North Cascades

The Importance of Protected Lands

Ecosystems An ecosystem "includes all the organisms of an area, their environment, and the linkages or interactions between them; all parts of an ecosystem are interrelated. (It is) the fundamental unit in ecology, containing both organisms and abiotic environments, each influencing the properties of the other and both necessary for the maintenance of life." (Hendee, J.C., Stankey, G.H., Lucas, R.C. Wilderness Management. 1990. International Wilderness Leadership Foundation. p.532.) "While we're trying to preserve in our natural parks a record of biological and human history, we're also trying to preserve something a little harder to understand: a foundation for the rediscovery of North America, the perpetuation of an idea that a resource does not have to be used in order to be valuable, and that the land has a dignity and a power all its own. It does not require anything from us. Parks preserve the idea that something does not have to have a purpose to have life." ---Barry Lopez

The Endangered Species Act requires all federal agencies to conserve federally listed species and avoid any actions that would jeopardize their existence. Management actions for these species range from standard protection and monitoring to restoring species to their former habitat from which they have been extirpated (totally removed). The National Park Service's prime mission is "to conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wildlife therein and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such a manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for future generations" (National Park Service Act 1916). From its inception, the North Cascades National Park Service Complex (NOCA) was realized primarily as a wilderness park. In 1988, the Washington Park Wilderness Act set aside 634,614 acres, or 93 percent, of the Complex as The Stephen Mather Wilderness. The Complex encompasses some of the most rugged and magnificent alpine wilderness in the United States and contains almost half the glaciers in the in the lower 48 states. NOCA staff conduct studies to assess the status and monitor the population of wildlife in the Complex. The scientific information is used to assess habitat and work towards restoration of a viable population of endangered species and to prevent habitat destruction related to all native species.

Halting the Extinction of Species

In order to stop the extinction of species, adequate and varied habitats need to be conserved. In addition, laws that protect threatened and endangered species need to be strictly enforced.

Species become threatened and endangered because of the destruction of their habitat and the lack of critical knowledge about their sensitivity. These organisms will not survive in a society that favors development over conserving natural habitats. Threatened and endangered species are dependent upon humans who have to want them to survive.