• Background information; by edgardowelelo@yahoo.com.
The physical and climatic features of North America, as well as the major biotic regions of the continent, show a great diversity of natural habitats and of wealth of animals. At the northern tip of the continent are the Polar areas, succeeded southward by tundra’s, coniferous forests, deciduous woodlands, grass prairies, deserts, chaparral, and subtropics. Running through these natural regions from north to south, the Rocky Mountains add to the diversity of habitats a vertical dimension with a series of life zones. So do other mountain chains from Alaska and Canada to Mexico. Perhaps due to the fact that North America saw within the short period of the last 300 years a tremendous and rapid alteration of natural environments and consequently also a terrific destruction of animal life, the conservation movement is today stronger and more developed in the United States and Canada than anywhere else in the world. This positive attitude is particularly distinguished by the establishment of many and very large national parks and various categories of nature reserves. The United States was a pioneer in envisaging national parks. As a reaction to the destruction of nature the idea of conservation emerged early and was manifest in the creation of Yellow Stone National Park in 1872, the first national park in the world, and the beginning of the modern concept of the national park. Other national parks followed. The U.S.A. and Canada now have many national parks representing various natural regions and an instructive series of protected North American Habitats containing a rich flora and fauna. It is on the continent of North America, thanks to Canadian and American authorities, that the best network of protected areas in the world has been established, from the well – known national parks to various kinds of wildlife refuges, national seashores, and, of course, the important state parks (U.S.A) and provincial parks (Canada).
