Both local and national environmental organizations can be invaluable resources for this project, as they are often familiar with many issues around biodiversity (and its threats), ecology, land use, environmental laws and regulations, and the status of endangered species. Perhaps most important, they can provide links to a network of related organizations and specialists that might be directly relevant to your students' fieldwork. The environmental organizations listed below fall into a number of different categories (e.g., environmental advocacy groups, conservation organizations). Through them or their networks you will have access to a wealth of information specific to the biodiversity in your region. We have also included a list of Web pages that are directories of environmental organizations.

Web links

Biodiversity and Environmental Web Links

This Web site is of list to links related to biodiversity and the environment.

EnviroLink

EnviroLink is a nonprofit, grassroots on-line community that unites hundreds of organizations and volunteers around the world and is dedicated to providing the most comprehensive, up-to-date environmental resources available.

Support Offered:

• Information about biodiversity
• Information about local endangered species
• Information about environmental regulation
• Searchable electronic database of collections (insects and plants) or resources
• Resource library
• Environmental advocacy initiatives

Environmental Organizations

Look here for Web links to environmental resources and organizations.

Environmental Web Directory

Look here for Web links to environmental resources and organizations.

Environmental Defense Fund National Headquarters
257 Park Avenue South
New York, NY 10010
Tel: (212) 505-2100

EDF provides environmental information by mail and electronically, participates in environmental education projects, maintains a Member Action Network to influence national environmental policy, and works with grassroots groups at the local and regional level in the United States and abroad. Regional offices each have their own projects that are specific to their states, but all generally focus on threats to the environment and the production of environmental impact statements. Regional offices are also a good resource for obtaining referrals to other local sources of environmental and biological information. National headquarters are in New York City, while regional offices are located in Washington, DC; Oakland, CA; Boulder, CO; Raleigh, NC; Austin, TX; and a project office in Boston, MA. (Addresses for regional offices are listed by states in this guide.) Their publications include a bimonthly newsletter, an annual report, books and reports, news releases, committee testimonies, environmental fact sheets, and brochures.

Support Offered:

• Searchable electronic database of collections (insects and plants) or resources
• Educational materials
• Newsletter or journal
• Information about environmental regulation
• Information about local endangered species
• Environmental advocacy initiatives

Environmental Working Group
1718 Connecticut Avenue, NW
Suite 600
Washington, DC 20009
Tel: (202)667-6982
E-mail: info@ewg.org

EWG's goal is to provide the public with new, locally relevant information on environmental issues in their own states, home towns, and neighborhoods. They specialize in developing and analyzing large, computerized databases of environmental and economic information based on data obtained from federal and state government agencies through freedom of information laws. EWG has conducted research on drinking water contamination, pesticides in food and water, antienvironmental organizations, and wetlands protection laws.

Support Offered:

• Information about environmental regulation
• Environmental advocacy initiatives
• Searchable electronic database of collections (insects and plants) or resources

Friends of the Earth
1025 Vermont Avenue, NW
Suite 300
Washington, DC 20005-6303
Tel: (202) 783-7400

Friends of the Earth focuses on monitoring and advocating for the natural environment (e.g., protecting groundwater, defending ecosystems, halting and reversing the destruction of the ozone layer). Their Protect the Planet Team works closely with grassroots groups, individuals, and coalitions working to improve the health of the environment. They provide a range of research and community organizing assistance: helping with information research, contacting government agencies, providing referrals to other experts, compiling information packets on selected issues, and linking activists working on similar issues.

Support Offered:

• Information specialists
• Information about environmental regulation
• Environmental advocacy initiatives
• Information about local endangered species

National Audubon Society
700 Broadway
New York, NY 10003
Tel: (212) 979-3000
E-mail: webmaster@list.audubon.org (will attempt to forward to an appropriate person)

The mission of the National Audubon Society is to conserve and restore natural ecosystems, focusing on birds and other wildlife for the benefit of humanity and Earth's biological diversity. Among the Society's high-priority campaigns and key legislative programs are preserving wetlands, lobbying to reauthorize the Endangered Species Act, promoting a responsible U.S. population policy, preserving America's endangered forests, protecting and promoting growth of america's national wildlife refuges, conserving marine wildlife through Living Oceans program, restoration of water flows to enhance wildlife of the Platte River system, and protecting corridors for migratory birds through the Partners in Flight program.

Support Offered:

• On-line science support
• Educational materials
• Field-based activities/excursions
• Classes/workshops for kids
• Films/videos
• Environmental advocacy initiatives
• Information specialists
• Information about local endangered species
• Information about environmental regulation

National Audubon Society National Campaign Office
1901 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20006
Tel: (202) 861-2242

This is the office through which the NAS's environmental campaigns are run. Information about specific campaigns as well as about various environmental issues can be obtained here (as well as through their general Web site).

Support Offered:

• Information specialists
• Information about local endangered species
• Information about environmental regulation
• Newsletter or journal
• Resource library
• Environmental advocacy initiatives

National Resources Defense Council
40 West 20th Street
New York, NY 10011
E-mail: nrdcinfo@nrdc.org

The Natural Resource Defense Council works to defend natural places, establish the imperatives of sustainability and good stewardship, foster the fundamental right of all people, and break down the pattern of disproportionate environmental burdens caused by social or economic inequities. It conducts active campaigns on virtually all major national environmental issues and numerous regional issues as well.

Support Offered:

• Information specialists
• Information about environmental regulation
• Information about local endangered species
• Newsletter or journal
• Environmental advocacy initiatives

National Wildlife Federation
8925 Leesburg Pike
Vienna, VA 22184
Tel: (703) 790-4100

NWF advances conservation policies through advocacy, education, and litigation in concert with affiliate groups and similar organizations worldwide. Efforts focus on the conservation of wildlife and wild places and the health of the environment, with special emphasis on wetlands, water quality, endangered habitats, land stewardship, and sustainable communities. NWF Natural Resource Centers & Project Offices assist individuals and grassroots groups to protect nature and natural resources. They have regional offices in the Midwest, Northwest, Southeast, West, Northwest, South, Mid-Atlantic, and Alaska. The NWF's Educational Outreach Department creates science-based education programs and materials, providing educational camping, summits, nature weekends, and other activities focused on the natural world. NWF also maintains the Environmental Hotline at (202) 797-6655. Updated weekly, it summarizes the latest news from Capitol Hill and federal agencies, and actions people can take immediately to make a difference.

Support Offered:

• Information about environmental regulation
• Educational materials
• Newsletter or journal
• Information about local endangered species
• Professional development programs/workshops
• Classes/workshops for kids
• Field-based activities/excursions
• Enrichment classes/presentations

Sierra Club
85 Second Street, 2nd Floor
San Francisco, CA 94105-3441
Tel: (415) 977-5500
E-mail: information@sierraclub.org

The Sierra Club is a nonprofit, public interest organization that promotes conservation of the natural environment by influencing public policy decisions--legislative, administrative, legal, and electoral. It is an excellent source of information about environmental and conservation issues, as well as an advocate and support network for the initiation of local environmental activism.

Support Offered:

• Newsletter or journal
• Field-based activities/excursions
• Information about environmental regulation
• Environmental advocacy initiatives

World Wildlife Fund
1250 24th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20037

World Wildlife Fund works in more than 100 countries around the world to protect the abundance and variety of life. WWF is action-oriented and supports individuals and institutions that carry out practical, well-planned, and scientifically-based conservation projects. It also produces education resources including "The Biodiversity Collection: A Review of Biodiversity Resources for Educators" and "Windows on the Wild (WOW!): A Biodiversity Primer."

Support Offered

• Biodiversity publications for educators and students