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A free downloadable textbook written by the top names in conservation biology with the principal aim of disseminating cutting-edge conservation knowledge as widely as possible. Topics include balancing conversion and human needs, climate change, conservation planning, designing and analyzing conservation research, ecosystem services, endangered species management, extinctions, fire, habitat loss, and invasive species.

The Conservation Education Strategy Toolkit contains resources developed by the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (AFWA) to support conservation educators. Includes lots of useful stuff: downloadable lessons, "Benchmarks for Conservation Literacy," "Field Investigations: Using Outdoor Environments to Foster Student Learning of Scientific Processes" etc.

"Using data for 25,780 species categorized on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List, we present an assessment of the status of the world's vertebrates. One-fifth of species are classified as Threatened, and we show that this figure is increasing: On average, 52 species of mammals, birds, and amphibians move one category closer to extinction each year. However, this overall pattern conceals the impact of conservation successes, and we show that the rate of deterioration would have been at least one-fifth again as much in the absence of these. Nonetheless, current conservation efforts remain insufficient to offset the main drivers of biodiversity loss in these groups: agricultural expansion, logging, overexploitation, and invasive alien species. "

The mission of the Amazon Conservation Team (ACT) is to work in partnership with indigenous people in conserving biodiversity, health, and culture in tropical America.

Students learn about a few key migratory bird species and the USFWS National Wildlife Refuge System that conserves them, as well as the impacts of oil spills on the Gulf Coast ecosystem and its human communities. Introduces a variety of natural resource careers and the academic experience and job skills needed to be successful in these conservation positions.

"Over the past few generations, conservation groups have spent billions of dollars on scientific research, land purchase, policy change and education to address these threats. But one question that has received little attention is: How do we get people to change their behavior? What really works?"

Kenya's high-elevation forests are the source for most of the water on which the drought-plagued nation depends. Now, after decades of government-abetted abuse of these regions, a new conservation strategy of working with local communities is showing signs of success.

The Land Use Calculator is a tool for rapid scenario analysis of land-use implications, useful for decision-makers to address real-world challenges and for classroom teaching of conservation biology, sustainable development, environmental economics and global change biology. It is a decision-support tool targeted at land-use decision-makers in the tropic, allowing users to evaluate the implications and tradeoffs of pursuing alternative development scenarios by simultaneously accounting for the societal priorities of agricultural production, economic development, carbon conservation and biodiversity protection. Users specify a few environmental and socioeconomic parameters describing a landscape scenario, and the tool determines the implications of that scenario in terms of biodiversity, carbon stocks, greenhouse-gas emissions, financial returns of the land and employment opportunities.

"Don't despair: that's the message of a new paper in Trends in Ecology and Evolution, which argues that decades of conservation actions at multiple scales have had a positive impact for many of the world's endangered species. "

Become a Member of the Center for Snake Conservation to support snake research, education, and conservation. You will also receive SnakeTalk - the CSC's quarterly newsletter. Join here now!

The Center for Biodiversity and Conservation's mission is to mitigate critical threats to global biological and cultural diversity by: * advancing scientific research in diverse ecosystems; * strengthening the application of science to conservation practice and public policy; * developing professional, institutional, and community capacity; and * furthering the Museum's efforts to heighten public understanding and stewardship of biodiversity.

Library of Congress - maps related to conservation and the environment

Our conservation scientist, Taza Schaming, is profiled on the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's Round Robin blog.

High-resolution earth imagery has provided ecologists and conservationists with a dynamic new tool that is enabling everything from more accurate counting of wildlife populations to rapid detection of deforestation, illegal mining, and other changes in the landscape.

How do you effectively prioritize conservation decisions for migratory species? Is it better to target species when breeding, wintering, migrating or some mix? How do you build forecast changes in climate and land use when making these decisions?

Deciding where to install wind turbines and solar panels seems straightforward: Pick gusty and sunny spots. But researchers say the problem is a bit more complicated. To get the most emissions reductions and health benefits, the United States may need to focus its clean energy efforts on some unlikely regions.

"Deer alone may not threaten any species with extinction but could locally be the straw breaking the camel's back for many songbird populations when acting in concert with other stresses"

Relates the flamingo populations that Marita Davison worked with in Bolivia to mining of lithium for batteries.