{"id":891,"date":"2022-02-25T13:29:50","date_gmt":"2022-02-25T13:29:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swr.sgsuat.info\/?page_id=891"},"modified":"2024-12-05T13:12:14","modified_gmt":"2024-12-05T17:12:14","slug":"helping-wildlife-helping-ourselves","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/southwestranches.sgssys.info\/?page_id=891","title":{"rendered":"Helping Wildlife \u2013 Helping Ourselves"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Not Just a Feel-Good Thing<\/h4>\n

Sure, we all support wildlife\u2013theoretically. Who doesn\u2019t enjoy the sight of a bird flying overhead or a furry-tailed squirrel dashing along a fence or up a tree?<\/p>\n

But supporting wildlife goes much deeper than pleasant aesthetics.\u00a0 All living things are dependent on each other to grow and thrive in our own habitat.\u00a0 When habitat is degraded, all life is impacted, beyond what we are able to see on the surface. The US Fish and Wildlife Service estimates that losing one plant species can trigger the loss of up to 30 other insect, plant and higher animal species.\u00a0 Extinctions occur naturally, but current rates\u00a0are growing alarmingly\u2013due to human activity.<\/p>\n

The main force driving higher rates of extinction is habitat loss. We all depend on wetlands, grasslands or fields, and forests to purify our air, clean our water and supply us with food.<\/p>\n

Southwest Ranches\u00a0taking action \u2013 Creating A Wildlife Habitat Community!<\/h4>\n

Town staff has teamed with Ranches volunteers and has earned the National Wildlife Federation\u2019s Wildlife-Friendly Certification for our Community. To achieve certification, we must continue to meet two sets of goals:<\/p>\n

First<\/strong>, a certain number of properties (including homes, places of worship, and commercial properties) must become NWF Certified Wildlife Habitats by providing the basic elements that all wildlife need: food, water, cover, places to raise young, and sustainable practices..<\/p>\n

Second<\/strong>, we must provide education and outreach to earn points toward our certification. Through this website, as well as the town newsletter and community events, we are working to spread the word about the importance of wildlife habitat.<\/p>\n

Read here about other\u00a0efforts by Southwest Ranches to\u00a0help people better understand the needs of wildlife with which we share our Town.<\/p>\n

What You Can Do<\/strong>:<\/h4>\n

Get certified<\/strong>. The elements for certification with the National Wildlife Federation<\/a> include providing what wildlife needs: Food, Water, Cover, places to raise young, and sustainable practices. This is almost effortless here in Southwest Ranches:<\/p>\n