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Restoring forests, grasslands, lakes and rivers benefits more than just wildlife. An unhealthy planet leads to unhealthy people. Through human advancement and development, we have degraded many of our natural landscapes, straining water resources and accelerating climate change. But we can change—and protect the natural resources we all rely on every day.
What The Nature Conservancy is Doing.
From the farthest reaches of the globe to right in your own backyard, The Nature Conservancy is leading the fight to protect nature and by so doing, helping to preserve life as we know it today.
In Illinois, because so little ‘wilderness’ remains in the state’s largest urban center, Chicago, its forests, lakes, rivers and grasslands may be at equal risk as the tropical rainforests of South America. Stretching from southeastern Wisconsin to southwestern Michigan and encompassing more than 225,000 acres, the Conservancy one of the founders of Chicago Wilderness, a coalition of more than 200 organizations that together protect the natural prairies, forests, streams and wetlands that survive amid some of the Midwest’s most highly developed landscape.
Development is the biggest challenge to these natural areas. As the Chicagoland population is expected to rise by 1.5 million people by 2020, there will be an increasing demand for housing and transportation. Yet without careful planning, important natural landscapes may be damaged or destroyed. As the region prepares for expected population growth, the coalition works to ensure that development is conducted with natural habitats in mind. Through education and outreach programs, Chicago Wilderness works with area builders and businesses to promote protection of our natural lands and its benefits for people, nature and the economy. Check out Chicago Wilderness for more information.
The Conservancy’s work in Illinois is evocative of activity spearheaded by Conservancy scientists and staff throughout the United States. For instance, in western states such as North Dakota and South Dakota, Montana and Wyoming, the Conservancy is working with ranchers to combat leafy spurge, an invasive plant that overtakes prime livestock pasture, chokes out native grasses and resists conventional elimination efforts. Through an innovative project, the Conservancy and its partners release flea beetles to feed on leafy spurge, ranchers have been able to better control their losses, which in these states, according to the Department of Agriculture, total more than $144 million annually due to this single plant species.
And the Conservancy’s work extends further across the world in efforts that seek to solve the poverty and conservation equation. In countless poor, rural communities around the world, people get much of their daily needs directly from nature. Dubbed “ecosystem services” by scientists, nature provides wood from the forest for cooking fuel, drinking water from streams and other basic needs from natural surroundings. Losing any of these basic services threatens the survival of these communities.
Just as degrading ecosystem services can disrupt lives, conserving, stewarding and restoring these services helps sustain people and preserve their quality of life. Because the goals of conservation and improving human health are deeply entwined, the Conservancy and its partners are working with communities to preserve ecosystem services and help communities manage their natural resources sustainably, ensuring the future of their livelihoods and well-being.
Action starts when people talk.
In the midst of so many dire messages about our environment, there are still many actions we can take. First, start a conversation about the issue with friends, family and colleagues. Take a look at our Conversation Starters for relevant and compelling facts.
And, learn more about our work by visiting related projects on the Conservancy’s web site, nature.org.
