Date: Fri, 5 Feb 1999 19:01:20 -0400
To: tlovejoy@worldbank.org
From: pick@pick.uga.edu (John Pickering)
Subject: ATBI: Info & ideas
Cc: QBoyd@aol.com, hjansson@ncarboretum.org, devore@fas.harvard.edu,
        wfharris@utk.edu, Johnson.2@osu.edu, tkiernan@npca.org,
        mlane@ukans.edu, lowe@opie.bgsu.edu, grsm_friends_of_grsm_np@nps.gov,
        jmorse@clemson.edu, pick@pick.uga.edu, sriecher@utk.edu,
        jltabor@sacam.oren.ortn.edu, msharkey@byron.ca.uky.edu,
        skillen@pick.uga.edu, pswhite@unc.edu, mjwillia@tricon.net,
        Karen_Ballentine@nps.gov, Phil_Francis@nps.gov, keith_langdon@nps.gov,
        becky_nichols@nps.gov, chuck_parker@nbs.gov, Dana_Soehn@nps.gov,
        GRSM_Superintendent@nps.gov, whallwac@sas.upenn.edu,
        djanzen@sas.upenn.edu, pulliam@ecology.uga.edu, praven@nas.edu,
        ewilson@oeb.harvard.edu, bcarroll@infointl.com, Gladys_Cotter@usgs.gov,
        denny_fenn@usgs.gov, jody@discoverlife.org, mark_fornwall@usgs.gov,
        bphayden@nsf.gov, lhirsch@si.edu, dsiegel@nsf.gov, Mike_Soukup@nps.gov,
        Fsharples@ostp.eop.gov, cthompso@sel.barc.usda.gov,
        dwagner@uconnvm.uconn.edu, wilson.don@nmnh.si.edu,
        young.steve@epamail.epa.gov

Tom,

Enjoyed our conversation last week.  Thanks for your many ideas.  By now
you should have received a package with some glossy info on the ATBI.  I've
enclosed a bunch of our brochures for you to distribute.  I've also
included two copies of the Nov/Dec issue of National Parks magazine.  The
ATBI is featured in the article on pages 22-25 and the editorial by Tom
Kiernan on page 6.  Tom is President of the National Parks & Conservation
Association and Secretary of Discover Life in America -- our organization
coordinating the ATBI and its partners.  The magazine was distributed to
NPCA's 400,000+ members.  If you get the chance, please give a copy of each
to Mike Domback.  The end of the brocure lists our URL,
, where he can get additional information.

Please explore with Mike the possibility of the Forest Service joining us
as full partners in our ATBI endeavor.  I hope he will see this as a
favorable opportunity for the Forest Service to take a more active role in
biodiversity research and education that will ultimately lead to wiser
multiple-use of public lands.

The Forest Service manages three National Forests in the vicinity of Great
Smoky Mountains National Park.  Two of their key neighboring facilities are
in Ashville and Morgantown.  The following possibilities spring to mind of
how we might work together.

1) The Forest Service commits considerable resources and personnel to gypsy
moths -- something that is becoming a non-problem, thanks to an
entomophthora fungus that is effectively controlling the moths in many
areas.  Might some of their scientific expertise be redirected towards the
basic study of biodiversity in eastern forests?  Probably half of all
eastern species occur in the Smokies.  By conducting and coordinating
research on species of mutual interest, the Forest Service could make a
substantial contribution to the knowledge base on eastern flora and fauna
that the ATBI envisions producing.

2) The Forest Service produces numerous publications.  Could we work
together to produce material that would excite the general public and help
them become involved in inventorying and studying biodiversity?  For
example, the Forest Service's Forest Health Technology Enterprise Team in
Morgantown recently published a magnificent identification guide to the
caterpillars of eastern forests with photographs of 200+ species (Wagner et
al., FHTET-96-34).  Over 7,000 copies of this guide have been distributed,
many of them to high school teachers.

3) In a similar vein, we should work together to build interactive
identification guides on the Web and homepages for each species.

4) We could gain considerable insight into the impact of different
management practices on biodiversity and ecosystem health by comparing
study sites in the Park with ones in the adjacent National Forests.  How
resilient are different taxa and different habitats to fragment size,
disturbance intensity and frequency, hunting, air quality, 10 million
annual visitors, etc?

Currently, 800+ individuals are participating in the ATBI from over 100
organizations, including the National Park Service, the Biological
Resources Division of USGS, and the Smithsonian.  Last February, OSTP
hosted an ATBI presentation at the White House.  Since then we have come a
long way and are now ready to cast a wider net for partners.  I'll pursue
your idea of us making a short presentation, followed by discussion, to the
Committee of Environment and Natural Resources'subcommittee on Ecological
Systems.  I'll check with Mike Soukup for how best to arrange this with
Mark Schaffer so that you and other key individuals can participate.

Finally, I wish to plant a seed for the future -- an Environmental Security
Act, similar to the Social Security Act, that guarantees all citizens
environmental health and well being.  Its goal should be to ensure
everyones long-term health and enjoyment by helping each generation to
leave a better environment for their children.  It's time to think beyond
sustainability and work toward rebuilding a healthy and vibrant world.

Cheers,
Pick


_________________________________________________________
John Pickering
Institute of Ecology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602-2602
Office: 706-542-1115                                 Messages: 706-542-3379
Laboratory:  706-542-1388                              FAX: 706-542-3344

e-mail: pick@pick.uga.edu                              Home: 706-353-7076
Web sites:            
_________________________________________________________

Discover Life in America | Who's Involved | Correspondence | Pickering - 5 February, 1999