So yesterday I was strolling blithely through the internet(s), minding my own business and expecting to see the usual array of appetizers and grandchildren on FB when I suddenly caught sight of this and became immediately interested. Something tells me you will to…
White House aims to put a value on ecosystem conservation
The White House has issued a directive (PDF) to point federal agencies toward building ecosystem-services valuation into their plans, investments and regulations. The directive, released late last year, will help agencies synthesize conservation’s ecosystem benefits with its value to society.
“For too long, we’ve thought of conservation as separate from society,” said Ken Elowe, assistant regional director of science applications for the United States Fish and Wildlife Service’s (USFWS) Northeast Region. “What’s actually needed is a more landscape approach, one that doesn’t segregate people.
Like say, for instance, allowing beavers to work their magic in urban areas.
Of course I immediately marched off and looked for the memo they were talking about. And verily, I say unto you, it was much, much better than I ever expected. Truly.
Read that title again: INCORPORATING ECOSYSTEM SERVICES INTO FEDERAL DECISION MAKING!!! Do you realize what a presidential memo about this means? It means EVERY federal agency that works with nature, habitat or wildlife is advised to put special value on these services. NOAA. BLM. USFS. FWS, APHIS. They are all directed to consider the ecosystem services of any species they manage.
Now mind you, it doesn’t actually SAY the word beaver in this memo, but it might as bloody well have. It goes on to describe in detail every single service they provide and their irreplaceable value. Don’t believe me? Just read for yourself.
And why wasn’t there a parade for this memo? What is wrong with me that you didn’t read about it on October 7th when it was released? The truth is NO ONE KNEW ABOUT IT. Or if they did they weren’t allowed to talk about it. I heard from Suzanne Fouty yesterday that she never heard about it at the Forest Service. And Brock Dolman said OAEC didn’t know about it either. This was a SLEEPER memo, obviously uncelebrated to risk upsetting as few people as possible, the same way you might transition your father to decaf without telling him. But I’m ringing and ringing the bell. And you can help. Here’s my news flash of the memo. With the exception of a single word it only contains actual text of the memo. You should be able to hit the plus button to make it bigger.
You can probably guess that single word.
headline-1After that extreme gratification, you should lie back and enjoy the virtual smoke of Beth Pratt’s recent TED talk at Yosemite. She does a great job describing the importance of Urban Wildlife and the book she mentions will have the photo by a certain Martinez beaver defender you might recognize. I’m guessing this is going to make a difference for a host of beavers.
