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Science Friday
24 September 1999:
The Nation's Biological Resources
In 1993, the National Research Council proposed a list of goals for a biological survey of the nation. By looking closely at the nation's biological resources ecosystem by ecosystem, the NRC said, a survey would help in "finding ways to preserve the nation's biological heritage...managing biological resources in a sustainable manner...restoring degraded environments...deriving new economic wealth from biological resources" and more.
The USGS has just released the results of such a survey. The report, titled "Status and Trends of the Nation's Biological Resources," contains almost 1,000 pages of information about plants and animals in ecosystems across the country. From the vegetation of the alpine tundra in Alaska to beetles living on sand dunes in the Mojave desert, the report tries to pull together what's known about wildlife in the country, and list what's still unknown.
It discusses areas in which resources are under attack, such as with the invasion of non-native species. But it also discusses more positive trends, such as the recovery of bald eagle populations following the cleanup of chemicals in the Great Lakes.
Nearly 200 scientists worked on the report. On this hour of Science Friday, we'll talk with two of them--to find out about biological resources in the southwest and southeast of the US. We'll also find out how groups like the Nature Conservancy conduct similar large-scale biological studies.
Guests:
Michael Mac
Project Director, "The Status and Trends of the
Nation's Biological Resources"
Coordinator, Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Program
United States Geological Survey
Reston, Virginia