Who's Watching Out for Endangered Species?
by Erin Guffey and Rachel Mori
photography by Jim Rathert

Two kids spend a day learning the answers.

Amy Salveter, Erin Guffrey and Rachel Mori (left to right) spent a day hiking, observing wildlife-such as lizards-and talking about ways to help Missouri's endangered species.

We had the opportunity to interview Amy Salveter, who is the endangered species coordinator for the Department of Conservation. A major part of Amy's job is to watch over the natural resources of Missouri and to help protect the endangered species of plants and animals in Missouri.

Part of her job is to make sure that the people who work for the

Conservation Department are running projects to protect endangered species. Her co-workers are always doing surveys of plants and animals to make sure they are being helped and not harmed by the projects. They also watch over plants and animals that are not endangered to make sure they are not harmed, either.

Amy also hikes through natural areas to study the wildlife and habitat. She helps train agents and land managers to look for people who may be abusing the animals or landscape. Poaching and digging up endangered plants is illegal, and people are fined for doing it. As a result of Amy's job, glades and other natural areas are protected.

We had the pleasure of taking a long hike on Valley View Glades Natural Area with Amy and seeing many interesting plants and animals. In the glades, we saw purple cone flowers, one of the protected species that are sometimes dug up illegally by people to be used as medicine. While we were in the woods, Amy pointed out many birds, such as warblers and hummingbirds, that had migrated to Missouri for the summer from South America and Central America.

Throughout the glades and woods we also saw two different types of lizards: the northern fence lizard and the six-lined race runner. We searched for an eastern collared lizard all day; however, we did not find one. It is one of the animals that is on the "watch list," which means the numbers are declining but it is not on the endangered list yet.

During our hike, we asked Amy some questions:

Q. Did you like nature when you were little?
A. Yes, I did.

Q. What made you want to do this?
A. I loved animals and plants and wanted to help species in trouble.

Q. What college did you go to?
A. I went to Southwest Missouri State University in Springfield and the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville.

Q. How many years of training did you go through for your job?
A. Seven years total in college. I went for three additional years after my first four years so I could get a masters degree in zoology.

Q. What nature classes did you take?
A. I took a lot of nature classes, but I liked ornithology, which is the study of birds, the best.

Q. What do you do for your job?
A. I make sure that the people who work for the Conservation Department continue to help animals and plants, and I make sure they are doing projects continually to preserve and protect the wildlife and habitat.

Greater Prairie Chicken

Q. Do you like the people you work with?
A. Yes, I really like them.

Q. Do you ever go out of state for your job?
A. Occasionally for meetings with other people who do endangered species work around the country.

Q. What kinds of things do you do besides your job?
A. I hike, camp, backpack, play tennis, play frisbee, and I go canoeing.

Q. Do you like plants or animals better?
A. Neither. They're both interesting.

Q. What's your favorite plant or tree?
A. I like them all.

Q. What's your favorite animal?
A. Birds.

Erin's turrn with the binoculars. They watched birds and scanned the glades for lizards.

Q. Do you hunt or fish?
A. I like to fish.

Q. Do you have any pets?
A. Two dogs.

Q. What are the most important animals or plants you are trying to save right now?
A. Topeka shiners, Indiana bats, Missouri bladderpods, greater prairie chickens, geocarpon, Mead's milkweed, Niangua darters and the Ozark cave fish.

Q. Do you think preserving Missouri's plants and animals helps the world?
A. Yes. We all depend on each other.

Q. What can kids like us do to help preserve animals and plants?
A. Learn about them and spread the information to others to help stop the killing of endangered animals and plants and the habitats they depend on.

Friends and co-authors Erin Guffey and Rachel Mori are now in sixth grade.

Kids in Action

The fifth-graders at Holy Infant Catholic School in Ballwin, where authors Erin Guffey and Rachel Mori are students, are champions of endangered species. They held an all-school raffle and raised money for the protection of endangered species in Missouri.

"We just thought it would be a good way to really do something for the environment. No one else had thought of it, and people liked the idea," says Erin.

So the students began to organize. Fifth-graders and their parents brought items to raffle, such as jars of candy, candles and beanie babies-enough to provide prizes for every grade. The students went room to room and, after a flurry of ticket sales, found they had raised $725.45.

Holy Infant Catholic School students regularly hold fund raisers for charities serving the poor. "The fifth graders came to us with a different idea about where to donate the money," explains Sister Rosario, school principal. "They were persistent, well-organized, and I just turned it over to them, and they went with it."

The fifth-graders' donation will go to the Conservation Heritage Foundation, a non-profit organization that supports conservation efforts in Missouri. Erin and Rachel helped choose a specific project.

Regal Fritillary

The money will help purchase a tallgrass prairie in northwest Missouri in Harrison County. The land is home to several species on Missouri's Rare and Endangered Species Checklist, including northern prairie skinks, upland sandpipers, greater prairie-chickens, regal fritillaries, Henslow's sparrows and thimbleweed.

"Rachel and Erin asked me what kids could do to help endangered species," says Amy Salveter. "And I said simply, 'you're doing it!'"

Congratulations and thanks to all the students at Holy Infant Catholic School.

To learn more about the Foundation, write Missouri Conservation

Heritage Foundation, P.O. Box 366, Jefferson City, MO 65102-0366. You also may reach them by e-mail at < MCHF@mail.conservation.state.mo.us>.