Private land stewardship

Wood stork parent and young

My wife, Diana, came across this amazing conservation story in a most unusual place, The Times of India. Yes, India, the country. This is a story of how a couple purchased a 45-acre property -- a cypress swamp -- adjacent to their Florida home to keep it from being developed. Their dedication to nature illustrates that conservation does not always begin with a national park or a huge organization. Sometimes it starts when two people look at a patch of wetland beside their home and decide that keeping it alive and vibrant is more important than what could be built on it.

And my did they keep it alive, fostering an amazing diversity and abundance of wildlife on this patch of habitat, including a nesting population of 275 wood storks! Not only did the couple purchase the land, they manage it to promote biodiversity and they've protected it in perpetuity with a conservation easement. Rather than reiterate the engaging details, please open this link to the story.

Management and protection of private lands, where much of our country's biodiversity exists, has become a major conservation thrust, including using conservation easements to preserve open space and natural habitats. I don't make a habit of recommending books in my blog posts, but I'll make an exception here. I recently read a new book, Saving the Big Sky, which focuses on private lands conservation across the state of Montana. The book's written for a general audience with plenty of color photographs complementing the text. It lays out the necessity, opportunity, and alternatives for win-win conservation on private lands. Which is a win for us all.