Be Careful About What You Add to Our Wetlands and Watersheds

Never assume that that it is safe to dump chemicals such as soapsuds, fertilizers, and pesticides into storm drains.  These storm drains feed into bodies of water or wetlands that many animals call home. Dangerous chemicals have immediate and devastating effects on wildlife and the environment.  Even pollutants not dumped directly into storm drains have adverse affects on our ecosystem. After a rain or snowmelt, water runs off of yards, sidewalks, parking lots, and roofs and into storm drains. This water sweeps anything and everything down with it, such as fertilizer, pesticide, pet waste, oil, and litter, and ends up in our waterways, contaminating drinking water and polluting ecosystems where wetland animals are disappearing.

“Adopt” A Local Species

You can “adopt” a species by learning as much as you can about an endangered species in your area and sharing that knowledge with others. Also, contact your local nature center to ask about volunteering with a conservation project that will benefit your adopted species.  

Restore Habitat In Your Own Backyard

• Build bird and bat houses.
• Plant trees, flowers, bushes—this will attract wildlife.
• Join a clean-up effort in your community.
• Participate in projects to restore riverbanks and plant native greenery to provide more habitats for local species. 

Stay On The Trails

Obey marked forest trail signs and try not to trample local vegetation.  The shortcut through the fragile undergrowth is not worth the damage!  Not only is the damage often fatal to plant life and small animals, but it causes erosion. When the soil becomes compacted from footsteps and vegetation begins to die, the flow of water begins to accelerate, washing out the original trail.

Do Not Buy or Capture Wild or Exotic Animals

Buying animals that have been collected from the wild can cause populations to decline to the point of extinction and in turn, cause local ecosystems to disintegrate.  Also, wild animals require food, shelter, and natural stimulus that people cannot duplicate—if brought inside, most wildlife will die.

Recycle

Conserve energy, water and other resources to help the environment!  Recycling paper and using recycled paper is a great way to save trees—for every ton of new paper, approximately 17 mature trees are killed. Recycling drink cans saves energy: making aluminum cans from recycled aluminum uses 95% less energy than making cans using raw materials. 

Buy Duck Stamps

Ninety-eight cents out of every dollar generated by sales of the duck stamps goes toward purchasing wetlands for migratory birds.  An added benefit of buying a duck stamp: the current year’s stamp serves as a pass for National Wildlife Refuges where admission is usually charged. Buy yours today!  www.fws.gov/duckstamps/

Vote!

Support efforts to preserve wildlife sanctuaries, national parks, and state wildlife preserves. Your voice matters—make it heard!