Founded 1994 | ||
Founder Dr. Bernie Tershy, and Dr. Don Croll Type 501(c)(3) Non-profit Organization Focus Conserving island habitats and species Location Santa Cruz, California, United States. Area served Caribbean, North America, South America, Pacific | ||
Island Conservation is a non-profit organization with the mission to prevent extinctions by removing invasive species from islands. Island Conservation has therefore focused its efforts on islands with species categorized as Critically Endangered and Endangered on the IUCN's Red List. Working in partnership with local communities, government management agencies, and conservation organizations, Island Conservation develops plans for, and implements the removal of, invasive alien species, and conducts field research to document the benefits of the work and to inform future projects.
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To date Island Conservation has deployed teams to protect 994 populations of 389 species on 52 islands.
The work of Island Conservation is not without controversy, This is documented in "Battle at the End of Eden". Restoring islands requires removing whole populations of an invasive species. There is an ethical question whether humankind has the right to remove one species to save others.
History
Island Conservation was founded by Dr. Bernie Tershy and Dr. Don Croll, both Professors at UCSC's Long Marine Lab. These scientists learned about the story of Clipperton Island which had been visited by ornithologist Ken Stager of the Los Angeles County Museum in 1958. Appalled at the depredations visited by feral pigs upon the island's brown booby and masked booby colonies (reduced to 500 and 150 birds, respectively), Stager procured a shotgun and removed all 58 pigs. By 2003, the colonies numbered 25,000 Brown Boobies and 112,000 Masked Boobies, the world's second-largest Brown Booby colony and largest Masked Booby colony.
Much of organization's early focus was working in Mexico in conjunction with its sister organization, Conservación de Islas, in the Gulf of California and off the Pacific Coast. Subsequently, Island Conservation expanded its geographic scope to the Channel Islands of California, Pacific Coast of Canada, The Aleutians Islands, Hawaiian Islands, and finally to the Pacific, Caribbean, and South America.
Island Conservation has always had a strong scientific grounding. Over 70 peer reviewed publications in major journals such as Biological Conservation, Conservation Biology and Proceedings National Academy of Science have been authored or co-authored by Island Conservation staff and contractors.
Partnerships
As Island Conservation does not have management responsibility over any islands itself, all projects are in partnership with the island owner/manager, island users, local communities and regulatory authorities. Since its founding in 1994, the organization has developed partnerships with over 100 organizations. Partners include conservation organizations, government agencies, regulatory agencies, scientific institutions, and international conservation consortiums. Island Conservation is a member of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Alliance for Zero Extinction, and has a Memorandum of Understanding with the US Fish & Wildlife Service, and BirdLife International amongst others.
Advisory Council
The organization's founding Advisory Board is composed of prominent scientists, practitioners, and authors in the fields of conservation biology and invasive species including Paul Ehrlich, José Sarukhán Kermez, Russell Mittermeier, Harold Mooney, David Quammen, Peter Raven, Michael Soulé, and Edward O. Wilson
North America
In this region, Island Conservation currently works in The United States and Canada. In the United States, the Anacapa Island Restoration Project was completed in 2002 and benefited the Scripps's Murrelet, Cassin's Auklet, and Anacapa Deer Mouse. The Lehau Island Restoration Project was completed in 2006 which benefited Newell's Shearwater, and Black-Footed Albatross. Subsequently, projects completed include the Hawadax Island Restoration Project in 2008, the San Nicolas Island Project in 2010, and the Palmyra Island Restoration Project in 2011.
Key federal government partnerships in North America include in the US Department of Interior, USFWS, NPS, the US Department of Agriculture-APHIS, National Wildlife Research Center, NOAA, Parks Canada Agency, and Environment and Climate Change Canada. Island Conservation is working with the following Non-governmental organizations: Coastal Conservation Association (CA), Bird Studies Canada, American Bird Conservancy, The Nature Conservancy, and Conservación de Islas.
Pacific
Since 2010, Island Conservation has contributed to the development and implementation of island restoration projects in Australia (Lord Howe Island and Norfolk Island), French Polynesia (Acteon-Gambier Archipelago Restoration Project in 2015. ), Tonga (Late Island and numerous small islets), Republic of Palau (including within the Rock Islands Southern Lagoon World Heritage Area), Federated States of Micronesia (Ulithi Lagoon), and New Caledonia (Walpole Island). Island Conservation is an active member of the Pacific Invasives Partnership. Other key partnerships include Invasive Species Council, Birdlife International, New Zealand Department of Conservation, SPREP and the Ornithological Society of French Polynesia.
Caribbean
In this region, Island Conservation works primarily in Puerto Rico, The Commonwealth of The Bahamas, and the Dominican Republic. In May 2012, Island Conservation and the Bahamas National Trust worked together to remove invasive house mice from Allen Cay to protect native species including the Allen Cay Rock Iguana, and Audubon's Shearwater. Since 2008, Island Conservation and the USFWS have worked together to remove invasive vertebrates from Desecheo NWR in Puerto Rico, primarily benefiting the Higo Chumbo cactus, three endemic reptiles, two endemic invertebrates, and to recover globally significant seabird colonies of Brown Boobies, Red-footed Boobies, and Bridled Terns. Future work will focus on important seabird populations, key reptile groups including West Indian Rock Iguanas, and the restoration of Mona Island, Alto Velo, and offshore cays in the Puerto Rican Bank and The Bahamas. Key partnerships include the USFWS, Puerto Rico DNER, the Bahamas National Trust, and the Dominican Republic Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources.
South America
In this region, Island Conservation works primarily in Ecuador and Chile. In Ecuador, the Rábida Island Restoration Project was completed in 2010. A gecko (Phyllodactylus sp.) found during monitoring in late 2012was only recorded from subfossils estimated at more than 5700 years old. Live Rábida Island endemic land snails (Bulimulus (Naesiotus) rabidensis), not seen since collected over 100 years ago, were also collected in late 2012. This was followed in 2012 by the Pinzon and Plaza Sur Island Restoration Project primarily benefiting the Pinzón Giant Tortoise, Opuntia galapageia, Galápagos Land Iguana. As a result of the project, Pinzon Giant Tortoise hatched from eggs and were surviving in the wild for the first time in more than 150 years The current focus in Ecuador is Floreana Island with 55 IUCN threatened species present and 13 extirpated species that could be reintroduced after invasive mammals are eradicated. Partners include: The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust, Ministry of Environment (Galápagos National Park Directorate, Galápagos Biosecurity Agency), the Ministry of Agriculture, the Floreana Parish Council and the Galapagos Government Council.
In 2009 Chile, Island Conservation initiated formal collaborations with CONAF, the country's protected areas agency, to further restoration of islands under their administration. In January 2014, the Choros Island Restoration Project was completed benefiting the Humboldt Peguin, Peruvian Diving-Petrel, and the local eco-tourism industry. The focus of future work includes the Humboldt Penguin National Reserve and the Juan Fernández Archipelago.