Sexual predators, energy development, and conservation in greater Yellowstone
In the United States, as elsewhere, a growing debate pits national energy policy and homeland security against biological conservation. In rural communities the extraction of fossil fuels is often encouraged because of the employment opportunities it offers, although the concomitant itinerant workfo...
| Veröffentlicht in: | Conservation biology : the journal of the Society for Conservation Biology. - 1999. - 24(2010), 3 vom: 01. Juni, Seite 891-6 |
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| Format: | Online-Aufsatz |
| Sprache: | English |
| Veröffentlicht: |
2010
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| Zugriff auf das übergeordnete Werk: | Conservation biology : the journal of the Society for Conservation Biology |
| Schlagworte: | Journal Article Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't Petroleum |
| Zusammenfassung: | In the United States, as elsewhere, a growing debate pits national energy policy and homeland security against biological conservation. In rural communities the extraction of fossil fuels is often encouraged because of the employment opportunities it offers, although the concomitant itinerant workforce is often associated with increased wildlife poaching. We explored possible positive and negative factors associated with energy extraction in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE), an area known for its national parks, intact biological diversity, and some of the New World's longest terrestrial migrations. Specifically, we asked whether counties with different economies-recreation (ski), agrarian (ranching or farming), and energy extractive (petroleum)-differed in healthcare (gauged by the abundance of hospital beds) and in the frequency of sexual predators. The absolute and relative frequency of registered sex offenders grew approximately two to three times faster in areas reliant on energy extraction. Healthcare among counties did not differ. The strong conflation of community dishevel, as reflected by in-migrant sexual predators, and ecological decay in Greater Yellowstone is consistent with patterns seen in similar systems from Ecuador to northern Canada, where social and environmental disarray exist around energy boomtowns. In our case, that groups (albeit with different aims) mobilized campaigns to help maintain the quality of rural livelihoods by protecting open space is a positive sign that conservation can matter, especially in the face of rampant and poorly executed energy extraction projects. Our findings further suggest that the public and industry need stronger regulatory action to instill greater vigilance when and where social factors and land conversion impact biological systems |
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| Beschreibung: | Date Completed 27.09.2010 Date Revised 28.06.2011 published: Print-Electronic CommentIn: Conserv Biol. 2011 Jun;25(3):635-6; discussion 637-8. - PMID 21453362 Citation Status MEDLINE |
| ISSN: | 1523-1739 |
| DOI: | 10.1111/j.1523-1739.2010.01449.x |