Support Climate Preserves on World Wildlife Day
Habitat Degradation and Uncontrolled Climate Change Fuel Wildlife Loss Around the World: Climate Preserves Can Slow the Destruction
Today is World Wildlife Day, a United Nations International day to celebrate all the world’s wild animals and plants and the contribution that they make to our lives and our planet.
Wildlife, both plants and animals, help keep the planet’s natural systems in balance. They are a barometer of our planet’s overall health. And, around the world, populations of fauna and flora are declining at alarming rates.
Here in the Illinois heartland of the United States, a movement is taking shape: we need a network of National Climate Preserves attached to our National Park system. These places would preserve critical forest and grassland habitat, helping to capture carbon dioxide and replenish oxygen while allowing sustainable recreational and commercial activities, excluding logging and mineral extraction.
High Knob at Shawnee National Forest in Southern Illinois.
This pristine forest could become part of the nation’s first National Climate Preserve.
National Preserves are areas often associated with national parks. Public hunting, trapping, fishing, backcountry camping, and other traditional uses are permitted. A National Climate Preserve is a new concept, preserving areas where forests grow as intact ecosystems, free from CO2-releasing resource extraction. This “proforestation” approach encourages carbon sequestration, thereby reducing climate change while providing recreational opportunities.
Click here for more information on National Climate Preserves and how to help establish a national network of these critical habitats. Donate what you can to help PDA’s efforts to establish National Climate Preserves and reverse destruction human-made climate change.
Thanks so much for anything you can do.
In solidarity,
Debra Schrishuhn for the PDA National Team
I support everything that can be done to save our environment and nature. I also cannot imagine our world without plants and animals. And and I believe that we should do everything possible since if we don’t we will pay the consequences.
Mildred