For me photography is an escape. To be outdoors gives me peace. To capture what I see and where I go makes it even more meaningful. One way to preserve my memories is through the captured images I return home with. By editing and sharing these images I continue to feel that peace and I am able to show others what is out there to be found.
This year, there are 41,415 plants and animals on the threatened species list worldwide. !6,306 species are endangered. Many thousands more are of special concern. These categories are just a basic guide. There are more breakdowns within each category, but to keep it simple I have listed the four main sections.
Special Concern - The species is not threatened or endangered yet but it is uncommon in parts of it's range. They often live in a unique or need highly specific requirement and so deserve careful monitoring.
Threatened - A species that is likely to become an endangered species in the foreseeable future throughout all or a significant portion of its range.
Endangered - A species that is at serious risk of extinction.
Extinct - A species where there are no longer any living individuals anywhere in the world.
This month a new report was released that looks at raptor populations worldwide. As I post this 18% of the worlds raptors are threatened with extinction. We could lose them forever. 52% of raptors worldwide are declining in population. This is at a far greater proportion than the general bird population. Much of this loss is due to man-made causes. Destruction of habitat, pesticides and pollution are only a few issues they face.
I try to learn about the species I see when I am out. It creates a bond between me and the world around me. Unfortunately every year this lists grow longer. As more species are added to them, more beauty is being lost. This is a worldwide issue. Recently the EPA and the Endangered Species Act have both been revamped and restructured. Often at the peril of the plants and animals they were designed to protect.
Every part of the world is effected by this. I spend much of my time wandering and hiking around Michigan. It's where I was born, it's my home. So I have put together a list of Michigan's impacted species. I broke it down to the four categories I highlighted above. To see them listed and realize this is just Michigan, to me is alarming. Each one of these is important. Not only to itself but to the everything around it.
This year, there are 41,415 plants and animals on the threatened species list worldwide. !6,306 species are endangered. Many thousands more are of special concern. These categories are just a basic guide. There are more breakdowns within each category, but to keep it simple I have listed the four main sections.
Special Concern - The species is not threatened or endangered yet but it is uncommon in parts of it's range. They often live in a unique or need highly specific requirement and so deserve careful monitoring.
Threatened - A species that is likely to become an endangered species in the foreseeable future throughout all or a significant portion of its range.
Endangered - A species that is at serious risk of extinction.
Extinct - A species where there are no longer any living individuals anywhere in the world.
This month a new report was released that looks at raptor populations worldwide. As I post this 18% of the worlds raptors are threatened with extinction. We could lose them forever. 52% of raptors worldwide are declining in population. This is at a far greater proportion than the general bird population. Much of this loss is due to man-made causes. Destruction of habitat, pesticides and pollution are only a few issues they face.
I try to learn about the species I see when I am out. It creates a bond between me and the world around me. Unfortunately every year this lists grow longer. As more species are added to them, more beauty is being lost. This is a worldwide issue. Recently the EPA and the Endangered Species Act have both been revamped and restructured. Often at the peril of the plants and animals they were designed to protect.
Every part of the world is effected by this. I spend much of my time wandering and hiking around Michigan. It's where I was born, it's my home. So I have put together a list of Michigan's impacted species. I broke it down to the four categories I highlighted above. To see them listed and realize this is just Michigan, to me is alarming. Each one of these is important. Not only to itself but to the everything around it.
"When we try to pick out anything by itself,
we find it hitched to everything else in the universe."
~ John Muir ~
we find it hitched to everything else in the universe."
~ John Muir ~
This list is compiled from the Michigan State University Extension
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