Water Grand Challenges: Habitat Conservation to Watershed Protection
Date
2013-06
Authors
Warren, Emily
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Abstract
Securing healthy habitat necessitates ensuring that the health and quality of water and watersheds is maintained. There are several examples of watershed HCPs in which efforts for species conservation are tied to managing the watershed. Federal organizations and such as the National Park Service founded through the Department of the Interior in 1916 provide conservation information and community programs to increase environmental awareness and habitat protection. Since the founding of Yellowstone National Park in 1872, large-scale habitat conservation has been supported at the federal level. The passage of the Endangered Species Act (signed into law in 1973), established by Congress states that endangered species "are of esthetic, ecological, educational, historical, recreational, and scientific value to the Nation and its people.” The purpose of this Act is to 1) provide protection for ecosystem preservation in which endangered and threatened species can rely upon, and 2) to provide a conservation program for those species. Species of plants and animals may be designated as endangered or threatened for any of the following reasons:
1. "The present or threatened destruction, modification, or curtailment of its habitat or range;
2. Overutilization for commercial, recreational, scientific, or educational purposes;
3. Disease or predation;
4. Inadequacy of existing regulatory mechanisms; and
5. Natural or manmade factors affecting its survival."
Description
Keywords
Water quality, Conservation, Habitats, Watersheds, Endangered Species Act
Citation
Warren, E. (2013). Water grand challenges: Habitat conservation to watershed protection (Report No. 2013-26). Texas State University-San Marcos, San Marcos, Texas.