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There are several reasons why we must work together, responsibly, to meet this challenge.
We are currently losing three or more species to extinction every day. The species lost
today may have provided a cure for cancer or AIDS, a new source of food, genetic material
to improve existing crops or a benign biological treatment for pollution. Today's rate
of extinction is thousands of times greater than "natural" losses, and has been compared
to burning down entire libraries of great books without their ever being read.
We must also preserve biodiversity because we are profoundly ignorant of how the web
of life works, and know only that the more it is simplified the less resilient it
becomes, and the more we ourselves are imperiled. As an early ecologist, Aldo Leopold,
said, "the intelligent tinkerer saves all of the parts."
Biodiversity is what makes natural areas so interesting and beautiful, and is what
inspires us and gives us joy and solace when we experience them. Imagine the difference
between landscapes dominated by a single crop, and natural areas populated by hundreds
of thousands of species that support each other in a balance at which we can only guess.
We need both, but the pressure to convert and simplify our remaining natural areas is
growing by the day.
Finally, we must save biodiversity because we owe it to future generations. As Noah
was commanded to save all of the species from the flood, it is our responsibility to
pass on the wonderful natural heritage that we have received. While this may be more
of a moral or ethical obligation than a scientific one, it is founded on basic
scientific principles that have long-term implications for our species.
The Nature Conservancy of Washington devotes all of its resources to identifying,
protecting and managing the state's most ecologically significant lands—public and
private. The state's human population is soaring, and is predicted to double within
the next 20 years. As a result, we are losing more than 30,000 acres of wildlife
habitat each year. We have already lost more than 90 percent of our original forests,
two-thirds of our prairies and half our wetlands. More than 400 of our native species
are now rare or imperiled.
If Washington is your home, or simply a place you care for, then this Web site
will provide information, sights and sounds you'll find interesting. And it will
inform you about why and how you can join us in our fight to save all of our natural heritage.
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A Message from Elliot Marks, Executive Director
This web site is about the web of life, and how The Nature Conservancy
of Washington is seeking to protect it throughout the state.
Conserving the Earth's biodiversity—the scientific name for the millions of life
forms on our planet whose complex interactions make up our life support system—is
the mission of the Conservancy. We think that saving healthy, representative populations
of all these life forms is one of the most critical challenges facing humans today.
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Mark S. Fisher | Conserving biodiversity is the mission of The Nature Conservancy.
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| Conservancy and state biologists discovered this rare water howellia at McChord Air Force Base. We now lose three or more species to
extinction every day. | 
© Pat Little
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© Keith Lazelle | By preserving
nature, we let its beauty continue to inspire us. Joining The Nature Conservancy
of Washington helps preserve Washington's natural heritage for generations to come.
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Photo Credits: Elliot Marks, Gordon Todd/©The Nature Conservancy.
©Copyright 1996, The Nature Conservancy.
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