Diminishing Wilderness Most People Are

Diminishing Wilderness Most people are aware that as human beings encroach on previously wild area, this new use of old land can have negative effects on the environment. No person takes joy in seeing an animal, even one considered obscure, go extinct, but at the same time, people need some place to live, and people like to live in beautiful surroundings. That human tendency often puts human desire and the needs of individual species in conflict. The area in which a plant or animal lives is called its habitat.

An animal's habitat suits that animal's needs for food, shelter, and reproduction. In return, the animal contributes to the maintenance in various ways. A bird might eat a specific berry, and the seeds, contained in the birds droppings, have a fertilizer-enriched dot of land in which to germinate. Thus a habitat can be defined as "an ecosystem, [or] a community of organisms functioning as a unit in nature" (Editor, PAGE). The main reason for most endangered species is habitat destruction.

While some animals are resilient enough to cope with major habitat destruction, others cannot, in particular those animals who have evolved to live in very specific types of habitat. There are numerous examples of habitat destruction and its effects on wildlife. For instance, the Richmond birdwing butterfly is a beautiful butterfly found in subtropical rainforests in Australis (Pyper, PAGE). This butterfly feeds almost exclusively on one plant -- the Richmond birdwing vine. As habitat shrank, a second problem developed: a vine called Dutchman's pipe pushed out the Rhichmond birdwing vine.

The butterflies laid their eggs on the Dutchman pipe, which made a good environment for the eggs but was poisonous to the caterpillars (Pyper, PAGE). The result was that the butterfly lost nearly 70% of its habitat, and a further decline because of the intruding vine, which was not native to the area. The example of this butterfly shows that it is not always obvious what interferes with a specie's survival, and not always obvious what needs to be done to support its continuance.

Not always obvious what features in an environment help support the species. Another example is The red-cockaded woodpecker. This southeastern United States bird lives in Southern pines. The sap that oozes from the trees as the bird drills under the bark oozes out and prevents snakes from eating its young (Nickens, PAGE). Birds seem to be animals easily affected by habitat change: the least tern used to be very common in much of the United States before 1880, when hunters nearly pushed them to extinction (Gerhardt, PAGE).

They live in river basins, dive into the water to catch small fish, and nest in open sandy shorelines. They stay away from vegetation where predators might lie in wait. Water programs to create dams, recreational areas and irrigation have made much of their former habitats unsuitable for them (Gerhardt, PAGE). One animal that has been brought back from the edge of extinction and studied extensively is Australia's mountain pyygmy-possum. The pygmy-possum is an unusual marsupial because it lives in mountains and hibernates.

It was thought to be extinct until well into the 20th century, when one was found living near a ski hut (Thwaites, PAGE). Since then, ecologists found several populations, but with only about 1,800 females old enough to reproduce. The females live away from the males, who must travel up the mountain to them in order to reproduce (Thwaites, PAGE).

The ecological problem for the pygmy-possum was that the mountain the females live on became a popular ski resort area, with a road cutting across the path the males had to take to get to the females (Thwaites, PAGE). Ecologists solved the problem by constructing a corridor -- a man-made, rocky tunnel under the road, for the males to use to get to the females. This "corridor" approach worked. The males used the tunnels, and the population immediately began to rise (Thwaites, PAGE).

A corridor of habitat animals can use to pass through developed areas is one way to help species survive. However, not all biologists agree that building or preserving corridors is the best way to proceed, because it still allows much of the animal's habitat to be diverted for human use (Thwaites, PAGE). They suggest that corridors are an expensive solution, but often those biologists prefer to see less land diversion. Another solution is voluntary conservation efforts, called "Habitat Conservation Plans" (HCPs).

Since these are voluntary, however, they vary greatly in quality and effectiveness. In addition, they allow considerable habitat destruction, and they do not always fully address the long-term survival needs of the endangered animals (Kostyack, PAGE). Naturalists have noted that the number of HCPs established in areas of development often do not reflect the level of threat faced by endangered species in the area (Kostyack, PAGE).

Critics of how HCPs are currently used believe the government should work harder to require landowners to protect endangered species living on their land (Kostyack, PAGE). Another approach is to act to enforce The Endangered Species Act (ESA). However, that law can be difficult to enforce on the local level and on a day-to-day basis. For instance, there is often a "take" restriction for those who hunt and fish, but those rules are hard to enforce.

The red cockaded woodpecker, once common throughout the south, has been on the endangered species list since the EAS was first passed in 1973. This bird needs old-growth pine groves, so they can find trees with dead centers where they can carve out holes to nest in. As the population in the south has grown, this woodpecker's habitats have continued to erode (Nickens, PAGE). It takes each bird several years to dig its nest. In addition these birds live in what amount to family clans, in close proximity to each other.

Adults other than the breeding parents help incubate the eggs, dig new homes, and defend the clan's territory, which has to be a cluster of old-growth pines. As old growth trees are cut down to make way for development, the red cockaded woodpecker has less and less habitat (Nickens, PAGE). Sometimes solutions are simpler than might be imagined. In the case of Australis'a Richmond birdwing butterfly, the solution was as simple as replanting the birdwing vine on private property. The first year, the team working to.