During our field trip to Corkscrew Sanctuary, I encountered five different ecosystems including Cypress swamps, oak hammocks, pine flat woods, ponds, and the wet prairies. Cypress swamps are perfect for Florida because of their ability to endure long periods of water submersion. However, they are also designed to sustain themselves in dry periods. The bald cypress which is prevalent in this areas thrives in these conditions. In this kind of ecosystem, alligators are usually present as well as birds who are seeking shelter from the sun. Secondly there's the oak hammocks which are mildly fire resistant. Animals who like the oak hammocks include tortoises, turtles, snakes and hawks. The pine flat woods is characterized by its large population of slash pine, saw palmetto and sabal palms. This area is also conducive to regular burning which is used as a form of maintenance for this type of ecosystem. While volunteering at the Naples Preserve, we worked to clean out their pine flat woods. It really needed to be burned but because it had went so long without a burn, it needed a human hand to aid first. Ponds, like any water source, play a significant role in any ecosystem. It's amazing though that that a water source can aid other ecosystems as well as be one in its own right. Ponds are homes to many different kinds of frogs, snakes, water lettuce. It also provides water for alligators, birds and other species. Wet prairies are usually in flatter areas, and can be flooded up to fifty percent of the year. It attracts wildlife from other areas and is usually covered in shrubs. It is a great area to grow sugar cane.
The coolest thing about Corkscrew was the living machine. I enjoyed the animals and stuff too but I loved the ingenuity of the living machine. Basically the living machine is a septic tank that filters through plants and makes water reusable as non-potable water.
Aldo Leopold defines conservation as “a state
of harmony between men and land.” (Leopold, 1949) Conservation
defined by dictionary.com is “ The act of conserving, prevention of injury,
decay, waste, or loss; preservation. Official supervision of rivers, forests,
and other natural resources in order to preserve and protect them through
prudent management.” Stewardship
is defined by dictionary.com as “the position and duties of a steward , a
person who acts as the surrogate of another or others, especially by managing
property, financial affairs, real estate, etc.”
The role of non-profits in conservation and stewardship is huge. It is my opinion, that most non-profits are in a way special interest groups. These are groups that have a specific set of goals that they are set to accomplish. These groups have a a high effective rate because their goals are usually few but they are specific. It is because of this that they can be effective. I think that Corkscrew is a great example of a group with few but specific goals in mind. They have taken the time to set up a beautiful campus with an important message. These people affect change because they're effective in raising funds and lobbying in congress. They are critical in making laws and influencing public opinion. Special interest groups are good at giving the people a voice or at least making people feel like they have a voice. This also gives them weight when they are trying to persuade a politician to vote a certain way. If a special interest group has a large number of members, this can be used in their favor when trying to voice their opinion.
The motivation to preserve this particular piece of land started with pluming. Poachers would hunt egrets for their white plumes which appear during mating season. Instead of just plucking the plumes from the bird, they would kill the entire animal. This became excessive and egrets became endangered. This is how and where the Audubon society came about.
Government should play a small role in conservation. I'm not a tree hugging hippie but I would like my kids to know what the Everglades looks like. This is why I believe in conservation, but I don't believe in overly dominant controlling money hungry fiends like the environmental protection agency. It is the government's role to provide funding and tax incentives for those who practice conservation. Land space is precious. It's valuable economically, ecologically and socially. However, whenever we, as humans, make decisions regarding land use we must weigh it's value accordingly. Conservation is vital to our future, to our children's future. If a piece of land offers more value ecologically than economically we must act accordingly. As far as stewardship is concerned, that looks like FGCU. FGCU built on land but set a piece of it aside for conservation. They also are doing their part to take care of the land that they are not conserving. It's counterproductive to preserve one part and trash the other.
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