We believe education and acknowledgement are crucial to conservation. This blog is one of the ways we are contributing.
There are interesting animals all around us, let’s learn about one.
This week’s blog will be a little different. Before we dive into the critters we want to discuss conservation overall. What is it? What is it important? Why do we even care?
According to the dictionary conservation is the prevention of wasteful use of a resource. When it comes to Animals of Appalachia conservation is maintaining animal populations and their habitats through acknowledgement and education as well as hands on efforts in our local community.
While restoration is an important step in real conservation the two are not interchangeable. Conservation, as we define it, is maintaining the population and habitat of an animal. When it comes to restoration we define it as actively increasing the wild population through conservation projects. This can be either through breeding programs or habitat reclamation.
History and Environment:
The history of conservation is quite interesting. The first instance of conservationism was in 1662 when a man named John Evelyn wrote a book talking about how the kingdom was cutting down too many trees and it was hurting the environment. He then proposed preserving what forest was left and even going as far as planting new trees. But conservation as a movement didn’t really begin until the early 18th century when Prussia and other European countries realized that coal was a finite resource and started making moves to slow down the usage and mining of the coal. Moving towards the 19th century we start to see the preservation of forest and waterways as populations grew and governments realized there was only so much to go around. As Agricultural and Forestry departments were formed a new problem grew. Conservation vs Preservation… some believed that we should aid the environment while others believed we should not touch the land and leave it exactly as it is whether it’s damaged or not. This debate came to an end during the Progressive Era (1890-1920) when President Teddy Roosevelt established the U.S. Forestry Service and Established 5 national parks. With conservation finally taking the lead we have seen the affects of it ever since as thousands of organizations have produced thousands more conservation projects. Despite the focus on the environment in recent years there has been a shift over to animal conservation as well.
Current Status:
One of the big things that makes conservation so important is the protection of a keystone species. Keystone Species are essential to the environments they inhabit and without them many more species would die out. Take the desert tortoises for example, they dig huge burrows that provide them protection from the heat. These burrows also provide protection for many other desert species such as the burrowing owl, bearded dragon, and kangaroo rat. Without the efforts of conservationist not only would these magnificent tortoises go extinct but so would all the species that rely on the desert tortoises burrows.
Protecting endangered species and breeding programs are great, but if we do not protect and restore their habitat our efforts will fall short. We can match their natural habitat pretty well in captivity, but there is no replacement for the outdoors. Construction and land development affects more than just the land that is being developed. We can see this in the draining of highland bogs in the Appalachian Highlands, affecting bog turtles and many other plant and animal species. These indirect affects of land development are not necessarily anyone’s fault, but looking beyond our surroundings and learning about the unseen affects of our actions can go a long way toward conservation. As a quick example simply preparing land for building by improving the drainage can cause a change in the water table for miles. We are not advocating against land development, simply awareness.
Above all else conservation is the right thing to do. After all it’s not the environment’s or the critter’s fault that they are struggling. They’re trying their best to survive and humanity, as a whole, has made that a difficult task. We owe it to them to try and correct our mistakes and help them thrive once more.
And Then Humans:
Much, if not all, of the disappearing habitats and the animals that live within them can be directly related to human activity. Thankfully we now understand that and are working more with nature instead of trying to “conquer” nature.
WE are the cause and WE are the solution. If we as humans don’t step up and acknowledge our contribution to the decimation of our world and its animals then nothing will ever change.
We all have a part to play and it does’t have to be a huge “world changing” thing that we do. If we all picked up trash as we walked along… or everyone gave one dollar to organizations actively helping endangered species… or if we all were aware of the critters surrounding us everyday the world would be a different place. We CAN all do something even if it is just acknowledging that something needs to change.
Oops! I Can Fix That!
We know that humans are the cause and that we need to be the solution, but are we?
Thankfully, yes! Many organizations are directly affecting and undoing what we, as humans, have caused. One such organization is the Nature Conservancy. A project that have been working on that could directly benefit our area in Southern Appalachia is their Bog Turtle Project.Bog Turtles are critically endangered due mostly to habitat loss or fragmentation and forest succession. The cause of all of these can be directly linked to land development. Bog turtles live in a very rare habitat called mountain bogs. There were once 5000 bogs across the range of the bog turtles, now there are 500 or less. It is estimated that there is between 2500 and 10000 turtles left. You might ask, why do we care?Bog turtles are a keystone species in their environment. While they may only be 4.5 inches at the largest they are really good at pest insect control. They are North America’s smallest turtle and live in one of the rarest habitats in their environment, but they have a significant impact on more than just their habitat. Bog turtles are also threatened by diminished water quality, mortality on roadways, growing predator populations, such as raccoons, and unscrupulous reptile collectors. This same threats are destroying the mountain bogs as well.If we loose mountain bogs we also loose green pitcher plants, mountain pitcher plants, swamp pinks, and bunched arrowheads. These plants are found in the habitat of bog turtles. Mountain bogs are also key habitats for migratory birds such as woodcocks, grouse, turkeys, and wood ducks. Many salamanders are also found in mountain bogs. Mountain bogs help to regulate water flow. They soak up excess water preventing flooding and release water into streams during times of less rain. This helps maintain the water table throughout all seasons. Without this water regulation other habitats could also begin to disappear.So what is being done? The Nature Conservancy has been working in MA and PA since the 1980s. In 1989 they acquired land near South Mountain. In this area they manage burns, cut trees, and have introduced cattle and goat grazing to maintain the proper environment and habitat for bog turtles. They have also used radio telemetry to find turtles their hibernation locations, travel patterns, and habitat use. In western MA they operate from April to November tracking and tagging bog turtles. In 2020 they found 53 turtles, 8 of which have been in the area since the project began in the 1980s making them over 40 years old. In addition they also found 8 new turtles. Progress is being made with the bog turtles but there is a long way to go. Much more can be done for the southern population of the bog turtles. Hopefully in the near future more can be done to prevent the loss of more of the bog turtle’s home.
It’s awesome that we’re making progress with the bog turtle! But I’d like talk about a more foreign critter for a moment. Rhinos, everyone knows Rhinos are under a huge threat with 4/5 species being threatened with extinction and 3/4 being critically endangered. It gets even worse when you look at the population count and see that 2/3 critically endangered Rhino species have less than 100 members left. Now as dark as their story is I’m glad we decided to cover it because it really shows how serious people are about conservation as well as showing how quickly things can go wrong if we don’t focus on conserving the environment and those that live in it. At the beginning of the 19th century there were 500,000 rhinos in the world, by 1970 there were only 70,000. Now there are only 26,000 rhinos left in the world and the number decreases every day. The primary reason for this drastic decline is poaching, however political negligence and environmental breakup also contribute. It is estimated that 1,000 rhinos a year are being poached despite the efforts put forward by the many groups surrounding rhino conservation. Now you may be asking why so many are able to be Poached and that is because some of the countries that house these rhinos aren’t properly enforcing their laws or honoring the international treaties they have signed which allows these poachers to get away with poaching. That’s enough of the bad, let’s talk about the good. As of September of 2023 the populations of the White, Black, and Great one Horned rhino are increasing while the Javan rhino is holding stable. While the numbers still aren’t great we most certainly are heading in the right direction.
From Africa back to much closer to home. When is the last time you saw an elk in Tennessee?
Well, for most us the answer is never… unless you were alive in the mid-1800s. That is when the last recorded, native, elk was killed in Tennessee. That species is extinct thanks to over hunting, but in the 1980s a few southern states decided we had been without elk for too long. In 1997 the TWRA, Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency, tried to introduce elk back into west Tennessee around Land Between Lakes. They were met with so much agriculture resistance that they could not continue the program. This is the sad state of our world.Not to worry the TWRA was not deterred from getting elk back in Tennessee. In 2000 they tried once again, this time on the North Cumberland Plateau. They chose this area because it was close to Kentucky’s elk restoration zone and fewer agricultural centers. The plan was to introduce 400 elk and hopefully grow to 1400 to 2000 animals. From 2000 to 2002 they released 136 animals sourced from Elk Island National Park in Alberta Canada. In 2003 the brought in 31 more elk from a captive herd in Land Between Lakes, the home of the failed reintroduction in 1997. In 2008 34 more animals were added from Land Between Lakes bringing the total to 201 introduced elk. In 2009 the first elk season in Tennessee began. 5 permits were drawn allowing 15 hunters to participate. Elk hunters take 10-15% of the population each year. This helps to maintain a healthy population. Elk in Tennessee now range over 1047 square miles or 670,000 acres. Nearly 30% of that land is public land. Over the last 20 years 7 southeastern states have reintroduced elk with a range of 8 million acres. While these may not be the same subspecies of elk that once roamed our land it is good to see elk roaming freely around the southeast again. This shows that it is possible to successfully reintroduce once extinct or nearly extinct animals.
On the flip side of a successful reintroduction are the red wolves of Tennessee. Before I dive into this one I will say this may cause some controversy amongst residence of the Appalachian Highlands. I will do my best to cover all view points. Officially there are no wolves int he wild in Tennessee. Historically there were never any grey wolves in Tennessee. That being said I grew up in the Appalachian Mountains in East Tennessee and heard stories of wolves my entire life. Some of my family have told me stories of seeing grey wolves and of course red wolves. Before you dismiss these stories of misidentification or simply made up, these were very reputable and knowledgeable people. However, I will not say they couldn’t be wrong. Since officially there were not grey wolves I don’t think they will ever be introduced and there hasn’t been any effort to introduce grey wolves into Tennessee. Red wolves on the other hand were here until European settlers made it to this area. The TWRA tried reintroducing the red wolf back into the Great Smoky Mountain National Park in 1991. The effort failed and the project was ended in 1998. The project failed due to low pup survival rates and failure of the wolves to establish a home range. In 1991 37 wolves were introduced. In the following years 26 died or were recaptured on private land outside of the approved range. The remains 11 were recaptured and relocated.The red wolf is the most endangered canid in the world. In 1980 they officially went extinct in the wild. There is however a breeding captive population. Thanks to this captive population in 1987 a wild population was reestablished in North Carolina. As of today there are 13 known and tagged individuals. It is estimated that there are 23-25 red wolves roaming freely in the wild. There are 269 animals in captivity. While there is hope for these wolves it is sad that so few exist.
It’s quite sad to see how humans have directly had an impact on animals and their environments. But why don’t we jump ship here and see how humans have indirectly affected animals and their environments By talking about some invasive species.
We will start off here. African clawed Frogs are the most invasive frog we have here in the United States. With it ranging from Southern Florida all the way to Wisconsin they have been a detriment to our waters. First brought to the U.S in the 1940’s for pregnancy testing the African Clawed Frog began its invasion in the 1960’s when they were intentionally released in Florida and Arizona to help control other invasive populations. Before the end of the 1960’s they were found throughout California as well as in Wisconsin in 1972. By the 1990’s they were being found in ponds a lakes in North Carolina, Virginia, and Massachusetts as well as a single frog being found in a frozen beaver pond in Colorado. The reason they are able to spread so far and so quickly is because they have very little water preference. They will live in any body of water they can make it to. This not only causes issues for the environment as they take up space and food from our native critters as well as eating said critters. But it also poses issues for humans as migratory groups off the frogs wind up stuck in irrigation pipes and in peoples houses in times of flooding. Just as a side note i would like to add these frogs are completely aquatic and only come on land to move a a different body of water which would explain the insane migration of the frogs across the country. It is unknown how far the African Clawed frog has spread but has been confirmed in 10 states and it has been said if given the time they will establish themselves in every state.
While we’re on the topic of invasive Herps let’s talk about the python situation going on in the south. I’m sure most of you have at least heard of the python issue in South Florida but maybe haven’t realized just how bad it is. The python invasion spreads west from Florida to Texas and goes as far North as Southern Georgia. That may not seem like a huge area but when you take a look at where these pythons started they have managed to spread quite the distance. The first Burmese python was discovered in Florida in 1979, so in the span of 44 years they have spread thousands of miles. Now just like the African Clawed Frog these pythons were released into the wild, however it was the pet trade just getting rid of inventory rather than a sincere effort to curb other invasive species. The threat pythons pose to the environment is essentially the same as most invasive species where they are taking space from native wildlife as well as eating native wildlife. Burmese pythons hunt large game and can eat animals such as Dogs, cats, and even deer on occasion. Despite their large appetite they pose no threat to humans as there have been no recorded deaths by a python in the U.S.
Another invasive species that even though it wasn’t released into the invaded area I believe humans are the cause of its invasion. The bull shark! I think we all know bull sharks can live in fresh and salt water and perhaps you have even heard stories about bull sharks in the Mississippi River. Perhaps you thought they were false, but it is true. They are also beyond the river. They have officially been spotted up to 1000 miles up the mighty Mississippi. Locks and lifts do not seem to be a hindrance of there travel. The first reported sighting of a bull shark in the Great Lakes was in 1937. in 2015 and 2019 sharks were seen in the Tennessee River. The question is why? Why are they swimming further up river? Bull shark juveniles use rivers for safety and to feed on smaller fish. There are some theories as to why larger sharks are moving up river. The most common reason I found was they are searching for cooler waters. This is thought to be because of climate change and the ocean’s waters heating up. Other reasons could be due to human activity near their natural habitats or food shortages due to over fishing or pollution in their home waters. Bull sharks are being seen more often in lakes near large rivers like Lake Ponchatrain in LA. They have also been spotted as far as 2500 miles up the Amazon River. It was thought there was a limit to how long larger bull sharks could stay in fresh water, but with the recent sights I think this has to be reevaluated. Our impact on animals can change not only their environment but also their behavior causing them to invade environments that they are not made for, changing those environments and in turn changing behaviors of the native critters. The cycle continues unless WE break it.
Sum It Up Buttercup
We said it in the beginning but I’ll say it again, conservation is everybody’s responsibility. We can all do something to help. You don’t need a doctorate in zoology or biology to see our affects on our environment. Small changes can change big things.
We are not saying everyone should stop using plastic or that land development has to end. Awareness and acknowledgement that critters are living where we want to live and that they are important too will go a long way.