Reference no: EM133773275

Assignment:

Ecosystem Restoration in Illinois

Identify your ecoregion.

Ecoregions are large areas containing multiple ecosystems. Using the Level III ecoregions map., locate your local ecoregion by color or number. If you are currently overseas, choose an ecoregion that you have lived in or visited previously. If you live in an ecoregion that was once dominated by the longleaf pine, consider selecting an adjacent ecoregion instead.

Step 1:

Research your ecoregion.

• Using the Omernik Level Three Ecoregions of the US page, locate your ecoregion in the alphabetical list partway down the page; click More to reveal more of the list.
• Click on the name of your ecoregion to access descriptive information about it. Take some notes (see the bullet points explaining what to include in your essay for ideas for your notes).

Step 2:

Locate information online about an ongoing ecosystem restoration project within your ecoregion.

Find a project using an internet search engine; you might search by ecoregion name, or by other geographic label such as a nearby city, river, forest, and so on.

Consider the following about your project:

• Who owns the land or is leading the restoration work? What is involved? What is the anticipated outcome of the project? Where exactly is the site? (If possible, include a locator map in your paper.) When will the restoration likely be completed? Why is the restoration being done?
• How is the project being carried out? Finally, is there a way that residents of the area can help? If so, how?

Describe your ecoregion and its characteristics. Be sure to address the following:

• What is the name of your ecoregion, and why does it have that name?
• Where is the ecoregion located?
• What is or are the major ecosystem type(s) within that ecoregion?
• What is the topography of the ecoregion? Flat? Rolling hills? Mountainous?
• What are the major land uses in the ecoregion? Is most of it forested? Farmed? Paved over?
• How much of the ecoregion is undisturbed habitat?
• What are a few of the important native species in the ecoregion?
• Discuss the environmental damage to your ecoregion.
• Are any threatened or endangered species present in your ecoregion? If so, identify a couple of them and discuss why they have become threatened or endangered.
• What are the major threats to the ecological health of the ecoregion (e.g., urban sprawl, clearing for agriculture, water pollution, etc.)?
• Provide specific examples of how these threats have impacted your ecoregion. For example, you might mention how a city in your ecoregion has nearly doubled in size due to sprawl and population growth in the last decade. Or you might note how a common water pollution issue in your ecoregion is fertilizer runoff from corn and soybean production.

Summarize the restoration project you found; in your summary, be sure to cover these questions:

• Who (what organizations, government entities, etc.) is overseeing the project?
• Where is the project taking place?
• What does the project entail?
• Detail the restoration process goal.
• How is the project being carried out? (What are the major steps involved?)
• When will the project be completed?
• Does the project accept community volunteers? If so, how can the volunteers help?