Guest guest Posted December 16, 2003 Report Share Posted December 16, 2003 ***************************Advertisement*************************** TechCentral http://star-techcentral.com ***************************************************************** This message was forwarded to you by yitzeling. Comment from sender: This article is from The Star Online (http://thestar.com.my) URL: http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2003/12/16/features/6458282 & sec=\ features ________________________ Tuesday December 16, 2003 Saving the snails <b>Snails & #8217; plight shows a need for more Canadian parks, write JEFFREY JONES.</b> AN endangered creature, found only in the cradle of Canada & #8217;s national park system, is slowly reclaiming its mountain habitat after being driven nearly to extinction by human activity. The turning point came last November when Dwayne Lepitzki reintroduced the species to one of its former homes in Banff National Park, the huge Rocky Mountain haven for bears, elk, and wolves. But the release involved neither helicopter nor cage, and no four-legged critter loped off into the woods. Instead, the biologist picked up a glass beaker and & #8211; sploosh & #8211; poured 50 snails the size of lemon seeds into a natural hot spring. “Go forth and prosper & #8211; that & #8217;s what I was thinking,” Lepitzki recalled, standing beside one of just six thermal pools that are now home to the minuscule mollusc. “It was kind of a momentous occasion. Nobody had done this before, and here we are with an endangered species from nowhere else in the world except here.” The population in the spring has since ballooned to 6,000. Lepitzki, 41, has dedicated eight years to saving the Banff Springs snail, whose entire habitat, when taken together, spans an area the size of a volleyball court. It is one of seven endangered animals and plants the Parks Canada agency has deemed priority species for protection. As many as 200 others in 41 national parks, from caribou to leopard frogs, are considered at risk. The Banff snails thrive on masses of algae floating on the bubbling pools, which are fed by mineral-rich water heated by the Earth & #8217;s core. When Lepitzki & #8217;s quest began, the snails lived in five springs & #8211; having disappeared from four others since their 1926 discovery & #8211; and numbered just 3,000. Now, although numbers fluctuate, the population has surged to 15,000. Instead of hunting or industry, a big threat to the snail & #8217;s survival has been late-night swimming parties & #8211; just as deadly to the tiny creature as any rifle. Environmentalists see the tiny creature & #8217;s plight as a microcosm highlighting the need for more parks to protect threatened wildlife in Canada, where national parks make up 2.3% of the area of the world & #8217;s second largest country. Ecosystems do not recognise park boundaries, said Dave Poulton, an executive director of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, which lobbies for more protected areas. “Many of the species, particularly the larger mammals that are endangered, roam widely, and our parks ... are not large enough to contain them as they roam,” Poulton said. “Therefore it & #8217;s important that the surrounding land be managed in a way that ensures they can move about in a natural manner in order to survive.” Scientists say the snails & #8217; prosperity is a gauge of the health of the wider mountain ecosystem. Before Lepitzki got involved, Banff & #8217;s hot pools were a major draw for tourists wanting a relaxing soak in the shadow of the Rocky Mountains. In fact, the springs at what is called the Cave and Basin, discovered by railway laborers in 1883, formed the basis for Banff, Canada & #8217;s first national park. It is now a national historic site and a United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) heritage site. About 165,000 people visit the Cave and Basin each year. Even with swimming banned, Lepitzki and his team constantly contend with visitors disruptively dipping hands in the water. With any national park, government must balance wildlife protection with tourism, said Gilles Seutin, Parks Canada & #8217;s coordinator for species at risk. Seutin agreed more parks are needed to protect animals and cited Prime Minister Jean Chretien & #8217;s pledge in February to set aside land for 10 more national parks and five new marine reserves. Protecting species at risk is no easy task, even within parks, as Lepitzki found one night in 1999. Ignoring security systems to protect the snails, 10 people hopped over the fence at the Cave and Basin for a naked swim. When police arrived, the springs were stirred up and the critical algae was flung onto the adjacent building. The skinny dippers were fined up to C$1,000 (RM2,700) each, but not before 10% of the snails had been obliterated. An unknown number of eggs were also destroyed. “They very well may have killed the next generation,” Lepitzki said. He said it was too early to say if the snails & #8217; survival is assured, and his struggle to save them showed the importance of setting aside more land for parks. “I & #8217;m sure nowhere else in the world do we have an endangered species within a national historic site, within a national park, which is within a UNESCO world heritage site. “If we can & #8217;t protect a species that lives under those different levels of jurisdiction, what chances do some of the other animals have?” & #8211; Reuters <p> ________________________ Your one-stop information portal: The Star Online http://thestar.com.my http://biz.thestar.com.my http://classifieds.thestar.com.my http://cards.thestar.com.my http://search.thestar.com.my http://star-motoring.com http://star-space.com http://star-jobs.com http://star-ecentral.com http://star-techcentral.com 1995-2003 Star Publications (Malaysia) Bhd. All rights reserved. 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