Photos this page by Jan van der Kam in Life on Delaware Bay conservation groups organizing them have a waiting list !
So my advice to the conservationists of Kiawah : Keep up the standard set long ago and build on your strengths as you create your shorebird stewardship program . Grow it with the help of agencies , but make it your own and drive it with the passion of people who love animals . Always be mindful of volunteer needs . People need expense support , good outreach materials , easily understood scientific justifications , yearly assessments that say what works and what does not , and a strong group of leaders who see their role as helping others do the job of protection .
Finally , we must always keep in mind the most important questions in any stewardship . Why do this work ? Why help the shorebirds of Kiawah ? The scientific reason is the easiest . I can say as a scientist from experience , that an ecosystem is only a stack of blocks , each representing a small bit of nature that can , in fact , be removed without all of it coming down . We have played this game forever . But then we pull that one key block , and it all comes tumbling down . Nature ’ s thread
unravels . Usually forever . For example , once lost , red knots will not return .
The moral argument is a bit more difficult to describe . I am a father and a grandfather and see it as my duty to shepherd valuable natural resources for future generations . What right do I have to cash in on our natural resource bank account until it is bankrupt ? Is this how we treat our children ’ s future ? Better to solve the puzzle of stewardship for the benefit of all .
The final reason comes from deep inside and is usually hidden to all but ourselves . We are all part of God ’ s creation — wildlife included — and we alone have the ability to steward . This world is dying ; it ’ s a fact regardless of your politics or ideology . Under our care , species are becoming extinct at alarming rates , greater than at any other time in geologic history . These species that are lost are gone forever . People who care need to protect those who cannot defend themselves . From this perspective , we canal agree this is not the job of government . We must act in our own lives to protect the world and its creatures . NK
18 Naturally Kiawah