Perhaps the best single reference on conservation-related activities is the Conservation Directory, updated annually and published by the National Wildlife Federation. This comprehensive directory contains thousands of listings on local, national, and international conservation organizations, conservation publications, and the names of leaders in many conservation areas. Other exhaustive references of interest are The New Complete Guide to Environmental Careers (Island Press, 1993) and Environmental Profiles: A Global Guide to Projects and People (Garland Publishing, 1993). The following list provides addresses and a brief description of activities for some major environmental organizations and resources.
American Association of Zoological Parks and Aquariums
Oglesbay Park
Wheeling, WV 26003
This national association is dedicated to promoting the responsible care and exhibition of animals by zoos. It is a strong advocacy group for the preservation of captive wildlife species.
Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum
2021 N. Kinney Road
Tucson, AZ 85743-8918
Tel: (520) 883-1380
Fax: (520) 883-2500
email: fpollen@azstarnet.com
This unique museum is situated in the Sonoran Desert of southern Arizona. Exhibits focus on the animal and plant life, geology, and history of this subtropical desert area of Arizona, California, and northern Mexico. A nonprofit, membership-supported organization active in educational outreach for students, educators, and adults, the museum conducts extensive on-site programs and trips to field sites around the world. It also publishes a newsletter, Sonorensis, and natural history books. It is the home of new pollinator gardens, arthropod exhibits, the Forgotten Pollinators public awareness campaign, and the Desert Alert program for volunteers.
Bat Conservation International (BCI)
P.O. Box 162603
Austin, TX 78716-2603
Tel: (512) 327-9721
This organization seeks to promote bat conservation by increasing public awareness of their ecological importance.
CITES Secretariat, UNEP
15 Chemin des Anemones
Case Postale 356
1219 Chatelaine
Geneva, Switzerland
This is a regulatory body that controls the trade in endangered species and products derived from their harvest.
Environmental Defense Fund
257 Park Avenue South
New York, NY 10010
This organization provides assistance with scientific, legal, and economic issues related to conservation biology and pesticide abuse.
International Bee Research Association (IBRA)
18 North Road
Cardiff, CF 13DY
United Kingdom
Tel: (+44) 1-222-372409
Fax: (+44) 1-222-665522
IBRA is a nonprofit organization formed in 1949 and devoted to advancing apicultural education and science worldwide. It serves as a central clearinghouse for all published information on bees of the world, with a focus on apiculture, the study of honeybees. Its world-class library can be accessed by members and visitors. IBRA sponsors numerous international scientific colloquia and conferences and publishes scientific journals on beekeeping including Bee World, Journal of Apicultural Research, and Apicultural Abstracts.
International Council for Bird Preservation
32 Cambridge Road, Girton
Cambridge, CB3 OPJ
United Kingdom
This organization determines the conservation and protection status of bird species worldwide. Many of these birds are floral visitors and important pollinators.
International Union for the Conservation of
Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN)
Avenue de Mont Blanc
CH-196 Gland, Switzerland
Also known as the World Conservation Union (WCU), this is the primary coordinating agency for international conservation efforts. IUCN publishes directories of environmental specialists who are knowledgeable about captive breeding programs and other topics.
National Audubon Society
950 Third Avenue
New York, NY 10022
The premier birding organization in the United States. It is also active in wildlife conservation, public educational outreach, scientific research, and other aspects of conservation.
National Wildlife Federation
1400 Sixteenth Street N.W.
Washington, DC 20036
A leading advocate for wildlife preservation, this organization publishes the Conservation Directory, as well as other outstanding educational titles including the children’s publications Ranger Rick and Your Big Backyard.
Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. (NRDC)
40 West Twentieth Street
New York, NY 10011
Tel: (212) 727-2700
NRDC uses both legal and scientific methods to monitor and influence government actions and proposed legislation affecting conservation issues and pesticide abuse.
The Nature Conservancy
1815 North Lynn Street
Arlington, VA 22209
This is the premier organization dedicated to the preservation of biota by means of habitat preservation through local, private, and state land acquisition and an extensive array of wildlife refuges and plant protection sites. It maintains extensive databases on the distribution of rare species in the Americas, especially North America.
North American Butterfly Association (NABA)
909 Birch Street
Baraboo, WI 53913
This is a nonprofit organization of North American professional and amateur lepidopterists who are actively engaged in the protection and conservation of threatened and endangered lepidoptera and the habitats in which they are found. NABA educates the public about the joys of nonconsumptive, recreational “butterflying. ”
Society for Conservation Biology
Department of Botany
318 Hitchcock Hall
University of Washington, Box 355320
Seattle, WA 98195-5320
This is the leading scientific membership society for the emerging field of conservation biology. It develops and publicizes new ideas and promotes the results of field and laboratory research through its journal Conservation Biology.
Sonoran Arthropod Studies Institute (SASI)
P.O. Box 5624
Tucson, AZ 85703-5624
Tel: (520) 883-3945
E-mail: ArthroStud@aol.com
This nonprofit organization promotes educational outreach and research on the biology of native Sonoran Desert insects and other arthropods. SASI offers inservice training workshops for teachers, sponsors, members’ events, hosts the annual “Invertebrates in Captivity” conference, publishes a newsletter, The Instar, and a member’s magazine, Backyard BUGwatching, and operates the Arthropod Discovery Center in the Tucson Mountains.
Wildlife Conservation International and New York Zoological Society
Bronx Zoo
185th Street and Southern Boulevard
Bronx, NY 10460
These are two leaders in wildlife conservation and related research including bat research.
World Conservation Monitoring Centre
219 Huntington Road
Cambridge, CB3 ODL
United Kingdom
This organization monitors the global wildlife trade, the status of endangered species, the use of natural resources, and protected/conserved areas around the globe.
World Wildlife Fund (WWF)
1250 24th Street N.W.
Washington, DC 20037
Also known as the Worldwide Fund for Nature, this major conservation organization has branches throughout the world and is active in both scientific research and management within various national parks.
Xerces Society
10 Ash Street S.W.
Portland, OR 97204
This organization focuses on the conservation of insects and other invertebrates, especially butterflies. It publishes the colorful newsletter Wings.