The following 1991 quote is from Reed Noss, the Editor of Conservation

Biology and a personal hero of mine. I think it may interest you:

[Sharon Seidenstein] Do you have suggestions of groups that are working on

issues of biodiversity or that would have information on biodiversity if

people wanted to get involved?

[Reed Noss] "The group that is doing the most as far as identifying and

protecting key habitats is The Nature Conservancy. They're an apolitical

group, they're not an advocacy group per se, and so they're thought of by a

lot of people as very conservative and tied to industry and all, but in

fact they still do the best job of identifying and protecting habitat -- a

very important function.

"Now, as far as advocacy groups, it varies by region. A national group such

as The Audubon Society may be strong in one region, like it is in the

Northwest, for example, but very weak in another region, like the

Southeast, where I lived before I moved to Oregon. The Audubon Society was

very weak in Florida; it compromised on everything. Then I came to the

Northwest and the local groups here take a really strong stand.

"The Sierra Club has really slipped in recent years, although some local

groups are still strong. In general it's taken a very weak position in

terms of defending biological diversity, and it's been willing to cut deals

with politicians [or mountain bikers!] in back rooms and do a disservice to

the environment and to other environmental groups. But Audubon is becoming

pretty strong and the Wilderness Society and Natural Resources Defense

Council.

"Defenders of Wildlife, I should mention, to, is another group that's

pretty strong, in California as well. And then there's a lot of local

groups. Again, I would urge that people get involved with, and form their

own bioregional type group, keyed in on a particular region. That can be

very effective."