*******************************

WORLDWIDE BIODIVERSITY/RAINFOREST CAMPAIGN NEWS

American Landscapes/Ecosystems Endangered

*******************************

Forest Networking a Project of Ecological Enterprises

February 18, 1995

OVERVIEW & SOURCE

Following is an important article from Reuters which was posted in

econet's list.for conference, the archives of a mailing list by

the same name. The longer, original article, was published in the

New York Times of Tuesday, 14 February.

*******************************

HEADLINE: America's Natural Habitats on Endangered List

SOURCE: Reuter, via list.forest email list

February 15, 1995

NEW YORK (Reuter) - Formally vibrant natural habitats across

America, once amounting to at least half the area of the

contiguous 48 states, have declined to the point of endangerment,

according to a study published in Tuesday's edition of The New

York Times.

The new federal study is a first full review of the health of the

nation's landscape.

It said the plight of individual species has been the focus of

public attention, even though the health of the larger

interconnected community of plants, animals and microbes is

perhaps more important.

The federal report said scores of ecosystems -- nature's

functional unit -- of widely varying types and sizes have declined

on a grand but largely unappreciated scale. If they should vanish,

the report said, species adapted to them would likely disappear as

well.

According to the study's authors, a large number of the imperiled

ecosystems have declined over 98 percent of their area and are

considered "critically endangered."

Decline was defined as destruction of a natural area, conversion

of the area to other uses such as agriculture, or "significant

degradation" of ecological character or function, the Times said.

"We're not just losing single species here and there, we're losing

entire assemblages of species and their habitats," Dr. Reed F.

Noss, one of three biologists who conducted the study for the

National Biological Service said.

The new study is to be issued by the agency as a technical report

with a month, according to the paper.

###RELAYED TEXT ENDS###

This document is a PHOTOCOPY and all recipients should seek

permission from the source for reprinting. You are encouraged to

utilize this information for personal campaign use; including

writing letters, organizing campaigns and forwarding. All efforts

are made to provide accurate, timely pieces; though ultimate

responsibility for verifying all information rests with the

reader. Check out our Gaia Forest Conservation Archives at URL=

http://forests.lic.wisc.edu/forests/gaia.html

Networked by:

Ecological Enterprises

Email (best way to contact)-> gbarry@forests.org

Phone->(608) 233-2194 || Fax->(608) 231-2312