to recover the species. Any factors that may be limiting populations, e.g., diseases, harvest, etc. Habitat, including manipulation and acquisition

IUNC Category Ib:

Wilderness Areas Indian Peaks Wilderness Area Allegheny Islands Wilderness (PA) Clubshell mussel - critically endangered

threatened species

a one "which is likely to become an endangered species within the foreseeable future throughout all or a portion of its range"

cost of restoration

as much as: -$3 per square foot -$130,000 per acre At an ecologically meaningful scale ??? ---A lot of $$

enhancement/augmentation

aims only to add or increase one or a few ecosystem functions, not to return all ecosystem functions to a specified level

anthropocentrism

all environmental responsibility is derived from human centered ethics and done in the interest of human benefit

minimizing conflict

allows for tracking / also can inject immobilizing agent

Zimbabwe Case Study

began in 1880 with Cecil Rhodes with the British South Africa Country lack of food: ppl dont know where their next meal is coming from Banned from hunting wildlife cultural carrying capacity is exceeded

step 1: feasability study

biology of the species? availability of individuals? has vacant niche been filled?

paper parks

by legislation an area is assigned protection, but in reality they receive little, or no, resources for actual implementation. They are protected on paper, but not in reality.

What species are typically targeted for reintroduction?

charismatic vertebrates values, attitudes, beliefs + animals that play large roles in the environment - top predator, ecological engineer, principle herbivores

ecocentrism

environment deserves direct moral consideration not consideration derived from human or animal interest

primary goal of reintroduction

establish a viable, free-ranging population

What will ultimately dictate whether we preserve our wildlife and the ecosystems that support all of us?

ethics, values, attitudes

where do we get out ethics?

family religion friends culture

What is the number one threat to wildlife?

habitat loss

step 3: evaluate stock

health, genetics, fitness -can not jeopardize nor stress the source population -surplus animals -genetic variability

Rehabilitation

improve the habitat from a degraded state

endangered species

is one "which is in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range"

biocentrism

life centered environmental ethics

step 4: determine social, political, and economic conditions at site

long term support? how can we minimize conflicts?

protected areas and regulations not enough:

marginalized populations -live side by side with wildlife -compete for resources economic opportunity -markets make poaching/illegal trade worth the risk

reclamation

often undertaken on lands that were mined. prioritizes the stabilization of the terrain, removal of pollutants, re-vegetation, aesthetic improvement and assurance of public safety

world heritage site

outstanding universal value to all the peoples of the world

an unfortunate side effect:

prime commercial site: lets just restore wetlands elsewhere reality - not 100% restored

principal provisions - section 2: philosophy

purpose of the act: -provide a means for conservation -detail a program -hold federal agencies accountable

step 5: plan/implement reintroduction

release considerations -number of animals per release -number of releases per yer -number of years of releases -timing of releases animal preparation -hard releases -soft releases ---acclimation, behavioral training, inoculations, provisioning, and socialization

re-creation

returns a habitat to a particular historic condition, but not necessarily a native condition (e.g., an historic battlefield)

principal provisions - section 4: determination of endangered species

species may be listed as endangered if threatened by: -"habitat destruction" or "modification" -"disease or predation" -"commercial overutilization" -"inadequacy of existing regulations" -other "natural or man made factors" -provides that "recovery plans shall, to the maximum extent practicable, give priority to those endangered species..."

replacement

specifies a community type to be created on a site, but this community was most likely not present previous to human disturbance

Ramsar Wetlands

the conservation and wise use of all wetlands

conserve

the use of all necessary means to bring any E or T species to the point at which the measures under the act are no longer necessary

section 4: listing process - recovery plan

things to consider -habitat ---habitat manipulation / rehabilitation ---acquisition of habitat -limiting factors -reintroduction ---restoring animals to a former part of their range where they do not currently occur

"take means

to harass, harm pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect or attempt to engage in any such conduct"

Endangered Species Act

to protect fish, wildlife and plants listed as endangered or threatened and identify critical habitat arguably the most biocentric piece of legislation ever enacted by Congress minimize impacts to endangered species, restoration may be required

monitoring and adaptive management

we're done.. how did we do and what needs to be fixed?