By Sarah Watson, American Forests

Growing up in south Florida, my experience with nature involved a combination of marshy swamplands and rows of well-manicured palm trees. The suburban development where I used to live sprawls along the Atlantic coastline and is interspersed with canals to compensate for its wetland predecessor. There are six-lane roads leading you to big box stores or to I-95, but they cut through biodiversity hotspots featuring alligators, river otters, mangroves and slash pines. This interplay of the natural world and human development gave me the desire to better understand our tendency to control and manipulate nature, and how instead we could lead ourselves to tewardship role for the environment.

One of the biggest threats to wildlife and their habitat is human development. Habitat loss reduces the overall area where animals can live and survive, and habitat fragmentation impedes species from traveling to find food or to reproduce. When I was in high school, this became all too clear for me. I used to volunteer at the Savannas Preserve State Park, a 7,000 acre stretch of land between US-1 and the Atlantic intercoastal. This area is home to several unique species, like the Florida scrub jay and the roseate spoonbill, and provides a refuge for hundreds more. In one spot, the park abuts the North Fork of the St. Lucie River Estuary, which the South Florida Water Management describes as “an ecological jewel on Florida’s Treasure Coast.” The river is one of the most ecologically diverse environments in North America, with over 4,000 plant and animal species. Kayaking on the St. Lucie gives you the opportunity to see few people, lots of alligators, and a glimpse of what the real Florida looks like.

During my time at the park, I learned that the state wanted to build a bridge over the river in order to link I-95 to US-1 (the two other roads leading from I-95 were deemed insufficient). In order to accomplish this, part of the park would need to be destroyed to make way for this new infrastructure, and the park’s education center was offered compensation to expand their programming in light of the habitat loss. The bridge was ultimately never built, the final permits were unapproved, but I was left angry and dismayed. This event showed me that natural places, no matter how beautiful or ecologically valuable, could be lost in light of human interest and economics.

I left Florida with a love of nature (and a desire to leave the heat and humidity), going on to complete my bachelor’s degree in environmental policy and development at the University of Vermont. I knew that in order to preserve wildlife and their habitat, I would need a firm understanding of the laws that govern our environment. After working in environmental education and horticulture, I chose to continue my education and attend Vermont Law School, which offers one of the best environmental law programs in our country. I believe that in order to be a steward for the environment, we need first-rate policy and strong laws to defend it. I chose American Forests because as a conservation nonprofit, they put their money where their mouth is, consistently pushing for good policy to save America’s forests and everything they provide us.