SEA TURTLES
For nearly 200 million years, Sea Turtles have swum the depths of the Earth's oceans. These ancient, solitary creatures are able to migrate hundreds and sometimes thousands of miles, traveling from their feeding ground to their nesting beach, which is usually the same beach on which they were born. While Sea Turtles have poor vision out of water, their sense of smell is excellent. They are said to hear best at low frequencies, and theory suggests that they are able to detect magnetic fields which play a key role in their ability to navigate by being able to determine the angle and intensity of the Earth's surface. Out of seven species of sea turtles, four are classified as endangered--the Green Turtle, the Leatherback, the Hawksbill, and Kemp's Ridley. The Leather back, which is known as the champion of sea turtles because it travels the farthest dives the deepest, and grows the largest, is said to be moving the most quickly towards extinction, having dropped in number from 115,000 to around 34,500 in only fifteen years. Because of abrupt changes brought about by humans, including habitat destruction and pollution, it is said that only one in 1,000-10,000 sea turtle hatchlings will survive to adulthood.

Why Are Manatees Endangered?
One of the problems manatees face is that their reproductive rate is slow. Scientists believe female manatees don't become sexually mature until around five years of age. Males are mature at approximately nine years. Manatee females usually bear one calf every two to five years, and twins are rare. Because the reproductive rate is so low, the species as a whole adapts very slowly to changing situations or unnatural stress.

Any species of animal living in the wild will suffer losses from natural causes and can usually overcome those losses, but the manatee population must also deal with additional mortalities caused by human-related factors. Research from the Florida Marine Research Institute (FMRI) has shown that human-related activities accounted for 44 percent of all manatee mortalities from 1976 though 2001, where cause of death could be determined. FMRI statistics also show that most human-related manatee mortalities occur from collisions with watercraft.

Endangered manatees in Florida are slow-moving marine mammals that sometimes find themselves outrun (and cut up by) speeding motorboats. Boating special interest groups are trying to get the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to move the manatee from the endangered to threatened list even though there are only some 3,200 of the gentle sea cows left, of which 95 were killed in boat collisions in the past year. Tell lil' brother, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) and the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to stand up for manatees by signing this Save the Manatee Club petition.

Contacting Governor Bush will help illustrate to policy makers the importance of manatees. You can write, type, phone, fax or e-mail. It doesn’t matter whether you live in state or outside of Florida. Any type of communication helps!

The Honorable Jeb Bush
The Capitol
Tallahassee, FL 32399
Phone: (850) 488-4441
Fax: (850) 487-0801
E-mail: jeb@myflorida.com

Salmon are an integral part of American history and culture. Their abundance in the Pacific Northwest astonished Lewis & Clark, and they continue to nurture the bodies and spirits of Native Americans. Salmon provide jobs to thousands, and define the communities where they survive. Unfortunately, salmon populations are mere remnants of their once historic bounty. ams, deforestation, sprawl, river channelization and pollution are putting pressure on our remaining salmon.

Dolphin deaths decreased 97 percent after "dolphin-safe" labels appeared on tuna cans in 1990. In the interest of foreign trade, the White House wants to redefine what it means to be dolphin-safe - a move that spells danger for dolphins. Write Secretary of Commerce Donald Evans and Secretary of State Colin Powell to tell them to stick with the current definition of dolphin-safe.

Dolphins have a very high sense of family. Female Dolphins often act as aunts to encircle and protect the offspring of other Dolphins. They use tools, organize and hunt together, and are extremely social and playful. They are highly intelligent and communicative, and some people believe Dolphins even have the ability to sense internal injuries in humans. The difference between a Dolphin and a porpoise is the Dolphin has round cone shaped teeth and a larger head and snout than a porpoise, which has flat triangular teeth. Each year 80% to 90% of Dolphin deaths occur as a result of commercial fishing operations which display a disregard for other sea life as well. Destruction of the Dolphin occurs by drive fisheries, entanglement in monofilament drift and gill nets, pollution, habitat destruction, and over exploitation. Since "Purse Seining" operations began in the 60’s, roughly 80% of the Dolphin stock of 7,000,000 have been slaughtered.

We can approximately find some 2 to 10 million species of insects on earth, of which we actually know only a fraction. The number of individuals per species is impressive too. Some of the smaller species have billions of representatives. Most insects are small, many can hardly be seen with the naked eye. Insects belong to the same group of animals as for instance the spiders, but their main characteristic is the number of legs. All insects have 6 legs. Insects have distinct stages in their life. They all start off as an egg. There are no insects that give birth to living young, even though with some species the egg hadges at the moment that it is being laid. Out of the egg comes the larva. Some larvae are almost identical to the adult animal (even though larvae always lack the wings) and are called nymphs, but in many other cases the larvae look like little worms. The larvae of some meat flies are often called gentles and used as bate by the fishermen. The often very hairy larvae of butterflies and moths are known as caterpillars. Some larvae have their very own name. The larvae of crane-flies are called leather-jackets. They are notorious for nibbling at the roots of grass. This may cause brown places in your lawn.

A single toad can consume about 110 beetles, slugs, moths, sowbugs, armyworms and other bugs a day. That’s around 3,300 per month! Toads are most active at night when slugs and cutworms are active. During the day, they need a fairly dark, cool place to hide from the sun and predators. A simple way to welcome one of these homely, but lovable gardener’s friends is to make a toad house. (This is a great project for kids!)

What You’ll Need:
A medium-sized clay flower pot
Acrylic paints
A paint brush
A trowel or large spoon
A disposable pie tin or the saucer from the flower pot

What to Do:

• Wash and dry the pot if it has been used.
  Paint leaf and other designs using browns, greens and other earth colors, on the outside of the pot. Don’t forget the bottom.
  
• When the paint is dry, take it outside to a sheltered spot in your garden among your plants. Lay the pot on its side. Using a trowel or large spoon, bury the pot halfway into the ground. Place some dead leaves in the bottom of the house.
  
• After a few days, check to see if any of the debris in the house has been moved. Give it some time, but if it seems that no one has moved in, try moving your house to another location.
  
• Toads drink by sitting in water and soaking it through their skin. Place the pie tin or clay saucer filled with water in a spot near the house, but that is out of view.
  
• If you want to really pamper your new tenant, put a battery-operated night light near the house. This will attract moths and other yummy snacks.