Protecting the Scenic Beauty of Wildlife

Protecting the Scenic Beauty of Wildlife By Jeramy Buckman CM220 Unit 9 Final Project 7/17/12 I want e preciseone to good your eyes and picture yourself in the Rocky Mountains with your children hiking up a trail to your favorite camping spot next to a hidden lake. While walking down the trail you be looking roughly looking for wights prints to show your children. You be excited to show your children around of the beautiful barmylife that you got to see when you where their age when your p bents did this for you.As you and your children be walking you start to realize that you argon non really seeing any wildlife that should be very abundant in this flying field. You also are noticing that there are not as numerous wild flowers and plants that were also here. You finally realize that you will not be capable to spring your children the wonderful memories that you certain as a child. As you may lose realized that this is a problem that we are outset to see and face today . Many times animals become extinct causing changes to the scientific life cycle, milieu, scenic sights, food sources and many former(a)s.This has a drastic regard not wholly one our home ground and environment but raft and will also affect us as humans. We as people git prevent and preserve this beauty for future generations all we have to do is understand the problem and fall upon action. We necessity to fix ourselves and our children of the importance of animals and how to protect them. We indispensability to understand what happens when we introduce an exotic species to an area, about pollution, habitat destruction, all over using animals, poaching, the punishment for poaching, and how we buttocks help prevent all of this.Every day we are apace losing many different plant and animal species. With this rapid decrease of these animals and plants we start to lose the beautiful sights that we grew up with, taking away those potential memories from our children and gene rations to come. Ten thousand scientists in the World Conservation Union express that anywhere between 2. 7 and 270 species are erased from existence every day including today. So broken down, 1 out or 4 mammals, 1 out of 8 birds, 1 out of 3 amphibians are at risk of extinction (Whitty, J. 2007). This is not the only thing that can happen though.With the loss of these species it starts to affect the plants and animals around them causing them to slowly die out. This then can end up causing to a greater extent drastic effect to the environment and even us. As E. O. Wilson asseverated in a speech that if we were able to kill off all the insects that it would lead to our own extinction (2007). First, I want to provide a friendly recap of what many of us have land hold ofed as a child in school, and that is the food chain. The food chain basically contains four important groups. The first group of the chain is the sun. This offers get-up-and-go to everything on this planet.The next group is the producers. These are things that are able to commence their own food by using the energy the sun provides. Examples of these are, grass, trees, flowers, vegetables, etc. Next, we have the consumers. Consumers are any species that eats something, either plants or other animals. Finally, we have the decomposers. These are things desire bacteria or fungi that take something that has died and breaks it down and produces gases like carbon and nitrogen. They then release that back into the air, soil, or water where it will be engagementd by future producers (ThinkQuest, 2012).When an animal (such as a grizzly bear) becomes extinct this an effect not only on the food chain but the food web also. When the bear is gone it is no longer eating other plants or animals, which can then lead to them starting to over populate. Over time these plants and animals are going to start to decline be example their food sources are being depleted due to the increased numbers. So as you ca n see even the smallest species plays an important role and affects everything around them. There are many things that are the leading causes of animal endangerment and extinction.One of these causes is the introduction of exotic species not found in a particular area. When this is done it can affect the balance of things. Lets take the governments action to introduce the colourise barbarian into Montana and how it had a drastic effect on things. First off the grey wolf that the government introduced was not the species of grey wolf that are native to Montana. Because of this introduction many of us find the numbers of deer and elk started to rapidly decrease. And like I mentioned earlier the deer population change magnitude has an effect on other species of plants and animals that depend on them.So the biggest thing that not only the government, but us also, is that we have to remember is that we need to introduce animals in the area that they normally come from instead of an area that has never known that type of species. some other factor that is causing the increase of endangerment and extinction of species is habitat destruction. The greatest force that causes habitat destruction is the human being. We cut down forests to make room for our expansion and needs. We cause pollution of the land, water, and air which in turn can also increase the greenhouse effect (Kurpis, L. 002). So what are some of the ways that we can prevent this? That is an ongoing battle that we fight today. For the pollution is to use greener more environment friendly types of energy such as wind or solar, drive slight or carpool, and of course recycling is a big help. Also keep in click with the state government if you notice factories or companies that happen to be polluting and see if there may be a safer alternative. Never be afraid to write to state officials, remember we helped to get them into office so they can help us protect the animals.This leads to another cause of the increase of endangerment and extinction is what some call over exploitation. This is when we over use a species. This can be caused by miscounting numbers of a species in an area, and then over hunting that area, causing a drastic drop in numbers. Again we are not just affecting that species but others that are part of that food web in that area. Another reason why animals numbers are declining is due to poaching. poach is the cognitionable and purposeful illegal cleaning of an animal. This is done either for trophies such as antlers, horns, or other things that poachers will classify as a swag.Some poachers will do it for money selling the animal meat or trophies to the highest bidder. Unfortunately, some do it because they need the food and cannot afford to wait till the proper hunting season, or come across the animal in a no hunting area. Yet some poachers do it for the sport of the kill. This affects us because they are killing and wasting animals that can be hunted durin g proper hunting seasons, kill endangered species, and other animals that are not allowed to be hunted (Fish, Wildlife, & Parks 2012). Here in Montana we do have laws against poaching but is it enough?The punishment for poaching an animal can be a handsome of $50 up to $35,000, jail time from 6 months up to 20 years the loss of hunting, render, and housing rights from 2 years to life and possible restitution for the animal based off of the species, sex, age, and whether it was a trophy animal or not. The bad thing about this is that not all judges will take place the maximum punishment and give more of a slap on the wrist. For example a person was caught poaching two moose and the judge sentenced them with a fine of $50,000, no time in jail and the loss of their hunting rights for 8 years.I feel that we as a whole need to contact our state legislature and try to get the punishment increased and enforced better, because I feel that some poachers dont learn the lesson. Again we w ill use the huntsman mentioned earlier. He didnt learn his lesson because he still brags about what he done and goes around telling people of other animals he has poached since then. If we can get additional laws and bills passed I believe that this will help limit the hail of animals killed due to poaching. Some of you are asking, What can we personally do about poaching.One of the ways that you can help reduce the numbers of poachers is if you happen to see an animal being killed illegally you need to subject area it to the local Fish and Game, Forest Service or the local authorities. Second if you are a hunter or a fisher make sure that you know that the area that you are hunting/fishing is an area that is not protected against it. On way you can do this is by purchasing a local map that will show areas that are allowed to be hunted or places that you can seek permission to hunt or fish. Always keep an eye out for no hunting or no trespassing signs which are the number one way to know you cant be there.Also, you want to make sure that you become familiar with the animals or fish that you are trying to get so that you dont lease or fish something that you should not. For example total darkness bears are not always black but can also be brown. This can lead someone to shoot a grizzly which happens to be a protected animal. You need to learn the distinguishing marks and differences between the black bear and the grizzly before you go hunting. You should always get the hunting/fishing regulations because they always take information on the species and what to look for so that you know what you are trying to hunt or fish.Another pickaxe is that you can research the animal that you are going to be hunting and get information and pictures of them so you can become familiar with the species. And finally you can always take hunters safety which will give you additional hunting and fishing knowledge. You have to remember that poaching isnt always done on purpo se it can be done due to the lack of knowledge. The main this that everyone has to keep in sagaciousness is that poaching is illegal and needs to be stopped. We need to remember to know the areas that we can and cannot hunt or fish.We also need to have a running knowledge of the animals that we are hunting and fishing so as not to shoot something that looks similar only to find out that it is a different species. And higher up all is if you see or know someone that is poaching is that you need to report it to the proper authorities. With this knowledge and understanding of poaching together we can help lower one of the reasons for the rapid decline of animals. So as you can see, we as humans need to take a stand and start helping to protect what many of us hold very dear to us and future generations.We need to educate ourselves and future generations of the importance of animals. We need to limit, as best as possible, the amount of habitat that we destroy. We also need to underst and the amount and types of species that we bring into an area. We need to understand and help prevent pollution not only for our sake but also the animals. Above all we need to take a stand against the over exploitation of animals and the biggest one is poaching. If we stand together I feel very confident that we can make a difference and protect our childhood scenic beauty to share with future generations to come. ReferencesFish, Wildlife, & Parks (2012). Poaching in Montana. Source Retrieved from http//fwp. mt. gov/enforcement/crimes/poaching. html Kurpis, L (2002). Causes of endangerment. Source Retrieved from http//www. endangeredspecie. com/causes_of_endangerment. htm ThinkQuest (2012). The food chain. Source Retrieved from http//library. thinkquest. org/11353/food. htm Wilson, E. O. (2007). Saving life on earth. Source Retrieved from http//www. ted. com/talks/e_o_wilson_on_saving_life_on_earth. html Whitty, J. (2007). Animal extinction the greatest threat to mankind. Source Retrieved from http//www. commondreams. org/archive/2007/04/30/862