1. In 150-200 words, describe an area that’s protected by an international conservation organization and the importance of the protection that is provided. What would have happened to it if it had not been protected? What does the future hold for the site?

2. In your own words, what do you think will come of the human species in one thousand years? Will we still be on Earth? Will we have spread to other solar systems? How will maintaining bio diversity, sustainable development, on the planet affect our survival?

3. Using a system diagram, illustrate the effects that the area has on bio diversity and sustainability.

In central Colorado there are 30,540 acres of mountainous forest called Mount Massive Wilderness Area. The IUCN classifies it as ‘Ib’, which means it’s protected to ensure that biodiversity and other natural functions of the ecosystem can flourish[1]. Human presence is heavily restricted, and ‘leave no trace (pack it in/pack it out) practices are enforced. It designated a wilderness area in 1980 by congress and has been managed by the Fish and Wildlife Service and Forest Service ever since. The Leadville national fish hatchery is located within the boundaries of the area and serves to rear several different species of trout to ensure populations of remain sustainable in the rocky mountain area. Without services like this, humans would’ve fished the rivers dry of trout and many of these species would’ve most likely gone extinct. Instead, because of the hatcheries, sportsman can enjoy fishing while the population stays sustainable. As long as current practices are enforced into the future, and barring any natural disaster, this wilderness area will remain pristine for many generations to come.

The human species has proven itself to be an extremely dominant life form. Though we are still relatively new to the planet, we are amazingly adaptable and durable. We exist in every climate. We have a presence on every major body of land. We even maintain a human presence that orbits the planet. We have survived extreme natural disasters, extinctions, famine, plagues, pandemics, wars, etc. Every test that has been thrown at us since the dawn of our existence has been survived. Even with everything that was against us, we’ve flourished to the point of overpopulation that’s depleting our natural resources and polluting our environment. Our biggest hurdle in our evolution is proving to be ourselves. I truly believe that we can and will overcome the challenges us. Collective action will take hold when the effects of climate change become apparent to all. We will apply sustainable ethics to our thought processes and develop appropriate methods of living. We will ensure our own bio diversity as well as our environment’s because without it we won’t be able to survive here long enough to develop the knowledge and means to survive on other worlds. In 1,000 years, I think that we will have learned to live off the planet and will leave this solar system in search of other habitable places for the continued growth of our species.

[1] (wikipedia/ IUCN protected area categories 2016)