All Good Green Gifts (yes, that’s a Godspell reference, musical theater fans!)

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Looking out at the environmental landscape, I’ve seen a few biodiversity headlines for which I’m very grateful!

1. Mountain Gorilla Population Increase – World Wildlife Fund reports that the mountain gorilla population has increased by nearly 100 individuals in the past two years!
2. Illegal Logging Decreased in Monarch Wintering Grounds – In August Earth Week reported that, due to increased patrols, aerial patrols showed no loss of forest in the Michoacan butterfly sanctuary this year.  This is the first time it’s happened since the sanctuary was established in 2000!
3. Red-Cockaded Woodpecker Population Increase – From 1993 to 2006, active clusters have increased from around 4,000 to over 6,000!
4. Blue Crab Rebound in the Chesapeake Bay – After a record low crab population count in 2007, the Chesapeake Bay program reported, “Winter estimates place the adult female blue crab population at 97 million, based on a dredge survey taken at almost 1,500 sites throughout the Bay. The survey also measured more juveniles than have been counted in the past two decades.” (Chesapeake Bay Program 2012)
5. America’s Largest Marine Sanctuary is Now Even Bigger!  In October, NOAA finalized the expansion of the Fagatele Bay National Marine Sanctuary in American Samoa.  Now called the National Marine Sanctuary of American Samoa, the protected area is as large as the state of Maryland!

 

Sources:

Chesapeake Bay Program.  2012.  “Chesapeake Bay News, Six Things the Chesapeake Bay is Thankful For.”  Web.  Accessed 11/20/2012.  http://www.chesapeakebay.net/blog/post/6_things_the_bay_watershed_is_thankful_for_in_2012

Discovery Communications.  2012.  “Biggest U.S. Marine Sanctuary Expands:  Big Pics.”  Web.  Accessed 11/20/2012.  http://news.discovery.com/earth/us-largest-marine-sanctuary-121120.html

Earth Environmental Service.  2012.  “EarthWeek, Diary of a Planet.”  Web.  Accessed 11/20/2012.  http://www.earthweek.com/2012/ew120824/ew120824f.html

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.  2012.  Red-cockaded woodpecker recovery website. Accessed 10/19/2012.  http://www.fws.gov/rcwrecovery/. 

World Wildlife Fund. 2012. Mountain Gorilla website. Accessed 11/19/2012.  http://worldwildlife.org/species/mountain-gorilla