So, from a trial and error like approach America has come to recognize protected areas not as fenced off areas of beauty, but rather as living organs that support a body of natural resources which stretches from coast to coast. As such, these organs require not only preservation, but connectivity and strategic inclusion to allow for biological flow, thus sustained genetic diversity and proper function. With this knowledge we have slowly begun an attempt to rewrite our naïve development patterns; we refill wetlands and carve green corridors as ecological veins flowing to and from these natural areas, in the hopes of regaining nature’s equilibrium and mitigating our ever-growing sprawl.
When considering our relationship with marine protected areas, these challenges of understanding are magnified to a new caliber. We literally have entered a new element, while we have often faltered in attempting to protect our own. Protection efforts and deleterious actions become far less tangible in the ocean; we cannot so immediately feel the negative effects from trawling a field of coral as we can in the dangerous mud slides and unaesthetic eyesores that result from deforestation. Nor can we so readily see large groupers inhabit a no-take marine zone as we can see the majestic sight of wolf packs repopulate Yellowstone. The sea’s surface often remains impartial to whatever actions we take or do not take to protect the natural assets beneath its waves.
However, the complexities we continue to find in achieving protection of natural land should serve as an example and reminder that we are bound to find unexpected values and surprisingly strong bonds in the web that make up our natural resources. History also begs us to take caution as we begin to extract resources from the deep sea, an area we know less about than the surface of the moon. We have already come far in realizing that our ocean resources are not, as we once thought, inexhaustible. Additionally, we have grown to recognize that connectivity of MPAs via ocean currents greatly effects larvae transport, and therefore the effectiveness of MPAs. However, there is undoubtedly more to the story that will unfold with increased scientific research and exploration. Similar to Roosevelt’s caveat in 1887, today Sylvia Earle reflects upon the past and forewarns, “Our near and distant predecessors might be forgiven for exterminating the last woolly mammoth, the ultimate dodo, the final sea cow, and the last living monk seal for lack of understanding the consequences of their actions. But who will forgive us if we fail to learn from past and present experiences, to forge new values, new relationships, a new level of respect for the natural systems that keep us alive?”
Photo Captions:
Morning in Yellowstone National Park
Icebox Canyon, Yellowstone National Park
Soda Butte, a once prolific hot spring in Lamar Valley, Yellowstone.
A Roseate Spoonbill in Everglades National Park. Photo credit: Mark Emery.
A cow (mother moose) and her two calves in Denali National Park. Photo credit: Mark Emery.
The Florida panther, an endangered species, in Everglades National Park. Photo credit: Mark Emery.
A young Alaskan girl and harvested red salmon near Katmai National Park. Photo credit: Mark Emery.
Red Sockeye Salmon swim in Katmai National Park. Photo credit: Mark Emery.
A red fox at home in Katmai National Park. Photo credit: Mark Emery.
118 - SEVENSEAS
December 2016 - Conservation Comments