Target: Steve Reed, UK Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Goal: Advocate for more initiatives to reintroduce threatened species into the wild.
After centuries of seeming localized extinction, once-abundant beavers are making a comeback in urban centers of Britian. And with the dams these beavers build will come other ecological benefits, such as flood reduction, improvements in water quality, and new habitats for other wildlife like frogs. And in Scotland’s aquatic regions, another animal vanished for over a century is experiencing its own resurgence: the oyster. Much like the beaver, this animal had been hunted and harvested to localized extinction. And like the beaver, its growing population will help its ecosystem.
Both animals have a renewed lease on life due to dedicated restoration efforts. After gaining recognition as a protected species, beavers became the focus of reintroduction campaigns into and surrounding urban regions such as London. Since then, kits are routinely being born in places where beavers had long been absent.
Scotland’s Firth of Forth was the spot for a release of thousands of oysters. These animals once populated aquatic areas by the tens of millions until overfishing decimated them. But the newly released oysters have boasted a near-90 percent survival rate, which means their numbers could soon grow again exponentially.
Both of these success stories demonstrate the tremendous strides that can be made when conservation is made a priority. Sign the petition below to urge the United Kingdom’s environmental leaders to launch more campaigns aimed at assisting at-risk species.
PETITION LETTER:
Dear Secretary Reed,
A beaver introduction initiative in Sweden has yielded the nation over 120,000 beavers within decades. Advocates have every reason to believe similar successes can be achieved with the thriving beaver reintroduction campaigns taking place across Britain. The oyster release program unfolding in Scotland has brought promising results as well and, if successful, will benefit both local marine ecosystems and the local economy.
Plenty of species could use a helping hand. Please evaluate the success of these campaigns, learn from their wins and their challenges, and model similar conservation initiatives for the one in six species of the United Kingdom at risk for extinction.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo Credit: Jasper Kortmann
