Once We Destroy It, We Can't Bring It Back

By Sarah Ramsden

Staff Reporter

February 2022

I believe that every single living organism has the right to survival, despite their perceived economic value. I believe that everything, from the smallest songbirds to the crops that sustain human life, should be able to exist in their natural habitat.

From a young age, I’ve had tons of experiences venturing out into the natural world. The beauty of seeing a carpet of bluebells covering the forest floor, the crick in your neck while watching a peregrine falcon through binoculars, the exhilaration of staying out to see woodcocks until it's so dark you can hardly find your way back, the awe of seeing golden sunlight through the ruffled wings of a short-eared owl at dusk. There’s just a special feeling in holding yourself so still to prolong that moment when it’s just you and something in the wilderness around you.

I’ve been lucky to experience all of these things, all within a half-hour of Beloit, but not many people have. I’m watching as city skylines and suburban sprawl take over areas that were once Wisconsin's forest and prairie. I’m canoeing down Turtle Creek and seeing corn stalks planted so close to the edge of the creek that they are literally falling into the water as the bank erodes. I’m observing people putting on their lawns what they call insecticides or fertilizers, but should really be known as poisons or pollutants.

These poisons and pollutants trickle into Turtle Creek, which streams into the Rock River, which flows into the Mississippi, which gushes into the ocean. The organisms living in our rivers are already drinking this water, and I’m wondering what future generations will say when they realize they too might have to drink this water that we have poisoned and polluted.

Above all, I’m watching as our wild areas get smaller and smaller, as our water gets dirtier and dirtier. Once we destroy wilderness, there’s no easy way to bring it back. I believe it’s our duty to protect and advocate for these natural areas. Though to some it might seem like wasted space or region with no monetary value, the benefits they bring to our world are priceless.

Ultimately, habitat loss and pollution are some of the biggest threats to biodiversity today. Even though they were once common, I’ll never get to see a passenger pigeon or an ivory-billed woodpecker, never get to see a buffalo wading through a field of compass plant in Wisconsin. My hope is that there will still be something left for my children to see.