Clearly Copenhagen for wildlife
This week and last, the world's leaders and representatives have been meeting in Copenhagen on climate change. Curbing climate change is vital not only to millions of people but to thousands of species of wildlife, from grizzly bears to mountain caribou.
Wolverine tracks. Wolverines den in high-elevation snow banks. Photo by Mark Skatrud
This week and last, the world's leaders and representatives have been meeting in Copenhagen on climate change. By any measure, the outcome will be important. Curbing climate change is vital not only to millions of people but to thousands of species of wildlife, from grizzly bears to mountain caribou.
Luckily, what's good for wildlife, is good for people, too.
Protecting and connecting wild places creates a safety net for all of us, far into the future. Wild ecosystems clean the air and water, supply sustainable materials, are the source of healthy rivers, and can store carbon to buffer the effects of climate change as we work to reduce our emissions. They also provide a haven from the increasingly hectic world, unique opportunities to see spectacular wildlife, and a natural legacy for those very same grandchildren.
Land conservation is even more critical in a time of changing climate. Conservation Northwest concentrates on some of the most promising strategies to help wildlife in the greater Northwest weather the storm of climate change. In the greater Northwest we're working to:
- Stop habitat fragmentation
- Provide connectivity across landscapes
- Maintain intact ecosystems
- Identify and protect refugia for wildlife
"The best way to provide connectivity at a regional scale is to maintain intact networks of protected lands, for example along the length of the Cascades (at all elevations), from the Olympics to the Cascades, and from the Cascades to the Rockies and northward—just the kind of strategy that Conservation Northwest and other enlightened conservation groups have been pursuing for years." —Reed Noss
How can we help wildlife adapt to climate change while also devising habitat conservation strategies to mitigate climate change? What types of land use practices can simultaneously give wildlife more freedom to roam while boosting carbon storage capacity, e.g., conserving old-growth forests? Take a walk on the (positive) wild side and see what we are doing for wildlife, with Conservation Northwest's Joe Scott on page 12 of the Dec 2009 Conservation Northwest newsletter.
