A plan for biodiversity by Michael Short Last February, a biodiversity seminar drew a who's who of local conservation officials. The issue attracted attention at the highest levels of Delaware state government and has been championed by Gov. Minner. It's a very new term for an ancient problem which is being addressed by a new biodiversity partnership, an effort we will address in further detail in next week's column. While Delaware has abundant wildlife, many of the rarer plants and animals are finding it difficult to sustain themselves.
Statistics indicate that only four percent of Delaware mammals are at risk of disappearing forever.
In some cases, habitat loss has clearly been the reason for the loss of species. The loss of open space, woodlands and hedgerows affects everything from songbirds to quail, but it's not the only reason for loss of diversity. Everything from DDT to invasive species has been or could be on the list of potential problems. In some cases, plants or animals were never abundant in this area and would probably be in dire straits no matter what man does. So, while Delaware has a great diversity of wildlife and some magnificent animals such as rebounding numbers of bald eagles, the picture tends to be somewhat frayed at the edge.