Note: This information is provided for reference purposes only. Although the information provided here was accurate and current when first created, it is now outdated.

"I do not blindly oppose progress. I oppose blind progress." - David Brower

A major challenge to EPA and to all New Englanders is to protect our natural resources and ecosystems before they become impaired. To do this we need to tackle the less conspicuous, but widespread, threats posed by problems like polluted runoff and habitat alteration. Often these problems are difficult to address and the effects are cumulative. And we need to do a better job of land-use planning before it is too late. EPA cannot ensure success in the protection of our natural resources without individuals and communities working with us as partners in meeting this challenge. Some species are particularly sensitive to ecological threats and may herald changes in the environment before they become obvious. Amphibians (frogs, toads, newts, and salamanders) are important indicators of water quality and quantity, and habitat degradation and fragmentation. Their moist and permeable skin, plant and animal diet, and tendency to remain in the same area throughout their lives make these familiar animals especially sensitive to changes in the environment. Long term ecological studies in New Hampshire have shown salamanders to be critical links in northeastern forest food webs. In a healthy forest ecosystem, the weight of all the woodland salamanders may equal that of all other small mammals combined and be twice the weight of breeding birds. Amphibians are also an important pharmaceutical resource. Hundreds of compounds have been found in their skins, some of which are used as painkillers and to treat heart attack and burn patients. Troubling worldwide declines and the extinction of a number of amphibian species, even in protected natural areas, were first noted in 1990. Investigations are underway both here and abroad to determine the causes and extent of the decline in amphibians, but most experts believe that the loss and degradation of habitat, including wetlands and uplands, is the most widespread cause. New England is unfortunately no exception to worldwide trends, and declines have been reported in numerous species. Since a number of our native amphibians are rare, the prospect of further declines is worrisome. Each of the New England states has a significant percentage of their native species of amphibians, bird and mammals at risk (Fig. 11). Amphibians are not the only animals affected by changes in habitat. The fragmentation of forests, grasslands, and other habitats can cause problems for a variety of wildlife. In order to breed successfully, many species need large tracts of forest or open habitat far from human disturbance. The problem is particularly well known in birds, including a number of neotropical species that winter in Latin America and breed in New England. The patchwork quilt of increasingly small "habitat islands" in an intensively used landscape is contributing to declines in sensitive species. Increased human demand for land resources is challenging all of us who care about the environment and the economy to identify creative and reliable strategies for conserving valuable habitat in New England. A number of organizations, from small local land trusts to national organizations such as The Nature Conservancy, have been successful in preserving important habitat by buying land from willing sellers. Although EPA does not conserve land directly, the agency can help with these efforts. For example, the EPA-sponsored Lake Champlain Basin Program obtained $600,000 in North American Wetland Conservation Act funds to protect 1,500 acres of important waterfowl habitat. A second strategy protects against habitat fragmentation through land use planning. In New England, the authority to make land use decisions is vested in the hands of local governments. Providing better information to local decision makers about important natural resources in their area is one way EPA and others can help local governments make well-informed land use choices. Comprehensive land use planning, including broad public participation, reduces the potential for environmental "train wrecks" -- avoidable circumstances in which economic interests are pitted against environmental protection. Instead of reacting to crises, EPA and its partners are working together to prevent them from occurring in the first place. EPA's New England office has teamed up with the New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission, other federal and state agencies, and environmental organizations to identify and protect New England's most important natural resources -- an effort called the Resource Protection Project. The goal of the project is two-fold: to identify high priority natural resources and to develop and implement plans to protect these resources. The project's pilot phase took place in New Hampshire, with the participation of more than 20 public agencies and private organizations with regulatory, conservation, development, or planning interests. Six areas in New Hampshire have been identified as high-priority environmental resources, based on the value of their wildlife habitats and drinking water supplies (Fig. 12). Participants in the project are working through existing programs and using partnerships with communities to protect the targeted resources. Currently, Rhode Island and Connecticut are engaged in similar efforts to identify their own high priority natural resources.