Conservation Biology​​​ in the Boreal
HOW DOES NEWFOUNDLAND and LABRADOR COMPARE??​
The United States was responsible for establishing the concept of National Parks, and created and introduced Yellowstone National Park to the world in 1872. Because the US has such a diverse range of landscapes, habitats, and species it is very important to have conservation management in place for the protected terrestrial areas in the country. The United States has 1,383,174 km^2 of its area classified as a terrestrial protected area which equates to 14.8% of the entire country’s area (11).
USA's Terrestrial Protected Areas
What is Protecting The United States?
Because the country has many fertile habitats (possibly the most fertile on earth) there is a massive abundance of wildlife that flourishes here. Species range from polar bears to bald eagles, and have thousands of fish species as well. With such a big biodiversity conservation programs become particularly important, some organizations include:
In 2008, WCSs work in Wyoming led to the first federally protected migration corridor known as the Path of the Pronghorn. The Pronghorn is the fastest land mammal found in North America moving up to 65 mph. They like to travel in herds, and are known to cross roads in their migration routes. Due to fragmentation of the land, this poses as a great threat to the species. As a way to try to avoid this, WCS built them their own overpass that goes over the road so they can safely migrate (20). The Path of the Pronghorn lasts 100 miles from Grand Teton National Park to the Upper Green River Basin in Wyoming. Because the Pronghorn Antelope depend on migration in the winter for survival their lives were becoming harder and harder to protect without the overpass. This new migration route has proved to be successful as conservationists were first afraid they would not use it, but once the pronghorn came in contact with it, they knew exactly what to do (28).
United States Example
Path of the Pronghorn
The Wildlife Conservation Society was created in 1895, and since then has founded many projects to protect conservation in the United States. The organization has supported many studies that include the protection of many different species – a main species being the bighorn sheep. It also helped create more than 30 parks and reserves in the country. It aims to assist in providing biological expertise to local groups/communities, and conservation groups that would not be able to do it on their own. They also help by supporting field studies that retrieve information for wildlife needs. Most importantly, WCS helps increase the capacity to conserve and manage biodiversity throughout the lands (27).
This organization works among all 50 states in the US, and also all around the world. However, it is the principle conservation society in the country. It aims to work not only with the public, but also with private partners as this is the best way to ensure the country is conserved for the future. The Nature Conservancy protects all types of habitats by protecting, restoring, and managing forests, it also deals with threats to conservation (ie: climate change), and lastly it aims to prevent the spread of invasive species (26).
The Path of the Pronghorn
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