June 2005

The CSI International Environmental Educator Award has been given to biologist, naturalist, wildlife and nature photographer and writer, and wildlife educational film producer, Beth Davidow. Beth's inspirational work challenges people to make a difference in the world. She strives to educate and inform the people about scientific, environmental, and educational topics that help preserve and protect the planet. Her background as a naturalist, scientist, writer, diver and photographer are well suited to promote, through her pictures, words, and films, conservation issues that positively affect everyone - and everything - on our planet.

You can learn more about Ms. Davidow's work by going to her web page (http://www.conservationinstitute.org/awarddavidow.htm) and more about the CSI International Environmental Educator Award at http://www.conservationinstitute.org/edaward.htm. We welcome nominations for this award at anytime.

Tom Okey and I published a short article in April (see Okey, T.A. and B.A. Wright. 2005. Sufficient fuel taxes would enhance ecologies, economies, and communities. Ecological Economics. Available online 9 March 2005. See at http://authors.elsevier.com/sd/article/S0921800905000480). The paper explains that sufficient fuel tax in the USA, for example $2.00 per gallon (53 cents per liter) rather than the current US average of 43 cents per gallon (11 cents per liter) (federal and state taxes combined), would have numerous likely positive effects resulting simply from incentive effects. People would, for instance, drive less by eliminating frivolous trips; carpool more; purchase fuel-efficient vehicles; use bicycles for many trips; choose to walk; telecommute more; choose to live closer to their workplace; and use public transportation.

A rebuttal to this paper appeared in Ecological Economics in May (see: Psychological effect of taxation and responsibility. A reply to Thomas A. Okey and Bruce A. Wright. Ecological Economics. Issue 3, 15 May 2005, Pages 295-298). The rebuttal is worth reading because the authors' seem to miss the point of humans' dependence on a healthy environment and of the ways that our economic activities affect both the social and the physical environment. Neva Goodwin, a Tufts University ecological economist, addresses this and other important questions at: http://www.grist.org/comments/interactivist/2005/05/16/goodwin/index1.html?source=daily.

The CSI fellows have begun their busy season, summer, when they are in the field and collecting data. Inclusions of CSI Fellows Report will be sporadic during the summer.

Two positions are available with CSI; we need the assistance of a web manager/developer and a replacement membership coordinator. You can learn about these positions at http://www.conservationinstitute.org/jobs.htm.

In many ways, conservation science remains largely an academic endeavor. Researchers design a study, carry it out, and report their findings in academic journals. They share their conclusions at conferences, to the press, and sometimes to Congress or government agencies but often the information does not leave the academic community.

Findings of the scientific community have the potential to positively influence conservation efforts of land managers, individuals and communities all over the world. A recent study published in the Journal Ecological Applications describes a case study in which researchers worked with an indigenous community in Mexico in an attempt to distribute findings to the local land managers in an effort to promote sound conservation and environmental management of their forest resources.

The study did not detail the actual ecological approaches implemented as a result of disseminating scientific knowledge, but rather studied the interactions between the scientists and the local community to see if the flow of information was possible and wanted by both groups.

Carried out by a team of researchers from the National Autonomous University of Mexico, the five-year study took place in central Mexico. After a volcano eruption in the early 1940's a group of indigenous people, who were largely dependent on agriculture, were relocated to an area characterized by pine forests. The community started a community forestry operation. Empowered by the Mexican government to manage their natural resources, the community forestry project employs and trains many people within the community.

The researchers found that the community not only wanted scientific information from academics but that they demanded it. Past “collaborations” with researchers usually involved them coming into the community with a management objective and plan in mind. This research indicates that researchers with a willingness to take into consideration the input of the local community can foster a productive working arrangement with local communities. Academics usually do not seek out such opportunities because they focus primarily on publishable research and working with indigenous people to promote sound environmental management does not often lead to publications. This study, for example, took five years before researchers could publish their results.

The study focused on producing a management plan and enabled both groups to benefit. The community received ecological and environmental training, help initiating a management plan based on ecological science, and involved community members in the forestry initiative. The academic group had the opportunity to design the case study, work with an indigenous community to foster sound environmental management, and publish academic papers.

Indigenous peoples throughout the world represent important ecological managers who need and often want scientific information. This study shows that scientists have the opportunity, if they are willing to take it, to disseminate scientific information to communities in an effort to promote sound conservation management of resources.

The 1970's saw a wave of environmental legislation pass through the United States government. Many of those laws have had lasting impacts and some have generated a virtually constant state of controversy. Perhaps the most controversial of all was signed into law by President Nixon in 1973.

The Endangered Species Act represents one of the most important conservation tools land managers have to protect species. However, critics point to the fact that only a handful of species have recovered to the point where protections are no longer needed as evidence that the law does not work. Proponents counter that species take a long time to recover and many listed species do not receive the help they need after they are formally protected under the act and that it provides the last line of defense for many of the most imperiled species in this country.

The ESA has certainly generated a lot of controversy and strongly held beliefs, but does it protect and help to recover endangered species? Over thirty years after the passage of the act, a team of researchers set to answer that question. Using reports from the US Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service put out every two years that identify species as improving, stable or declining, the researchers used statistical analysis on this trend data to determine the effectiveness of the act.

The researchers found that the ESA does help to recover threatened and endangered species. In particular, they found that the longer a species has had protection under the act, the more likely they are to show positive population trends. Species were shown to be twice as likely of recovering with each passing decade.

A particularly controversial measure in the ESA has to do with setting aside of critical habitat. Not all listed species have critical habitat set asides but those that do for two or more years were more likely to be improving than those species without. The research indicated that critical habitat leads to improved population numbers regardless of how long a species had been listed.

The ESA also stipulates the creation of recovery plans for all listed species, but not all of them have one. Not surprisingly, the research indicated that those species with recovery plans for two or more years were more likely to improve than those without. In addition, single species recovery plans were more likely to improve species compared to recovery plans that included multiple species.

Charismatic megafauna, like grizzly bears, wolves, or bald eagles, garner much of the attention but the ESA was designed to protect any species on the brink of extinction. This study showed that plants seem to fare better than animals in recovery under the act. Many factors may contribute to this, including the relative ease of managing and recovering an immobile plant as opposed to mobile animals, but does show that the ESA effectively helps many species and not just the most recognizable ones.

The findings of this study indicate that the ESA does play a major role in the recovery of endangered species. The researchers argue that the evidence of the study suggests that species on the decline should be listed under the act as soon as possible. Perhaps the most important factor in the recovery of the species is the designation of critical habitat. Also, species clearly benefit from single species recovery plans. Implementing these three directives could dramatically impact the fate of the species listed under the ESA and help to promote biodiversity protection.

Nearly 50 years ago the state of California created its first Marine Protected Area (MPA) near San Diego. The state currently has over 100 MPA's up and down the coast. But they were largely created individually, in shallow waters, without a coordinated effort to maximize conservation benefits. Researchers have initiated a plan to remedy this shortcoming, by creating an integrated system of reserves.

The California coast, over 1800 kilometers long, harbors an array of species, nutrient rich ecosystems, and a highly productive fishery. However, the fishery is on the decline and the system has produced a number of endangered species. The Marine Life Protection Act, passed in the California legislature in the late 1990's, requires the creation of an MPA network with the recognition that an integrated network of MPA's will have a higher likelihood of meeting conservation objectives than those in isolation.

The placement of the reserves will break from traditional approaches. It will emphasize placing MPA's in such a way that considers species dispersal and migration patterns. It will protect both shallow and deep waters, which will help to protect those species that use shallow waters in the early stages of life but move to deeper waters later in the development process.

As opposed to most MPA's, this plan will design them based on lines of longitude and latitude in an effort to make the boundaries more obvious and to promote and enhance enforcement of the management rules. The ultimate goal of MPA's is to protect ecosystems from over use and degradation and to increase population numbers of marine species. Proponents of this plan are optimistic that ecosystem health and overall fish stocks will increase with minimal impact on commercial and sport fisheries. Others, however, remain skeptical.

No one can predict the ultimate outcome of enacting this integrated system of MPA's but it holds the potential of having important conservation impacts. This plan could prove revolutionary in marine ecosystem management and many will be watched anxiously as it unfolds.