Say “No” to the Six Stories – of Domination, Revolution, Isolation, Purification, Victimization and Accumulation. “Yes” to the Seventh Story of openheartedness.
Read Cory and the Seventh Story: A Children’s Book for Adults – Penguin Random House
Core Reserves
The Six-Story Reality – Other creatures need protected habitat to survive and evolve and many can only do so in the absence of human development.
Analysis – A few animals such as raccoons and coyotes thrive around human settlement. But many creatures need spaces undisturbed by roads, dams, and other encroachments of civilization.
It isn’t the actual presence of people that is detrimental, but rather the resources they take away and the footprints they leave behind. If they cut trees, they keep the woods from developing into a deep dark forest that is needed by species such as spotted owls. If they hunt or trap, they are apt to skew the balance between predator and prey, and to appropriate for human use the meat that would otherwise feed bear, cougar, and other carnivores.
Core Reserves may be established in either pristine or recovering areas. In either case, their purpose is to maintain fully functional ecosystems with a complete suite of native species. Reserves provide essential habitat for a wide range of plants, mammals, insects, birds, fish, and other organisms. Within a reserve system, there should be full representation of populations, species, habitats, landscapes, and ecosystem types, particularly those that are scarce or endangered.
The reserve system should capture a complete transect of a bioregion, from low-to-high elevation; terrestrial, freshwater, and marine; wetlands, rivers, forests, prairies, and other ecosystem types; and the full range of climate, soil types, geology, and so forth. At this point in history, human numbers are so great, and the reach of our technology so pervasive, that these Core Reserves are essential for the preservation of Biodiversity.
Core Reserves must be large enough, and sufficiently Green connected to other protected areas, so that they can support viable populations of all native species. They should also be large enough to support the fires, floods, and storms that play a critical role in natural systems. These processes must either be present, or carefully mimicked through management techniques, to provide evolutionary continuity.
Core Reserves should be managed in a way that honors long-stranding, benign uses by local people. They are essential places of spiritual and cultural renewal. With appropriate safeguards, they may be managed as an Ecotourism destination. However, they must remain off-limits to all extractive activity and high-impact recreation.
Seventh Story Choice – Set aside large tracts of land and aquatic habitat where the needs of the more-than-human world come first, the commercial extraction of commodities is banned, and people may visit only if they keep their impact to an absolute minimum. Ensure broad representation of species and ecosystem types in a bioregional Core Reserve system.
Say “No” to the Six Stories – of Domination, Revolution, Isolation, Purification, Victimization and Accumulation. “Yes” to the Seventh Story of openheartedness.
Read Cory and the Seventh Story: A Children’s Book for Adults – Penguin Random House
ORGANIZATIONS IMPLEMENTING THIS PATTERN
- Spokane Audubon Society
OUR MISSION – The Spokane Audubon Society advocates for birds and their habitats in the Inland Northwest and connects people with nature.see Case Study below). - Inland Northwest Land Conservancy
For healthy ecosystems, clean water, and future generations
Protecting and caring for the lands and waters essential to life and the well-being of communities in the Inland Northwest.Conservation by the Numbers:
Acres of Protected Land 30,016
No. of Conserved Properties 134
Conservation Agreement Acres 15,409
Waterways & Shoreline 128 miles
Partner Project Acres 10,604
Spokane & Kootenai County Households Within Sight of Land the Conservancy Has Helped Protect 90%
7TH STORY CASE STUDIES
EXAMPLES OF THIS PATTERN IN ACTION
- Birders Helped Initiate the Protection of Rearden Pond, Saltese Flats and xxxx as Core Reserves