WebJunction - Ecosystems

Overview

2008-08-18T20:55:01Z

Key Resources

Ecosystems Resources

A list of government entities with links and descriptions which addresss environmental issues such as pollution control, air quality, global warming, climate change, and natural disasters.
EnviroFacts

From the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Envirofacts is single point access to a variety of EPA databases covering environmental activities related to air, water, and land. Envirofacts allows users to find environmental activities for a specific area.

Subtopic Resources

Related Resources

Energy & Natural Resources

Websites and Internet Resources on Ecosystems

2008-06-27T23:25:09Z

A list of external links

EnviroFacts
From the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Envirofacts is single point access to a variety of EPA databases covering environmental activities related to air, water, and land. Envirofacts allows users to find environmental activities for a specific area.

Ecosystems Resources

2008-05-13T20:14:00Z

Change to Community Action for a Renewable Environment (CARE)

http://www.epa.gov/care/

CARE is a grant program administered by the EPA to provide funding to communities to assist in reducing pollution. This website directs users to basic information, existing CARE community profiles, and information on applying.

Global Atmospheric Protection

http://www.epa.gov/air/global.html

Provides information on air pollution issues that extend beyond the United States. Topics include acid rain, climate change, ozone depletion, and international programs.

Health and Ecosystems Protection

http://www.epa.gov/air/ecosystem.html

This section of the EPA website addresses health and ecosystem protection issues in relation to air and radiation. Topics include acid rain, forecasting air quality, air quality trends, the Great Waters Program, ultraviolet radiation, and visibility.

Global Warming

http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/index.html

"EPA's Climate Change Site offers comprehensive information on the issue of climate change in a way that is accessible and meaningful to all parts of society – communities, individuals, business, states and localities, and governments."

U.S. Global Change Research Program

http://www.usgcrp.gov/usgcrp/default.php

Through collaboration with other government agencies, the U.S. Global Change Research Program researches “the interactions of natural and human-induced changes in the global environment and their implications for society”. Our Changing Planet, the program’s annual report is issued as part of the president’s annual budget, but direct links for each year’s edition are provided on this site.

Environmental Protection Agency, High School Environmental Center-Ecosystems

http://epa.gov/highschool/ecosystems.htm

The EPA’s High School Environmental Center provides information on environmental topics geared for high school age students. This particular page focuses on Ecosystems, including links to topics such as aquatic ecosystems, terrestrial ecosystems, and species.

USGS- Science in Your Backyard

http://www.usgs.gov/state/

The USGS provides state-by-state specific information including real-time water, flood, and earthquake updates. News releases related to the local area are compiled and an information box provides quick geological facts about the state.

Endangered Species

2008-05-13T20:13:59Z

Issue Context

From US Fish And Wildlife Service: Before a plant or animal species can receive protection under the Endangered Species Act (http://www.fws.gov/endangered/whatwedo.html), it must first be placed on the Federal list of endangered and threatened wildlife and plants. Our listing program follows a strict legal process to determine whether to list a species, depending on the degree of threat it faces. An “endangered” species is one that is in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range. A “threatened” species is one that is likely to become endangered in the foreseeable future. The Service also maintains a list of plant and animals native to the United States that are candidates or proposed for possible addition to the Federal list. All of the Service’s actions, from proposals to listings to removals ("delisting"), are announced through the Federal Register.

The Endangered Species Act (ESA) was passed in 1973 as a response to concern in the United States about the decline of species around the world. It is considered one of the most comprehensive wildlife conservation laws in the world.

The purpose of the ESA is to "conserve the ecosystems upon which threatened or endangered species depend" and to conserve and recover listed species. Under the law, species may be listed as either "threatened" or "endangered."

Online Resources

Endangered Species Program

http://www.fws.gov/endangered/wildlife.html

This website is maintained by the Fish and Wildlife Service and focuses on threatened and endangered species. A search feature allows users to search for species using common or scientific names with results showing the status, taxonomy, region, and latest activity for each plant or animal’s listing. Users will find maps showing how many listed, proposed, and candidate species reside in what areas of the country.

Endangered Species Act of 1973

http://www.fws.gov/endangered/esa.html

This is the complete text of the Endangered Species Act of 1973.

Endangered Species on EELink

http://eelink.net/EndSpp/endangeredspecies-mainpage.html

EELink is sponsored by the North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE). This page provides links to a wealth of information on endangered species in a user-friendly format.

Federal Register

http://www.fws.gov/policy/frsystem/default.cfm

This page allows users to search for environmentally related documents in the Federal Register. Searching can be done with keywords or users can browse through the index list of titles from 1994 to the present.

International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)

http://www.iucnredlist.org/

This organization works to assess the conservation status of plants and animals all over the world in order to determine which are in need of more conservation efforts. The IUCN Red List evaluates a plant or animal’s risk of actual extinction. Information on how this is determined and what plants and animals are on their list can be found on this website.

NOAA Fisheries Office of Protected Resources

http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/species/

The Office of Protected Resources focuses mainly on marine by managing 60 endangered list species and 40 species of concern. This site offers information about these animals, how this organization works to protect them, and information on conservation.

Regulations.gov

http://regulations.gov

This website allows the public to search for, view, and comment on regulations and other actions of federal agencies.

Guides

Citizens' Guide to the Endangered Species Act

http://www.earthjustice.org/library/reports/Citizens_Guide_ESA.pdf

This report is produced by EarthJustice, a non-profit legal group that works to protect the environment and its wildlife and ensure that environmental laws are enforced. This user-friendly guide explains the Endangered Species Act from its origins to how it works.

Commonly Asked Questions about the Endangered Species Act

http://www.nesarc.org/faq.htm

Commonly asked questions answered by the National Endangered Species Act Reform Coalition.

Endangered Species Field Trip

http://www.field-trips.org/sci/endanger/index.htm

This site takes users on a virtual field trip to learn about endangered animals. Geared mostly toward grade-school aged children, this site provides useful teacher resources for explaining how an animal becomes endangered, the difference between endangered and extinct, and why we should care about endangered species.

Invasive Species

2008-05-13T20:13:59Z

Issue Context

"Invasive species" can be defined as species that is non-native (or alien) to an ecosystem and whose introduction causes or is likely to cause economic or environmental harm or harm to human health. (Executive Order 13112). Invasive species can be animals (mammals, birds, reptiles, and insects), plants, aquatic species and other organisms. Human activity is the primary means of invasive species introduction into non-native environment.

Online Resources

U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, National Agriculture Library, Invasive Species List

http://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/resources/lists.shtml

This portion of the National Agriculture Library’s website provides lists of invasive species by geographic region. Also, lists are included from Canada, Australian, and England. Users can browse by subjects such as invasive animals, plants, aquatic species, and microbes.

U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, National Agriculture Library. National Invasive Species Information Center (NISIC)

http://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/

This information center directs users to federal, state, local, and international information on invasive species. The main page lists current invasive species issues in the news, while “spotlight” links toward the bottom of the page take the user to information about invasive species related education, bills, and funding.

U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, National Agriculture Library. National Invasive Species Information Center Manager's Tool Kit

http://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/toolkit/controlplanspec.shtml

This page provides links to lists of management plans for invasive aquatic species, animals, plants, and microbes.

Natural Resources Conservation Service. Web Soil Surveys

http://websoilsurvey.nrcs.usda.gov/app/

This interactive web resource allows users to access soil data collected by the National Cooperative Soil Survey. Users isolate an area of interest within the United States, choose the soil features they want to know more about and a report is generated by the site.

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service: National Wildlife Refuge Volunteer Weed Mapping Manual.

http://www.fws.gov/invasives/pdfs/weed_manual_draft_update11_15_06.pdf

This manual was created by the National Wildlife Refuge System to provide instruction to volunteers who provide assistance in mapping invasive weeds in natural areas. This fairly technical manual focuses mainly on installing and using the Refuge Lands GIS Geodatabase module system.

U.S. Geological Survey: Center for Biological Informatics Invasive Species Information Node

http://invasivespecies.nbii.gov/

The purpose of this website is provide comprehensive invasive species information in one location. Users will find tools such as a Global Invasive Species Database, identification tools to help distinguish an invasive species from native look-alikes, invasive species distribution maps, and a system for reporting local occurrences of invasive species.