Exercise 8: Endangered Species

Student name:___________________________

TA name:___________________________

This is news media research project. First, look over the following questions, and choose a news article that addresses a rare, threatened or endangered species where human action appears to have put it at risk of local or global extinction (and may be saving it). Such articles appear frequently in the local and national newspapers, and you can surf many newspaper web sites for recent and archive articles. You can get a complete roster of “listed” species at: http://endangered.fws.gov/wildlife.html#Species

This might help you find an article.

Then: Staple the article to the exercise sheets, and provide short answers to these questions.

(1) Why is this species threatened or endangered? What species characteristics and/or human actions are involved in its endangerment?

(2) Who advocates its preservation? Who (if anyone) is arguing against actions to preserve the species, or is, at least, less supportive than the species advocates?

(3) What economic costs/losses might be involved in saving this species? Who might incur these costs?