Wildlife Preservation
One of the major goals of the Wilderness Preservation System is to provide undeveloped habitats for threatened or endangered species. Many of the species found in the United States are represented in wilderness areas. There are 261 basic ecosystems in the US, and 157 of them are represented in the system. With 60% of all ecosystems somewhat protected by the NWPS much of the wildlife in the US also has an area to exist without the fear of human interaction.
In late 2011, a full wilderness review was requested of the Arctic Refuge Coastal Plane in Alaska. One of the major qualifications for this area to be considered as a possible wilderness area was its diverse wildlife population, many of which are on the endangered species list. In this potential wilderness area alone, whales, seals, wolves, polar bears, grizzly bears, muskoxen, caribou, and over 200 species of migratory birds call this one area home for at least part of the year, this vast assortment of flora and fauna is a major consideration for addition into the wilderness preservation system.
Read more about this topic: National Wilderness Preservation System
Famous quotes containing the words wildlife and/or preservation:
“Russian forests crash down under the axe, billions of trees are dying, the habitations of animals and birds are layed waste, rivers grow shallow and dry up, marvelous landscapes are disappearing forever.... Man is endowed with creativity in order to multiply that which has been given him; he has not created, but destroyed. There are fewer and fewer forests, rivers are drying up, wildlife has become extinct, the climate is ruined, and the earth is becoming ever poorer and uglier.”
—Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (1860–1904)
“The preservation of life seems to be rather a slogan than a genuine goal of the anti-abortion forces; what they want is control. Control over behavior: power over women. Women in the anti-choice movement want to share in male power over women, and do so by denying their own womanhood, their own rights and responsibilities.”
—Ursula K. Le Guin (b. 1929)