Today is Endangered Species Day. From the name, it is obvious what it is about, but if you want a little more info and background, you can head over to this site. So what do you do for this day? Well, the Endangered Species Coalition certainly has a lot of good suggestions. I think the first step would be simple education.

Head on over to Google and type in your state, city, county, country, province, whatever local region you may be from plus the words “endangered species” and learn a little about what is stuggling to survive in your area. For example, I found this list by county in Michigan and learned a few things. Of course I knew about the wolf, karner butterfly, piping plover and kirtlands warbler. But I didn’t know about the Rayed Bean mussel that is being considered. One of the habitat’s listed is the Clinton River. Heck, the river is a 10 minute walk from my house! I also didn’t know the Eastern massasauga rattlesnake was being considered for listing here.

From that search, usually you will turn up some protection activities that you may want to donate to or become involved in. Nature organizations that buy critical habitat to protect it from development are some of the key preservation activities we all need to support. In Michigan, the Michigan Nature Association has been doing this for decades. The Nature Conservancy does this across the country just to name a couple. Of course, without the habitat, the species that make these lists have little chance for survival.

So get to Googling, learn a bit more than you knew yesterday, and help spread the word. Thanks!