Re: NANFA-L-- The Nature Conservancy

dlmcneely-in-lunet.edu
Mon, 09 May 2005 12:42:56 -0500

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm . I don't know all the details of the particular
piece of lnad or the particular plant that you mention. However, I do
know that The Nature Conservancy is very successful-in-ferreting out
specific, threatened tracts of land,and buying them-in-market value or
establishing conservation easements through landowners. They have a
very effective conservation management program operated by excellent
scientists and land managers. In many cases, including several that I
am personally familiar with such as the Devil's River minnow, the Leon
Springs pupfish, Texas Silverbells (a shrub),important populations
would not be preserved without The Nature Conservancy's land ownership.

Does the public always know about the methods or effectiveness in a
particular case? No, but that doesn't mean the method doesn't work.
Other people's maney? Well, they certainly are good-in-getting
donations, and they are also good business people, with an effective
investment program, and a profitable program of buying and selling land
that may not itself directly serve conservation needs. In that case,
the profits support their overall program.

If, in a particular case, their wisdom results in an action that I
don't understand (and I may not know enough TO understand in a
particular case), my hat's still off to them for their work.

Dave
David L. McNeely, Ph.D., Professor of Biology
Langston University; P.O. Box 1500
Langston, OK 73050; email: dlmcneely-in-lunet.edu
telephone: (405) 466-6025; fax: 405) 466-3307
home page http://www.lunet.edu/mcneely/index.htm

"Where are we going?" "I don't know, are we there yet?"

----- Original Message -----
From: Mysteryman <bestfish-in-alaweb.com>
Date: Saturday, May 7, 2005 3:30 pm
Subject: Re: NANFA-L-- The myth of restoration?

> Bruce Stallsmith wrote:
>
> > One obvious example of what needs to be done more often comes
> from the
> > Ivory Billed woodpecker story. They delayed release of the news
> of
> > confirmed sightings so that the Nature Conservancy (and others?)
> could
> > buy land around that area of the White & Cache Rivers in
> Arkansas to
> > preserve habitat. This won't work in every township in Ohio,
> etc.,
> > but it's a key part of any solution.
> >
> That's probably a good thing, but I have some problems with the
> Nature
> Conservancy. It is my theory that this organization is not all it
> claims
> to be. Case in point, a bunch of land it bought in Bibb County,
> AL. Now,
> this area is chock full of threatened and endangered species, so
> it's
> nice that someone would go to the effort to ensure that it was
> protected. HOWEVER, that's all they do. They buy up lots of land,
> usuing
> other people's money, and then they do nothing else but use the
> leftover
> money to raise more money.
> Just what do I mean?
> On that Bibb County land grow the last two specimens of a rather
> spectacular flowering plant once thought extinct. This plant would
> be a
> highly prized specimen for any home garden, and it would sell
> exceptionally well. These two specimens are too far apart to allow
> for
> fetilization, so the species is doomed. Ah, well, no problem, you
> think;
> all the Nature Conservancy has to do is artificially cross-
> pollinate the
> flowers and VIOLA! Not only is the species saved, but the
> organization
> could raise a bundle of bucks by selling seeds once the threat was
> averted.Nope, sorry, that would be too easy and make too much
> sense. Instead,
> the NC has simply closed off the areas near the plants and put up
> a
> little plaque telling the story about how the NC needs more money
> to
> keep other species from becoming extinct like this one. The
> insincere
> scumbags! Instead of saving this perfectly savable species, they
> are
> instead exploiting it for money while also keeping anyone else
> from
> saving it.
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