March
VOLUME
3
NUMBER
by Jir.J Lafley ne of the most important conservation efforts ever undertaken by this country is now in danger of being dismantled . The Endangered Speci s Act is before the United States Congress this year for mandatory review and any number of changes can b mad in th Act . Th ch nges r nge from strengthening the effectiveness of the legislation to eliminating protection for plants . The Act was passed by Congress in 1973 and it provides protection for anim~ls and pl nt species which ar currently 1n dang r of ext nction or thos n t may b comes 1n the near future . For this cons rv -
A PUBLICA-rlON OF THE ASSOCIATED STUDENTS ENVIROt MENTAL CENTER WESTERN WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY
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tion program to continue pass both the S nate and of Representatives and be the President before
1,
1982 .
Already 3nti- cons~rvat1on obbyists are appro~ch1ng he k gnn Adm1n stration and ~ongr ss with pl ns to gu this la~ . Efforts to support the l~w r being b ck d by ev ry national corservation group b cause they recognize its importance . hat makes vuch a law necessary? In recent decades the rate of species loss has been gre t y accelerated . This rat 1n~r ase c n be dir ctly attributed h an activity . From 1600 to 1 animal spec a rate of l to present which is on not in'"' ud that ha are now e ne and thr occur·ng d extinction 1n this incre s d wi h the population . As w land for our own use habitats necessary s to surv ve and we
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The black-f t ed ferret i s a large weasel that inhabi ts the Great Plains region in association with prairie dogs. It i s an endangered species and is rarel y observed. '1'he reason for ferret population decline is not kl'XJWl'l precisely but is probably due to elimination of prey and destruction of or i ginal grasslands.
dnd scientists believe it 1nbrea with our corn plants . M x1can plant 1s also a It may be possible to a perennial corn which requ re 1 ss care thnn our nnual corn , thereby reducing production costs . Many medicines have be n er ved from wild species . In fact 3lmost half of the pr scr1ptions ~ed in the Uni d 3ta es contain ingredients from natu al sources . If we had lost n fungus, pen:c1ll ium, w would not hav~ the drug p nicill.n, nor any of the family of antibiotics that were later developed . Scientists are studying snails and mollusks in an efort to discover why they don ' t contract c ncer. Another cancer treatment ~ay b d v loped from a substance found in a rar Eth1op1an plant . wood s an en rgy source often used as a direct fuel . Other plans produce hydrocarbon rich 1 exes hich generate nbou ? o barr 1~ of oil per ere . Th pa1b tree in Brazil pr dues a s p which can be used tofu l die1 engines . we would l1mina many of hese opportunities by allowin sp cies o become ex inct . In addition, endangered species ar important environmental indicators . Th arth ' s r of end ngerment which s rv s as how r:iuch lon r support and th Sp cics them , ·nclud1ng humans. n rate atural sys ems oxygen, rccycl nu rients, break down poll~ta1ts 1 f r ·