Kid's for the Earth


The world is always spinning, but sometimes it seems it's not going in the direction we want. Oh, it keeps going around the sun, of course. But it takes help from people like you to make sure that things stay on track for the environment. Check in here for facts and fun, and help the world clean up its act!

In the Know

Helping the environment isn't always easy. Find out about some hard questions.
Call of the Wolf
Timber!

Kid Power!

Kids all over are turning the world around by being good environmental citizens. Let us know what you're up to!
In the meantime, how about some environmental fun?
NWF Kid's Page

Write for the Earth

Did you know your voice can be loud when you're
not even talking? A letter from you can help save the animals, water and air!

Here's how to get your voice heard!


Call of the Wolf

wolf The gray wolf used to live in most of the northern United States, including Colorado. In fairy tales, wolves can be pretty mean, but in real life, wolves are shy animals who are afraid of people. They are predators - that means they hunt other animals for food. But they don't kill just for fun. Their natural food was deer, elk and antelope. But as more people settled the country, they killed off many of these animals, so wolves started eating the cattle and sheep that the settlers brought with them. Because the settlers needed those cattle and sheep for their own families, and because many people were afraid of wolves, people started killing wolves until they became endangered. Many places would even offer money to anyone who would kill a wolf. The last wolf in Colorado was shot 50 years ago.

Now, the U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife would like to see wolves reintroduced into their natural homes. This is happening already in Minnesota, but not in Colorado yet. There are lots of deer and elk in the Colorado mountains for them to eat now. In fact, many people feel that having the wolves back would be a help to the deer and elk herds. Without enough natural enemies, the herds get too big, and some animals starve. Also, wolves and other predators usually catch the oldest or sickest deer, so maybe they could help keep the other deer from getting sick and dying, too. Some ranchers, though, are worried that the wolves will kill too many of their cattle. Will the wolves come after cattle if there are plenty of deer to eat? It's hard to know. In Minnesota, they offer ranchers money to pay for any animals that are known to have been killed by wolves. That way, the wolves have a chance, but the ranchers don't lose too much money.

On April 12, 1996, Governor Romer signed a bill that puts control of predators (like wolves) under the control of ranchers instead of the wildlife agencies. Some people who want to bring back wolves fear that that will make it harder.

If you want to find out more about how to help wolves come home, check out the Sinapu page. They have a schedule of meetings and slide shows where you can learn more about wolves and about all sides of this issue.


Timber!

The forests in Colorado and the rest of America are home to many birds and animals, but they also supply the wood that we use for houses and furniture. Forests also help to protect water and air quality. In order to keep a balance between the needs of the environment, and our need for wood, the government has made laws about how much wood can be cut down. Many of the forests are National Forests, owned by the United States government. The government allows some cutting by logging companies. Laws which are meant to protect air, water and endangered species have been passed to make sure that logging doesn't take more trees than the forest can stand. It takes a long time to grow a new tree!

Last year, congress passed a law called the Timber Salvage Rider which allows the logging companies to take more trees. If part of the forest is threatened by fire, insects or disease, companies can cut trees there without following the normal rules about protecting the environment. Since the loggers were taking trees from "sick" parts of the forest, people hoped that it would not hurt anything.

Many environmentalists think that the Timber Salvage Rider was a mistake. They want to repeal it - that means remove the law. People disagree about what parts of a forest are in danger of fire or are too damaged. And some people feel that the loggers want to use the Timber Salvage Rider as a way to get access to more of the older parts of the forest, including some in Colorado. A bill has been introduced into Congress to repeal the Timber Salvage Rider. If this bill passes, all logging would have to be done according to the guidelines of the environmental laws protecting endangered species and clean air and water.

The bill to repeal the Timber Salvage Rider is H.R. 2745. If you would like to learn more about this bill, or write to your representative in Congress, ask your parents to look at our Contacts page. The National Wildlife Federation page can give your more information.


Kid Power - Kids Turning the World Around

What are you doing to help keep our natural world natural? Have you planted some trees? Do you help your parents recycle? Does your class at school have a cool project? Send it in, and we'll put it here on the Kid's for the Earth page for everyone to see! Click
here to send us your story.

Write for the Earth

You can do a lot around your house to help the environment, but sometimes it helps if we all pull together. Our government in Colorado and in Washington D.C. passes many laws each year which have an effect on our air, land, water, energy and wildlife. The people in congress who pass these laws represent us. They want to know what we think about these questions so that they can vote the best way. If you'd like to tell your representatives what you think about timber or wolves or any other environmental question, write them a letter! Letters from kids are especially welcome, and you might even get an answer back. Talk to your parents about what issue you want to write about, and let them help you find the address of your presentatives. You can find them on our
Contacts page. Some even have email addresses. In writing your letter, remember these things:
Home |Initiatives| |Contacts| |Kids|

This site was created by Barbara Miller and Rebecca Root. Please send questions and comments to rroot@indra.com and/or millercm@Miller-Comm.com.