Against Pleistocene Rewilding
Discovery Channel :: News - Animals :: Scientists Criticize ‘Rewilding’ Plan
Pleistocene rewilding, in fact, may be disastrous, according to [Dustin Rubenstein, lead author of an upcoming Biological Conservation paper addressing the 2005 Nature proposal]. At best, it would not work, and many of the introduced animals could perish, they believe. At worst, they argue it could “irreparably disrupt current ecosystems and species assemblages.”Another goal of the Pleistocene plan is to help prevent the extinction of existing species by creating new and potentially better-protected populations in North America.
But, since conservation resources are scarce, Rubenstein thinks money and effort would be better spent on preserving native North American animals and their indigenous habitats, and on reintroducing species to places in their historical ranges from which they were only recently wiped out.
Not in My Back Yard, says the American mountain lion and his human friends.
Technorati Tags: Pleistocene rewilding, NIMBY
