Current projections forecast that about half of Earth's plants and animals will go extinct over the next century because of human activities, mostly due to our agricultural methods............ "The extinction under way threatens to weaken and even destroy key parts of Earth's life-support systems, upon which economic prosperity and all other aspects of human well-being depend......................This new research(utilizing Bats use of farmland) seeks to show that agricultural and forest remnants can be more valuable for biodiversity than previously assumed..................The study's findings point to the need for new approaches that integrate conservation and food production, to make agricultural lands more hospitable to wildlife by reducing chemical inputs, preserving fragments of forest and other natural habitats and rewarding farmers and ranchers for the benefits that result...................I vote for this within the context of large core native landscape reserves, interconnected with these same type corridors,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,THE WILDLANDS AND WOODLANDS paradigm being put forth for New England by Dr. David Foster and colleagues at Harvard Forest in Massachusetts is a worthy model to follow in this regard.............Click on the links below to read full articles

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/04/140418161437.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily%2Fplants_animals+%28Plants+%26+Animals+News+--+ScienceDaily%29#.U1P4Sf8WTi8.email

www.wildlandsandwoodlands.org/vision/vision-massachusetts

http://harvardforest.fas.harvard.edu/sites/harvardforest.fas.harvard.edu/files/Changes%20to%20the%20Land%20-%20final%20report%20-%20Jan%202014.pdf

WILDLANDS AND WOODLANDS

 at a Glance

W&;W calls for conservation of 70% of New England as forests—while we still have this spectacular chance.
W&W celebrates the many committed people conserving land today...
And offers new ways to collaborate to double the pace of conservation.
Together we will sustain the forested and natural landscapes that in turn sustain us.