The Wild Resource Conservation Program (WRCP) is
Pennsylvania’s biodiversity
Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic (''genetic variability''), species (''species diversity''), and ecosystem (''ecosystem diversity'') l ...
conservation program. As a part of the
Office of Conservation Science of the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR), and working closely with the Pennsylvania Game Commission and the
Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission
The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission is an independent state agency responsible for the regulation of all fishing and boating in the state of Pennsylvania within the United States of America. Unlike many U.S. states, Pennsylvania has a separ ...
, WRCP works to conserve Pennsylvania’s non-game animals, wild plants, and their
habitat
In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...
s. Since 1982 the program has funded and facilitated hundreds of research, conservation, and education projects including the reintroduction of
osprey
The osprey (''Pandion haliaetus''), , also called sea hawk, river hawk, and fish hawk, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey with a cosmopolitan range. It is a large raptor reaching more than in length and across the wings. It is brown o ...
and
river otter, the ecological inventories of all 67 Pennsylvania counties, and the production of more than a dozen nature documentaries and numerous publications.
WRCP is supported by voluntary donations – it receives no general government funds.
See also
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Conservation biology
Conservation biology is the study of the conservation of nature and of Earth's biodiversity with the aim of protecting species, their habitats, and ecosystems from excessive rates of extinction and the erosion of biotic interactions. It is an int ...
*
Environmental degradation
Environmental degradation is the deterioration of the environment (biophysical), environment through depletion of resources such as quality of air, water and soil; the destruction of ecosystems; habitat destruction; the extinction of wildlife; an ...
*
Environmental science
Environmental science is an interdisciplinary academic field that integrates physics, biology, and geography (including ecology, chemistry, plant science, zoology, mineralogy, oceanography, limnology, soil science, geology and physical geograp ...
*
List of Pennsylvania state agencies
State related agencies of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Agencies
*Pennsylvania Attorney General
*Pennsylvania Auditor General
* Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole
* Pennsylvania Department of Aging
*Pennsylvania Department of Agricult ...
References
External links
Critter Quest PA Species Search
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State agencies of Pennsylvania
Nature conservation organizations based in the United States
Environment of Pennsylvania