Protect

Wildlife

Overview

America is filled with a diverse array of wildlife that speaks to our nation’s heritage and identity as well as gives rise to a deep sense of wonder, beauty, and awe. Indeed, both St. Augustine and Martin Luther encourage us to read the “book of nature” to better understand the mystery and majesty of the Creator. Whether through an inspiring encounter with a herd of elk, contemplating the intricate organization of bees and ants, or simply the gift of watching an eagle soar high overhead these sacred encounters with our nation’s wildlife provide incredible opportunities to contemplate the delicate interconnectedness of life while also discerning how we can better live in tune with the natural rhythms God has created.

 

In the pages to follow, we explore the theology of wildlife and specifically dive into what the Bible has to say about animals and the protection of species. We also look at how this ties into modern policy issues. Additionally, you will find information about America’s wildlife crisis, a discussion on the causes of this crisis and potential solutions. Along these lines, there is also a page dedicated to the important work of protecting wildlife connectivity and corridors. Finally, you will also find focus pages on certain sensitive species like Gila Trout, Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep and Greater Sage Grouse.

Some people, in order to discover God, read books. But there is a great book: the very appearance of created things. Look above you! Look below you! Read it. God, whom you want to discover, never wrote that book with ink. Instead, God set before your eyes the things that God had made. Can you ask for a louder voice than that?

St. Augustine

America's Wildlife Crisis

The United States is filled with an incredible diversity of wildlife species that once encountered often gives rise to a deep sense of wonder, beauty, and awe. From a majestic encounter with a bighorn sheep scaling rocky cliffs to the joy that comes from watching a river otter at play to the thrill of watching a hawk soar high overhead, these sacred encounters with our nation’s amazing wildlife may not only leave one with a profound appreciation for creation, but also for the Creator. Speaking to the incredible breadth, depth and expansive imagination of God’s creation, scientists now have documented over 200,000 animal and plant species in the U.S. alone.

To drive to extinction something God has created is wrong. God has a purpose for everything…We Christians have a responsibility to take the lead in caring for the earth.

Billy Graham

While America’s is blessed with such incredible and unique biodiversity, our nation is also in the midst of a major wildlife crisis where 1/3 of all wildlife species in the U.S. are considered to be at risk of extinction by 2050. Currently, in the U.S. more than 1,600 species are receiving protection under the Endangered Species Act. Over 150 American species have already gone extinct and another 500 have not been seen in decades and are considered “possibly extinct.” Freshwater fisheries have been hit the hardest with 40% of the nation’s freshwater fish now considered “rare or imperiled.” Pollinators like bees and butterflies that were once common are experiencing devastating declines raising serious concerns about food production and availability. For example, populations of Monarch butterflies have dwindled by more than 90% over the past two decades. Further, state wildlife agencies from across the nation have identified over 8,000 species that are need of conservation action and attention. To put all this in perspective, the declines we are seeing today are well beyond their historical range as current rates of extinction are now between 1,000 to 10,000 times greater than normal, rivaling rates last seen during the mass extinction of the dinosaurs.

Causes and Threats to America’s Wildlife

America’s wildlife are facing a variety of threats and challenges leading to their significant declines. These challenges include:

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Habitat Loss and Degradation

Throughout America much of the wildlife habitat has been has been cut up, paved over, converted to crops, drilled, mined and developed for residential and industrial uses.

- Between 1982-2001, 6,000 acres of wildlife habitat were lost to development every day in America–this is over 34 million acres or an area the size of Illinois.

- In the West, a football field worth of habitat is being developed every 2.5 minutes.

- 7 million acres of prairie, rangeland, forests and other natural habitats have been converted to crop production as an unitended consequence of policies promoting the use of food based fuels in the nation’s fuel supply.  

- ½ of the nation’s wetlands have already been lost.

- Unfortunately, things are no better on a global level where we are losing 100 acres of rainforest a minute and literally dozens of species across the world are going extinct each day as result of habitat loss.

Habitat Fragmentation

Fragmentation of wildlife habitat may include the use of fences, roads, residential and industrial development, natural resource extraction, including mining and logging, fires, drought and changes in climate that may impact an animal’s ability to move on a landscape or maintain normal ecological processes such as breeding, feeding or obtaining adequate shelter. Ensuring strong wildlife connectivity and the integrity of wildlife corridors allows species to adapt to changing climate conditions and have diverse genetics, which reduces disease and increases survivability.

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Wildlife Disease

The emergence of new diseases have posed a particularly dire threat to America’s wildlife. For example, fungal infections have killed more than 7 million bats in the East and Midwest. Chronic Wasting disease is a contagious neurological disease that has been found in 23 states and is impacting America’s big-game species including deer, elk, and moose. Whirling disease is a parasite that is affecting fish, including trout populations, throughout the country.  

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Invasive Species

Without the threat of natural predators or controls, non-native species may flourish. If left unchecked, invasive species can seriously degrade wildlife habitat as well as compete with and prey upon native wildlife resulting in devastating effects to the larger ecosystem. For example, introduction of non-native trout species in the southwest have had devastating effects on populations of native trout such the Rio Grande Cutthroat trout and Gila trout. Indeed, it is not uncommon to read headlines of about the damage done by zebra mussels in the Great Lakes, Asian Carp in the Mississippi River drainage, pythons in the Everglades, or bark beetles damaging forests in the west.

Pollution

While author and conservationist Rachel Carson sounded the alarm over pesticides in the 1960s and their harm to certain species, various forms of chemical pollution continue to be a major problem for America’s fish and wildlife. For example, research is revealing that many widely used modern pesticides are causing death and decline in pollinators and birds. Additionally, the agricultural use of fertilizers has resulted in devastating environmental impacts, including catastrophic “red tides” in Florida that has had tragic effects on the areas fisheries and marine mammals.

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Climate Change

Numerous studies show that America’s wildlife are being impacted by climate change and researchers have documented shortening of breeding seasons, changes in habitat availability, increased diseases and disruptions in interdependent species.  

To put this bluntly, in towns across America there are no Elm trees on elm street, no rivers near River Road, no buffalo in Buffalo New York and no caribou in Caribou Maine. Whether it is the Salmon of the Pacific Northwest, bison of the prairies and plains, alligators of the coastal southeast, or bighorn sheep of the west, these animals represent a strong sense of place and an essential thread in the broader American landscape. As keepers of creation, spiritual leaders and faith communities must point out that the loss of America’s wildlife raises serious concerns about our individual and collective responsibility in the stewardship of God’s creation, but also strike at the very core of America’s identity, character, heritage and collective spirituality.

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