Pacific Northwest Research Station

Book on little-known species and conservation provides guidance to managers and others

Book synthesizes scientific information to apply to real-world problems

USDA Forest Service
Pacific Northwest Research Station

Portland, OR: December 21, 2007

Contact:

Martin Raphael at 360.753.7662 or mraphael@fs.fed.us or Randy Molina at 503.661.6042 or molinar@onid.orst.edu

Media Assistance: Sherri Richardson Dodge, (503) 808-2137, srichardsondodge@fs.fed.us

PORTLAND, Ore. December 21, 2007. In the early 1990s, federal agencies in the West were asked to implement the Northwest Forest Plan. Part of that task involved an inventory and conservation plan for more than 300 rare species believed to be associated with old-growth forests. Debates arose among the agency leads regarding how to begin this daunting task and how best to carry it out.

The recently published Conservation of Rare or Little-Known Species, by Island Press, answers questions regarding alternative approaches to conserving rare or little-known species; the economic, legal, social implications; and other issues.

An excellent resource for anyone who cares about conservation of rare species, this book is accessible to a lay audience--people simply interested in the issue—as well as students, land managers, policymakers, and scientists.

“ This book arose out of a conference [Innovations in Species Conservation] held in Portland in 2003,” says co-editor, Martin Raphael, a research wildlife biologist at the Forest Service’s Pacific Northwest Research Station. “I was asked to lead a team to develop a white paper on the concepts that were to be discussed in that conference. This book is the culmination of that process.”

Randy Molina, retired from the Pacific Northwest Research Station, is a co-editor of this book and now works as a private consultant on mycological issues in forestry.

The book is published by Island Press, a nonprofit organization, which publishes books about environmental issues and natural resource management. http://www.islandpress.org/

The Pacific Northwest Research Station is headquartered in Portland, Ore., with about 500 employees based in 11 laboratories and research centers located in Alaska, Oregon, and Washington.
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