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Fall Appeal & Conservation Newsletter
By answering our fall appeal you provide direct support to the Society's conservation initiatives
Letter from the Executive Director and the Conservation Director of New England Wild Flower Society
Fall 2007
Dear Friends,
New England Wild Flower Society is the only conservation organization dedicated to saving the region’s plants.
Now, more than ever, the Society needs your support to protect New England’s natural areas—not just for the plants, but for all life.
We ask you to give generously in response to this appeal, and you can be certain that we will leverage your gift to its full potential. By the end of this season, our small staff will have mobilized hundreds of volunteers to accomplish nearly 40,000 hours of field actions.
We are surveying rare plant populations and implementing management plans to save them from extirpation due to loss of habitat and climate change. We are tracking invasive plants and working to eradicate them in our most vulnerable natural habitats.
In the enclosed Conservation newsletter, you can read about the Society’s critical field actions in every state in New England—including your community. Grants fund some of our work, but we rely on your contributions to accomplish much more.
For example, we are removing highly invasive pale swallowwort (Cynanchum rossicum) to save the only known population of green milkweed (Asclepias viridiflora) in New England—and doing it without funding. This small group of survivors has thrived on the northern edge of its range for more than 100 years … until now. Saving local populations on the edge of the species’ range is critical for the future, because the genetic variability of these outlying populations could mean survival for the entire species in the face of climate change.
Times are tough for plants. Funding for “wildlife conservation” is mostly targeted to conserve and protect animals. Plants typically are not included in the definition of “wildlife,” even though plants form the basis of most animal habitats and all life on earth. When we lose native plants, we stand to lose many other organisms. There is so much at stake!
Because we are the only ones watching over New England’s native flora, it’s all up to us ... and you. Through your financial contribution, you play a vital role in saving all wildlife by helping us save the plants.
With gratitude,
Gwen L. Stauffer, Executive Director
William Brumback, Conservation Director
This contribution, above and beyond your membership, is essential for increasing grassroots conservation of New England’s native plants and habitats. Your donation is more than appreciated; it is tax deductible.
READ MORE about the Society's Conservation activities in all six New England States and what you can do to help.
Support our Fall Appeal and DOWNLOAD Take Action, our Conservation newsletter (in Adobe Acrobat [PDF] format).