charisma August 27, 2006
I came across this article in the London Independent. What struck me is that the good news about 16 species of bird that were on the brink of extinction in the mid-1990s have been saved by targetted conservation efforts also points up something I've had on my mind for some time: the species that get the focused conservation efforts are the charismatic ones. As you might expect, they cite the piping plover as a species that is hurt by NOT being charismatic: "Species of bird that are considered most at risk but are not charismatic include the piping plover in North America, the Hawaiian crow and the Indian white-rumped vulture." This isn't the first time I've seen the piping plover used as an example of a species for which recovery/conservation efforts are hampered by lack of charisma. It's almost gotten to be a cliche. About the only species that the piping plover outshines in the charisma department is the marbled murrelet. That's only because people would actually notice if the piping plover went extinct because they'd be able to drive on the beaches. Nobody would notice if the marbled murrelet disappeared (see Rare Bird by Maria Mudd Ruth for where she observes the relative charisma of marbled murrelet vs. piping plover).		Reading Today's Reading A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold This Year's Reading 2006 Booklist
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