Defenders Magazine

Conservationists Think Big

Highlights from Defenders' Carnivores 2002 conference in Monterey, California

By Kathryn Tause

The future of wildlife is at a crucial turning point after decades of rampant abuse to habitats and ecosystems, according to many of the 250 scientists, wildlife agency officials and activists who spoke in November at Defenders of Wildlife's Carnivores 2002 conference in Monterey, California. Carnivores, species at the top of the food chain, are in danger of a mass extinction that would affect all species within their ecosystems. And humans, it was pointed out again and again during the conference, are to blame.

"Think of us as the largest, most ferocious predator this planet has ever seen," said marine biologist and keynote speaker Sylvia Earle, who was named first "hero for the planet" in 1998 by Time magazine. "Humans are predators; humans are a part of this system. We're not very successful as predators. A good predator doesn't do in its prey."

Earle, who is revered for her research in marine ecosystems and leading underwater expeditions, spoke to many of the 750 conference attendees about the rapid depletion of marine species due to overfishing, climate change and toxins. The biannual conference covered marine carnivores as well as land predators for the first time this year, and Earle and other marine biologists stressed that aquatic species need to be viewed and protected as wildlife. For example, populations of bluefin tuna in the North Atlantic, said Earle, are down 90 percent in the last 20 years. "These are wild creatures. They're just as wild as lions, tigers, songbirds and squirrels," she said.

Many marine species are rapidly decreasing, but the sudden decline of Aleutian Island sea otters is especially puzzling to marine biologists. The population was almost wiped out by fur traders by the early 20th century, and was reestablished to a population of 55,000 to 100,000 by the 1980s, thanks to protections in the International Fur Seal Treaty of 1911. Their numbers progressively grew through the early 1990s, but by 1997 marine biologists learned that the Aleutian population had declined by more than 70 percent from 1992. In 2000, it was determined that the decline was widespread across the North Pacific, from around the Kodiak Archipelago to the Western Aleutians. James A. Estes, a sea otter biologist for the U.S. Geological Survey's Biological Resources Division in Santa Cruz and a plenary speaker at the conference, believes along with colleagues that the sea otters are being eaten by killer whales, which had never preyed on them before. Traditionally these killer whales eat other whales, seals and sea lions, all of which have dwindled in numbers. (For more information, see "SeaOtters Take a Nose Dive" in the Winter/Spring 2002 Defenders.)

If Estes is right, this sheds some disturbing light on the magnitude of destruction caused by an ecosystem out of balance. "We have to stop looking at carnivorous mammals as passengers on this Earth, but as important drivers," Estes said.

Experts in conservation, biology and other sciences agreed that addressing single species and isolated areas is not enough; entire ecosystems must be viewed as puzzles that need every component to be complete. In the sea, just as on land, the struggling of one species can cause havoc for countless others. But many conference speakers offered hope that conservation strategies can be improved.

Dave Foreman of The Wildlands Project was one of many who spoke on "rewilding" North America to reverse the trend towards extinction. The first step is to restore and connect large areas that can support the natural migration and needs of all species, he said. "The question we have to ask is: Why haven't current systems of protected areas halted the extinction crisis?"

Foreman pointed out that protected areas are isolated and there are not enough large wildlife corridors left in North America to preserve ecosystems and sustain the needs of carnivores. The Wildlands Project is proposing a network of wild "linkages" between new and existing refuges, national parks and private lands to heal fragmentation and habitat degradation. "We've been going about destroying our habitat for a long time," Foreman said. "It's going to take a long time and a long-term vision to begin to restore it. We can't talk about just protecting an isolated national forest. We have to look at the whole landscape and think big."

Many speakers voiced similar goals — and such dedication will be especially necessary in coming months. "These are challenging times," said Defenders of Wildlife Senior Vice President for Programs Mark Shaffer during the conference's welcoming remarks, in reference to the current administration's environmental policies and plans. (See "The Ungreening of America" on page 14.) He reassured the audience that Defenders of Wildlife will work harder than ever to protect habitat and species such as the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, national forests, wolves, grizzly bears and marine life. Foreman voiced similar optimism. "Maybe, just maybe," he said, "By reconnecting, restoring and rewilding, we can save the march of evolution and we can save ourselves as well."

Kathryn Tause is senior and acting editor of Defenders magazine.