Jan 22, 2023
There is a wide acceptance that we have drifted too far away from nature, and that we need to pull closer. Many have called for 30 by 30 - conserving 30% of nature by 2030. The 2022 State of the Birds Report pointed out that more than half of bird species normally found in habitats as diverse as forests, deserts and oceans in the United States are in decline. Climate change is a major factor in those declines, but human development also plays a key role by chewing into wildlife habitat and creating biological islands.
How do we reverse declines in wildlife and in wildlife habitat? Can we prevent Yellowstone, Yosemite, Kings Canyon, Rocky Mountain National Parks, and other large Western landscape parks from turning into biological islands? Today we’re going to explore the problems, and possible solutions, with Elaine Leslie, who was the National Park Service’s Chief for Biological Resources before retiring, and Bart Melton, who leads the National Parks Conservation Association’s Wildlife Program.