1. Get Involved.
Conservation organizations such as the Raptor Center in Minnesota and your local nature center rely on your support to further their important missions.
2. Get the lead out.
Lead poisoning from fishing tackle and lead ammunition are a major cause of deaths among bald eagles and loons. Use safer alternatives.
3. Slow the spread of West Nile virus.
Remove standing water from your property. Clean Bird feeders and bath regularly. West Nile virus is transmitted to birds, animals and people by mosquitoes.
4. Eliminate unnecessary pesticide use.
An estimated 672 million birds are effected annually by the use of pesticides on farms alone. According to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service approximately 50 pesticides have caused bird die-offs. Even small amounts on lawns can have a cumulative effect.
5. Keep the cat indoors.
Domestic cats account for millions of song bird deaths a year. Keeping your cat indoors can be safer for cat as well.
6. Use phosphorus-free dish washing detergents.
Phosphorus in waterways causes increased growth of algae and weeds that can choke off the system and decreases oxygen supply needed by native plants and animals.
7. Can your cans.
Recycling one aluminum can saves the amount of energy used to power a television set for three hours.
8. Walk, bike, use mass transit, or ride share.
Fossil-fuel-burning power plants, industrial facilities and motor vehicles are the primary sources of air pollution, acid rain and smog that threaten the health and beauty of the world we live in and all share.
9. Conserve Electricity.
Almost all energy production and use involves some form of pollution of our environment. Each source of energy whether fossil or nuclear pollutes in different ways and to different degrees. Just how much and what type of pollution is acceptable has generated a lot of controversy. What we do know is that conserving electricity helps reduce pollution.
10. Properly Dispose of Toxic Chemicals(e.g. latex paint) and Items Containing Mercury.
Mercury is a potent nerve toxin that is increasingly found in water, fish and birds. The mercury content in wild fish found in many lakes and oceans can make it unsafe to eat.
11. Grow Native.
Exotic plants and animals are very harmful to many of our native species, and are a threat to many national parks and refuges. Plant native species in your own backyards.
12. Protect Native Prairie.
Th U.S. has only one percent of its original prairie left. Prairies have many threatened and endangered species. The sharpest decline in North American songbirds is in the grassland nesting species.
13. Stop Junk Mail.
The junk mail that Americans receive in one day could produce enough energy to heat 250,000 homes. Visit the privacy rights clearing house at http://privacyrights.org or other Web sites to stop junk mail.
14. Recycle Newspapers.
It takes more that 500,000 trees to supply the U.S. with Sunday newspapers every week. Recycle or get connected and read your Sunday paper on line.
15. Share What You Know.
Share what you learn with others. Share your love of the natural world with a child to help insure that our wild spaces and the creatures that live there will be with us long into the future.
This material was used with the permission of The Raptor Center at the University of Minnesota - www.thereptorcenter.org
