Conservation biology is defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary as “the planned management of a natural resource to prevent exploitation, destruction, or neglect.” Conservation Biologist is well rounded in the natural sciences and they take courses in geology, biology, zoology, botany, and many other areas. A conservation biologist will work with government agencies, private landowners, and conservation organizations to help mitigate the problems associated with human activity and expansion. In Illinois, conservation biologists work with state parks and forest preserves to help with replanting native species, prescribing controlled burns, and helping to regulate public hunting lands and hunting limits. In my hometown of Orland Park, the Cook County Forest Preserve has hired conservation biologists to help restore the Orland Grasslands. In 2002, the county had purchased 960 acres of farmland and transformed them back into a native prairie, savannah, and oak forests. The Orland Grasslands allow for native prairie species, most becoming increasingly rarer and rarer, a chance to thrive in their natural habitat. Conservation biologists worked with other environmentalists and volunteers to reintroduce native plants and reshape the topography, allowing for streams, wetlands, and marshes to reclaim the land. I hope to one day be able to use my skills learned here at Illinois State University, to help restore and preserve hundreds of acres and recreate the prairie habitat that now only currently holds about 1 percent of its historic range.
One of the many scenic views of the Orland Grasslands featuring many reintroduced native plants, such as rattlesnake master and wild bergamot.
Source: Orland Grasslands
Sources:
“Orland Grassland.” Forest Preserves of Cook County, fpdcc.com/orland-grassland/.
“Conservation.” Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster, http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/conservation.
“Biology – Conservation Biology.” Biology – Conservation Biology Major | Illinois State University, illinoisstate.edu/academics/conservation-biology/.
Conservation Biology 